Ascension of the Dark Seraph

"I also happened to figure you out…"

Master Tobias' heart lurched, but he didn't show it.

It would be a lie if he said that he wasn't nervous right now.

Especially so when he noticed Lucivar's smile vanished as soon as the mask covered his entire face.

He started to glance over his shoulder at Vanessa, to look at her instinctively, but stopped himself before turning fully. No matter how stressed he felt—he couldn't afford to lose focus on Lucivar, not even for a heartbeat, 'Focus. Don't show any weakness.'

Master Tobias let out a stressed exhale through his nose, his shoulder rising and lowering.

Once he made a deep inhale, his focus sharpened.

Clearly, Lucivar was not going to play around anymore—this will be their final clash.

Not using everything he had right now would be foolish of him.

'The mask contained Loki's power—it has an absolute effect, but fortunately, not looking at his eyes directly will be good enough to negate its effect. The blade contained Sutekh's power; it reacted only to blood, and it worked like a normal sword.' Master Tobias meticulously dissected the clash from earlier, reminding himself of what to do. 'I don't who whose third God was, but that spear he made… He should possess the ability to turn others into monsters.'

Even though he had to spy on the family more cleverly, thus spying less, he saw the spear Lucivar created.

He saw it in front of the academy, strapped on the roof of the car, before he left the city to train.

'And those rocks earlier,' Master Tobias lowered his stance as he grasped Lucivar's Divine Armaments perfectly. 'He must've turned them into monsters. The rocks might look like they were controlled—by him through telekinesis, but it wasn't. He was controlling it through telepathy.'

Looking at the cut he made on Lucivar's cheek, he frowned lightly as it was already healed.

Master Tobias couldn't reach for his blood and tampered with it.

'I knew most of his other abilities. At least the ones that are visible when used.' He nodded confidently.

A bead of sweat slid down his face as the temperature dropped around him unnaturally to a chilling one, frozen by the crushing tension that hung over them—like the Grim Reaper himself had arrived, patiently deciding which one of them would need guidance to the underworld. 'Of all his abilities, the ones that I need to be wary of the most are his energy absorption ability and that scarab of his. How do I deal with them?'

Upon thinking that, Master Tobias blinked in stress as he realized he was thinking it wrong.

He shouldn't be thinking of countering them.

Just then, the air around Lucivar changed as his body began to emanate heat.

One that made the space around his form sizzle.

It was bloodlust, so intense that it almost became something that could be seen with the naked eye.

'No, he's going to aim for Vanessa. He wanted me to feel the pain he felt—when Delilah died,' Master Tobias' eyes began to shimmer as he forced himself to use the Gaze of Cassandra again to peek into the very future that was awaiting him.

Blood pooled underneath his eyes as casting the ability again strained his eyes immensely.

A trickle of blood cascaded down to his cheeks from each eye.

Even then, he kept pushing himself.

One last time, he needed to do the ability one more time, and then he'll be fine.

'Lend me your strength, Cassandra,' He called for the origin of his bloodline, the name carved onto the walls of his Supernatural Ego. 'I know it's a lot to ask, but I've never asked anything from you—in my whole life. Just this once…!'

Like before, time slowed almost to a stop as he was given a glimpse of the future.

It started with a bright light, a blinding light, but soon, the scene cleared once again.

Master Tobias' pupils flared wide as his senses sharpened, driving him into razor-edged focus.

All of his senses converged on Lucivar, sharpening until the world around them seemed to fade into an eerie silence. His vision tunneled, yet in that narrow focus every detail stood out with merciless clarity, noticing things that he normally wouldn't notice.

He caught the bead of sweat sliding down Lucivar's neck, gleaming as though magnified beneath a lens.

He saw the faint twitch of muscle beneath his skin, the subtle shift of tendons tightening for motion.

He even saw the ghostly shimmer of ether flowing through his veins.

For Master Tobias, it was as if Lucivar stood an inch away—every heartbeat and breath lay completely bare before him. Each flicker of movement was seared into his memory, catalogued with utter flawless precision.

Tick…

It might be imaginary, but he could feel the clock ticking—a second passing by in this glimpse.

'Come on…'

Master Tobias kept his eyes open; seconds stretched to an eternity.

No matter how slight Lucivar's action might be, his eyes would catch it and record it.

Even when time ran out, he would also make sure to memorize the twitch of Lucivar's muscles.

So that when he returned to reality, he could make a prediction—another layer of safety.

Tick…

Tick…

Two more seconds passed.

Master Tobias could feel the strain in his eyes becoming unbearable, so much so that the blood vessels in them ruptured—causing his sclera to turn red. But he still fought to stay in this limbo. His blind eye began to glow with power, one that he reserved for emergency use.

His blind eye was not only there for decoration; it was a trump card of his.

'Are you going to make phantoms again?'

