Ascension of the Dark Seraph

Earlier that day.

"Huh… I can't believe it. How am I supposed to tell him about this alone?"

Leandra got out of the taxi after paying and thanking the driver.

She turned around and faced a mansion.

It was Master Tobias' mansion.

She was planning on going together with Ravenna, but she suddenly had something urgent to deal with.

A change happened in her expression before she left.

It wasn't quite clear as Leandra only saw a glimpse of it, but she guessed that it was worry.

Crossing her arms to warm herself up from the cold wind, she entered the mansion, pouting about the possibility of Ravenna going to meet with Lucivar, who was now probably somewhere with that normal-looking woman.

After Ravenna ditched her suddenly, she wanted to ask the others to accompany her.

Nerissa is out of the picture, but there are still Mirel, Bakar, and Bob.

Dismissing the notion of asking Mirel and Bakar, she decided to ask Bob instead—he was the only one she believed to be able to handle the news well out of the three. The possibility of Delilah's death being a setup is a hard pill to swallow.

And Bob would certainly be able to digest it better.

However, it was futile too.

She couldn't find him in his room or any other area inside the academy.

So, she was forced to come here alone.

Nobody was guarding the mansion—it seemed Master Tobias hadn't hired any guards.

Leandra didn't need to open the gate.

She could simply leap over it and trace the road towards the main entrance.

Once she stood before the main entrance, she raised her fist to knock, but stopped midway.

'How do I even ease into telling him about this? He never once talked about Delilah's death after that day, not once. He must be extremely hurt…' Leandra bit her lower lip, hesitating. 'No. I have got to tell him. He deserved to know the truth.'

After knocking a few times, a butler opened the door.

He looked at Leandra and immediately bowed a little in respect.

"Is the master home?"

"Yes, he's in his study room. Let me guide you there."

"I'd appreciate it, thank you."

Leandra followed the butler closely behind, tracing along the big mansion corridor until they eventually reached the room on the corner. It was on the second floor, secluded, away from the other rooms. And the door wasn't closed properly.

Seeing this, Leandra nodded at the butler, gesturing that she'd take it from here.

Once the butler left, she looked back towards the door and approached.

For some reason, she was careful with her steps, not wanting to alert Master Tobias that she was around.

As she got closer to the study room, she could hear the sound of sharp snapping followed by a crunching sound, which plastered a frown across her face. Peeking from the crack, she saw Master Tobias was on his chair, shaping a small bonsai tree in a pot by cutting its branches and leaves.

Leandra sighed when she saw this.

Being with Master Tobias for years, she knew that he was stressed.

He was someone who loved to socialize, always eager to go out, so the fact that he shut himself alone in the study room could only mean one thing—he's stressed. On the table beside him sat a photo frame, positioned close, making it obvious whose picture it held.

Inhaling deeply, she knocked on the door lightly, "Master Tobias…"

Hearing that, Master Tobias lifted his gaze, a faint glimmer sharpening in his eyes.

He quickly wiped his cheeks, gently placed down his monocle, and smiled.

"Leandra, you came quite late."

"I-I have free time from the academy." She stepped inside awkwardly, realizing that Master Tobias had been crying, which was instantly picked up by Master Tobias as she was usually cheerful around him. "I was going to visit you, to check on you because of you know… the purple dungeon day."

"Of course," Master Tobias pushed his chair back and stood up.

He went around the table and opened his arms.

Seeing this, Leandra smiled back and hugged him tightly, hiding the turmoil inside.

"I'm fine. Even though I'm weak, the people working for this mansion are strong. They kept me safe."

"I see. That's good."

Pulling away, Master Tobias looked down at her face and tidied up her messy hair.

Then, he turned to look behind her, confused.

"I'm glad that you're here, but where are the others? Did you come here alone?"

"Ah, the others…" Leandra smiled awkwardly, not knowing what to say. "Oh, they are very busy right now. Reporters usually came to interview us as Lucivar's close friends, you know, since he's now famous city-wide for winning the tournament."

Master Tobias laughed humorously, "I see. I guess he really did become stronger now."

Just as he wanted to bring Leandra somewhere, he paused, seeing her spacing out.

Something is inside her mind—he could tell.

"What is it?" He asked tenderly, grabbing her shoulders. "You know you can tell me everything, right?"

Leandra's mind churned.

She wanted to say something, but the words couldn't leave her mouth.

Not only was bringing Delilah's death going to be opening fresh wounds—but Master Tobias was crying not too long ago, but he hid it well as soon as she came. She was conflicted. On one side, Master Tobias deserved to know, but on the other, she also didn't want to see him breaking.

Moreover, Delilah's smiling photo on the table wasn't helping at all—it made her hesitation worse.

"It's… It's nothing. I was only glad that you're okay."

"Don't lie to me. Is it Lucivar? Did he do something again? Or did you find out about him and Ravenna?"

"About him and Ravenna?"

Leandra tilted her head, confused as to what Master Tobias meant by that.

Realizing that he was off the mark, Master Tobias cleared his throat and went to tidy up the table.

