Ascension of the Dark Seraph

Leandra looked down at the wooden floor, pupils trembling in shock.

She could hear her own heartbeat pounding her eardrums—as the realization struck her like a lightning strike. Five different divine energies meant that the items inside the chest were surely tied to Lucivar; it was blatantly clear that it involved Lucivar, since Ravenna even reacted this way.

No normal power could create the scene as Ravenna described.

It was naked to the normal eyes, but could be seen by special ones like Ravenna.

'I… I don't understand,' Leandra thought—as her mind pounded with questions. 'I thought the reason Master Tobias prepared all of this was to groom Lucivar—the way he wanted. Why is he making this? Killing Lucivar would be going against what he wanted, no? Or is this a failsafe?'

Just like they discussed earlier, the Ending Needle is most likely a weapon to kill Lucivar.

Or rather, the Dark Seraph.

Leandra could only guess that it must be a failsafe for when Lucivar went after him.

Since Master Tobias had been planning to do this for years, he must've also thought about how to deal with Lucivar in case the truth came to light. Creating the Ending Needle would guarantee him a weapon that could kill Lucivar for good.

'But he never used it,' Leandra covered her mouth as her mind swirled like a whirlwind.

Had that been the case, Master Tobias would've used the Ending Needle against Lucivar that night.

But he didn't.

And Lucivar never once mentioned him using a weapon like that.

'Or maybe he couldn't use it? No, that shouldn't be the case,' Leandra shook her head—finding that to be unlikely. 'He knew that we were going to confront him that night, so he must anticipate Lucivar going out of control. If he had it, he would've certainly brought it.'

Her thoughts were spiraling.

Leandra didn't know what to think anymore as nothing made sense.

"No, I can't be sure that it's the Ending Needle," She thought aloud, nodding her head firmly. "I'm sure there are other items written in the whole book, other than the Ending Needle. Yes… that must be the case. It's another item."

But the moment she uttered that, a ghastly whisper seeped into her right ear.

Instinctively, she turned to the right.

She looked around and found nobody was there, "Did I imagine it?"

Even though she swore that she heard a whisper, there was nobody there, so it must be her mind playing tricks on her. However, the thoughts she had suddenly blanked for a second, "Hmm? What am I thinking again? Odd… How did I go blank suddenly like this?"

Soon, her thoughts returned again.

Her eyes sparkled.

"But what if the items inside the chest were really the materials to create the Ending Needle? He must've brought it with him," She thought and bit her lower lip. "I can feel it. Someone is lying, and I'm positive that it's Lucivar."

As of this moment, the one who recounted what happened that night the most was Lucivar.

None of the others knew exactly what happened that night, at least the resolution part of it.

It was hard to determine whether he was telling the truth or not.

However, knowing how wicked Lucivar operated, masking his intentions behind multiple layers, there's a big chance that he was planning something that none of them knew. In fact, Leandra believed it deeply that he was planning something.

'He's not going to let go of a good opportunity like this, but what does he want?' She pondered. 'Even his shift in personality seemed to be too drastic. I wanted to believe that his feelings toward me are true, but I can't say for sure. Not with him.'

Leandra couldn't deny that her heart fluttered from that kiss.

And the honeyed words that came out of his mouth also made her glee like a little girl.

But that was only at the moment.

Now, without him looming over her, she believed that this was the clearest her mind could've been.

'Fix karma… He wanted to fix karma,' Leandra recounted the only true words that she believed, as the way Lucivar said it seemed absolutely genuine. 'I don't know how he can ever do that—but he's going to play by its rules first. He's going to amass as much bad karma as he can to get strong. Only when he's strong enough to be invincible to mortals would he make a move against karma.'

'So, what he wanted should be…' Leandra's brows dipped further and further—by the second, until eventually, they eased in a thunderous realization. A thought—that made her feel dread and fear, 'Does he want to kill us all?'

Gulp!

Leandra could feel a cold shiver running down her spine; her blood gradually turning into ice.

She came to realize that the only thing that was straining Lucivar to do whatever he wanted was the family. Even though it looked like he was unbothered by the family, in truth, the family influenced him subconsciously.

Compared to being alone, he was far from truly free, with their presence still binding him.

And the only way to be truly free was when the family was out of the picture.

'Is… is that why he's being nice to us all?' Leandra's face drained of color, her stomach sinking like a stone, 'Was all of this nothing more than a farewell gift before he slaughters us? Is that… Is that really what he was planning to do?'

As soon as she came to that realization, everything seemed to fall into place.

How Lucivar has been acting.

How Lucivar had been handling the family's affairs.

How Lucivar didn't seem to be interested in finding the book.

How Lucivar suggested a vacation.

