Ascension of the Dark Seraph

There will always be a reason behind everything, especially when it comes to people.

No matter who they are, there will always be something driving them to do certain things—even when it seems like there was no reason at all. A lunatic kills because it's fun, a crazy person kills because of something only they could see, a good person kills—because there's no other choice, and a tyrant kills because he can.

One might say they kill for no reason at all, but that's a certain.

It was the nature of humans to use their minds to make a reason out of anything.

Regardless of how obscure, there will always be a reason.

Just like Master Tobias, he must have a reason behind doing what he did to them.

But a reason could wane over time.

Since Master Tobias persisted for years upon years, concealing his true intentions while quietly steering others down the path he wanted them to take, the reason behind what he did must come from within. It had to be personal.

One that was still burning even with the test of time.

Lucivar didn't need to know it.

Just from knowing that alone, that the reason was personal, he knew exactly what to do.

His goal was to make Master Tobias experience the very pain he had inflicted on others, and when the chance was right there for the taking, Lucivar would never let it slip away. He has an uncanny instinct for inflicting pain on others, a gift he had recently recognized, and that instinct was now whispering to him something.

A method that'll break Master Tobias.

"Choose," Lucivar opened his chest brutally, cracking through his ribcage to expose his beating heart. "You can kill me right here and right now, or you can watch her die…"

Master Tobias' pupils dilated, but then, he heard Vanessa's weak voice seeping into his ears.

She called for him.

Almost instantly, his boy tensed as he glanced over his shoulder hesitantly.

He was afraid of what he would see.

Behind him, the roots had already turned stiff and surrounded Vanessa like a prison, reaching sky-high and closed up at the top. Their rough bark oozed with energy, one sharp and hostile enough to attack anything that gets too close.

Through the narrow gaps between them, Master Tobias caught sight of her face.

Her eyes were wide with panic, and her body was stiff as though frozen in shock and fear.

Looking down to the ground where the roots sprouted, they surged upward from a fissure in the earth, the very new crack that was made by Lucivar's powerful punch earlier. Only then did it strike Master Tobias hard with terrible clarity.

Lucivar had never intended to strike Master Tobias at all.

He only feigned aggression—the deliberate pressure, it had all been misdirection.

His true aim had always been Vanessa.

By driving Master Tobias into a moment of intensity, where one mistake might cost his life, Lucivar put him in an uncomfortable situation. Master Tobais needed to focus on him—while keeping an eye on the woman behind him.

Despite most of what came out of Master Tobias was a lie, the fact that she cared about Vanessa was not.

It was the only thing that was true.

And as expected, Master Tobias pushed Vanessa away to protect her.

But that very action was the one that put her in danger, as behind, Lucivar already prepared a trap.

Vanessa was now caught in the trap.

'Just as I expected,' Lucivar grinned. 'His tunnel focus is both his strength and weakness.'

Earlier, Lucivar might seem like he was playing around with his two initial attacks, but he wasn't.

His aim was not to hit Master Tobias, but to find out his weakness.

In the first attack, Lucivar charged the Night Piercer spell, which was incredibly fast for even someone at the Savant-rank realm. He made it obvious since the bullet was so fast that Master Tobias would've had no chance to block it if he wasn't ready.

Lucivar wanted to see how fast Master Tobias really was.

And he didn't disappoint.

Since the Night Piercer was his fastest ability, there's no merit in trying to grab Vanessa while Master Tobias' focus was on him. On the second attack, he used the Monstrification Meter to turn a tree into a monster, along with the rocks around.

Unlike the Night Piercer spell, these roots and rocks weren't as fast, but they encompass all angles.

Most attacks he did that were aimed at Master Tobias came from in front.

Master Tobias had no difficulty dodging and blocking every attack, and it was then—that Lucivar also learned about his foresight ability. He anticipated every move Lucivar made, and even countered at the last moment with his own attack.

It was a move that felt less like calculated responses and more like instinctive impulses.

Nothing escaped Lucivar's eyes.

From the way Master Tobias moved, Lucivar discerned that his foresight reached only a few seconds into the future. The moment he didn't know what to expect, he quickly shifted to attack to stop Lucivar from doing anything more.

And to top it off, a small rock slipped past Master Tobias' guard and struck his calf.

A telling flaw.

Lucivar noted that Master Tobias has a vision-bound limit: he could only glimpse what lay within the range of his vision. He couldn't turn his head during the effect of his ability, so anything beyond his sight stayed hidden.

Anything that was happening behind, he wouldn't know.

It was a flaw that Lucivar picked up instantly, and that sealed the deal on how to reach Vanessa.

