Azazel moved quietly past the first chamber.
The old pedestal still stood in the center of the room, where the Codex of Demon Hunters had first revealed itself to him weeks ago. Around it now lay dozens of opened books, strewn like fallen soldiers across the dusty stone floor.
He glanced down at a few titles.
"History of Demon-Hunting"
"How to Kill a Demon in 5 Steps"
"Encyclopedia of Evil Creatures – Revised Edition"
He'd studied them all. Pored over illustrations. Dog-eared pages. Added notes in the margins. Even memorized a few dialects and the proper angle to stab through a Wendigo's third rib.
His hand brushed a half-burned candle stub as he stepped past.
Everything felt familiar now. This place, once a vault of mystery, had become something close to home.
He reached the door to the second chamber, hand outstretched to pull it open—
—when something clicked in his head.
A jolt of instinct.
He froze.
Then slowly turned.
Back to the pedestal.
Back to the Codex.
He hadn't read it.
Not once.
Despite walking past it for nearly two months. Despite all the time spent here.
Why?
He didn't know.
It had always just… been there. Obvious. Intimidating. Regal.
It was as if his grandfather's spirit reached from beyond and gave him a swift slap to the back of the head.
"Idiot."
Azazel chuckled dryly.
He stepped forward.
The book was heavy, thick, ancient—and yet preserved perfectly, as if untouched by time. Its cover bore the Seal of Solomon, and in its center, the red cross of the Knights Templar.
It hummed faintly under his fingers.
He pulled it open.
The first page was blank.
Then, in etched red ink, a single sentence appeared:
"He who hunts demons must first know the darkness within himself."
Azazel stared.
His breath hitched slightly.
The words felt like a whisper straight into his bones.
Beneath it, more lines began to etch themselves onto the parchment.
"This Codex is sacred. Born in blood and kept in silence. Within these pages lie not just records, but truths: about demons, about hunters, about mankind's sins and strength. Read it not for power—but for understanding. Forget this, and you become what you swore to destroy."
Azazel swallowed.
And began to read.