Ascension of the Dark Seraph

Being shoved with two choices, Lucivar looked down and contemplated deeply.

'I still don't know what he wanted, he only said he wanted something from me' He pondered, stealing a glance at the patiently waiting, Tobias. 'But he didn't seem to be a bad guy, no... it might be precisely what he wanted me to think so he can fool me'

Still feeling the lingering burn of the pain he suffered yesterday, he couldn't trust anyone.

Lucivar also had made a promise to himself that he would think only for himself.

Nobody appreciates the goodness of others, he learned that already.

'He might kill me if I choose the second option, to be set free, but I don't sense any malicious intent from him. Is he really letting me choose this? Even if he didn't kill me, will I be free?' He pondered further, weighing the pros and cons of picking the second choice.

Regardless of what Tobias wanted, he was still a fugitive of the Ashbourne House.

Even if Tobias let him go, there's no guarantee that he would be safe.

As one of the Five Supreme Houses—the House of Ashbourne, has a large territory under its reign, spanning two continents. If Lucivar wanted to escape from them, he would need to go pretty far and he doesn't have the resources to do that.

Moreover, the Ashbourne House was very strict on any offenses done in a slave city.

If he decided to hide, he would need to live in hiding for the rest of his life.

On the other hand, he could take Tobias' offer to start fresh and learn to be strong.

Everyone respects strength, and Lucivar tasted its tip against his family and also Bianca.

Not to mention, he also needs strength if he wants to defend himself and survive.

Clenching both of his fists, Lucivar still couldn't fully trust Tobias as even his own mother and the person he thought of as a little sister, betrayed him, "If I choose to stay with you... will we go far away from here? From anywhere near the House of Ashbourne?"

"After I'm done with my matters, we will go to the House of Valerius' territory," Tobias replied.

Upon hearing this, Lucivar's eyes glistened, "The Vampire's territory?"

"Yes, I have a place there that I call home, and we will all go there," He nodded firmly.

Knowing this fact, Lucivar kept himself composed even though he was excited inside.

This was his opportunity to reach freedom—his one-way trip to get away from the House of Ashbourne and start his new life. Even though the Five Supreme Houses worked together, it was not entirely the case.

'I'll go along with him for now,' Lucivar pondered inwardly as he looked at Tobias intently—he was pretending to weigh his decision. 'When we're there, I'd find the perfect time, to escape. Plus, I also need some guidance to be a proper Hybrid'

Nodding his head, he finally answered, "I'll stay with you, I don't have a home out there..."

Listening to his answer, Tobias was happy, it could be seen through his wide smile.

"Don't worry, I will not make you regret your decision. Come..." Tobias said as he stood up, "I will introduce you to the others, your potential friends. You recover quickly—maybe because of your bloodline so you should be able to walk"

As Tobias went out, Lucivar quickly searched the entire room.

His eyes then landed on his previous clothes neatly placed on a small table.

Reaching for its pocket, he sighed in relief when the gold sphere was there, it wasn't missing.

Even his pouch was on the table, everything he owned was there.

A moment later, Lucivar was brought outside, following Tobias closely from behind.

Just as he expected, he seemed to be in a house, a big one at that.

It was not lavish or anything, most furniture here was made of wood—but the place was, as big as a mansion with what seemed to be an inner yard at the center. His room was located on the side of the yard, and now, he was brought to the main room.

Upon entering the main room, a spacious square-shaped room, there are people there.

From a brief sweep, there are at least nine of them.

Amongst these nine people, excluding the middle-aged woman he saw earlier, three of them were older than Lucivar, probably in their late twenties to early thirties—two of them, were a lot younger, while the last four were Lucivar's age.

One person, in particular, a woman around his age, caught Lucivar's eyes.

She was breathtakingly beautiful, with sharp facial features and a toned, fit body. Dark hair, with front strands—dyed deep purple cascaded over one shoulder. As Lucivar stepped into the room, they made eye contact, her purple eyes shifted toward him.

