Bloodline Evolution: I Can Choose Opposing Paths-Chapter 20: The Night Sun City Fell

With a hand motion, spiritual pressure resounded across the gardens.

Guests were thrown off their feet before they could scream. Chairs and tables overturned as if swatted aside. Someone was lifted clean off the ground and hurled into a marble pillar hard enough to crack it.

Aren staggered, barely keeping his footing as the air itself seemed to compress.

Her sheer presence alone had caused such destruction.

Shadows pooled beneath Rinrin’s feet, spreading unnaturally fast, swallowing the nearby lantern light as if it had never existed in the first place.

Then, from the depths of her shadow...something crawled out.

Massive shapes forced its way through the shadow, claws scraping against stone as a demonic beast emerged, its body half-formed.

Then more came through.

The nearest guests were torn apart in seconds, screams cut short as bodies were crushed, dragged, or simply vanished beneath writhing black limbs. Blood sprayed across the fresh grass.

Panic erupted all at once, a wave of sound crashing over itself as the crowd finally understood.

Guards reacted as their Bloodlines flared to life, rushing to the beasts.

They didn’t last long.

One guard brought his weapon down—only for a shadow tendril to punch straight through his chest, lifting him off the ground before snapping him in half. Another tried to erect a barrier...it shattered instantly.

Aren felt his breath hitch as he took it in.

Master-tier. At least.

A shadow surged toward him.

Aren barely had time to register it, a massive shape tearing free from the darkness, jaws splitting open as it lunged straight through the chaos toward them.

"Lily—!"

Aren stepped in front of her without thinking, planting his foot hard against the stone. ether roared through his arm as he thrust his hand forward.

Water merged into azure scales as the gauntlet formed on his arms. But he knew the truth even as he did it.

An attack head-on would be a death sentence.

He moved in front of Lily, ready to face the consequences. The beast was just a few inches from his face when—

SWOOSH!

A blade of compressed wind tore through its body from the side. The demonic beast was severed in half instantly, its lower half collapsing into the ground.

Aren turned his head to the source.

"Move!"

A familiar voice barked from his left.

He turned just in time to see Captain Eric striding through the chaos. Wind coiled around his sword, as he struck down another demonic beast.

"If you want to live, follow me," Eric snapped.

Aren didn’t argue.

He grabbed Lily’s wrist and followed as Captain Eric carved a path toward the nearest exit, wind screaming ahead of them as the mansion continued to tear itself apart behind them.

They were almost clear of the garden when Aren saw it.

CEO Wells was walking calmly from the side.

Two figures flanked him, faces covered.

Just ahead, a helicopter waited just beyond the estate walls, as if it had been there all along.

Aren slowed for half a step.

Their eyes met.

Then Captain Eric grabbed Aren by the collar and yanked him forward.

"Eyes forward!" he barked. "You want to die here?"

The moment snapped apart.

Captain Eric didn’t slow.

He cut left through a shattered corridor, as he cleaved through another beast jumping out. Aren and Lily followed closely behind, running for their life.

The corridor ahead buckled under the weight of fleeing guests. A small hiss echoed behind them, something small, skittered above the ceiling.

The insect-like demonic beast jumped onto them, but Aren managed to turn in time to deliver a straight right into its chest. The demonic insect slammed into the corridor wall and detonated in a burst of acid.

Lily didn’t hesitate.

She slammed her palm to the ground, teeth clenched.

Vines erupted from between the cracked tiles, surging up the corridor to form a blockade. They twisted together, sealing the passage behind as more creatures slammed into them.

"Drop-off’s ahead!" Captain Eric barked.

They burst through the final doorway into open air.

The car drop-off zone was chaos.

Several vehicles lay abandoned, doors flung open, alarms blaring uselessly. They halted right an overturned transport, and took cover there.

"Stay here," he ordered. "Breathe."

Boots marched across the pavement.

A squad of soldiers emerged from the smoke, moving with coordination. Along with them, thankfully, was Luna.

"Captain!"

Lily flew in for a hug before the Captain straightened.

Eric turned sharply. "What’s the city status?"

The soldiers exchanged glances.

"...We don’t know, sir."

Before Captain Eric could respond, the ground shuddered.

A deep explosion tore through the night, close enough that the shockwave of glass and loose debris were sent toward their direction. A column of fire rose somewhere beyond the rooftops, briefly painting the sky in a violent orange.

