Ascension of the Dark Seraph

In a mere hour, the entire city was enflamed.

Destruction had already spread throughout.

Bodies littered the ground left and right, painting the cobblestone street in a brutal crimson.

Other than the kids, nobody was spared.

It doesn't matter whether the person is a man or a woman, young or old, healthy or sick; all of them were killed without mercy. The Blood Priests moved—with precision, sweeping the entire city, making sure that not a single one survived.

Some of the people put up a fight.

Surprisingly enough, there were old firearms stashed in this city.

And with the firearms, they could push the Blood Priests back.

But with every wound mended by the Blood Nuns in mere seconds, the people stood no chance.

"Why… Why do you smile?"

Andrea asked with a trembling voice.

She was looking at Nerissa, who had both her eyes closed, and a faint smile tugging her lips while the city was razed to the ground. It was a harrowing sight, and the screams that reverberated through the air were difficult to hear, but it didn't seem to bother her.

On the contrary, she seemed to be enjoying the moment.

"You can still talk?" Nerissa opened her eyes and turned. "A Vampire Hybrid is strong, alright."

Then, she faced forward again at the burning city.

Both of them, along with Malric and Leo, were at the city gate, waiting for Lucivar to come back.

"I smile because I like what I'm seeing."

"Like…? These people are the people you swore to protect as academy hunters… How can you be—so heartless?"

"I have too many people I care about, and the world is too cruel for me to add even a few more. I don't care about these people. I only cared about my family."

Andrea gritted her teeth, seething in anger at the audacious way of thinking.

"If you don't care about these people, then ignore them! Why are you actively—killing them? Despite your bias, you must be able to understand that this is fundamentally wrong! This is bad! Evil!"

She panted heavily in between words, emphasizing how wrong this was.

Desperate to make Nerissa understand and stop all of this.

Nerissa looked at the enflamed city and shrugged her shoulders, thinking nothing much about it.

"Wrong? What's so wrong about keeping the family safe?"

"How is this keeping your family safe?!"

"Lucivar is our guardian other than the master, and doing this made him stronger. Thus, the family will be safer."

Andrea smiled, but tears streamed down her cheeks.

It was the first time for her to meet someone as detached as this—more detached from morality—than Malric, who was a Hell Demon Hybrid. Someone so wicked that she justifies brutal acts, all in the name of family.

"Oh, he's back." Nerissa's eyes flashed with excitement.

From the corner of the street, Lucivar emerged and approached them with steady steps.

He has no trace of blood on him, clean down to his shoes.

But even then, he didn't shy away from stepping on blood puddles across the street.

"How do you like it, Nerissa? I wasn't planning to do this when I got here, but the screams made a good tune, didn't they? I reckon you're having the time of your life right now."

"Yes! It'll be perfect if there were a cake to eat right now."

Lucivar chuckled and shook his head.

"I don't think this city has any bakery, or even if there was, the baker is probably dead."

"Shame… But this is good enough. I can feel my power rising already, more than I expected."

"Good, good…"

Lucivar stopped before them and turned to look at Andrea, who was surprisingly able to blink and move.

Her bloodline is a lot stronger, capable of fighting back against the dark attribute.

But she was still helpless, and he didn't quite care about her.

All he cared about was the one lying next to her, the man who dared to touch his property—Malric.

Lucivar crouched down and took out the dark attribute from him, allowing him to recover and regain his motor control. He waited for a second—as senses flooded back into Malric's body, which did not take long at all.

Snapping out of his trance, Malric blinked and was instantly met with Lucivar's figure.

He squealed and tried to crawl away despite having his arms and legs tied like a wiggling worm.

It was quite a pathetic sight.

"Are you sure you want to leave? What about your friends?"

As soon as Malric heard that, he stopped.

He glanced behind him and realized that Leo and Andrea were still there.

Lucivar was standing beside Andrea, patting her head condescendingly as he looked at Malric.

If he escaped, the burden of punishment would fall entirely on them.

And despite his usual tendency, that was conflicting.

Despite being a Hell Demon Hybrid, these two were his comrades for years, and that's something.

Lucivar knew that.

Regardless of the bloodline inside Malric, the human part of him was still there.

No chance he's going to run away.

"What do you want from me?"

He finally asked.

Hearing how small and weak his voice was, Lucivar grinned.

"Where is all—that bravado you had earlier? Where's the Hell Demon Hybrid? Don't break now, we haven't even started yet!" Lucivar mocked humorously, taunting Malric to fight back, but there was no more fight in him. "Tell me, do you think we're bad people like your two friends here thought?"

