Ascension of the Dark Seraph - Chapter 271

Chapter 271: Roses
Lucivar looked at the three roses with an evident frown.

Similarly, the other participants looked around in question, also confused about the roses.

“Now what…?” He muttered quietly.

Moments later.

Lucivar and the other participants, once again, were brought into the arena—in front of the crowd that seemed to be larger than yesterday. Unlike the first day, the second and third days were the main event, so the crowd seemed more excited.

However, unlike yesterday, there was one main change.

Surrounding the arena, there were exactly ten vaults right underneath the crowd’s seats.

Each one of them bore a carved crest representing a faction.

Among them, Lucivar recognized a couple.

The Vanguard Institute, the Green Tempest Clan, and even the Crimson Wolf Clan were among the ten sponsors that came to watch the second stage. Of course—there was also the city’s governor at the center, a dotting grandfather who came to watch his grandson perform.

For the other six, Lucivar didn’t recognize them.

However, these factions are definitely strong, perhaps led by a Savant or even a Paragon-rank Hybrid.

Only the strongest factions of Sunhold City were called to attend the second stage.

So it wasn’t surprising to see familiar faces.

‘Though, I’m surprised the Trading Union isn’t among them.’ Lucivar thought inside.

Neither of his sponsors was here, and that’s a bummer.

As the instructor explained to the participants earlier, there will be a gratification period before the main event of the day starts. It was to show gratitude for the sponsors, who took their time to pick one or several youngsters and endorse them for the tournament.

All participants were given three roses.

Each rose represents different things—the red rose represents favorability, the black rose represents hostility, and the white rose represents neutral interest, which could be interpreted as either mild favorability, hostility, or interest.

During this gratification process, each participant must give all three roses they had to these factions.

Of course, there would be a section to place their roses for the other sponsors who weren’t attending.

‘In hindsight, some might think this is gratification process is only a formality—but it wasn’t,’ Lucivar thought, glancing over the ten attending factions. ‘It’s also the process of making an ally—or an enemy. Since I don’t see any rule forbidding teaming up, I must choose carefully. Who’s going to be my enemy, and who’s going to be my ally…’

From inside one of the vaults, Julian sat on the middle throne, facing ahead.

He peered through the open-faced vault that gave him an unobstructed view to the arena calmly.

Beside him, on the same kind of throne, was Callista.

Gone is her confidence and overbearing aura, replaced by a calmer air that made her look more refined than imposing. One of her arms was still gone, the remnant—from her battle with Lucivar, and also the constant reminder of her transgression.

She wasn’t the same as before losing to Lucivar.

Sitting slightly behind on a smaller seat were both Elira and Thalia.

Both of them looked spectacular in their high-waisted green culotte pants, which highlighted their curves, and formal shirts, which matched the color of their hair. Unlike their parents, both of them were leaning forward, searching for someone in the crowd of participants.

“Oh, I see him! Look, sister!” Thalia pointed at Lucivar, standing motionless among the participants.

Leaning to the side a little, Elira also clasped her hands in excitement, “Yes! I see him now!”

“I wonder which factions he would give his roses to,” Thalia mumbled, curious about his decision. “I know he’s going to give the white or red rose for his sponsors, but if he could give one to us… Ah, that’d be really nice…”

“Don’t be ridiculous, there’s no way he’d give it to us,” Elira answered, but her face was red.

She was secretly hoping that Lucivar would give their family the red rose.

Just then, Julian’s baritone voice cuts through the vault, “He’s not going to give any of the roses to us, there’s no need for him to do that. He’s cunning and wicked, we knew that already, so he’s certainly not going to give it to us.”

Upon hearing this, Callista unconsciously reached for her non-existent arm.

“Dad, do you really have to crush our hope like that?” Thalia crossed her arms in protest.

“I’m sorry, princess,” Julian turned and smiled acutely. “I can buy you roses instead of him.”

“It’s not the same, Dad. Just stop talking if you don’t want to make it worse,” She pouted in annoyance.

Elira patted Thalia’s head to calm her down, even though it did the opposite, and looked at Julian, “Dad, why do you think he’s not going to choose us? Although we started off wrong, our relationship with him isn’t that of an enemy now.”

“It’s precisely because of that,” Julian answered and gazed forward again.

“This isn’t a formality. This would affect him in the second stage. Through this, he can basically choose which participants would be his enemy or his ally in the second stage. We only have Mirel to represent us, and Mirel is already on his side, so he won’t give any roses to us.” He explained elaborately.

“If it’s about the participants, then the Vanguard Institute and the Jola Family have the most champions, having eight and ten, respectively. So will he give the red roses to either of them?” Elira added, curious as to what Lucivar would pick.

“Not that simple,” Julian shook his head. “We’ll have to see.”