"I meant Lucivar and everyone. You know how he can be, causing a ruckus here and there."

"Yeah… I know."

Her tone was skeptical, knowing exactly that it was a slip of the tongue from Master Tobias.

But then, her eyes caught sight of something on the table.

It was a band, a red worn-down band that she found really familiar.

"Master, isn't that Bob's towel? The one he usually used during training?" She asked incredulously.

Since Bob was a massive man, well-trained but still very bulky, he tended to sweat a lot, which was the reason he always carried—a towel everywhere, especially when he trained. On top of that, he also had one favorite towel he'd been using for years and outright refused to replace it/

A dark grey towel with flower patterns.

Leandra could tell that it was Bob's from a mere glance.

"Bob's? No, that's the maid's," Master Tobias grabbed the towel and headed for the door. "She was in here before, and she must've left it there. Maybe I'm too light on these maids, but this must have been hers."

He called a maid and handed the towel over to her, not forgetting to scold her.

Even then, Leandra didn't buy it.

It would have been fine if Bob had been here before and had visited earlier than her.

She would have had no problem with it.

But she does have a problem when Master Tobias was denying it like this, when it's obviously Bob's.

However, before she could say anything, he had already gestured for her to come outside.

Leandra ran her fingers through her hair in disbelief before following him out of the room.

'Maybe he's not thinking straight,' Leandra sighed, trying to be understanding as she walked along the corridor, heading towards the backyard. 'He was caught crying in his room alone by me; he must have felt embarrassed.'

In the backyard, Master Tobias brought her to a section of the garden.

A section where a stack of fresh roses could be seen.

It wasn't fully mature yet.

Its petals were tightly furled, with just a hint of color beginning to show at the edges.

Even then, they were still beautiful to see, especially against the shade of the moonlight from above.

Unlike normal roses, the flowers are shimmering like rubies, emanating a faint, swaying red sizzle.

Magical roses.

"I planted those two months ago for her," Master Tobias said, his tone steady but weighted with quiet sorrow. "I watered them and gave them growth powders to make them grow faster—and before I knew it, they'd grown this much."

Leandra knelt down and tucked her hair behind her ear to view them closely.

Her eyes sparkled, marveling at them.

"They're beautiful. Now I understand why Delilah loved them so much." She caressed one carefully.

Seeing this, Master Tobias shook his head.

He leaned against the wall as if his body weighed a ton.

"When Lucivar won the tournament, it made me think of all of you," He murmured, smiling faintly to himself. "It feels like just yesterday I took you in, and now you've all grown into strong Hybrids. Time really does slip by when you're not paying attention."

"And I… I just hope Delilah was here to see you all grow. I'm sure she'd be happy." He sighed.

Biting her lower lip, Leandra turned around and found him reminiscing in sorrow.

Almost instantly, the thoughts in her mind melted.

'How can I tell him the truth if he's being like this…?' She exhaled roughly through her nose.

…

Meanwhile, in a particular apartment.

Pleasure-laced moans spilled through the apartment, sultry and breathless, each one rising higher with every forceful thrust that sent the walls trembling. The air was thick with the sharp and loud, intimate slap of flesh meeting flesh, a raw symphony of desire and need.

Her cries unraveled into something wild, unrestrained, and utterly consuming.

It ended with a rough groan as the man released his pearlescent fluid into the woman without mercy.

Lucivar panted heavily.

His body slicked with fluids as he pressed Angel's face against the bed, suffocating her.

Once he was finished letting it all out inside, he pulled his erect shaft out of the heaven's gate—and flipped Angel's body around. He climbed onto her, grabbed her by the hair—to prop her up, and placed his massive thing in front of her euphoria-induced face.

"Clean it up."

A command, not a request.

And Angel didn't need to be told twice to do it earnestly.

He savored the complete sense of domination, a sensation that nobody could provide other than her.

But during the process, Sirrush appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey, your Vestal called."

"My Vestal? Which one?"

Lucivar talked to him out loud, no need to worry about Angel, who was too focused on his crotch.

"Our Vestal."

"Huh? You meant Nerissa?"

"Close your eyes and focus, you have a deeper connection with them compared to the other Vestals."

Not even doubting his words, Lucivar closed his eyes and focused.

Then, a frown crossed his face when a sudden sense of panic assaulted his body.

It wasn't the sensation he was feeling, but Nerissa's.

Realizing that she might be in trouble, Lucivar immediately got off the bed and put on his clothes.

He had already sated his lust, and judging by the way Angel lay motionless on the bed, utterly spent, she was more than satisfied, ruined even. Without so much as a goodbye, he slipped out of the apartment complex, summoned his wings, and soared into the sky.

Finding Nerissa was easy thanks to the connection.

And Lucivar found himself back on the street near the library where he met with Samael.

Landing smoothly, he went around the corner and stopped.

Nerissa was standing there, hands covered in dried blood.

Sprawled on the ground near her was a corpse, someone he recognized.

"What?!"

Lucivar shouted incredulously.