The moment Damian stepped into the room, Seraphina could no longer contain the blazing rage inside her. In the blink of an eye, she smashed the wine bottle in her hand against the corner of the table. Grabbing the sharp shards, she lunged at Damian with the speed of a wildfire.
Seraphina: "Tonight, I'll finish you, cursed mafia!"
But Damian was no ordinary man. Before Seraphina could strike, he swiftly sidestepped. The room instantly filled with a thick haze, and for a brief moment, everything before her eyes went pitch black.
The next instant, Seraphina felt someone towering behind her like a mountain. Damian's strong hands gripped her neck from behind, his heated breath brushing against her skin, sending shivers down her spine.
Damian brought his face close to her ear. His voice was intoxicating yet menacingly grave:
Damian: "Such anger isn't good, my beloved. You wanted to strike me with these hands? The same hands that once playfully tugged my hair? Don't forget, you are my shadow."
Seraphina struggled, but Damian's grip was like iron chains. She couldn't move a single hair.
Seraphina: "Let me go! You're a demon, even more terrifying than the sorcerer Arias!"
Damian (chuckling slightly): "Arias trapped you in a cage, but I taught you to spread your wings. Remember that rainy night in Paris when you kissed the barrel of my gun? Back then, you didn't hate me like this. Why the drama today?"
Seraphina realized Damian sought to control her not through brute strength, but by stirring old memories and emotions. His touch sent a strange electric current through her body that she could not deny.
Suddenly, Damian released her neck and turned her to face him. His red eyes locked onto hers, glowing intensely.
Damian: "You were talking to that spirit Maya, weren't you? Didn't she tell you I came tonight to bring you back to my royal palace? Not for wine, but for the blood of the entire city to obey your command."
As Damian held her, the ghost Maya in the corner let out a tortured wail. She realized there was no place for a small spirit like her amidst these two superhuman forces. From Damian's body, dark smoke emerged, engulfing the room. Maya knew that when Damian reverted to his true mafia form, he could burn everything around him to ashes.
Maya (in a fearful voice): "I can't take it anymore! This darkness is consuming me. Seraphina, take care—your past is returning!"
With that, Maya vanished into the smoke, leaving the VIP room—and the club—forever. The room's temperature dropped even further. Now, it was only Damian and Seraphina.
Damian's ravenous intensity
Once Maya was gone, Damian wrapped his other arm around Seraphina's waist, pulling her even closer. The red glow in his eyes intensified.
Damian: "See? All those so-called friends and spirits ran away. Only I remain by your side, because I am your destiny."
Seraphina pressed her hand against his chest, trying to push him away, but the wine and cigarette intoxication coursing through her body had begun to take effect. Her head felt dizzy.
Seraphina: "Why did you drive Maya away? She was trying to help me."
Damian (smirking slightly): "Help? She wanted to take you away from me. But no one takes Damian's possession. Now tell me, Seraphina, alone in this dark room, will you wait for the return of that sorcerer, or will you return with me to that lost night in Paris?"
Seraphina noticed the broken wine bottle shards scattered on the floor. She was completely defenseless. Damian's hands trailed down to the very spot where Maya had bitten her.
When Damian pressed his teeth to the scar on her neck, the room fell into an eerie silence. That bite was not ordinary; it rekindled the mafia blood bond they had shared.
The awakening of the Dark Queen
The bite sent electric waves through Seraphina's body. The ordinary girl within her was instantly obliterated.
Eyes: Seraphina's eyes slowly turned a soft crimson. This red was not Arias's magical hue—it was the aura of the Dark Queen of Paris's underworld.
Memory surge: She remembered she had never been powerless. Damian had once given her half of his empire and personally trained her as the Dark Queen.
Damian's satisfaction
Damian withdrew his face, smiling with a vampiric satisfaction at Seraphina's crimson eyes. He knew that no matter how much Arias erased memories, the darkness embedded in her DNA could never be removed.
Damian (deep voice): "Remember everything? You were never Arias's puppet. You were my partner in destruction. These red eyes are your true identity, Seraphina."
