That night, the Moretti Mansion in Palermo stood like a majestic yet foreboding fortress. A colossal crystal chandelier hung in the banquet hall, casting its brilliance upon a long table crafted from ancient teak. Lavish dishes were spread across the table, but for anyone with sharpened instincts, the aroma of the cuisine was stifled by a suffocating scent of tension.
Ryu Shin entered the room clad in an elegant charcoal grey suit. His usually disheveled hair was now slicked back, accentuating his sharp, cold features. Behind him, Silvio walked with the vigilance of a hibernating predator.
Don Marco sat at the head of the table, while Valerio and Dante occupied the left side. The seat to Marco's right—the seat of honor for the heir—was left vacant.
"Sit, Lucian," Marco commanded without turning his head.
Ryu Shin pulled out the chair calmly. The screech of the chair legs against the marble floor sounded like the scraping of blades to Valerio's ears.
"You look remarkably healthy tonight, Lucian," Valerio began, his voice smooth yet venomous. "A medical miracle. I have even prepared a special vintage to celebrate your recovery."
A new servant, the replacement for the "missing" Sofia, approached with a bottle of 1982 Chateau Petrus. He poured the liquid into Ryu Shin's crystal glass.
Ryu Shin stared at the deep red liquid. Using a faint application of Spirit Sight, he could discern a vortex of dark energy within the fluid. Neurotoxins again. But this time, the dosage was sufficient to fell an elephant within minutes.
"Thank you, Brother," Ryu Shin said. He raised his glass but did not drink. Instead, he fixed his gaze on the servant who had poured the wine. "What is your name?"
The servant trembled slightly. "G-Giuseppe, Young Master."
"Giuseppe. You look parched," Ryu Shin offered his glass. "Drink. This is a tribute from my beloved brother. It would be a waste for one such as I to consume it."
Valerio's face hardened. "Lucian, what is the meaning of this? It is impolite. A servant has no place drinking the family's wine."
"Truly?" Ryu Shin rose slowly, swirling the glass in his hand. "Or do you fear this servant will perish before he has the chance to clear the table?"
The Needle of Death
The atmosphere froze instantly. Don Marco ceased eating, his eyes darting sharply toward Valerio, then back to Lucian.
"Lucian," Marco's voice was heavy. "Do not cause a disturbance at the dinner table."
"I am not causing a disturbance, Father. I am performing a cleaning," Ryu Shin replied.
Suddenly, his hand moved with lightning speed. From beneath his suit sleeve, a small silver needle—molded from residual Qi and kitchen materials earlier that afternoon—shot forth.
Thwack!
The needle struck precisely at a nerve point in Giuseppe's neck. The servant did not scream, but his eyes bulged and his body stiffened instantly. Ryu Shin then gripped the servant's jaw and poured the entire contents of the wine glass down his throat.
"Cough—!"
Within five seconds, Giuseppe began to convulse. His skin turned a purplish-blue, and black blood started to flow from his nose before he collapsed to the floor, lifeless.
Dante leapt from his chair, nearly toppling his plate. "What is the meaning of this?!"
Ryu Shin looked at Valerio, who was now deathly pale. "Next time, Valerio, if you wish to kill me, use something more challenging. This poison... is far too bland for the palate of a Demon."
Ryu Shin then took a sealed bottle of mineral water, took a small sip, and sat back down as if there were no corpse beside him.
"Silvio, remove this trash," he ordered flatly.
Open Confrontation
Don Marco stared at Giuseppe's body, then at Valerio with suppressed fury. As a Patriarch, he did not object to sibling rivalry—he even encouraged it. However, being caught so disgracefully was a failure he could not tolerate.
"Valerio," Marco said coldly. "You have disappointed me."
"Father, I—"
"Silence!" Marco snapped. He turned to Ryu Shin. "And you, Lucian. You say you want Western Sicily. But that territory is besieged by rebel factions and the Rossi family. If you want it, take it yourself. I will not grant you my troops."