Tick…

'Are you going to boost your physique with the scarab and reach for Vanessa?'

Tick…

'Are you going to absorb my ether and render me helpless?!'

Tick…

'Show it to me! Show me what you have in store for me!'

Tick…

As the sixth second passed, it wasn't only Master Tobias' eyes that were bleeding, but blood came out of his nose, too. His maximum time being here was five seconds and a bit, but he was already at the sixth now, and Lucivar was still not making a move.

Just like in reality, he only stood there motionlessly, menacingly.

'Why… Why aren't you moving?'

Tick…

Upon the seventh stroke, Master Tobias' heart skipped a beat when in this limbo where time was slowed down so much that it almost froze, his eyes watched in horror as the corners of Lucivar's lips slowly curled.

Even though he was supposed to be under the influence of the Gaze of Cassandra, he moved.

His lips curled into a smile.

Then, Master Tobias' soul left his body when Lucivar's eyes slowly turned to look at him.

"Seeing my future?" Lucivar spoke, his voice ice-cold. "Who allowed you to do that? Not this time."

"Hmm?!"

Swish!

Master Tobias blinked his eyes and immediately heard the rustling of wind-swept birch trees.

It was a melodious sound, a calming sound of nature, but it horrified Master Tobias.

Not because the sound was horrifying, but because of what it entailed.

His Gaze of Cassandra ability was over!

Master Tobias' breath hitched as he snapped his gaze back to Lucivar, but he was a fraction too late.

In that fleeting instant, he caught sight of Lucivar's left fist, the weaker one—already raised overhead and swollen with nearly every God strand he possessed. Giving no time to react, he swung, driving his fist into the ground with crushing force.

KABOOM!!

The punch landed with a thunderous crack, the sound splitting the air like a violent storm.

The earth convulsed beneath Lucivar's indomitable fist—stone ruptured, soil exploded upward, and the ground within a hundred meters disintegrated as though struck by a God's hammer. Master Tobias and Vanessa were hurled skyward, helpless against the sudden upheaval.

Both of them knew Lucivar was strong, but this level of strength was monstrous.

He was almost as strong as a strength-type Savat-rank Hybrid.

Even Master Tobias wouldn't be able to come close to the level of raw strength he showed right now.

It was not merely a strike; it was a devastation.

One that could shear open a hill, or perhaps even carve a scar into the side of a robust mountain.

Swoosh!

Alertly, Master Tobias spread his blood-gorged wings in midair, forcing his balance back as shockwaves tore the forest apart beneath him. His eyes darted to Vanessa. She was also regaining her balance, seemed to still be composed, but danger clawed at him from every direction.

From underground, blackened roots surged out, twisting upward like serpents hungering for prey.

Master Tobias spun, narrowly weaving between their latching tendrils.

His heart pounded even as he dodged the tendrils, not because of sheer survival, but because of the worry he had for Vanessa. He couldn't possibly protect her while focusing on Lucivar at the same time, so he has to do something.

With a snarl, he slashed his palm, flinging a gentle crimson arc that struck Vanessa squarely.

She was hurled away from the collapsing battlefield to safety.

"Tobias?!" She called out his name in shock.

But Master Tobias didn't explain himself, turning his gaze back down.

Even though she could handle herself well, she could survive even against Lucivar; he simply couldn't fight while anchored by divided focus. Underneath, the forest itself was falling apart. Birch trees toppled one after another, dragged into yawning fissures as the earth continued to crumble toward the epicenter.

Lucivar.

And there he stood, amidst ruin, untouched, framed by the chaos he had created.

Four wings behind him saved him from falling down to the earth's crust.

But his eyes were still staring at Master Tobias.

A cold shiver crawled up Master Tobias' spine—he could feel the danger radiating from Lucivar was no longer like before; it became absolute, something final. His instincts screamed at him to move, to get rid of Lucivar, to do anything.

'What are you going to do?' Master Tobias gritted his teeth. 'No, I need to attack!"

Just as he was about to flap his wings towards Lucivar, his eyes widened.

Lucuivar's black sword gleamed faintly in the settling dust, and with a twist, he pointed it inwardly.

Seeing this, Master Tobias' eyes widened in shock and confusion as, mid-flip to avoid a coil of roots, he caught sight of Lucivar smiling at him and slashed the blade across his own chest. Blood spurted out like a fountain.

Master Tobias' mind was assaulted with confusion, clear shock, and concern on his face.

He didn't expect Lucivar to strike himself.

As he landed on the ground, Lucivar's voice rang dominantly.

"Choose," He demanded, reaching his fingers into the fresh wound to open up his chest. "You can kill me right here and right now, or you can watch her die…"

"What?" Master Tobias' pupils dilated.

But then, Vanessa's weak voice seeped into his ears.

"Tobias…?"