Ascension of the Dark Seraph

Outside of the academy.

Before heading back, Nerissa led them to a bakery she had once visited.

A small detour to ease her sudden cravings and escape, if only briefly, from the heavy atmosphere that lingered after that painful night. The shop offered a wide array of cakes, each one a chance for them to indulge and forget about what happened for a moment.

"When exactly did you visit this bakery?" Leandra asked, looking at the modest shop before her.

Since it was still early in the night, there were some people inside.

It wasn't crowded, but not empty either.

"Back when we visited the night market and I strayed. I ate here alone. Fortunately, Lucivar decided to accompany me, or else it's going to be very lonely," Nerissa answered with a beaming smile, then made an excited gesture with her hand, motioning them to enter. "Come on—I'll recommend you some good cakes!"kjlk

Leandra and Ravenna could only smile at her enthusiasm and entered inside.

Like being in her element, Nerissa explained to them the type of cakes that were displayed, and even helped them pick one that would suit their tastes. Leandra took the chocolate one, and Ravenna settled on the red velvet one.

As for Nerissa, she picked three slices from three different cakes.

Instead of sitting by the window, the three of them went upstairs.

Most of the customers ordered take-out, so there aren't many people on the second floor.

In fact, there's only a pair of women on the corner.

Not even waiting for the two to properly sit down, Nerissa already scooped a piece from the yellow one and shoved the spoon inside her mouth. As soon as the lemon flavor touched her tongue, both her eyes instantly beamed.

"Eemmh~! It's so good!" She commented, eyes turning starry.

Seeing her, Leandra sneered, "Funny—I've never heard you complain about the taste of cake."

Nerissa gestured for them to taste theirs eagerly.

Looking down at her chocolate cake, Leandra scooped a piece and put in her mouth.

"Hmm, I get it now," Leandra nodded repeatedly—still smacking her lips to taste the cake better. "Now I understand why you like cake so much."

"Right? Right?!" Nerissa smiled beamingly.

"How about yours, Ravenna?" Leandra turned to Ravenna.

She smiled faintly and nodded, "It's tasty."

"Oh, wait! I got a stomach-cake—gotta go!" Nerissa abruptly stood up and rushed to the toilet.

Leandra looked at her running behind and shook her head, "She's quite eccentric today."

"Too eccentric," Ravenna answered, focusing on her red velvet cake.

But her lackluster reaction, and the way she barely touched the cake, made it obvious something was weighing on her mind. It was unlike Ravenna to be this quiet—normally, she was the one who lifted up the mood for the others.

"Too eccentric? What's your problem? Isn't that a good thing?"

"Forget about it."

Hearing this, Leandra pushed aside her plate and crossed her arms on the table.

"Okay, that's it. Just tell me what's wrong. I can tell from earlier that you wanted to say something to me, but for some reason, you're not saying anything in front of Nerissa." She leaned forward. "Tell me what's wrong, so that I can help."

Ravenna paused for a few seconds, glancing at her a couple of times, before she too pushed her plate.

It was clear that Leandra was spot-on.

"I'm not sure… but Nerissa's being a little too bright, too eccentric. Just a gut feeling," Ravenna glanced aside and leaned back in her chair, slumping before folding her arms. "I used to be really close with my grandma—but I hated my grandpa. Whenever I complained about him, Grandma always told me, 'Even the cruel grow kind at the door, and it stuck with me."

"Even the cruel grow kind at the door? What does that mean?" Leandra asked, confused.

Ravenna turned to look at her again, "She's basically saying that he's old, and very soon, he'll get kinder as he neared his end. To make me put up with him longer. And you know what? She was right. He did get nicer."

"Wait a second, are you saying Nerissa is going to die? No way. Lucivar wouldn't allow that."

"I don't know... But I would be assured, too, if not for Lucivar acting the same exact way."

"Wait… What do you mean?"

"You'll know what I'm talking about when you see him. Lucivar was with Mirel all day long. I've seen them going out together."

"Aren't they going to the Hybrid Association?"

"No, the interrogation ended yesterday. They would be called again when the need arises—but I don't think they were called again. Lucivar even came to me last night, asking if I'm free tomorrow. Anyway, the bottom line is, I don't like this."

Hearing this, Leandra looked down at the table.

Her mind churned again as it seemed she wasn't the only one feeling a bad omen in the air.

Ravenna did too.

Just then, Nerissa came back and skipped and hummed her way back to the table.

She sat down and savored the cakes again, only to stop when she noticed the two were silent.

"Did I… miss something?" She asked with a broken smile.

"No, it's nothing," Leandra snapped out of her daze—and forced a smile. "I think I am also having a stomach-cake."

About an hour later, the trio arrived back at the academy.

However, their steps faltered when they noticed two familiar figures in the lobby.

Leandra watched as Lucivar tapped on Mirel's shoulder before Mirel went on ahead upstairs.