But Master Tobias clung to the hope she herself had voiced earlier.

She was no helpless damsel, no fragile ornament that needed to be protected.

Even before he entered her world, she had endured the cruel world alone and came out on top.

Naturally, despite being trapped inside a prison of roots, he expected her to retaliate, expected her to try breaking the roots, expected her power to flare. She would defy her situation and find a way to survive the predicament.

However, what followed was nothing he could have foreseen.

Master Tobias watched in stunned silence as from beneath her, a root stirred, splitting—and reshaping with unnatural speed. Its fibers twisted into a cruel weapon—a blade of wood, lean and jagged, yet it was honed to lethal sharpness by the shimmer of ether coursing along its edge.

Seeing this, Master Tobias' pulse hammered as Vanessa's hand reached for it.

Her fingers curled around the weapon's hilt with unsettling calm.

Relief flickered for a heartbeat—she would certainly use it to cut herself free, and fight as expected.

But she did not.

Instead, Vanessa raised the blade slowly and deliberately.

Master Tobias watched in dawning horror—when she turned the blade around, pointing the tip toward her own chest. A chill ripped through him, dread swelling until it suffocated his thoughts. All the careful façade of composure crumbled in an instant, leaving only raw panic and the realization that he did not understand why Vanessa was doing this.

Swoosh!

Instinctively, he flapped his blood wings and reached his hand through the gap.

He was trying to reach Vanessa, but couldn't—she was too far away.

And the roots were barring him from moving closer.

"Vanessa, what are you doing?! Use that sword to free yourself! Why are you pointing it at yourself?!"

"I… I don't know!" Vanessa stammered. "My body won't listen to me!!"

Hearing this, Master Tobias paused.

'Is this an illusion?' He thought inwardly.

But then, Lucivar's voice rang as if he knew what Master Tobias was thinking, "It's not an illusion."

Master Tobias snapped his head to look at Lucivar, his eyes bulging with something close to worry.

Seeing this doesn't surprise Lucivar.

In fact, he understood how this must've felt for Master Tobias.

"What did you do…?" Master Tobias asked with a rasping, reluctant voice.

"Years manipulating us must've got into your head a little too much," Lucivar cackled—blood trickling down his chest, creating a gory line of deep crimson. "I have the blood of Gods inside me, remember? Do you really think, you, what? A Hybrid with the bloodline of Dracula is a match for me?"

"I have powers that no mortals could sense." He added cheekily.

Naturally, he was talking about the Heart of Mischief Nakshatras—he was talking about the Corruption Constellation that he unlocked from killing Caldaros. As long as he landed a hit—he could corrupt any person to do his bidding.

All that stood in the way of his corruption was evilness.

If he tried to corrupt someone already steeped in evil, his power would fail.

But as long as the target was good or had darkness to weak in comparison, his corruption would work.

Seems like Vanessa fell into the third category.

Now, Lucivar could tell Vanessa to do anything she wanted—and she'll have no choice but to obey it.

Upon hearing this, Master Tobias' face turned grim.

Lucivar put on a devilish smirk and repeated.

"Choose… Stab your blood weapon right here—and kill me," Lucivar pointed at his exposed, beating heart with a calmness that chilled the bones. "Or watch your beloved Vanessa kill herself. If you choose the first option, you don't have to worry—I'm not going to resist, so you can live happily ever after. And if you chose the second option, I'll let you go, and you can also live… Just not happily ever after."

Master Tobias tried desperately to hold back his emotions, but they were seeping out.

He clenched his jaw hard, fixing Lucivar with a steady gaze that hovered on the edge of a glare.

In hindsight, the choice should be obvious.

He should've killed Lucivar right now, but it wasn't that simple.

Recalling the fact that Master Tobias' reason was personal, Lucivar was putting him in a dilemma.

Either he kills Lucivar, who had been his 'project' for years upon years, for whatever reason he had that kept him going, or let Vanessa die. One choice showed a man who was dedicated to the cause; the other showed a man who was defeated by his own emotions.

Master Tobias will survive whichever option he decides to choose, but he will be defeated either way.

It was either let the years he had dedicated his life to be rendered meaningless, or lose his true love.

A lose-lose situation.

'The Devil's game…' Master Tobias thought, and summoned a blood sword. 'The only choice I have is to break this game.'

He swung his sword, trying to cut the roots down, but his blood sword couldn't slash through.

It wasn't sharp enough to cut the bark.

"There's no other choice, Tobias," Lucivar muttered with a chilling voice. "The only way to make it stop is by choosing one of the options. I suggest you make a choice quickly, or else you'll lose both."