'Even Nerissa was on it,' Leandra thought, smiling helplessly, 'He's really trying to kill us.'

Upon realizing this, Leandra chuckled helplessly.

She had only woken up from her coma, and in that small timeframe, Lucivar had already been preparing to dispatch all of them at once—presumably at the supposed vacation they were going to take. He took inspiration from Master Tobias' approach.

But instead of using the vacation to escape, he was planning to kill them instead.

'I can't believe Nerissa was willing to follow his orders. But then again, I can't blame her when she's essentially in his grasp,' Leandra blinked and focused on the moment again. She realized Ravenna was still locked in a trance.

Just seeing the devastating effect of divine materials was too much for her to handle.

Leandra extended her hand and covered her eyes.

Only then could Ravenna blink and deactivate her Predator Oculus ability.

"Let's get out of he—" Before Ravenna could finish her sentence, she paused—and frowned, noticing that Leandra was completely different from how she was minutes ago. It was like her life had been drained out of her. "Did something happen?"

"Lucivar is going to kill us..." Leandra stated with a monotone voice.

No emotions at all, only blankness as if she didn't care about anything more in life.

"What…?" Ravenna stammered, confused.

"You heard me… He's going to give us—a surprise vacation," Leandra explained, staring straight into Ravenna's confused, crimson eyes. "There, he's planning to kill us all. He's going to kill you, me, and Mirel. That's what he's going to do."

Upon saying that, Leandra turned around and headed downstairs, leaving the stunned Ravenna behind.

Slowly, she headed to the entrance—only the creaking sound of wood accompanied her hollow heart.

Her heart and mind throbbed with pain.

Leandra took one step at a time and headed towards the entrance.

But with each step she took, she changed.

Her eyes narrowed to a razor focus. Her ragged breath smoothed into steadiness. The pain dulled with each step, receding into the background—until only a mask of cold calmness remained. All her sorrow hardened into bricks, stacking one by one into a wall meant to shield her from everything.

It's like she was becoming a different person the closer she gets to the entrance.

'If he truly meant to kill us, then I have to take every word he spoke with a grain of salt. The Ending Needle… it must not be a divine weapon meant to kill him. That's what he—wanted me to believe,' Leandra stepped into the light, raising her hand. 'It's a weapon meant for him. He only said otherwise to lower my guard, to make me cling to false hope that such a weapon could exist.'

Leandra grasped the heavy wooden door and drew it open, stepping out into the world beyond.

As soon as she did, the moonlight assaulted her vision—forcing her to squint.

'Before all of this, I was planning to keep you attached to us, to the family. All this time, you treated us well because Delilah is important to you, and she didn't want any harm to befall us. But now that it has come to this, I thought you wouldn't care about us—again, so I'm planning to do anything to make you stay. But this… this proved otherwise.'

She raised her hand to block the moonlight as her eyes tried to adjust.

Ahead of her, there was a figure standing alone.

It was still blurry; somehow, the moonlight tonight was brighter than normal.

Even the cold wind was blowing harder, whistling against her ears.

'No matter what you said… No matter how you acted… In your own way, you have a soft spot for us, Lucivar,' Leandra fixed her gaze on the figure as the blur began to be washed away. 'Instead of killing us instantly, you decided to give us farewells, and that's going to be your downfall.'

Once her vision cleared, she finally saw him.

Lucivar stood at the heart of the courtyard, his back straight, shoulders squared, a figure carved in total defiance against the night. Above him, the heavens stretched wide, scattered with a thousand glittering stars that seemed almost dim beside him.

The wind swept, tugging at his hair until it fanned like black flame.

His bearing was indomitable, his aura vast and godlike, his very presence pressed down upon the space as though he alone commanded the world beneath the stars. Even at this moment, Leandra couldn't help but be in awe at his growth.

But there was no more warmth in her feelings toward him.

'You said karma was broken, that it favored the bad. In that case, showing us farewells… it accumulated good karma for you,' Leandra's eyes blazed with conviction. 'Like Master Tobias, you will also fall for making a mistake.'

At that moment, Lucivar felt it—the stare. The change in the air. The presence at his back.

Slowly, he tilted his head, his gaze cutting over his shoulder.

Leandra stood there, watching him—her stare unblinking.

For a heartbeat, the night seemed to hold its breath.

He turned fully to face her, each movement unhurried, purposeful, as though he had all the time in the world. When at last his eyes locked on hers, his lips curled into a smile—calm, chilling, and flawless, one that was so disarming, so blasphemously confident, it seemed enough to shame even the angels above.

'Say, Lucivar…' Leandra thought inside. 'If you wanted to kill us, then are you also ready to be killed yourself?'