Seraphina no longer pushed Damian away. Instead, she dug her nails into his shoulder. A cruel smile spread across her lips. She was no longer the timid 'Seraphina' Arias knew; she was now Damian's fearsome mafia partner.
Seraphina: "Arias thought he could change me. He tried to hide me under Maya's veil. But he forgot—you can't cover fire with ice forever."
She pulled Damian closer by the collar of his shirt. Her voice was icy, sharp, and commanding:
Seraphina: "Damian, I've returned. But not as your servant. I've come to reclaim my throne. Arias and Lily played their games with me, and I will settle the score myself."
Damian handed her a small golden pistol—the Dark Queen's old weapon.
As Damian thought he had regained control over her with a bite and an old weapon, a sly smile appeared at the corner of Seraphina's lips. She leaned against his shoulder affectionately, yet her faintly crimson eyes spoke a different truth.
Seraphina (thinking):
"Foolish Damian! You think a bite and the lure of an old weapon can trap me again in your darkness? You and Arias are the same—one tried to imprison me with magic, the other with power."
Seraphina examined the golden pistol carefully. She realized that inside her now flowed a deadly mixture of Arias's magical energy and Damian's mafia blood. She belonged neither to Arias nor Damian—she belonged solely to herself.
Seraphina gazed into Damian's eyes with a mesmerizing, commanding tone:
"Damian, you made me the Dark Queen. Then don't forget your first lesson—queens never serve anyone; they reign alone."
Damian flinched slightly. He saw a confidence and cunning in her eyes that he had never witnessed before.
Seraphina lightly pressed the pistol against Damian's chest.
Seraphina: "I will return to the palace. But not for you. I will show Lily and Arias that the girl they thought was weak is far deadlier than both of them combined. You may follow like a shadow, but heed this—do not try to rule me."
Seraphina kicked open the VIP room door and stepped out. She glanced at her reflection in the corridor mirror—her crimson eyes and blood-stained lips captivated her.
She headed straight to the palace, consumed only by her thirst for revenge. A mere wound on Lily would not satisfy her wrath. Since Lily was Arias's spy, she would be ensnared in her magical trap and face her ultimate reckoning.
Dramatic palace entrance
In the dead of night, Seraphina entered the palace through the main gate. Her black-and-red dress was caked with dust and blood. The guards recoiled in fear at her crimson eyes. She strode directly to Lily's room.
Lily sat in front of the mirror, examining the reddened cheek where Seraphina had slapped her. Suddenly, frost began forming on the mirror, revealing Seraphina's reflection.
Lily (screaming in terror): "Seraphina! Your eyes… why are they red? You've… returned?"
Magical trap
Without a word, Seraphina placed the golden pistol on the table. Then, using the dark power Damian had given her, she conjured a shadowy mist wall around the room.
Seraphina: "You were Arias's ears, weren't you, Lily? Everything I did, you reported? From now on, you speak nothing."
Lily's legs were immobilized, unable to move. Seraphina traced an invisible mark on Lily's forehead—the 'Prison of Memory.'
Seraphina: "In this trap, you will remain until every breath reminds you of the betrayal you dealt me. You may try to speak, but only sobs will escape your lips."
Lily tried to cry, but her voice was trapped by Seraphina's magic. She writhed in pain.
Arias's arrival
At that moment, Arias appeared at the door. Stunned at Seraphina's fearsome form, he saw the once gentle girl was now stronger than even Damian's darkness.
Arias: "Seraphina, stop! Where did you get this dark power? You'll kill Lily!"
Seraphina turned to Arias with mockery in her eyes:
Seraphina: "Your favorite spy gets a little gift. Weren't you asleep for three months? See how poisonous your palace has become in your absence."
As Arias stepped forward, Seraphina swirled her palm, releasing a black magical mist that engulfed him. He lost all his strength and collapsed into a deep deathlike slumber from which awakening was nearly impossible.
Seraphina then approached Lily slowly. Her crimson eyes now burned with cruelty. She lifted Lily by the chin.
Seraphina: "You tried to deceive the king with your beauty, didn't you? Your vanity… let's strip it bare."
