Ascension of the Dark Seraph

"Lincoln Gang?" Mikaela turned to the driver with a raised brow.

She knew that there were powerful gangs who were backed by corrupt high-ranking individuals, people who allowed their greed to control their lives. But Sunhold City was supposed to be one of the safest— so this was quite news to her.

"It's a local gang known for dealing with the underground world," The driver explained. "Like all the big gangs, their leader is a five-star Chrysalis-rank Hybrid. Quite strong, but not strong enough to warrant big moves from the association."

Gangs like theirs knew their place.

All of them kept their gang's power under the threshold to avoid the Hybrid Association's attention.

It was one of the reasons their leaders stayed at the five-star Chrysalis rank.

Going over that would make their underground operation a threat to the authorities of the city, which would in turn attract the Hybrid Association's attention—and then finally the Supreme House.

None of them wanted that kind of problem.

On top of that, their dealings were also regulated strictly.

As long as the general public doesn't know their dealings and they aren't too extreme, they'll be fine.

"Seems like its leader was becoming greedy, desiring more than a backwater gang," The driver added, clutching the steering wheel with both hands as the timing couldn't be worse. "But to think they were also making their moves tonight… What are your orders, Officer Mikaela?"

Mikaela tapped her index finger against the armrest, contemplating.

'As far as we know, we aren't aware of the people causing a ruckus in sector four. In hindsight, the gang could have also been the one behind it, and they were now—creating a smokescreen to buy time.' She thought, looking ahead at the darkness sizzling skyward. 'But I doubt this thing is a part of the Lincoln Gang.'

Considering the suppressing darkness ahead, she was leaning toward a coincidence.

Out of what the driver said, she could be sure that the Lincoln Gang's leader is a Chrysalis-rank Hybrid.

It must've been verified, or else the driver wouldn't speak that confidently.

So, it was clear that the person—who was causing a ruckus in sector four was someone outside of the Lincoln Gang, as the level of energy coming from there was already at the Savant rank. And out of the two problems, it was obvious which one was more dangerous.

'It was unfortunate, but these two problems coincidentally appeared roughly at the same time,' Mikaela thought, and then turned to the driver. "Tell the others to handle the hotel; we're going on ahead alone. Once the hotel is cleared, they can meet up with us."

"Us alone?" The driver clarified. "Is that really okay?"

"Whoever caused the commotion in sector 4 is at least a Savant-rank Hybrid, so most of us are going to be a burden there," She said, gesturing for the driver to drive again. "You do know how strong those at the Savant rank were, so you must understand what I meant."

Hearing this, the driver nodded and immediately informed the others.

Only Mikaela and he would proceed ahead, while the others would make a detour to the hotel.

Once the car lurched back into motion again, Mikaela pressed a hand to her chest. 'But what is this odd unease? Everything should be fine... I doubt anyone there is stronger than me—but there's a weight in my gut, a fullness I can't shake. Just what is really waiting for us in sector four?'

…

Meanwhile, back at the mansion.

Mirel went down to his knees slowly; his body was already a cascade of crimson blood.

Slowly, he grabbed a perfect, rectangle-shaped marble block from the ground and bit down on it weakly.

His eyes had already become droopy from exhaustion, and the paleness in his face showed that he was on the brink of collapse. But even so, he wasn't going to give up. "One more," He panted heavily as he grabbed the blood wolf head, clamping down on his leg. "Just one more push."

Regulating his breaths, he inhaled deeply and bit down on the block hard.

Blitz!

Sparks of yellow lightning could be seen sizzling on the surface of his skin.

Mirel was forced to use his attribute when there was no more ether inside his Supernatural Ego.

Even so, the yellow lightning began to swell and grow stronger.

Unlike earlier, it was more alive now.

Mirel's palms clamped down on the blood wolf's snapping jaws, his fingers digging into the upper and lower bone. Once he was ready, his own lightning surged inward, yellow arcs snapping violently as they tore through his body.

Just the jolt alone wracked him instantly.

"Heurrgh!!"

His muscles seized, veins bulging thick across his throat and temple as his eyes rolled back.

Earlier, Master Tobias mocked his conviction.

And this was his first step of defiance, to show that he was more capable than everyone thought.

Since his Yellow Lightning Elemental bloodline could amass ether from inflicting pain, he decided to capitalize on that. Nobody was near him other than the unconscious Leandra and Lucivar, so he came to the insane idea of inflicting pain on himself.

Mirel has never done this before, but it was obviously working.

The more the current devoured him, the deeper his reservoir grew.

In theory, it was an endless well—he would never run out of ether as all he needed to do was cause pain, and in battle, causing pain was easy. In case of an emergency, he could hurt himself. But this was easier said than done.

