Chapter 49: The Devil’s awakening
The air in the tunnel was thick with sweat, dust, and danger.
Marcus Harper, the Atlans Mafia lord, walked in with the arrogance of a man who thought the world bowed at his feet.
He wasn’t alone. Five hefty men trailed behind him, their broad, tattooed chests glistening under the dim light.
One chewed lazily on a cigarette, smoke curling around his face. Another wore a bandana tied tight around his head, his dark eyes sharp with mischief.
The one with the bandana stepped forward. he was clearly the leader. His voice dripped with mockery as he looked straight at Luca’s eye ball.
"What do you want?" Luca’s tone was sharp, protective. His arm instinctively reached for Alessia, shielding her. "Don’t hurt them, Name your price please, but don’t touch them especially my Alessia, spare them and face me."
The leader smirked, flashing yellowed teeth.
"She’s the main target. And we don’t make promises about sparing anyone." He stepped closer, his heavy boots echoing on the damp ground. His gaze shifted toward Alessia, cold and hungry. "What did you do to her already, huh?"
Before Luca could move, one of the men smashed a broken bottle across his head.
The glass tore through his skin, leaving jagged cuts as blood streamed hot down his temple.
Alessia gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.
Luca didn’t fall. He didn’t even stagger. He closed his eyes, not in weakness, but in a silence that screamed louder than any roar.
And then, it happened.
Horns erupted from his skull, black and curling upward like something torn from the underworld.
His fingers stretched, growing longer, sharper, claws instead of flesh. His veins burned red, his eyes turned bloody, and his pupils ignited with fire. When he opened his mouth, it wasn’t one voice that came out. It was thousands, layered over each other, a symphony of thunder.
The tunnel shook. Stones rumbled loose from the ceiling.
The ground itself seemed to recoil from him.
The Atlans men froze in terror, their arrogance replaced by raw fear. "He.... he’s a devil," one stammered, stumbling backward.
The leader dropped his cigarette, his mouth hanging open. "The most feared heir... Luca Morano. We... we touched the wrong person"
"Run... Run for your life" another shouted.
They didn’t wait for orders. In seconds, the men were scrambling, their bravado gone.
Heavy footsteps echoed as they shoved each other toward the exit, desperate to escape the wrath of the devil himself.
Even Marcus Harper’s confidence cracked, his face pale as he stumbled after them.
But Alessia didn’t move. She stood frozen, trembling, her wide eyes fixed on Luca. For the first time, she saw what everyone else had whispered about in fear. Not just a mafia heir. Not just a man. But the devil himself.
"Luca..." Her voice broke and she stood up faintly.
He roared again, his voice shaking the very walls. The tunnel cracked further, rocks crashing down dangerously close.
"Please stop.... " Alessia cried, rushing forward despite the chaos. "We’ll be trapped in here forever if you don’t stop, you are destroying the tunnel already"
"They hurt you," Luca thundered, his voice a chorus of monsters.
His claws dug into the stone wall, carving through it like butter.
His body shook with rage, fire flickering in his eyes.
Alessia gripped his arm with both hands, her small figure pressing against his monstrous form.
She didn’t care that he was burning, that his body radiated the heat of hell itself.
"Don’t spill their blood," she pleaded, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Please, Luca. Spare them... For me."
His breathing was heavy, ragged.
The devil inside him raged for release, but her voice, the desperation in it, the love trembling through every word cut through the storm.
"Luca," she whispered, her forehead resting against his chest. "I love you. Please, come back to me."
The words pierced deeper than any blade.
Slowly, agonizingly, the horns began to retreat, sinking back into his skull.
His claws shrank into trembling fingers.
The fire in his eyes dimmed, fading into his stormy gray. The thousand voices quieted until only his hoarse breath remained.
His body sagged. His arms wrapped around Alessia, clinging to her like a drowning man clings to air. "Alessia... are you okay?" His voice was softer now, though broken.
But Alessia was already losing strength. The fear, the exhaustion, the shock it was too much.
Her body went limp, collapsing into his embrace.
"Alessia.... " His panic thundered through the collapsing tunnel.
From the corner, Bianca and the mafia princess Hikky were pale, trembling.
They hadn’t just seen Luca’s rage they had seen the monster behind it. The devil the mafia feared was real.
"Please help," Bianca whispered, too shaken to even look at him.
With a flick of his clawed hand now human again, Luca broke the cuffs chaining them. But instead of gratitude, they bolted, running as far as they could. Fear drove them. They didn’t want to be near him.
