Ascension of the Dark Seraph

Hybrids walked a strict path of power, varying from one another only due to the bloodline inside them.

No matter how far they ascended, they could never rival the strength of the original being—from which their bloodline sprang. All of their abilities were also the weaker version of the original, though it was not important in the present day, as everyone was on the same boat.

An avatar, on the other hand, was different.

Inheriting God's power meant inheriting a piece of God's power.

A pure inheritance, and the abilities were as strong as how God used them.

On top of the fact that their abilities were as strong as the original—a God will always be stronger than any named bloodline that Hybrids could inherit. Due to that, Master Tobias' eyes flared open in marvel as the power he was facing… it was that of a God!

Despite the gap in rank, he wasn't angered that Lucivar managed to fool him.

He was essentially fighting a God in flesh, and there was no disgrace in that.

Rather, it was an honor.

Channeling his ether, he circulated his Supernatural Ego a hundred times in a few seconds.

Once he it hummed, a blast of ether erupted from within, freeing him from the illusion.

Upon opening his eyes again, he realized he was airborne.

He was falling from the sky, the wind rushing against his back as he fell like a comet.

Master Tobias didn't know when it started, perhaps when the mask was formed, but he was influenced, pulled into a world of illusion. Earlier, when he blocked the sword, the attack came from the side, which was undeniable since he successfully blocked it.

But his sense of perception was altered, and the slash had come from below instead.

He was thrown skyward instead of sideways, so when he stretched his legs to reach the ground, he was, in reality, reaching for air. It was the reason why his legs were able to pass through the ground as if he didn't have a physical body.

Realizing the situation, he summoned blood and shaped it into wings.

At this moment, he was at least a mile from the ground, barely above the clouds, and falling.

Even though falling from such height wouldn't kill him outright as a Paragon-rank Hybrid, transcend normal mortal limitations, turning into something supernatural, it would still be extremely painful, and he might even break a few bones.

He needed to slow down his falling momentum.

Around him, the world was reduced to a blur of rushing air and the pale shimmer of moonlight spilling through the clouds. The heavens above were darker than the earth below, an ocean of shadows where even the full moon seemed a distant lantern.

Before he could unfurl his blood wings, his instincts tug him towards danger.

Master Tobias snapped his gaze to the right.

From the gloom, the clouds tore open, blossoming like a transitioning flower.

A silhouette burst forth with the grace of a phantom unshackled.

It hovered left and right with lightning-fast speed before it settled above, unfurling its wings to the side wide as if it was boasting its elegance. Four vast pinions spread against the night, their edges etched in silver fire by the moon's glow.

And there he was—the Dark Seraph.

Lucivar hovered effortlessly in the skies Master Tobias was tumbling through.

His body cloaked in shadow, the moonlight only carving out—the sleek lines of his form, the sweep of his wings, and the dark blade in his hand. However, nothing could hide those eyes—twin evil embers of malevolence, gleaming with an unholy brilliance—that pinned Master Tobias mid-fall as though the air itself had frozen.

Despite being suspended mid-air, there was no panic on his face.

For the first time in years, Master Tobias felt the breath caught in his chest.

Awe, raw and unwilling, forced itself into his lungs as this was no mere foe—this was the Dark Seraph he had been anticipating for half his life, a creature of majesty and terror, the harbinger of evil, the fallen angel—a legend given flesh.

And as he fell beneath the shadow of that monstrous beauty, Master Tobias could only marvel.

Only at this moment did he come to realize that his long-awaited moment had finally come.

…

"Arghh…"

Somewhere nearby, a man forced out a painful grunt as he tried to pull his leg that got stuck underneath rubble from his destroyed house. He was breathing heavily, blood trickling down the side of his face, gritting his teeth as he pushed the rubble with his hands and pulled out his leg at the same time.

Even though the rubble didn't budge, he was able to free his trapped foot.

He leaned back, taking a breather as he looked around.

"Where did this come from…?"

Just a few minutes ago, he was scratching his belly, drinking a can of beer while watching the news.

It was also at the same time that his son dared to talk back to his mom about tidying up his room.

Angered, the mom screamed at him, shouting that God would not allow the disrespect.

All of that happened upstairs, and the man was downstairs.

Out of nowhere, a loud crash happened.

Despite wanting to recall what happened, it was blurry after the crash, and the man only found himself stuck a minute ago. Now that he was free, he could finally take a proper look around, only to find that the neighbourhood was absolutely destroyed.

His house was located at the edge, and the destruction stopped at the house across.

Had his house been ten meters forward, it would've been caught in the radius and got obliterated.

"Shit, I got a wife and kid!"

