Ascension of the Dark Seraph

Leandra told him everything.

She didn't hide a single detail, helping Lucivar understand the gravity of the situation.

Regardless of what happened with Sha and how she stimulated her bloodline enough to create a violet portal that reached Lucivar, who was miles and miles away, she explained the situation to him as clearly as possible in the hope that he would rush back.

Not only because the stake was high, but because of something deeper.

'The family needs him right now.' Leandra bit her lower lip, holding back her emotions. 'I need him…'

She thought that speaking with Mirel and Bakar helped her be certain that Master Tobias was a person with a big heart, that all of this was a misunderstanding. But Ravenna made her conviction waver again; she didn't know what to believe.

'And that's why Lucivar has to come back. I need him. I need him to help me see the truth.'

Leandra looked down as she waited for Lucivar to process everything.

All of her emotions were put into her explanation, and it drained her.

On the other hand, across the portal, Morriva nudged Nerissa with her elbow.

"Who is she? And who's this Master Tobias?"

"She's a family. And Master Tobias… He's like our father figure."

Morriva's mind froze for a moment when she realized Lucivar had a master.

'Does that mean this Tobias is my master's master? What does that make him? My grandmaster?'

Of course, she wanted to ask Lucivar.

But she wasn't insensitive enough not to feel the grim atmosphere around them.

"Are you sure Ravenna went to the mansion?" Nerissa asked, also denying the fact—that Master Tobias has something to do with Bob's disappearance. "Master Tobias… He's kind, caring, and never harmed us in any way. This must be a misunderstanding."

Leandra bit her lower lip as a tear drizzled down her face.

Just like her, Nerissa was also denying the fact, exactly as she did when she first heard the news.

Compared to her, Lucivar was completely stoic.

He didn't deny what he was hearing, even though inside, he was also biased toward Master Tobias.

'I've got my own suspicion on him; feeling that he was hiding something.' Lucivar swallowed harshly, pondering the possibilities. 'Even before this, I trust Ravenna wouldn't make an accusation without a reason. I believed her. This… This is proof that if anything, Master Tobias knows something about Bob's disappearance.'

'And worst-case scenario,' Lucivar's brows creased together. 'He's the one behind it.'

Lucivar raised his gaze and met Leandra's eyes.

She was looking at him in silence with the kind of look that he couldn't read through.

Tears already wet her cheeks at this point.

From the way she was looking at him, she seemed to have something more to say.

It rose from her heart, but got stuck in her throat.

Lucivar stood in silence, waiting—not because he didn't know what she was about to say, but because he wanted to hear her say it aloud. Her lips parted more than once, only to close again without a sound coming out.

'I need you.'

She wanted to say those words, but couldn't.

It was stuck in her mind, reluctant to come out.

Seconds slipped by, thick with tension, yet the words she struggled with never found their way out.

Eventually, she walked over toward the portal.

Her hand stretched out and pressed against the invisible barrier separating them.

"Come back." She uttered, barely above a whisper.

Just as she said that, the ether supporting the barrier flickered as it lost its momentum.

In the next second, the portal collapsed, enveloping the woods in darkness once again.

Lucivar's eyes lingered on the empty space.

'She didn't say it… even though she wanted to that badly?' Lucivar let out a faint chuckle, a bit bitter and quiet. He had braced himself to hear the words she wanted to say, but she was kind enough to keep them to herself. 'I know why you're contacting me like this. You blame me. For making Ravenna suspicious of Master Tobias… and more than that, for making you start doubting him too.'

Knowing how Leandra had always been, she certainly blamed him.

And now, she wanted him to take responsibility and make the problems go away.

"We should go back." Nerissa tugged his arm.

Lucivar snapped out of his daze, turned towards her, and nodded solemnly.

"We should."

"I'll prepare to leave immediately."

Not even waiting for him to answer, Nerissa rushed away, leaving him and Morriva behind.

Morriva approached him when her back disappeared into the woods.

"Sir Lucivar," She called whisperingly, worried. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay… No—I'm more than okay," Lucivar forced out a smile. "I think I learned something that might help me get stronger, so I'm stoked."

"But you don't look… stoked." Morriva watched him carefully.

Realizing that he was being weird, Lucivar shook his head and slapped his cheeks with both hands.

He can't be like this in front of the others, especially Morriva.

"Bring the cult closer to the Sunhold City. Fina and settle on a nearby slave city or something, but don't kill them like usual. Lay low. You're close to Sunhold City, and it would be problematic if you and the cult started murdering people blindly," Lucivar walked—and stopped right beside Morriva. "Can you control them? Can you do that?"