"W-What do you mean…?"

"It's exactly what I said. Do you think I'm evil? After all, you're a Hell Demon Hybrid."

"You're like me, but worse…"

Lucivar tilted his head, amused by the answer, but that wouldn't save him from the torment.

"I see. Then what about your two friends? Are they good people?"

Malric was caught off guard by the question.

But the answer should be obvious.

In the group, he was the rowdy one, while Andrea and Leo were decent people.

"Yes, they are good people… better than me, at least."

Andrea looked at him with round eyes.

She was surprised and also sad at the same time.

Malric, who had always been the most feral and uncontrollable friend of hers, was now reduced to this new version. One who even admitted good things instead of cursing anyone who forced him to do or say anything that he doesn't like.

It was as if the man in front of her right now was a completely different person.

"In that case, what about a bet? If you win, I'll let you and your friends go. What do you think?"

"What…?"

Malric was naturally skeptical.

Knowing how similar he and Lucivar were, at least in terms of being evil, he knew that this was a trick, something that would make him suffer. But the sensation of helplessness, not knowing what to do to get out of this situation, it's something he has never felt before.

He mocked people who were helpless before him in the past, who made stupid choices.

But feeling it first-hand, he now understood why they did it.

Simply, it was better than doing nothing.

"Okay, what's the bet?" He finally asked, seeing that this was their only hope.

Lucivar grinned.

To know it's wrong, and still go through with it—that is desperation in its truest, most human form.

And when that shows, the person was already falling into the darkness with no way out.

Lucivar pulled Andrea by her hair and dragged her close to Leo.

Then, with a theatrical flair, he stepped behind them both, placing his hands lightly on their necks—not strong enough to cause them pain, but enough to remind everyone how easy it would be to snap them like twigs.

He looked at Malric, grinning.

"Since you said they're good people, let's make a bet."

Under Malric's gaze, Lucivar's grip tightened slightly, enough to make them flinch.

"Both of them are willing to sacrifice themselves for you; they are good people, but do you deserve to be saved?" Lucivar raised a brow tauntingly. "If they truly are who you say they are, you'll drop to your knees, humiliate yourself—weep like a worm who knows he's not worth saving. Beg them to abandon you."

Seeing how pale Malric becomes, Lucivar's grin stretched wider.

He was delighted by such a sight.

"Show me your genuine regret. Not for what you have done, but for ever believing—someone like you deserved people like them. If you do that, I'll let them go. If not… they die. Simple, isn't it?"

On the side, Nerissa approached Malric and freed him from the ropes.

Now, he was free.

He could do anything he wanted, even try to run if he wanted to.

But seeing Andrea and Leo under Lucivar's mercy, he couldn't afford to leave.

Malric could only look down at the ground, devastated at the choices presented in front of him.

Even then, he put aside his pride and grovelled.

"You gave me your trust, your strength, your belief… and I gave you nothing—but trouble in return. Always." He clenched his fists, digging his nails into the dirt. "I see it now—every good thing you gave me, I repaid in recklessness. And now, you've been pulled into this because I suggested this mission. I'm sorry. I was never worth what you gave."

"So, please… leave me here. Let me deal with the consequences." He added remorsefully.

Such an act brought tears to even Leo.

Neither of them ever knew there would be a time Malric became remorseful and logical.

No longer a reckless man who did nothing but troublesome things.

Seeing this, Lucivar loosened his grip, amused.

"Good. Very good." He nodded in approval, not expecting Malric to be able to show genuine remorse. One that even moved his heart, "Now that you've grovelled like a worm, showing remorse properly, it is time for the reward."

Splash!

Lucivar punched a hole through Leo's back.

Blood sprayed onto Malric's face as he watched in horror as Lucivar's fist punched through Leo.

In his grasp was Leo's still-beating heart.

Leo let out a choked breath as he looked down, shocked at the sight of an arm going through him.

But the pain didn't last long, as he instantly died on the spot.

"NO! I DID WHAT YOU ASKED!"

Malric roared in anguish, his eyes glowing with the feral glow of a Hell Demon Hybrid.

It was pure, unbridled anger, but it didn't do anything to Lucivar.

As he pulled out his arm with the heart still in his hands, he looked at Malric mockingly, as if he was an idiot, "Are you an idiot? Did you really think I'll let these two go because you grovelled? Because you showed remorse?"

"You said it! You promised!"

"I lied, of course. What kind of idiot would believe my words?"