Compared to everyone present, she starkly stuck out.

Realizing that she was squinting at his gaze, Lucivar averted his gaze elsewhere.

"Meet the new member of our family," Tobias introduced—presenting Lucivar to the others. 

All eyes immediately focused on Lucivar as he said that and feeling the intensity in all of their gazes, Lucivar bowed a little out of nervousness, "Hello, my name is Lucivar, Lucivar Asarafall—pleased to meet you all"

Upon his introduction, Tobias patted his back to help him loosen up.

"Lucivar—from this moment on, they will be your friends," He said, surprising Lucivar greatly. "Like you, they are all Hybrids—each has something unique, like you do. Go, and get to know them. Me and my wife will prepare dinner so everyone, be nice to Lucivar alright?"

Naturally, seeing Tobias and the middle-aged woman leaving, Lucivar sweats profusely.

He could feel the air was tense, almost as if he was not welcomed here.

Just then, however, the moment Tobias and his wife left, a short medium-built man sitting on the sofa leisurely, instantly stood up—and went over to him. He grabbed Lucivar's hand, "My name is Mirel, pleased to meet'cha! If you have any questions, feel free to ask me"

Before Lucivar could respond, another one suddenly stole both of his hands.

It was an energetic muscular man—his brown eyes were sparkling as he looked at Lucivar.

"You look strong, do you want to have a go with me? A friendly bout?" He asked.

Upon hearing this, Lucivar smiled wryly, "A- A bout...? Do you mean fight?"

"Hmm, hmm!" the man nodded excitedly. "Fighting or wrestling, whatever you want to call it"

"Or do you want to arm wrestle to start?" He asked again, gripping Lucivar's hands tightly.

Out of nowhere, the muscular man got his head slapped by Mirel hard—forcing him to clasp his head, with his hands, "Go and play with your toys, Bakar" Mirel said, before he smiled at Lucivar apologetically. "Do not mind that battle-maniac blockhead, he is a Troll Hybrid—and he became super energetic like that after becoming a four-star Neophyte,"

Pursing his lips, Bakar sulked and went to the side and hugged a worn-out punching bag.

It seemed the punching bag that was the toy Mirel was referring to.

He lamented in solitude as nobody wanted to go along and play with him.

Lucivar could only nod his head in understanding.

Any Hybrid would bear the burden of their bloodline's constitution, including behavior.

Just then, a blond-haired woman with chubby cheeks came from the side.

She approached Lucivar with steady steps and gently clasped his hand, "Ah... I'm sorry about this" She apologized, seeing a small bruise, on Lucivar's hand. "Bakar could be quite rough at times, but he's not a bad person, I can attest to that!"

It seemed Bakar's strong grip from earlier left a bruise on his hand.

"No, there's no need for you to apologize," Lucivar replied, seeing the woman sobbing.

Even though it was not her fault, her eyes were shedding a couple of tears.

Coming from the side—Mirel introduced, "Lucivar, meet Nerissa. She is a Siren Hybrid, and is also the princess of our family" Then, leaning closer to Lucivar's ear, he whispered. "Also, you should let her heal your bruise. If you reject her—she'll cry all night, and trust me, you will not get a wink of sleep if that happens"

Upon hearing this, Lucivar confined his desire to pull his hand away from Nerissa.

From the way Mirel said it, he really meant what he said.

Not stopping at that, Lucivar could suddenly feel a tickling sensation on his nape despite the fact that Nerissa, was healing his hand by blowing on it. But his entire body was frozen solid, when two arms suddenly came and embraced him from the back.

Lucivar looked to his left shoulder and found the face of an alluring woman there.

She was hugging Lucivar from the back and lazily put her cheek on his shoulder.

In addition to that, she was very close!

Even her womanly scent, sweet and spicy vanilla scent, was overwhelming his nostrils.

