Ascension of the Dark Seraph

Swish…

Master Tobias stilled, his stride faltering as a sudden breath of wind ghosted across his skin.

It was fleeting, but sharp enough to set his nerves on edge.

Instinctively, he shoved dirt with his foot to cover the blood array again in case someone was nearby.

Slowly, his eyes swept the treeline on both sides, meticulously scanning the area for the second time, feeling that there was something wrong. Even a small whimper from a rat would not flee his senses, so there shouldn't be anyone around.

Above all, Master Tobias trusted his senses—they had accompanied him for the longest time.

Rarely did his senses betray him.

As a high-rank Vampire Hybrid, both sight and scent revealed more than any Hybrid could fathom. The pulse of blood within living bodies beat like faint lanterns to him, glimpses through flesh and bark alike. No matter how thick the cover, no living beings could hide from his see-through gaze.

But despite the sinking feeling in his stomach, the forest around him remained empty.

No hearts, no warmth, no hidden breaths.

It was utterly and completely empty.

A faint frown tugged at his face as he referred to his other bloodline.

If his vampiric gifts somehow faltered, not enough to deal with the enemy he was dealing with, he still bore the bloodline of a Seer. Master Tobias made a slow inhale and opened that inner thread. His vision clouded to white.

Seconds unfolded before him in fractured glimpses—small flashes of what was to come.

Other than seeing the potential in others, his second bloodline also gave him precognition ability.

He could feel what was about to happen a few seconds into the future.

But once again, nothing stirred either.

No warning. No threat. No danger. Only silence.

Checking with both bloodlines should put his mind at ease, but it didn't.

Even now, the unease lingered.

"Something wrong?" Vanessa also looked around warily, confusion gnawing at her. "Didn't you say we are in the clear? What happened?"

Master Tobias raised a finger, stopping her from making noises, "Did you not hear that?"

Her brows knitted together.

"Hear what?" She asked in return since she didn't hear anything. "It was quiet. I didn't hear anything."

"Precisely…" Master Tobias' face tensed as that was exactly the problem. "It's nearing or even passed midnight, and we're inside a natural forest. No people around us—animals and insects should be more at ease, but there's nothing."

Now that Master Tobias said that, Vanessa realized that the forest was eerily quiet.

So much so that their voice seemed to reverberate further than it should have.

Even the leaves weren't rustling, though the wind was active tonight.

Master Tobias and Vanessa looked back at the treeline, the quiet pressing against them like a weight. No branches whispered, no grass bent. Only absolute silence. A silence too complete to be natural, the kind that only warns of trouble.

His frown deepened, a sliver of unease threading through his otherwise unshakable composure.

'It can't be Lucivar.' He thought inside, a small bead of sweat tracing down the side of his face. 'He had only reached the Third Divine Elevation. At this point, his body needed to adjust. No matter how compatible he was with the darkness, the process couldn't be instantaneous.'

Regardless of his gut feeling, this shouldn't be Lucivar's doing.

Not only did Lucivar need to consolidate the Gods' powers, but he was also wounded beyond measure.

Master Tobias even kept the blood lances active—so that they would retain Lucivar there, at least until he and Vanessa got away for good. 'He could only heal while he was conscious, that's how his healing power works, absorb energy to mend the body. He should be unconscious now. It's not him.'

It was then, his body tensed as he looked behind without turning his head.

Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

For a moment, the world seemed to tilt when the clapping sound echoed.

Master Tobias and Vanessa finally turned around, only to look up at the sight of a man sitting on a thick tree branch, looking down at them while leaning his face against a fist. His form was silhouetted by the full moon, turning him into a shadow with purple eyes.

Almost instantly, Vanessa gulped harshly as she realized who it was.

Lucivar.

Seeing him sitting there, utterly untouched by the battle they had earlier, struck Master Tobias greatly.

It was akin to a blow to his stomach.

Shock rippled through him, but he forced his expression into calm neutrality.

In a situation like this, calmness can be the difference between life and death—as Lucivar would most likely eat him if he showed any sign of weakness. Slowly, Master Tobias pulled Vanessa's hand, placing himself between her and Lucivar.

"Where were you going?" He asked, smiling devilishly. "I never said you could leave."

"I must say, you have a lot of tricks up your sleeve, Blessed Oracle. How did you manage this, I wonder?" Master Tobias asked, deliberately calling Lucivar by what the Gods called him to throw him off, and it succeeded a little. "I thought I'd bested you earlier."

"Bested me…?" Lucivar raised a brow, finding this statement ridiculous.

Beating him is not as easy as that.

He had been beaten once before his rebirth, and now that he was a new man, he vowed never again.