Ryu Shin wiped his mouth with a silk napkin. "I have no need for your sluggish Moretti soldiers, Father. Grant me permission to recruit my own men from the slums, and I shall deliver the head of the rebel leader to this table within a week."
The Capos present began to whisper. Western Sicily was a war zone. Sending Lucian there was tantamount to a death sentence.
"And if you fail?" Marco asked.
"Then I shall offer my own head," Ryu Shin replied without hesitation. "But if I succeed... I want full control over the Sicilian port logistics."
Marco smirked. It was an incredibly ambitious demand. "A deal is struck."
Night of Purging
After the banquet ended in chaos, Ryu Shin returned to his room. Silvio was already waiting with the requested reports.
"Young Master, I have obtained a list of the street factions unaffiliated with any major family," Silvio said, handing him a tablet. "There is one group of interest. They call themselves 'The Strays.' Led by a youth named Gino. They control information in the narrow alleys, but they are currently being hunted by corrupt police under Valerio's payroll."
"Gino..." Ryu Shin looked at a photo of a youth with a scar across his face. "He has the eyes of a wolf. Take me to see him tonight."
"But Young Master, your body has not fully recovered—"
"Silvio," Ryu Shin stood on the balcony, gazing at the distant lights of Palermo. "In your world, perhaps recovery takes time. But for me, every drop of blood spilled by that poison has been forged into a new foundation of Qi."
Ryu Shin leapt from the second-story balcony—a height that would have broken the legs of an ordinary man—yet he landed as light as a feather using the Cloud Step technique.
"Let us go. Tonight, we begin building a new Demonic Cult."
Meeting in the Slums
In an old warehouse at the docks, smelling of salt and oil, a group of youths armed with blades was cornered. They were surrounded by ten men in black uniforms—Valerio's private mercenaries.
"Gino, hand over the data and we'll make your death quick," one mercenary mocked, leveling an assault rifle.
Gino, wounded in the shoulder, spat on the ground. "Tell your master, that Moretti is nothing but a dog barking behind a high wall!"
"Then die."
Just as the mercenary was about to pull the trigger, a black shadow descended from the warehouse rafters.
SLASH!
A kitchen knife Ryu Shin had taken from the dinner table earlier shot forward, piercing the barrel of the rifle, causing it to backfire as it was fired.
"Who's there?!"
Ryu Shin emerged from the shadows. He carried no firearms. He only held a black umbrella he had taken from the mansion lobby.
"My name is Lucian Moretti," he said, his voice echoing in the silent warehouse. "And I am here to offer you a deal. Die as street rats, or live as the fangs of the Demon."
Valerio's mercenaries laughed. "Lucian? That cripple? You came here to deliver your own life?"
Two mercenaries rushed forward. Ryu Shin did not flinch. He merely swung his umbrella.
CRACK! CRACK!
With two light taps to their kneecaps and necks, the two large men collapsed with shattered bones. Ryu Shin's movements were supremely efficient, with no energy wasted.
"Ten seconds," Ryu Shin said, glancing at his watch. "If you are still here in ten seconds, I shall ensure your souls never reach hell."
Pure terror began to spread among the mercenaries. They looked into the youth's eyes—eyes that held not a single shred of humanity. They turned and fled as fast as their legs could carry them.
Ryu Shin turned to Gino, who remained stunned. He extended a pale hand.
"Rise, Gino. I have work for you."
Gino stared at the hand, then at the figure before him. He felt something he had never experienced from the upper class: respect born of absolute power.
"What do you desire, Sir?" Gino asked, shaking Ryu Shin's hand.
Ryu Shin smiled thinly. "I want you to be my eyes. And in exchange, I shall make you the ruler of the streets—such that even the police will not dare look you in the eye."
That night, in the cold warehouse, the first secret faction of the Heavenly Demon was officially formed.