Ascension of the Dark Seraph

Ravenna is not going to believe it until she sees a body with her own two eyes.

She didn't know Lucivar's process of thinking as well as Leandra did, but she knew how he operated, and this doesn't fit his normal move at all. Across the time she spent with him, never once did Lucivar show a suicidal trait.

In fact, he was the opposite—he was a survivor, with great ambition, too.

No chance that he'd thrown it all away.

"He must still be alive…" She whispered faintly.

One might think that she was telling it to Leandra, to give strength, but it was the opposite.

She was assuring herself more than trying to assure Leandra with that whisper.

Quickly, impatiently, she grabbed Leandra by her collar and carried her with one hand—someone of her strength will not have a problem lifting thousands of kilograms with one hand, even in this condition, so carrying Leandra is not a problem.

No time to waste.

Ravenna could wait a second longer and wait for Leandra to snap out of her daze.

At this moment, she has to rush back to the academy.

But it wasn't that easy.

Tap!

Ravenna halted abruptly when she saw Mirel standing on the way.

He stood between her and the front door with a resolute face, channeling his ether in preparation.

"What are you doing?" Ravenna's eyes narrowed, her heart hammered inside her chest as anger surged through her veins. But seeing his resolute face—and his aura flaring, it was clear what he was trying to do here, "Get out of the way!"

"Like I said…" Mirel looked at her strongly. "Lucivar told me what his plan was, and that's not without a reason. I'm sure you can already tell by now… I'm not here to spectate or be the bearer of bad news. I can't let you leave, Ravenna, at least not now."

Almost instantly, the aura of a Crimson Rakshasa flared across her body like liquid scarlet.

She also instinctively activated her Predator Oculus ability, sharpening her physique, bloodlust, as well as her senses. Unlike earlier, she stared at Mirel with a heavy gaze, "Move out of the way, Mirel. I'm really not playing around."

"Come at me if you dare, but I'm not moving," Mirel answered as he reached his hand out.

Blitz!

His lightning weapon emerged again.

But this time, Ravenna's eyes narrowed when Mirel took out a glove and wore it on his right hand.,

Just from a quick glance, it was obvious that the glove was not simple.

'It produced energy like a living person, what is that?' She frowned. 'When did he get that?'

"Lucivar gave it to me as a parting gift," Mirel answered—as if he could read Ravenna's mind. "It's a living armor that would grow stronger alongside its wearer. It can amplify my abilities threefold. He gave it as a parting gift, but that's not the only purpose it served."

BLITZ!

As soon as he wore the glove properly, the yellow lightning's nature changed.

It became more rampant and destructive, cracking the walls around him.

"He also gave it to me so that I can hold you back long enough," Mirel added as he went into his stance.

Seeing this, Ravenna gritted her teeth and roared.

"MIREL!!"

Swoosh!

…

Moments later, the Bloodhaven Academy.

It was a calming Saturday night for the students who went out and had fun with their friends, bantering gossip, or even doing activities that would take their minds off the stress from being a Hybrid—the world's pillars against the Crossers.

Now that the academy had risen in ranks, the Supreme House had also allocated more resources.

For the students of the Bloodhaven Academy, it was a prosperous period.

But not all people within the academy's space were in the same mood.

Near the main gate, the sound of screeching tires echoed across the street as a car stopped hard before the gate. Seeing this, the security guards stood up and checked on the car, fearing that the person inside might've been hurt or even drunk.

As soon as the door was opened, a figure crawled out.

Ravenna stepped out and leaned on the car, wounds marring across her body as she could barely stand.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Look at your wounds! You should go to the hospital. Come on, let us help you."

One look is all it takes for the security guards to know exactly who she is.

Lucivar was famous across the academy, and naturally, the same goes for the people around him.

"I don't need your help!" Ravenna slapped their hands away as she limped her way to the other door, and took Leandra out under the driver's and the security guards' worried gazes. "Just leave us alone. It is a personal matter."

Ravenna slipped Leandra's arm over her shoulder and guided her through the academy's gates.

Both of them made slow, but steady steps towards the student dormitory.

Naturally, Ravenna and Mirel fought fiercely.

In addition to the glove Lucivar had given him as a parting gift, Mirel—normally among the weakest of their group in terms of combat prowess alongside Bakar and Nerissa—pushed her to her limits. The glove made him far stronger than usual, and the only reason she'd managed to reach this point was due the timer had finally run out.

Mirel seemed to be instructed to hold her and Leandra for a few hours after the text from Sabrina.

It was a sign that everything had gone through seamlessly.

Nothing Leandra and Ravenna could do to rewind what had happened.

