Ascension of the Dark Seraph

Mirel was the only one who knew what really happened that night.

If someone could confirm whether Master Tobias used the Ending Needle or not, he was the only one who could. Even though Leandra was about eighty percent sure that Master Tobias used the weapon, it would be more assuring if someone else could confirm it.

Only then could she free herself from the guilt of planning against Lucivar.

Upon arriving at Mirel's room, Leandra steadied her breath and reached for the doorknob.

But Ravenna caught her hand.

"Are you sure we're going to do this?" Ravenna asked, her expression serious and stern. "Mirel might not be trustworthy. I don't know about you, but yesterday, I saw Lucivar and Mirel talking a lot. He could already be manipulated."

Leandra's body tensed when she heard that.

She also remembered that Mirel and Lucivar had been talking without them being present.

It could be another failsafe that Lucivar planted to make sure they would be blindsided.

"No… Not a chance, right?" Leandra uttered helplessly, meeting Ravenna's unwavering gaze. "Out of all of us, Mirel is the only one actively going against Lucivar's method. I don't think he would ever be influenced to go against the family."

"Are you sure?" Ravenna repeated. "You've been the one present throughout all of this—so I'm going to trust your decision."

Such a big decision made Leandra look down at the floor.

She deliberated whether Mirel could be trusted or not, and eventually nodded with conviction.

"I'm sure he's on our side. Out of everyone, he alone I can gamble my trust on." Leandra said.

Ravenna pulled her hand away since Leandra had already made up her mind.

Just when she was about to reach for the doorknob again, her hand froze when the door swung open.

Mirel stood before them with a calm gaze.

He didn't seem to be surprised to find them outside his door; in fact, he seemed to be anticipating them to come. Leandra met his gaze and noticed that his eyes were puffy, like he had been crying for multiple days straight.

So much so that anyone who saw him from across the corridor could notice his puffy eyes.

"Mirel…" Leandra stammered, but quickly cleared her throat. "How are you doing?"

Instead of going straight to business, she decided to ease into it.

Seeing that Mirel didn't look fine, it was the least she could do.

"Oh, Leandra, you're already awake?" Mirel rubbed his eyes and moved out of the way. "Come in."

He didn't question their visit and let them inside without a second thought.

Just like Leandra anticipated, the room was a mess as plates of food littered the table, the bed wasn't made, the furniture was a mess, and there was a crack on the wall. She didn't even need to ask Mirel to know what happened here and what he had been doing.

"I'm sorry about the mess." Mirel walked past them and tidied up the best he could. "I'm also sorry that I didn't come see you sooner, Leandra. I should've."

"Don't mention it," Leandra waved her hand. "I'm fine, and that's all that matters."

Ravenna stepped forward and held Mirel's shoulder, "Are you… Fine?"

"Eh?" Mirel paused for a second, and in that fleeting moment, his eyes turned glassy again, but he made sure to collect himself before a tear could drop. "I'm completely fine—well, not fine. I'm still… a mess, as you can see. But I'm feeling better now."

Mirel gestured for them to sit on the sofa that he had already tidied up.

As the two sat on the sofa, he sat across from them on the bed.

"So, what's up?" He asked, rubbing his eyes to focus. "In case you didn't know, it's quite late."

"Ah… I think it can wait."

Seeing the condition Mirel was in—Leandra doesn't have the heart to ask him what she needed to ask, especially recalling that he had been recounting that night countless times to the Hybrid Association. It was already too much for him to handle, clearly.

"No, it cannot wait," Ravenna intervened. "If it's really as you said, then it cannot wait."

Upon hearing this, Leandra pursed her lips.

Right now, there was a potential of them going against Lucivar—and that alone warranted them to use every single waking hour to plan meticulously to sabotage his goal. Treating it less than that would be a guaranteed death for them.

Lucivar is that terrifying.

"Just tell me what's going on," Mirel urged, clasping his hands together. "I can handle it."

Eventually, Leandra sighed, "Lucivar is planning to kill us."

Mirel blinked his eyes as if he didn't hear what Leandra said, but then, his eyes widened completely as he leaned away as if the news physically struck him. He looked at Leandra and then to Ravenna—neither seemed to be playing around.

Since the cat was already out of the bag, Leandra told Mirel everything that she told Ravenna.

Starting from how Lucivar acted weirdly good to them, how he was handling—the family's affairs, all the way to the Ending Needle. She didn't leave a single detail, trusting Mirel with everything that she knew about the situation.

"I become more certain before," Leandra clenched her fists harder, digging her nails into her palms. "It was now down to the last target until he handled our affairs—and Nerissa reacted strongly to that. I can say for sure that Lucivar was indeed trying to kill us."

