Ascension of the Dark Seraph

Leandra remained in her spot.

Even when the portal disappeared, she didn't move an inch.

It was suddenly awkward for Zibbo, feeling that he wasn't supposed to be here anymore.

"I'm… gonna go."

He pointed back to the Bloodhaven Academy's main entrance.

Since Leandra didn't answer, he scurried away, wanting nothing more than to get out of that situation.

For the next five minutes, Leandra stood there motionlessly.

It was a serene night with barely any sound, only the sweeping air of the cool breeze dancing in the air, granting an atmosphere that could easily send tired souls to sleep. Leandra, however, has no time to go to bed.

Even if she had the time, she doesn't think she could sleep after talking to Lucivar.

"I need you, but I can't say it to your face." She muttered, barely above a whisper.

She recalled Lucivar's face earlier, before the portal was closed.

Just from how he looked at her, waiting, expecting her to say something, what was inside his mind was clear as day. He was correct about the world, about his way of life. Leandra knew that he wanted to hear her say it out loud, but she couldn't.

"You're right, but I don't… want to admit it."

She inhaled deeply and lifted up her head, only now realizing that she was standing by the street alone.

Looking around, she couldn't find Zibbo anywhere.

Realizing that he had already left, she sighed and reached for her pocket, taking out the rainbow-colored gem that Ravenna had handed to her earlier. Recalling how Ravenna looked as she handed it over, clearly, she wanted Leandra to have it.

"It must have something to do with what happened to her." She clutched the gem and headed back.

As opposed to heading back to check on Ravenna, she made a detour.

Leandra walked through the corridor with purpose.

"Elira and Thalia…" She mumbled under her breath. "Both of them can find out about this gem."

No matter what this gem was, it has something to do with what happened to Ravenna, and she needs to find out more about it. She has nothing inside the Sunhold City other than the academy, but asking for help from the academy sounded risky.

Instead, she's going to ask the Feradith Family for help.

Lucivar subdued them, so it should be fine.

She headed to the twins' room and knocked on the door.

It didn't take long before the door was opened, revealing a stunning beauty in pajamas—Thalia.

"What brings you here so late?" She raised a brow, a toothbrush in her mouth, recognizing Leandra as soon as she saw the unique, purple hair. "We were about to go to bed—so whatever it is, talk tomorrow morning."

Leandra reached out her hand and held the door before Thalia could close it.

"Hey! I'm not going to tolerate this."

"I need your help. Just this one time, please."

Hearing this, Thalia forced an exhale through her mouth as she couldn't believe this.

All she remembers was how smug Leandra was as she blocked her from getting close to Lucivar, calling herself his partner and all. So, Thalia couldn't believe that she has the audacity to ask for help forcefully like this.

"Are you serious? Do we even know each other aside from yo-"

"Let me handle it. Go brush your teeth."

Elira appeared from behind and pulled Thalia back into the room and pushed her into the bathroom.

She was making a commotion, and that's not good.

After what happened with Lucivar, both of them need to maintain the family's reputation.

And being known to be rowdy is not something they wanted right now.

Despite Thalia's complaint and struggle, Elira eventually managed to push her into the bathroom and closed the door on her. Then, she turned to Leandra and approached her, "What are you doing here? It must be important if you're this desperate."

"Yes," Leandra nodded quickly and took out the gem. "I need your help to find out what this is."

Elira looked at the gem, finding it peculiar and beautiful.

Then, she looked back at Leandra again.

"What's the deal with it? Can't you do it yourself?"

"I can't tell you how I got this or why I need to know about it, so I won't say. For your other question, I don't know anyone in the city, but your family is powerful. You must know someone who could help. Please."

Elira looked at Leandra, truly looking at her.

She was serious, and it shows.

But this prompted Elira to sneer, as this was unreasonable at all.

"Let me get this straight. You're asking me for help, but you can't tell me anything about it. Are you serious?"

"Yes… No," Leandra stammered, but then recalled something. Her expression turned cold and stern. "Lucivar was the one who asked me to ask you for help. Do you want me to tell him that you're not cooperating? Can you handle the consequences?"

Hearing this, Elira laughed, finding this hilarious.

"Do you think I was born yesterday?" She asked incredulously. "If Lucivar wanted something from us, he'd be here. Or if even he doesn't have the time to come here himself, he'd send his personal maid. I am sure you thought of yourself as something to him, but he never brought you up when he was with us. Take your gem somewhere else."

Elira stepped back and closed the door.

"It's not from Lucivar, but it affected Lucivar!"

Leandra's voice rang, stopping Elira from closing the door all the way.