Lily's ultimate humiliation
Seraphina's mafia-queen command rang out:
Seraphina: "Discard the illusions of your royal attire now, Lily! Strip off everything! Today, your very body will become your hell."
Trembling, Lily was forced to remove her clothes. She curled on the floor, helpless under Seraphina's magical command.
The two crimson-eyed guardians
At that moment, two tall, handsome men appeared at Seraphina's command. Dressed like Damian's mafia enforcers, their eyes mirrored Seraphina's crimson glow. These were not ordinary men—they were Damian's 'Shadow Warriors.'
Seraphina smiled cruelly at them:
Seraphina: "This girl is your prey. She gave the king too much information; now she will entertain you. But remember—she must not die. Her torment is her punishment."
Seraphina walked past Arias, sleeping under the dark spell, to the window. Outside, the moon glowed blood-red. She clicked the golden pistol, loading it.
Seraphina (thinking): "Players change, but the game is mine. Damian and Arias think I am under their control, but from tonight, I write the rules of this palace."
Ascending to the rooftop
Seraphina walked along the balcony to the rooftop. The cold night wind fueled her heated blood. From Lily's room below rose horrifying screams, as the two crimson-eyed Shadow Warriors tightened their grip. Lily faced the most terrifying fate of her life. Her screams echoed off the palace walls, but no one would save her.
The queen of the rooftop
Calmly, Seraphina drew the thick cigarette from her pocket. Lighting it with the blue flame of her lighter, she inhaled deeply and exhaled toward the sky. The curling smoke, illuminated by the blood-red moon, formed a mysterious web above.
Cruel smile: As Lily's ear-splitting cries grew, a wider smile spread across Seraphina's lips. She remembered—this was the same Lily who had betrayed her trust.
Absolute dominion
Leaning on the rooftop railing, Seraphina held a glowing cigarette in one hand, the golden pistol in the other.
Seraphina (muttering lowly, as smoke curled): "Scream, Lily… scream louder. Your cries are music to my ears tonight. Arias cannot save you, because he is trapped in the darkness I bestowed. And Damian? He himself pushed you into this hell."
The palace was now a mausoleum, silent except for Lily's anguished screams. The servants, terrified, locked themselves in their rooms. They realized the sweet girl Seraphina had once been was dead. In her place stood a merciless Dark Queen.
Seraphina flicked the ashes of her cigarette to the ground. She knew from this night onward, the history of the empire would change. She was no longer a girl surviving on anyone's mercy—she was now the undisputed mistress of this dark world.
Lily's screams gradually waned, her voice broken, body and soul shattered. A deathly silence settled over the lower floors of the palace.
Seraphina still stood on the balcony, cigarette smoke trailing into the night. At that moment, the soft crunch of footsteps sounded behind her. The two crimson-eyed, handsome Shadow Warriors had ascended to the rooftop.
The rooftop scene
The two men silently flanked Seraphina. Their muscular bodies and crimson-eyed intensity could intimidate any woman—but Seraphina stood unshaken.
Suddenly, one leaned close, pressing a deep kiss on the scar from the bite on her neck. The other moved over her shoulder, whispering near her ear with a hint of primal, vampiric intent. Their touch stirred the Dark Queen within Seraphina…Rani felt even more satisfied.
Seraphina dropped the last bit of her cigarette to the ground and crushed it under her foot. She closed her eyes, savoring the sensation, as if she were a goddess beyond the touch of this world.
Seraphina (in a very slow, cold voice): "The end…"
The Beginning of a New Era
Seraphina knew that Lily's chapter would end tonight. Arias was now in a deathlike slumber, and Lily was utterly finished. These two handsome devils, though once gifts from Damian, now lay at Seraphina's feet like loyal hounds.
She turned her gaze to the two men. Her red eyes now sparkled like rubies.
Seraphina: "Do not kill Lily. Let her live—so that every morning, she sees her reflection in the mirror and prays to die. And you? From now on, you are the guardians of my bedroom."
Straightening her black-and-red dress, Seraphina began to descend from the rooftop. Every step she took radiated regal authority. She knew Damian waited below for her, but tonight, she would bow to no one.