Their fears were confirmed once the automated alarms started, and an announcement blasted overhead.

Attention all civilians. This is not a drill. Sun City is under attack. Proceed immediately to the nearest evacuation route or bunker.

Everyone stood there, staring at one another as the truth finally settled in.

"Shit..." Captain Eric muttered.

Aren’s phone vibrated.

He didn’t need to look to know who it was.

His fingers felt stiff as he pulled it out.

Dad: Son, are you safe? Please tell me you are.

Aren quickly responded.

Aren: Yes Dad, I’m safe, I’m with the military. Did you get to the bunker with Yue’er safely???

The next reply made his heart drop.

Dad: We couldn’t. We tried to get there quickly but these beasts were blocking the road. We’re trapped here at Central Hospital.

A location ping followed.

Aren’s chest tightened.

He must’ve made a face when Captain Eric turned.

"What is it?"

"My family," Aren said. His voice came out steadier than he felt. "They couldn’t reach the bunker. They’re trapped in a hospital nearby."

The Captain’s expression hardened. "Which one?"

Aren turned the screen toward him, the map still open. "Central Hospital. A few blocks south."

Eric stared at it for a second, jaw working.

"That area’s going to be bad," he said bluntly. "Hospitals draw people. And people draw monsters."

"I know," Aren replied.

Lily had gone very still beside him. "You’re going," she said. It wasn’t a question.

Aren nodded once. "I have to."

For a brief moment, Captain Eric said nothing. The alarms wailed overhead, the evacuation message looping again in a flat, automated voice.

"Damn it," he muttered. "Of all the places..."

He turned to everyone, yelling loudly.

"Alright! Listen to me carefully!"

Everyone nearby instinctively turned.

"We don’t have time to wait for central command," the Captain continued. "Sun City’s already compromised. We move now."

"Group One," Captain Eric said, turning to the soldiers directly behind him. "With me. We’re moving to secure the Fertile Core. That’s priority one."

"Group Two," he continued, turning to a tall man with a scar cutting down his cheek. "Lieutenant Leo, you’re taking your unit to coordinate with the local government. Find defensible ground and establish a safe haven. Somewhere civilians can run to."

Leo snapped a fist to his chest. "Understood."

Then the Captain’s gaze shifted to the woman standing just beside Lei.

"Abby."

She straightened immediately.

Captain Eric spared a look in Aren’s direction before issuing the command.

"Go with Aren to Central Hospital," he continued. "Civilians are trapped and there is a high chance of demonic beast presence."

Lieutenant Abby nodded once. "I’ll handle it."

A murmur rippled through the soldiers.

Leo frowned. "Captain, that’s just the two of them—and he’s still a beginner Mystic."

Eric didn’t look away from Aren.

"All hands help," he said flatly. "There are no reserves tonight."

He finally glanced at Leo, eyes sharp.

"Desperate situations create diamonds," the Captain continued. "And if Sun City survives this, it won’t be because we played it safe."

Abby stepped forward, already checking her weapon. "We’ll get it done."

Lily moved without hesitation, coming to Aren’s side.

"I’m coming too."

Aren turned. "Lily"

She cut him off. "Your family’s trapped. That makes this my problem."

Captain Eric watched the exchange for half a second, then nodded.

"Fine," he said. "Then Group Three is set."

Captain Eric turned as the last orders were given.

His gaze landed on Luna.

"For you," he said, voice firm, "this ends here."

Luna stiffened.

"Evacuation routes are opening," the Captain continued. "You’re to leave the city. Now."

"I’m not going," she said immediately.

Captain Eric frowned. "This isn’t a discussion."

"It is," Luna replied. She stepped forward, meeting his eyes head-on. "I can still fight."

"You’re a beginner Mystic," Eric said bluntly. "You don’t belong in this."

Neither did Aren. And they both knew it.

The thought crossed the Captain’s mind, and Luna saw it.

She didn’t let the opening close.

"You said desperate situations create diamonds," she continued, her voice steady. "Then let the pressure do its work."

For a long moment, the noise of the city filled the space between them.

Eric exhaled slowly.

"Damn it," he muttered.

He looked at her again, properly this time. Not as the Commander’s daughter, but an able-bodied Mystic.

"...Fine," he said at last. "But you listen to my every word."

Luna nodded placing a hand across her chest.

"Yes, sir."

Captain Eric turned away before she could say anything else.

"Move out."