In practice, it was a trial against the limits of his flesh.

Foam leaked from the corners of his mouth, his teeth chattering from the convulsions.

But still, Mirel clung on.

He needed more—more ether, enough to shatter the last blood wolf's head.

As the voltage rose, his scream grew louder and split the air, hoarse and broken—his body trembling on the brink of collapse. Darkness clawed at his vision, trying to drag him under despite his very best to fight it back, to keep himself awake.

Soon, relief crept into him when a sickening crack echoed.

It was the sound of the blood wolf's head snapping, freeing his leg from its maw.

Once the blood wolf's head was forced open, it unraveled into a wash of blood, dissolving into nothing.

Mirel collapsed at once.

The yellow lightning guttered out, leaving his body limp and smoking, every muscle spent beyond its limit. He couldn't even twitch a finger, too tired to move. Only the echo of his own scream remained, ringing in the silence as he lay motionless, utterly drained.

For a minute, Mirel passed out and was woken up by the sound of dripping liquid.

"Eurghh…"

Mirel opened his eyes and adjusted to the surroundings.

"What happened?" He grunted, trying to remember what was going on. "Did I pass out?"

Realizing that he was still in the middle of the destroyed neighbourhood, he tried pushing himself up, but fell back down again. His muscles were shaking from even the faintest demand of strength, clearly too exhausted to do anything.

He flipped his body over, facing the full moon above, and relaxed.

A little bit of rest should do the trick.

Tick…

Tick…

Hearing the light ticking sound, Mirel opened his eyes again and looked up.

Both his brows dipped into a frown as he flipped again to lie on his stomach.

It was then that he realized something was happening to Lucivar.

Mirel dragged in a ragged breath and crawled forward—one desperate pull at a time—to reach Lucivar, whose body remained impaled by several blood lances. By all rights, he should've been sucked dry by the blood lances already.

But the fact he still clung to life made one truth undeniable: Master Tobias spared him.

Considering that Master Tobias spent significant time grooming him, this was only to be expected.

Finally, Mirel reached Lucivar and looked at the wet ground under him.

At first, he assumed the droplets came from Lucivar's open wounds, still weeping freely. But the thought unraveled almost instantly—as he recalled one thing, 'No… the lances drained blood. None should be spilling out. What is this?

Mirel smelled the ground and found a sulphurous scent from it.

"Hmm? It smelled like seawater, but odd seawater." He murmured in confusion.

Looking up to Lucivar, it was only then that he realized what was happening.

"He's dissolving…?"

A few miles away.

Once he dealt with Lucivar and the others for good, Master Tobias brought Vanessa away.

Both were now tracing a predetermined path that Master Tobias had prepared in case something like this ever happened to them. Instead of going through the streets, which should be crawling with people and the authorities, they instead went through a forest that was used for camping only.

However, it was still quite a big forest, and there were still a few animals around, but none were monsters.

It was a famous place, but after the purple dungeon incident, things hadn't returned back to normal.

Nobody was going to this forest, which made it perfect for their escape.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I did what I did to them?"

Master Tobias, who was leading ahead, suddenly spoke as Vanessa hadn't said a single word ever since they left the mansion. She doesn't seem to be shaken up too much, and she was still following him, but she didn't say a single word.

"No," Vanessa shrugged her shoulders. "I'm betting you'd tell me eventually."

"Betting? That's unlike you." Master Tobias chuckled, but he wasn't complaining as they weren't in a position to have a chat right now. They weren't out of danger yet. "I'll explain it to you—but first, we need to leave the city."

"I feel like a teenager again," Vanessa gleefully said. "It's like we're sneaking from our parents."

"Yes—the only difference is that our parents now wield the power of gods." He shook his head.

Seeing that Vanessa hadn't changed a bit despite what happened brought a smile to Master Tobias' face.

It didn't entirely go as planned, but he was fortunate that it ended up this way.

"Oh, right, what about the bodies we left behind?" Vanessa asked curiously.

"One of the special abilities—that I got from my cursed family," Master Tobias said, still facing ahead, but he tensed even at the mention of his family. "Great for escaping. Once we're really in the clear, we would make a swap."

After walking for fifteen minutes into the forest, Master Tobias noticed a crack in a tree's bark.

It was the mark he left behind.

Stopping there, he knelt down and pushed aside the vegetation, finding a blood array carved underneath.

He nodded his head and scanned the surroundings with his crimson eyes.

"Anyone around?" Vanessa asked.

"No, we should be fine." Master Tobias nodded. "We're in the clear."

But the moment the words left his lips, the wind shifted—unnatural, heavy, wrong.