"Someone close to Lucivar, I can't say who, might have a bad intention for him and the family. Lucivar is coming back as we speak," She continued, eyes now flaring with helplessness. "He's away, and I have not told him about this gem yet, but I'm sure he'd appreciate it if you can find out about it. Please…"

Hearing this, Elira sighed and stepped forward again.

She took the gem from Leandra's hand and inspected it carefully.

"It better not be a bomb to kill us," She commented. "I'll check it out."

"Thank you, thank you…" Leandra let out a breath that she had unconsciously been holding.

"Don't thank me. I'm not doing this for you." Elira clutched the gem. "I'm doing this for him."

Leandra nodded repeatedly.

She didn't care who Elira was doing it for as long as she could try to find out about the gem.

"How soon can you find out about it?"

"I don't know. I'll inform you again tomorrow."

Not even waiting for Leandra to answer, Elira closed the door on her.

Even so, Leandra was smiling.

"Good, at least we're going to have a clue about it, preferably before Lucivar arrives." She nodded and turned away, rushing back to Ravenna's room to check on her condition. "Don't worry, Ravenna… We are going to get to the bottom of this."

Oblivious to her, a creature could be seen hanging on a tree branch, looking at her from the window at the end of the corridor. Its blazing red eyes watched her back going further away until she disappeared around the corner, heading down the staircase.

For a second, the creature shrouded in darkness remained motionless.

It was everything that happened between Leandra and the twins.

Then, its eyes narrowed before it vanished, dissipating into darkness and swept by the wind.

Meanwhile, inside Ravenna's room.

Everyone was already gathered, along with Sabrina, who was keeping pressure on Ravenna's wound.

It was chaotic.

"Nothing at all?! I'm sure you saw something. Try thinking back again. Did you see someone? Or are there any creatures? Maybe there's a nearby dungeon break, and she got attacked by Crossers. Think back again!"

"For the fourth time, I'm telling you I didn't see anything. I found her on the street already like this."

"No, that can't fucking be. You're lying! You're hiding something!"

Mirel was frantically asking questions to Sabrina, wanting her to explain the situation clearly.

On the other hand, Bakar was pacing back and forth.

He was glancing at Ravenna, grunting in pain on the bed while biting his fingernail nervously.

"I… I think I want Lucivar to turn me into his Vestal or whatever." He blurted out.

Beads of cold sweat could be seen running down the side of his face.

Mirel's body tensed for a second before he slowly turned to Bakar, his face was a mixture of shock and betrayal. Knowing what Lucivar really was, it was natural for them to talk about this topic. But he and Bakar made a promise not to be swayed.

Regardless of Lucivar's strength, the God inside him is corruptive.

Compared to back then, Lucivar has changed a lot.

And that's proof of the corruption.

"Bakar… We talked about this. We can't." Mirel whispered in disbelief.

"Instead of Master Tobias, this must be the work of whoever attacked Leandra!" Bakar immediately retorted, feeling the weight of his choice settling in through Mirel's betrayed expression. "We're always going to be together. We're a family. So why can't we ask Lucivar for help?!"

"We've talked about this," Mirel said, standing up. "It's going to corrupt us."

"Everything has a price, man…" Bakar averted his gaze, his shoulders trembling. "I'm scared…"

Mirel placed both hands on his waist, nodding his head.

Considering that Leandra almost died, and now Ravenna was left in a state where she was in utter agony and couldn't even talk, it was not a surprise for Bakar to be scared. 'I don't blame him,' Mirel turned away and looked down at his hands—it was trembling. 'I'm scared too.'

It was extremely peaceful and smooth ever since becoming academy hunters.

Rough patches here and there, but never one like this.

Bob, the most reliable one was gone. The anchor of the family, Master Tobias, was suspicious. Ravenna, the one who always seemed playful but could solve problems were now bedridden. What was left of their family was them, who never took charge, and it was a mess.

'Is Lucivar our only chance?' Mirel clenched his fists.

Even though he wanted to do something, he didn't know what to do.

Everything seemed impossible in his mind.

"I'm back!"

Just then, Leandra came back in a rush, panting heavily.

"I brought things from the infirmary." She lifted a plastic bag that was filled with several things.

Not even wasting a second, she went to sit beside Ravenna.

Aside from the healing vials, the healer also handed her a small pouch of additional medicines after she mentioned that her friend had been bitten by something. Among them was a general antidote specifically meant to treat bites—something that, hopefully, would help Ravenna.

Both Mirel and Bakar looked at her as her hands moved quickly to help Ravenna.

Then, she turned towards them.

"I've already called Lucivar, and he's coming back as we speak. We can expect him to arrive tomorrow or the day after tomorrow," She said as she opened the plaster cap. "For now, both of you should go out and talk with Master Tobias. Find out his schedule."

Leandra took charge.

Someone has to, and until Lucivar gets back, she needs to be the one to do it.