Luca didn’t care. All he cared about was the fragile body in his arms. Scooping Alessia up bridal-style, he staggered toward the collapsing exit. Rocks crashed behind him. He didn’t look back.
Just as he stepped out, the entire tunnel caved in with a deafening roar, swallowed by the river.
Outside, the night was cold, the air sharp in his lungs. Luca pulled out his phone with bloody fingers, his vision blurry. "Gerald," he rasped. "Bring the car. Bring other men to com wit you too... Now, meet us at the rock of ages... "
He slumped to the ground, sitting with Alessia on his lap.
His own blood poured from his head wound, mixing with the dirt. But he ignored the pain, his fingers brushing through her hair, whispering over and over, "Please stay with me... my love... Don’t die, don’t leave me Alessia,,, stay with me."
*****
In Virenkai
The moon hung like a blade over the palace of Virenkai.
Inside, Princess Elowen sat on the edge of her bed, wide awake.
She couldn’t breathe under her father’s watchful rule any longer.
The palace felt like a prison, and every second wasted here brought Donato closer to danger without her.
Her small bag was packed in few of her dresses, a dagger, some bread, and the mysterious parchment that whispered secrets to her when she was alone.
But guards were everywhere.... Too many.
Her pulse thundered in her ears as she crept through the dark hallways.
The guardhouse loomed ahead. With trembling fingers, she slipped inside.
Rows of uniforms and masks hung neatly, waiting for men far larger than her.
She grabbed one, slipping it over her slender frame, the mask covering half her face.
Heart pounding, she stepped back into the corridor.
Two guards stopped her instantly. "Nile? Where are you going?"
Panic clawed at her throat.
But she lowered her voice, mimicking the gruff tone she’d heard countless times. "The king asked me to dump it... by the gate." She kept her head bowed.
They exchanged looks, suspicion flickering. But then one shrugged. "Fine.... Go and be back on time"
Her knees trembled as she passed.
The moment she slipped through the gates, she tore off the mask and ran into the night. Her legs carried her far, her breath burning in her chest.
Behind her, the guards returned to their post, only to find Nile already standing there.
Confusion sparked, but they shook it off as a trick of the night.
*******
Three Days Later
Luca woke with a start. White walls.
A hospital room, The steady beep of machines.
His head throbbed, but his heart pounded louder.
He turned to his side empty.
There was no Alessia.
"Where’s my woman?" His voice was raw, frantic.
He tried to push himself up, ignoring the stabbing pain in his skull. "Where’s Alessia? And Donato?"
"Luca." His mother, Lauretta, rushed to him, pressing him back onto the bed.
Tears filled her eyes as she stroked his arm. "You’ve been unconscious for three good days."
His heart stopped. "Three days?" His voice shook with fury and fear. "Where is she? Where’s Alessia?"
Lauretta’s lips quivered. "We don’t know. When Gerald’s, fredo and other men found you, you were lying in your own blood. Alessia wasn’t with you."
"No..." Luca shook his head violently, trying to rise again. His vision spun, and he collapsed back onto the bed. "I carried her out. I had her. She was right there.... I held her in my arms. "
"Guards are still searching for her, " Lauretta said, her voice breaking. "Her mother hasn’t stopped weeping. Daisy is shattered. And me..." She burst into sobs. "My husband is gone. Donato is missing, chasing that cursed black book. And now you.... You nearly killed yourself. Must I lose all my sons? Must I bury you all?"
Luca’s throat tightened as his mother crumbled beside him.
*****
In another hospital, somewhere in another city.
Alessia stirred to the faint scent of antiseptic.
Her eyelids fluttered open.
The room was unfamiliar and not too bright, quiet, too polished. Not Luca’s world.
"You’re awake," a nurse’s voice said softly, relief in her tone. She adjusted the drip.
Alessia frowned. "Who are you? Where am I? What am I doing here?" Her head ached, her chest tight.
"You were found helpless, my love," the nurse soothed. "Some good samaritans rescued you."
The door opened. Two figures entered.
Lorenzo..... And beside him was seraphina.
Alessia’s heart jolted. Her eyes filled with tears of gratitude. "You... you saved me?"
Lorenzo gave her a soft, tender smile. "Of course we did."
Seraphina’s lips curled, her gaze sharp and unreadable.
What Alessia didn’t know was what the doctors had whispered before she woke, words that hung heavy in the room.
Her memory is fractured. Half of it already gone. And if it fails again... she may lose it forever.
Alessia smiled weakly at her rescuers, unaware of the storm and the same people are her greatest enemy....