So, beating him would take a lot more than using his emotions against him.

As Lucivar processed what he said, Master Tobias was wracking his brain to find a way out of this.

'How did he know that I'm going here?' He thought, holding back from frowning as he couldn't understand how Lucivar was here when he hadn't even shared this escape plan with anyone but himself. 'Did he know about the blood array? About my abilities? No, I don't think so.'

If Lucivar really knew what Master Tobias' plan was by coming here, he wouldn't be like this.

He would prepare a trap instead, which he was entirely capable of doing.

Perhaps, tampering—with the blood array using his Godly powers, or even employing the Fool's Trick, the ability he once used on Axel and Caldaros. But he did none of that. From this alone, it was safe to assume Lucivar only knew he would come here.

'Must be Loki's ability,' Master Tobias thought grimly. 'I knocked him out to prevent him from using his Godly powers to track me down like this, but he was somehow here, completely fine even after the fight we had. How did he do this?'

Lucivar finally snapped out of his daze.

And from the looks on his face, it seemed he had decided not to question anything further.

He decided to get this chapter over with so that he could be free from manipulations.

It was good for him to think like that, but incredibly bad for Master Tobias.

"You've only bested a phantom of mine," Lucivar said cheekily, finding it amusing that a Savantt-rank Hybrid was having trouble defeating him properly. "My real self has always been here, you know, sitting around, waiting for you to come."

As he said that, his grin grew wider, "How was it? Fighting my perfect phantom? Strong, right?"

"Oh… I didn't know you had that kind of ability." Master Tobias nodded.

But this wasn't a surprise to Lucivar.

He learned this ability when he was out of the city to visit Morriva, and at the time, Master Tobias had already contacted Horus' avatar. Since Horus' avatar was coming, there's no way he would try and peek at the battle.

Doing so would only put him in more danger.

Surely, Master Tobias kept his identity hidden from Horus' avatar.

Lucivar became even more certain of that since he now cared for Vanessa's safety.

And when Lucivar came back to the academy, the family was already very suspicious, making spying on them way harder than normal. Due to that, Master Tobias must not see what he did to get rid of Horus' avatar's influence over the academy.

It was precisely why Lucivar decided to use the Aqua Mirror ability.

He leveraged on the fact that Master Tobias didn't know anything about this ability, and it paid off.

'I've been carless,' Master Tobias thought, his hands trembling in regret. 'He must've swapped with his phantom when he sent me plummeting down from the sky. Even so, how did he hide from my senses? Is it another ability?'

"You're sweating something awful, master…" Lucivar drawled—a mischievous grin tugging at his lips as the chaos-violet in his eyes bled into a gleaming emerald green. "What's wrong? Did you not expect me to strike back like this? Are things no longer unfolding the way you planned?"

"From the start, you've been reading through my mind, haven't you? Can you read through me now?" He continued, raising his index finger to tap on his forehead. "Can you tell me what's going on inside here? Can you still do that?"

Hearing this, Vanessa pinched Master Tobias' white shirt from behind.

She could feel the change; it was adamant.

Earlier, Master Tobias had the situation under control—but he wasn't now.

He was unravelling despite his stoic calm expression.

Feeling her touch made Master Tobias' body tense harder.

No matter what, he needed to play his hands correctly and find a way out or else it would be a problem.

If he failed to outwit Lucivar here, it'll be game over for him and Vanessa.

Lucivar tilted his head, eyes narrowing as the silence from Master Tobias was answer enough.

"In fact, now, I can read your mind," He added, now pointing his index finger at Master Tobias' forehead with clear amusement. "You're fretting about how I can hide myself from your senses, right? Do you want me to tell you the answer?"

Slowly, Lucivar willed Glepinir's Echo to appear.

A shining green ring that emanated divine power more ferocious than it ever was.

"It's because of this ring, the Gleipnir's Echo. Nobody can see it unless I want to show them," Lucivar said, rubbing his beloved ring with his thumb. "It can suppress my aura, and now that I've reached the Third Divine Elevation, its power has swelled. Not even a Savant-rank Hybrid could sense me…"

Swish!

Lucivar dropped down from the tree branch.

He landed gracefully and straightened his back, the smirk never leaving his face.

"Since you like to play with our emotions so much, let me repay back the favor," Lucivar said, then his eyes shifted to look directly at Vanessa, who was hiding behind Master Tobias' body. "Let's play a game. It's called Guess What the Devil Is Thinking. I'm going to do something to her, and all you need to do is to guess what it is."

"A friendly reminder in respect for our fleeting but quite fun relationship. If you failed to guess, it's going to really.... really hurt for her."