From the angle she was looking at them, she couldn't see their faces, but she reckoned Mirel wasn't in good shape from the way he walked. He was walking firmly, but there was an edge to it—almost like he was trying to be strong.

Then, her heart skipped a beat when Lucivar turned around and met her gaze.

For a moment there, he seemed surprised.

But then, a smile crept to his gaze—a genuine smile, one that Leandra never saw him wearing.

Most of the time, he was smirking or even smiling like he was always scheming.

But this? It looked like a good guy smiling in genuine happiness.

'What's this…? Why is he smiling like that? I don't like it." Leandra thought unnervingly.

She instinctively turned to Ravenna, only to find her already watching her with a peculiar look.

One that clearly said, 'See?'.

Lucivar had never been an extrovert—he rarely smiled other than when he was feeling the pleasure of witnessing his wicked plan unfold. So, seeing him smiling like this caught all of them off guard. All of them except for one person, it seemed.

'She doesn't seem surprised,' Leandra looked at Nerissa. 'Did she know? Wait… She's the only one—among us who is his Vestal. Does she know what his plan was? I can't crack Lucivar, but I think I can make her talk.'

Ignoring their weird gazes, Lucivar approached and stood before them.

"Where did you girls come from?" He asked with brows raised.

"I took them to the bakery we ate back then," Nerissa answered quickly. "You know, you accompanied me there."

Both Leandra's and Ravenna's faces twitched when they heard this.

'Did she need to elaborate? They're surely hiding something.'

"I remembered, I'm not senile, Nerissa." Lucivar cackled, smoothening what the two assumed—as a blatant blunder, then turned towards them. "Can I borrow Ravenna for a bit? I need to talk to her about something."

"No," Ravenna answered sharply. "If you want to say something, then say it here."

Hearing this, Lucivar was visibly taken aback.

He wasn't expecting resistance from her.

'Good work, Ravenna.' Leandra nodded inside. 'It's harder for him to do whatever he was planning to do if we stick together. Now, what are you going to do?'

Her eyes narrowed, waiting for Lucivar to speak.

Lucivar recovered almost instantly and shrugged his shoulders, "If that's the case, then alright. I'll give it to you here."

From his pocket, he took out a small black crystal fragment.

Leandra expanded her Hybrid senses to feel what it was, as it seemed to be something supernatural, but she couldn't sense anything from it. Despite it looking like a special crystal from how it gleamed, it has no ether at all.

But Ravenna, on the other hand, had a different reaction.

Her eyes widened completely as if she were looking at a treasure.

Stunned, she raised her gaze to meet with Lucivar's and pointed at herself, "It's for me?"

"Yes," Lucivar nodded. "That night, I did horrible things. And due to those things, I built up a lot of negative energy, like, a lot of it, and I thought of you. Instead of letting it go to waste, I figured, why not gather it and give it to you/ it's useless for me anyway."

Despite trying to remain calm, Ravenna's hand reached for it instinctively.

She managed to catch herself, but Lucivar already grabbed her hand and handed it to her.

"If that's all you wanted to say to her, why not give it to her straight—from the start?" Leandra asked, trying to sound calm, but there was an edge to her voice that betrayed her suspicion. "Why do you need to borrow her?"

Hearing this, Lucivar scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Instead of answering, he pivoted his body away, "I think Ravenna is better to answer that question."

"Me?" Ravenna's face went blank, confused.

But Lucivar already waved his hand and headed back to the dormitory, "Oh, I also found Bob. Meet me tomorrow morning. We'll give him a proper burial. I'm thinking of burying him beside Bakar, but you tell me what you think tomorrow."

All of them were stunned.

Lucivar said it so casually that they were completely caught off guard.

Most still clung to the hope that Bob was alive somewhere, since no body had ever been found. But from Lucivar's words, it was clear that Bob was really gone. Master Tobias had killed him.

And knowing Bob, he had likely uncovered the truth about Master Tobias before any of them did.

He was simply that attentive.

And he got killed for it.

Ravenna was the one shaken the most by the news.

It was also shocking to Leandra, but she noticed Lucivar looking back at them one last time.

He's not looking at them, but at one of them.

'He's looking at Nerissa,' Leandra thought, and when she turned, she was surprised to find Nerissa's face was devoid of her earlier cheerfulness. It became grim for a moment. 'It's a signal. But for what? It clearly disturbed Nerissa.'

Reaching out her hand, she placed a hand on Nerissa's shoulder, "Hey, are you okay?"

"What do you mean?" Nerissa's face turned bright again—almost like a switch. "I got something in my eyes. Anyway, I'm going up first. Let's meet up tomorrow in Lucivar's room. Good night!"

Not even waiting for a reply, Nerissa walked away.

Leandra could only watch her enter the dormitory in utter confusion, "Just what is going on?"