Clearing her throat, Callista opened her mouth, “Most participants would reserve their white and red roses for the governor and their sponsors, so what they needed to think about most is the black rose. Giving a black rose to a faction is risky, he could get targeted, so we might get a rose from him.”

“The black rose?” Elira raised her eyebrows.

On the other hand, Thalia smiled shyly, “I don’t mind getting the black rose from him.”

“Thalia, I think you’re fantasizing about him too much…”

“What? Why do you care? You just want to hog him for yourself!”

“We’re sisters, twins! And you still accused me of that?”

Julian squinted his eyes at Lucivar, ignoring Thalia and Elira quarrelling in the background.

He was quite curious as to what decision Lucivar would make.

But then, his eyes shifted to the vault across him, where a man sat along with his people.

The Crimson Wolf Clan.

‘How did they get invited? Did they come here to take revenge on Lucivar? Might be…’ He thought.

Meanwhile, all participants were gathered at the center of the stadium.

All at once, the participants would have to give out all three of their roses, but a five-minute grace period was granted for them to contemplate their decisions. As the final moments slipped away, the announcers—a charismatic man and a radiant woman standing atop an elevated stage—stepped forward to declare the start.

“Now, are you all ready to see who our beloved participants would pick?”

“Ooh~ So exciting!”

“Let’s see which faction they choose to give the red rose, showing favorability…”

“White rose, showing indecision…”

“And the black rose, showing hostility!”

Both of them complete each other’s sentences in sync, turning grim at the mention of the black rose.

Then, the signal to start appeared on the screens above the arena.

Almost instantly, the participants scattered, moving to the designated factions, which were going to get their roses. Just as Lucivar expected, most participants placed the red roses in front of the wall where all other factions that weren’t invited were carved onto.

Most of their sponsors were there, so this was common courtesy.

It also includes the Blessed Hand Clan and the Trading Union.

On top of that, most white roses were placed in front of the governor’s vault as a sign of respect.

Considering the situation, more than half came to the same conclusion—red rose for their sponsor, white rose for the governor, and the black rose for the faction they disliked the most. Since they couldn’t choose the same option again, they couldn’t place the black rose in the same spot as their red rose.

For most, this was extremely bad for them.

Giving the black rose to the ten attending factions meant having a target on their backs.

Surely, their champions would do anything to eliminate those who gave a black rose to their sponsor.

But there was no other choice, so they chose the least threatening.

Unsurprisingly, the Feradith Family received the highest number of black roses.

It was logical considering everyone knew that the family only has one champion, one person, Mirel.

No matter how strong Mirel was, he was only one man.

No chance he could take down most of them who gave their black rose to the Feradith Family.

Lucivar observed his surroundings.

He watched as Mirel placed his red rose on the Feradith Family side, his white rose on the governor’s side, and casually tossed his black rose before the wall of lesser factions. Meanwhile, Caldaros offered his red rose to the governor, his white rose to the Sunrise Clan, and set his black rose before, surprisingly, the Vanguard Institute.

From what Lucivar found out, Caldaros lost to the Vanguard Institute in the previous tournament.

So his choice wasn’t surprising.

Soon, the crowd boomed when Seth finally made his move.

With a courteous glance toward the governor, his grandfather, he placed the red rose down, then calmly set the white rose on the wall of the lesser factions. Left with only the black rose, he strode to the center of the arena with an air of quiet dominance, raised the dark bloom high for all to see, and tore it apart.

It was not only for show, but a statement.

Nobody here deserved his black rose, as that would only dismiss his status as the lord of the city.

Once he was done, Lucivar snapped out of his daze and realized he was the only one left.

‘Fuck, I was too absorbed…’ He thought wryly inside.

Now, he has become the center of attention.

“Lucivar of the Bloodhaven Academy, he has quite a lot of people holding him in high regard!”

“Yes, his heroic art in Kalinan City earned him a name among the stars!”

“Let’s see who he would pick.”

As the announcers hyped him up, surprisingly, he headed for the Feradith Family.

Seeing this, Thalia and Elira were excited, expecting to get a black rose from him as a safe choice.

But surprisingly enough, Lucivar raised the white rose and placed it down.

All members of the Feradith Family were shocked to see this.

Lucivar gave them his white rose, not his black rose.

Upon setting the white rose down, Lucivar winked at the vault and then walked to the side.

He stopped in front of the Shadow Clan’s vault and made eye contact with the clan leader.

Fearlessly, he placed the black rose down, ignoring the sharp looks he was getting.

“Now, for the red rose! Who is he going to give it to?” The announcer exclaimed.

Lucivar played with the red rose for a moment before he walked across the arena, going to the other side to another vault. He was smiling devilishly inside as he made eye contact with a familiar face that he had met recently—Ragnar.

Surprising everyone, he placed the red rose in front of the Crimson Wolf Clan’s vault.

But then, the crowd sucked in a cold breath.

He’s not giving a rose to the governor?