Not to mention Lucivar could feel two soft pillows against his back, turning his face red.

"Hmm... you smell nice," She whispered, sniffing Lucivar's neck directly.

"Let go of the man, Ravenna, you're making him uncomfortable," Mirel intervened seeing that Lucivar's face was already—as red as a tomato. But then he sighed seeing that Ravenna was not heeding his words, "Meet Ravenna, as you might already realize she is a bit... touchy. Oh, she's also a Crimson Rakshasa Hybrid,"

Upon hearing this, Lucivar stole a glance at Ravenna, 'No wonder her eyes are bright red'

More than that, she also has red whiskers like a cat.

Ignoring the introduction, Ravenna turned to look at Lucivar, "Uncomfortable...?"

"Seems like he was enjoying it rather than being uncomfortable," She added, trailing her long index fingernail lightly across Lucivar's cheek. "By the way, you look cute—what bloodline do you have to make you this good-looking?"

Upon hearing her soft whispers brushing against his ear, Lucivar gulped harshly.

He never had a woman get this close to him, not even his mother.

"My bloodline...? I don't know, I unlocked it recently" Lucivar replied truthfully.

Not expecting that Lucivar was a new Hybrid considering that he looked to be at the ripe age of twenty, Ravenna was surprised. But clearing his throat—Mirel assured, "So you're new? Do not worry, Master will help you determine your bloodline"

"Master" Lucivar muttered, raising an eyebrow.

Remembering that he was new, Mirel clarified, "I mean Tobias, we called him Master here,"

Unlike what he had expected, the others were very friendly toward him.

Other than the ones who came and introduced themselves—there were still the young ones, Lily and Thomas, and also the three others, Darwin who is a skinny man with a meek air, the extremely bulky man, Bob, and also the beautiful woman, Leandra.

Ravenna, Bob, and Darwin were way older than Lucivar, around the late twenties to thirties.

While Leandra, Mirel, Bakar, and Nerissa were the ones around his age.

Even as he became accustomed to these people he would be temporarily living with, he did not get the chance to talk with Bob, Darwin, and Leandra. All three of them, left—as Lucivar was talking with the others, bringing Lily and Thomas with them.

Just like that, the day passed, ending with a dinner with all of them present.

It was akin to a welcoming dinner for Lucivar into the family.

During the bleak morning the next day, Lucivar woke up abruptly.

He stood up intending to go make his coffee, but stopped when he realized where he was.

"Oh, right... I don't need to go hunting anymore, my family is dead," He mused.

Since he had been hunting for years and woken up way before dawn, it became a habit of his—one that would be quite troublesome to get rid of. Lucivar tried to sleep again, but he could not, his mind was already awake.

A couple of hours later while he struggled to sleep, he woke up when the door was knocked.

Feeling considerably better than the day before—he rose from bed and opened the door to find Tobias waiting outside. Confusion clouded his thoughts, it was still very early. However—his surprise deepened as he saw the yard bustling with the others exercising.

"Go change into your uniform in the closet, I'll wait outside," Tobias said.

Upon hearing this, Lucivar did as he was told and came outside.

As opposed to joining the others, he was brought into a confined room, and it was empty.

Only a couple of wooden weapons are displayed on the side, and the ground is sand.

"I'll help you start your Hybrid journey—but first, I have a question," Tobias said, as he closed the door of the room. "In order to start your journey, you need to feel your bloodline's energy called ether. So tell me, what stimulated your bloodline to activate?"

Lucivar frowned when he heard this, and he recalled the times his power was riled.

"I'm not sure, but I could feel it rising when I'm near death...?" He answered.

Just then, as soon as he said that—Tobias' entire aura changed into a fierce one, and Lucivar could feel the aura choking him. Not to mention, he also saw Tobias getting into a stance, his fighting stance, "W- What are you doing...?"

"What else? I'm going to stimulate your bloodline, of course" Tobias replied, smirking lightly.