"Yes. I'm confident in my abilities." She bowed slightly, a flicker of fire in her eyes.

Lucivar smiled and nodded.

Even though it was brief, the training was bountiful for Morriva and Nerissa.

Gandr explained that Morriva, being an Ascendant-rank Vestal with a strong drive to serve, had easily absorbed Loki's power eagerly—greedily, even. Her devotion accelerated the connection, allowing her to establish a stable pathway to Loki.

Now, she could even sense faint traces of Loki's power directly flowing into her.

It was the same for Nerissa, if not better.

As a Dominion-rank Vestal with a powerful constitution, she easily connected to the Primordial Sea.

Like Morriva, she has established a pathway.

But more than Morriva, she already has a better stream within that pathway.

One could even see it through how aura containing faint divinity, close to obtaining another ability.

As for Lucivar, he had exhausted all of his Divine Merits.

He had gained a new ability from the Tidereplica Aqua Leech and had undergone a magical trial within the Labyrinth of Arcane Menagerie. It wasn't actually a trial, as Loki was too happy with his first-ever triumph against Sunna.

Instead, Lucivar only needed to harness his magical and mental strength to forge a mark.

A mark known to be the Arcane Triquetra.

Of course, Loki helped Lucivar in doing that, as it was a mark created by himself.

Meaning, it was a Godly mark that even Loki used.

Lucivar hadn't been fully formed yet despite the tutor, but it was already working.

Inside his Inner Chamber, there's already a glowing emerald three-pointed knot symbol hovering above.

The Arcane Triquetra would amplify all magic-related abilities or spells by fivefold if completed, and in its true form, he would gain magical foresight that was said to grant more abilities, but Loki didn't tell him what.

But then again, Lucivar wasn't complaining.

A fivefold boost is quite literally a God-like ability.

Unfortunately, since it wasn't completed, his magic was only increased by 20%.

Not as he expected, but not useless either.

Lucivar headed back to the cathedral, passing through the woods with steady steps, along with Morriva following right behind. He was silent all the way as his mind reeled with thoughts. One matter after the other filled his mind with relentless pressure.

Of course, Master Tobias was at the top of the list.

But what troubled him the most was something else entirely.

'I've reached a bottleneck in Divine Elevations, and the Divine Beasts offered no clear answers—only riddles wrapped in riddles.' Lucivar's brow furrowed as a dull ache pulsed behind his eyes. 'But talking about Master Tobias sparked a realization… Delilah.'

His guts told him that the bottleneck involved Seraphiel.

And to overcome her, he needed to devour her for good and unshackle himself from goodness.

It was the only way he could elevate further.

It was the only way he could become a Dark Seraph.

For the entire day, he was bothered by the way he could devour Seraphiel for good.

Overcoming the egg statue with the Gods' power is a plausible way, but it was too direct, and Lucivar could tell that it wouldn't work. Considering that the Inner Chamber was filled with the Gods' powers, the fact that the egg statue still remains meant it could withstand the pressure.

Lucivar needed to find another method.

And now, he realized one thing.

'Delilah has always been the one who kept me grounded, especially when it comes to the family. She was the tether that stopped me from going too far, from hurting those I shouldn't.' The thought troubled Lucivar greatly, like a weight attached to his heart. 'But now… could it be that it had now become my very own limitation? Do I have to let go of Delilah to ascend?'

He clenched his jaw, troubled by that possibility.

So much so that his ether was leaking as he walked through the woods, caught by Morriva.

Lucivar stopped abruptly and clenched both of his fists on his sides.

Then, his eyes fell toward the ground.

"But I don't want to…" His tone was filled with reluctance. "She's the one good thing in my life."

Even though his time with Delilah was brief, it was impactful for him.

He had been starved of love, and she became the unexpected wellspring that reminded him of a world he had long forgotten. She was the mother he never had after his fall, and the thought of forgetting her was something he couldn't bear.

And had it not been for her, his growth would've been painfully slow.

Lucivar recognized that and took it as the one good thing he got from her death.

No matter how much he grew, he wanted to always remember her.

Had it not been for that, he wouldn't have kept her phone with him at all times.

Soon enough, Lucivar reached back to his room.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and reached for the phone with a rose sticker inside the drawer.

Gently, he traced his thumb over the screen with emotion.

It had been fun throughout the way, becoming more adept at being evil and earning karma's favor.

Now, it had come to this.

"Forget her... or forget repaying karma for everything it's done to me. The answer is clear—but can I follow through?" Lucivar leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs, his eyes shadowed with doubt. "Am I strong enough to choose… and live with it?"

As he questioned his resolve, the rose sticker glowed.

However, he was oblivious to its glaze.