Remembering about his family, the man stood up and headed for his destroyed house, limping forward in worry. He walked around the rubble, searching for his family, but all he spotted was the green can of beer that he instinctively took a sip.

It was a stressful situation, and he needed a drink.

But not even a minute later, he sat down on the rubble, giving up on finding his family.

"Fuck it, I'm too old for this. I'm never been a family man…"

Noticing another can of beer on the ground, he took it and smiled, realizing that it was unopened.

"You fat fuck! Get your ass over here and help me!"

Just then, his hand froze as he was about to crack the can of beer open, hearing the thunderous voice of his wife. He looked over his shoulder and noticed his wife was stuck under a massive wooden plank, and she seemed to be holding their son.

In a hurry, put down the can of beer gently, stood up, and rushed to help.

As he approached, his wife already started to complain.

"I told you we should've bought a house in this Hybrid neighbourhood, but you—and your beer-filled brain think that it's cool living among Hybrids! Look at us now! If I lost my legs, you're selling your damn kidney to rent a healer!"

Even though hearing his wife complain made him want to leave her there, he couldn't possibly do that.

Crack!

Midway, the man stopped when he heard a thunderous crack coming from the sky.

It was so loud that he thought the sky was collapsing.

As he turned skyward, his eyes caught a shadow bursting through the clouds—crashing down.

Crash!!

Not even giving him a moment to react, it flew past his vision and crashed right in front of him.

The man closed his eyes on instinct.

Once he opened them and looked ahead, he saw a man with two blood wings climbing up to his feet— right where his wife should be. Looking down, the man only saw blood—and without much pondering, he took the beer can and ran away.

On the other hand, Master Tobias spat blood to the side and slowly looked up.

Like a God, Lucivar descended, looking down on Master Tobias from an elevated point.

"Do you feel it too…?" Lucivar's voice was low, yet it cut through the air, reaching Master Tobias as though whispered directly into his ear. He lifted his fist, fingers curling into a slow, deliberate clench as divine power swelled at his command, bending reality around it. "Each time I struck you with these two hands… my power grew. I become stronger."

Lowering his hands again, Lucivar tilted his head menacingly.

His body was still shrouded in darkness, making him look like an actual phantom.

"Do you know what that means, Tobias?"

"Enlighten me."

"It means when I kill you, I will be complete. It means the Gods also wanted you dead!"

Reaching for his pocket, Lucivar took out Delilah's phone and showed it to Master Tobias.

He played with it, swaying it back and forth.

"There's only one chain left on me," he murmured, his grip tightening until the phone splintered—with a sharp crack. The sound alone made Master Tobias' face harden. "You. You're the last restraint. Once you're gone… neither evil nor the darkness itself will ever catch me again!!"

Swoosh!

Lucivar's wings thundered, each beat launching him forward like a living spear of shadow and fury.

He closed the distance in a blink—only for the air to tear open before Master Tobias.

A circle of blood flared into existence on the ground right in front of him.

From it surged a monstrous maw, wide as a house, dripping with liquid scarlet.

Lucicar looked down in surprise, his eyes narrowed, but he had little to no time to evade this attack.

Clamp!

Successfully, the beast clamped down with a deafening snap, swallowing him whole.

He was now trapped within a torrent of living blood.

Inside, the world warped into a vortex of crimson, churning like a storm at sea.

Master Tobias' presence spread through it—his aura saturating every swirl of ether, every pulse of the sanguine current. Then he was there, behind Lucivar, claws tearing across his back—before vanishing into the torrent once more.

Again, Tobias appeared, ripping claws across Lucivar's wings.

He came out to strike again, slashing from the blind spot.

Again, shredding flesh as he darted through the living blood like a phantom, striking and retreating with surgical precision, giving no chance for Lucivar to retaliate. The vortex became a slaughterhouse, with Master Tobias being the reaper cloaked in scarlet shadow.

But then—everything froze.

His crimson eyes widened.

The Abyssal Eye at the center of Lucivar had found him.

It snapped toward his position with terrible finality, glowing with unfathomable wrath.

Master Tobias faltered.

Just for a heartbeat.

But that was all Lucivar needed.

Crimson sand burst upward, coiling around Master Tobias' legs like shackles.

His expression darkened, but before he could tear free, Lucivar was already upon him.

The Dark Seraph's sword carved through the bloodstorm in a sweeping crescent, and it ripped across Master Tobias' body, cleaving through flesh and bone. His painful grunt was lost as he was hurled away, spinning through the air like a broken doll, trailing arcs of blood in his wake.

And out of sheer bad luck, he landed right where it all began.