Even until the end, Leandra hadn't snapped out of her daze, still stuck in a limbo of anguish.

But Ravenna needed to bring her, as she's the only one whom Sabrina said knew where Lucivar might be.

Or where his corpse might be.

And unlike them who refused to believe reality until they see it with their own two eyes, Mirel stayed behind in the resort, deciding to seclude himself alone. It's not that he didn't want to check, but he didn't know if he was able to do it.

"Come on, Leandra," Ravenna breathed heavily. "We're almost there."

Deciding to take the more desolate street, the two made their way to the student dormitory.

Upon arriving, they didn't waste any time and rushed to Lucivar's room.

Students looked at them in worry, some even tried to help them, but Ravenna either refused or did not answer—focusing solely on reaching Lucivar's room. Reaching the floor was hazardous. Ravenna stumbled multiple times and fell from losing the strength in her legs.

It was a pitiful sight, but none of the students dared to help them.

None of them reached for the professors, too, since that would only create more trouble for Ravenna and Leandra.

At this moment, the students were powerless.

"Just a little bit more…" Ravenna panted, her eyes were half-open from exhaustion, and her skin was pale from the loss of blood. But she didn't care. She took this as penance for her mistake and for what she did. "Just a little bit more…"

Confused, but also unwilling to only watch, some students went ahead to help.

Judging from where Ravenna was moving to, it was clear that she was heading to Lucivar's room.

Knowing that, the student went around Ravenna and Leandra and opened Lucivar's room.

Brak!

Realizing that it was locked, he wasted no time in kicking it down with a kick.

He and a few students stepped inside and looked around, only to find that it was completely empty.

No sign of Lucivar, and there was also no sign of his personal maid.

It was also at the same time, Ravenna and Leandra stumbled inside the room and looked around, only to find the same thing. Lucivar was nowhere to be seen. Eventually, due to exhaustion, the two of them lay there on the carpeted ground.

"Go grab a few vials!" One of the students shouted. "And ask Kalvin to find Lucivar!"

Hearing this, several students immediately sprinted back down to the lobby.

A few minutes later, the students came back with a few green vials and handed them over.

At this point, Ravenna and Leandra sat against the wall.

Ravenna was breathing heavily in pain while Leandra stared down at the ground, her gaze blank.

Readily, the students helped them drink the vials, and also coordinated to search for Lucivar—without telling the academy about it. Soon, about an hour later, Elira, who was sitting on the sofa in wait, noticed Leandra finally moving.

"Oh, you're up?" She commented.

Upon hearing this, Thalia stood up to see, "She's finally up. Hey, what happened to both of you?"

Leandra blinked against the haze clouding her thoughts, her mind struggling to cut through the heavy fog that muddled her senses. As her vision sharpened, she glanced around, trying to piece together her surroundings. Catching sight of Elira and Thalia watching her closely—she forced her dry lips to form the words, "Where… am I?"

Her voice was hoarse from the screaming, but Elira and Thalia could still understand.

"You're in the dorm."

"I saw you and the others leaving this morning. What happened?"

"Dorm…?"

Hearing that word, Leandra looked down again as her mind fired synapses that made her remember.

"Lucivar…" She blinked, and her eyes widened completely. "Lucivar?!"

Almost instantly, Leandra stood up and looked around, only to realize that she was in Lucivar's room, but there was no sign of him. She turned to the twin again and grabbed Elira by her shoulders, "Where is Lucivar? Do you know where he is? Bring me to him!"

"Let go…" Elira tried to push her hand away, but she couldn't. "I don't know where Lucivar is."

"But Ravenna told us earlier to ask you where Lucivar is," Thalia added from behind, looking at Leandra with curiosity as the two seemed to have been through hell and back. "She said you knew where Lucivar was. So, where is he…?"

"I know where he is?" Leandra frowned and paused.

Only then did she realize something as her throat tightened to a choke.

Slowly, with trembling hands, she reached for her pocket and took out a golden key and a card.

Leandra flipped the card and read the words written on it for the second time.

Inside, her heart pounded as she fixated on the sentence below the address.

"Go there when you feel like it's the appropriate time."

Realizing that there was no better time than right now, Leandra gripped the key and sprinted out of the room—without saying anything. She didn't remember much about what happened along the way, but she did remember that she kept running, and running.

She ignored the onlookers and her trembling legs.

Only when she arrived in front of what seemed to be a house around the corner did she stop.

Golden Butterfly Street, number 13.

Just like the address written on the card.

And with a brave step, she inserted the key and twisted the lock—the door creaked open.

What awaits her behind the door made her legs limp.