Brooklyn, New York City, at night.
The streetlights cast pale circles of light—like floating will-o'-the-wisps. In the distance, a few lights flickered on in tall buildings, like the eyes of trapped animals blinking in the darkness.
The cold wind whipped newspapers and garbage bags across the ground, making a rustling sound, as if some creature were crawling through the shadows.
At this hour, the motorcycle bar—usually noisy and bustling—was now shrouded in suffocating silence.
Dozens of corpses lay scattered on the floor, their skin dark and shriveled, their faces twisted and hideous, as though life had been drained from them in an instant by some unseen force.
The dim wall lamps cast swaying light and shadows, making the entire bar resemble a palace in hell.
At the center of the carnage stood Blackheart, hands clasped behind his back. He wore a black priest's robe; his pale face was handsome yet cold, a faint smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
A low incantation spilled from his lips—obscure syllables coalescing into a solid black mist that hung in the air, carrying the stench of decay:
> "Veteris sanguinis vinculum, terrae, aquae, ventique spiritus,
> claustra vestra frango, oblivionis tenebris surgite…"
Boom…
The bar floor began to tremble. Glasses on the wine cabinet rattled.
> "NUNC SURGITE, ET TERRA, AQUA, VENTUS—SERVITE IN AETERNUM!"
As the spell concluded, Blackheart threw his arms wide, his voice rising sharply—like a blade slicing through the silence.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Glass bottles exploded one after another. Amber whiskey and blood-red wine pooled together, as if alive, winding across the floor like serpents.
At the same time, a massive fissure split open in the floor. Wet soil surged upward, mingling with the flowing wine.
A frigid whirlwind materialized from nowhere, whipping dust and shards of glass into a frenzied vortex that swirled around the bar.
The three elements—wine, soil, and wind—twisted and condensed, gradually forming three indistinct human shapes.
After a moment, the figures solidified.
The Earth Demon loomed like a mountain, his skin resembling cracked earth, eyes glowing with a dull yellow light.
The Water Demon had a fluid, ever-shifting body—liquid in form, with a face that never quite held shape.
And the Wind Demon… the most elusive of all—seemed woven from fog, flickering between solidity and dispersal.
Blackheart slowly opened his eyes. Scarlet pupils glowed in the dark. He bowed gracefully, his voice soft yet chilling:
> "Long time no see, my old friends."
The three demons regarded him warily. The Wind Demon spoke first, his voice a whistling gale:
> "Blackheart… You're the one who broke our seal?"
Blackheart smiled and gave a slight nod.
> "Of course it was me. It seems centuries of imprisonment haven't dulled your wits."
> "Then why release us?" the Earth Demon rumbled, his voice shaking the floorboards.
Blackheart adjusted his collar and cuffs with studied nonchalance.
> "I need you to find something for me—the San Venganza Contract."
The Wind Demon's form rippled uneasily.
> "The San Venganza Contract? The one said to have sealed away thousands of evil spirits? Isn't that your father Mephisto's property?"
Blackheart's gaze sharpened like a dagger. His voice turned icy.
> "Whatever I set my eyes on… is mine.
> The contract is hidden somewhere in a church cemetery in New York—but its exact location remains unknown.
> I require its power. And you… will find it for me. Understood?"
Hearing this, the Earth Demon folded his arms, snorted coldly, and said—his voice rumbling like distant thunder—as the earth trembled slightly beneath his feet:
"Why should we help you? New York is the domain of the Supreme Sorcerer! If he discovers our existence, you—the Demon Prince—might walk away unscathed, but we'll be the ones who die!"
Blackheart chuckled softly, pacing slowly, his voice dripping with seductive menace:
"Oh? So… you'd rather return to your seal and rot there forever? I have the power to break it—naturally, I also have the power to seal you back inside."
He raised his hand, his fingertips slicing through the air, and continued:
"Imagine this: once I claim the power of the thousands of evil spirits bound by the San Venganza Contract, what will a mere Supreme Sorcerer be worth?
"Humanity will prostrate itself at our feet—and you, alongside me, shall rule this world!"
Yet the Water Demon was not so easily swayed. Ripples coursed across his liquid form as he sneered, voice laced with sarcasm:
"Why should we obey you? You're just a Demon Prince—not a Lord of Hell! You have no right to command us!"
The moment those words left his mouth, the temperature in the bar plummeted.
Blackheart's smile never wavered. His gaze remained steady on the Water Demon as he lifted a single finger.
Crack—
Instantly, ice encased the soles of the Water Demon's feet, racing up his body at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Blackheart! What are you doing—?!"
The Water Demon roared in shock and fury, struggling to break free—but the frost had already reached his waist.
Bang—!
The ice exploded outward, shattering his form into countless crystalline fragments. Yet before the shards could scatter, he was forced to re-coalesce.
But before he could even draw breath, Blackheart flicked his finger again.
Crack!
This time, the ice erupted from within. The Water Demon's body froze solid from the inside out—then detonated once more.
"Stop! Blackheart—!"
The Earth Demon bellowed, the ground splitting beneath his feet as his stone fist hurtled toward the Blackheart Demon.
But Water Demon stepped in front of him and whispered urgently:
"Don't be reckless! We can't match him!"
The Blackheart Demon didn't even glance at the Earth Demon. His eyes remained fixed on the Water Demon—reforming, shattering, reforming again.
After this cycle repeated more than ten times, Blackheart gazed down at the trembling, half-liquid figure that could barely hold its shape and spoke in a voice as gentle as a lullaby:
"I'll give you one last chance… Obey me—or be frozen into nothingness for eternity."
The Water Demon collapsed onto the floor, his fluid body quivering with terror. Without hesitation, he bowed his head and stammered:
"I obey! I obey! Blackheart—no, my Lord! Lord of Hell!"
Blackheart nodded in satisfaction and lowered his hand. The ice vanished instantly, melting into mist. His voice drifted through the room like a whisper from the grave as he turned to the Earth and Wind Demons:
"Very good. Now then—Wind Demon, Earth Demon—do you have any objections?"
Both demons shook their heads immediately.
"No! We willingly submit to your command!"
Blackheart surveyed the three—Earth, Water, and Wind—and gave a slow, satisfied nod. With a wave of his hand, he said:
"I trust you. Now—go. Do what must be done."
The three demons exchanged glances, then vanished—transforming into their elemental essences and slipping silently out of the bar.
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