Azazel stood frozen.His eyes blazed with confusion and rage.Gaius’s body twitched once on the marble… then went still.Azazel took a step forward, his voice breaking with fury:“What… did you just do?”Adrian didn’t blink.Didn’t flinch.Didn’t show a single drop of fear.“He offended me,” Adrian said calmly, as if stating the weather.“And you refused to apologize on his behalf.”He dusted his hands.“So he had to go.”Gasps tore through the crowd.“Is this man insane?!”“He killed Azazel’s second-in-command??”“Oh God—someone stop this.”Azazel snapped.His aura detonated outward like an explosion.CRACK—CRACK—CRACKThe decorative windows nearby shattered under the pressure.His hand flew to the hilt of his true blade.The blackened sword was covered in burning red runes.“You dare kill my right hand?” Azazel roared.His voice shook the entire plaza.“You DARE?!”The mercenaries scattered back instinctively, terrified to be caught in the blast radius.The crowd had now fully forme

A wave of sound ripped through the plaza.Some gasped in shock while some burst out in laughter.Some faces lit up with cruel excitement.“Finally! This boy will die a disgraced death!”“He dared the Shadow Duel? Madness!”Others shouted warnings, fear sharp in their voices.“Do you even know who Azazel’s shadow is?!”“That thing doesn’t just kill!”“It traps the souls of those it slays!”“Your soul will be chained to him forever!”“You’ll be tortured for eternity!”A robed elder stepped forward, voice shaking.“Kneel, boy! Apologize now while you still have a soul to save!”“Beg Azazel for mercy!”The pressure in the air became unbearable.Even the Don… for the first time… hesitated.Don Ventresca took a step forward, his grip tightening around his cane.His eyes flicked to Adrian.His eyes were filled with real concern.This was no street fight.This was not politics.This was death.He opened his mouth to speak.“Azazel,” the Don began, his voice lower, careful. “The duel...”But b

Valentina watched with clenched fists.Azazel leaned back confidently, amused by Adrian's display.Whatever charm Don gave him he was still no match for his shadow.The drums grew louder and faster.Boom. Boom. Boom.The two shadows began to circle each other.Morrgain’s presence felt wrong.Like a stain in the air.Every step he took bent the light around him.The torches flickered violently.Then the drums stopped.The duel had begun.Morrgain vanished instantly.One moment he was there and the next... nothing.Gasps erupted from the crowd.“Where did he go?!”“He disappeared!”“I can’t see him—!”Panic spread like wildfire.Even trained mercenaries tensed, hating and their hands on their aponses, their eyes darting uselessly.Azazel smirked.This was it.This was the moment Morrgain always ended fights.The moment prey realized they were already dead.He glanced at Adrian, expecting him to panic or show signs of fear, but he didn't.He did not even look up to guess where he was.In

Morrgain tried to rise.His fingers dug into the shattered marble, trembling violently as he forced his body to move. Shadow leaked from the cracks in his armor.He pushed, but his arm gave out.He collapsed again with a dull, broken sound.A low, helpless growl escaped his chest.He was finished.The courtyard remained frozen.No one spoke.No one even dared to breathe too loudly.They had all felt it.That red surge.That overwhelming presence.It was not just power but absolute power.Dragon energy.Many of the elders went pale. Some staggered back as if their legs could no longer hold them. Others stared at Adrian as though seeing him for the first time.Whispers spread, trembling and awed.“That aura…”“No… it can’t be…”“Dragon flame…”“There is only one who can wield that without being consumed…”A man dropped to his knees suddenly, his forehead slamming into the marble.“A Dragon Heir,” he cried out, his voice breaking. “A true heir!”The sound echoed.Then another fell.And a

The reaction was like a bucket of ice water being thrown over the crowd.The silence changed. It was no longer the silence of respect but doubt.A murmur began at the back. It spread like a virus.“He’s right…” An elder whispered, standing up and dusting off his expensive robes. “Why would a true Dragon Heir stoop so low?”“It doesn’t make sense,” another hissed, his face reddening with shame at having bowed. “Why would a King of the Heavens act as a ‘Shadow’ for a Mafia Lord? A man with that kind of power would be ruling empires, not guarding someone else!”“A fake!” someone shouted from the crowd.“A thief!”The respect vanished in an instant. It was replaced by a wave of disdain so thick it was suffocating. The elders and warlords who had just been crying for mercy now looked at Adrian as if he were dirt beneath their boots. They felt like fools. They felt cheated.“He harnessed the blade,” a spiritual leader muttered, shaking his head in disgust. “A clever trick. He used the Drag