Even though Nerissa was on Lucivar's side, having him kill them should still be hard for them.

Before all of this, she was such a softie, so there was no way she was going to be completely fine.

Leandra guessed that once the last target was down, the vacation date would be settled, and the time for them to die would come. Nerissa reacted strongly earlier because she still doesn't want to say goodbye, at least not yet.

But she has to since Lucivar was about to finish.

"L-Last target?" Mirel repeated through a choked throat.

Instead of answering, Leandra and Ravenna slowly turn to look at him with clear shock.

Both of them looked at Mirel for a good moment, and then their expressions turned grim.

Brak!

Ravenna shoved the table aside roughly, throwing it against the wall, and cutting the space between them in an instant. Her clawed hand was now gripping Mirel's throat, and her eyes glowed crimson, ready to kill Mirel on the spot.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Mirel raised his hands. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

Instead of Ravenna, Leandra answered, "Why does it matter for it to be his last target…? Did you know something that we don't, Mirel? Your reaction is suspiciously similar to that of Nerissa's reaction. Are you… on his side?"

As she said that, Ravenna dug her fingers deeper, drawing blood already.

Her eyes glared at Leandra, "See? He can't be trusted! Lucivar already got to him!"

"Wait a damn minute! What do you mean Lucivar got to me?!" Mirel yelped—both hands still raised in a surrendering gesture. "I went to a bar with him yesterday and talked about the future. There, he… he also mentioned to me that he's going to give the family a surprise gift after he dealt with the last target. That's why I reacted that way, nothing more!"

Upon hearing this, Leandra narrowed her gaze, studying Mirel's face closely.

She doesn't feel like he was lying, and it also didn't seem like he had any bad intentions towards them.

Compared to them, Mirel's moral compass was the straightest, so he must really be telling the truth.

Not to mention, his excuse is also logical since Lucivar was going to give the family a surprise vacation.

"Let go of him," She said assuringly. "He's telling the truth."

Ravenna pulled her hand away and sat back down, "I'm sorry, Mirel, but I'm sure you understand."

"Yes…" Mirel rubbed his neck, coughing a couple of times. "Yes, I understand. But are you really sure that Lucivar wanted to kill us? Have you checked your facts? He's a complicated—and bad person, but he has never had any intention to harm us."

"Yes, I'm sure." Leandra nodded.

"So, what do you want from me?"

"I want to know if you remember anything more from that night; specifically, I want to know whether you saw Master Tobias handing a weird weapon that looked like this."

Ravenna placed the torn page on the table and turned it to give Mirel a better look.

Upon seeing the page, Mirel leaned forward and looked at the image of what was supposed to be the Ending Needle, the weapon Leandra was talking about. He thought for a moment, recalling what happened that eventful night.

Then, his eyes sparkled.

Leandra and Ravenna leaned forward expectantly, hoping that he might remember something.

"It was hazy…" Mirel started, looking down to really picture that night. "I lost a lot of blood from my injuries, so it's hard to remember what exactly happened. But I remember when Lucivar dragged Master Tobias' body towards me, he came back to life if even for a moment. And in a split second, I saw Master Tobias thrusting something at Lucivar. It's glistening, and small, so it could be this thing…"

"Hold on," Leandra raised a hand and tilted her head. "Lucivar dragged Master Tobias to you?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"Why would he do that?"

"For me to kill Master Tobias. I'm the one who killed him."

Upon hearing this, Leandra and Ravenna leaned away, surprised by the news.

Both of them were under the impression that Lucivar was the one who killed Master Tobias, not Mirel.

None of them could fathom why Lucivar would give the honor to him.

"Did he say why?" Leandra snapped out of her shock and asked.

"Master Tobias has two bodies that night, and Lucivar already killed the other body along with Vanessa. So, he decided to give me the closure of killing Master Tobias' original body on behalf of the family," Mirel answered smoothly without a pause. "Technically, it's me who killed Master Tobias since I struck the last blow on his original body."

Leandra and Ravenna exchanged looks, surprised by this odd generosity coming from Lucivar.

It was uncharacteristic of him, but that might be when he started plotting to kill the family.

Now that they were in possession of a clearer picture, Leandra and Ravenna stood up abruptly.

"Thanks for staying on our side, Mirel. Let's meet up again tomorrow after we cool our heads," Leandra said, heading towards the door. "We're going to plan on returning Lucivar the favor. We aren't going to be the ones sacrificed, so be ready."

Both of them said their goodnights and headed back to their rooms.

Mirel closed the door on them and stood there like a statue.

He looked down at his trembling hands, seemingly nervous about something.

"The time came too soon," He uttered whisperingly. "I… I don't know if I can do this, Lucivar. I don't know if I'm ready."