Ascension of the Dark Seraph - Chapter 278

Chapter 278: Deeper Doubt
Leandra bit her lip, deliberating whether she should approach Ciri right now.

She had to know who Ciri really was.

Above the dynamic between them, she knew Lucivar the most, or at least she believed that she knew him the most. She knew that he’d never let go of anyone who would get in the way between him and power, never.

Leandra had experienced it once, so she’s the only one who knows.

Even the Feradith Family certainly suffered the same fate.

It was weird to see the problem between them one day disappear as if it had never been there.

She wasn’t stupid enough to believe that it was resolved naturally.

No—Lucivar must’ve done something.

At this moment, she only knew that Lucivar was going to end Caldaros after the tournament.

In order for her to find out—the full scope of his plan, and also understand his mind better, she must approach Ciri. Leandra, don’t believe Ciri being here is a coincidence—she must be tied somehow to all of this.

‘But I’m not used to making friends, or even socializing in general. How…?’ Leandra thought inside.

She wanted to approach Ciri, but she didn’t know how.

“Leandra,” Nerissa called, placing her hand above Leandra’s hand. “You look distracted.”

“I-It’s nothing,” Leandra forced out a smile.

She could easily fool anyone with her cold expression, but Nerissa knew when she was lying.

“You know you can talk to me about anything, right? I’m always here.” She assured.

Upon hearing this, Leandra paused for a second, staring into Nerissa’s eyes, deliberating whether telling her about this would be a good idea. Eventually, she decided to trust Nerissa. Out of all the others, she knew Nerissa was the most trustworthy.

Leandra checked whether Ravenna or Bakar were listening.

Once she found out that they were focused on the tournament, she turned back to Nerissa again.

“I need to befriend someone,” She leaned forward and whispered. “Behind you, there is a woman at the very corner of our section with brown hair. She’s wearing a hoodie and is fully immersed in watching the tournament. I need to get close to her.”

Nodding her head, Nerissa glanced over in that direction and found the woman.

It was easy to spot her because, for some reason, she looked radiant.

As if her skin was glowing, and she was also the only one who wasn’t cheering like the others.

Compared to being excited for the tournament, she was seated, and her eyes depicted sadness.

“Can I ask if this has something to do with Lucivar?” Nerissa asked.

Leandra was surprised, but recovered quickly, “Did you realize it too?”

“No, I’m only guessing,” Nerissa shook her head. “Only Lucivar could make you act like this.”

Not expecting that answer, Leandra exhaled roughly.

But she didn’t argue.

“Yes, it’s about Lucivar. Can you plea-”

“She’s going somewhere!”

Almost instantly, Leandra snapped her head towards Ciri and found her standing up while covering her mouth. It was hard to see, but there seemed to be tears drizzling down her face. “Come on, we have to follow her. Don’t tell the others.”

“I’m accompanying Leandra to the toilet, be right back,” Nerissa said to Ravenna and Bakar.

Neither of them responded, too fixated on the tournament.

However, once the two excused themselves to the toilet, Ravenna glanced towards them.

It was clear that they were up to something, but she didn’t say anything.

Like spies, the two went back inside and found Ciri fast-walking through the corridor.

Fearing that she might be leaving the premises, Nerissa and Leandra quickly followed her from behind but realized that she was only going to the toilet. Exchanging a look, the two paused for a second before eventually deciding to also go to the toilet.

Meanwhile, inside the toilet, Ciri immediately headed for the sink.

Turning on the faucet, she cupped a handful of water and splashed her face before looking in the mirror.

She stared into her reflection, tears and water mixing on her face.

“No… this isn’t you,” She murmured, her mind replaying the moment she saw Caldaros luring enemies in, forcing Lucivar into the fight. But what haunted her most was his smile—subtle, yet unmistakable, a glint of enjoyment as he beat other participants or dragged Lucivar into chaos. “Lucivar’s the one who brings out the worst in you… If you can get rid of him, things will return to how they were.”

“Yes…” She wiped her tears. “That has to be it. The Caldaros I know would never act like this.

Just as she calmed herself down, the door was opened.

Startled, Ciri quickly acted as if she were washing her hands when a young woman entered.

Nerissa stood before the sink right beside Ciri, acting composed as she turned on the faucet to wash her hands. Then, she stole a few glances at Ciri, noticing that her eyes were puffy and slightly red, “Not enjoying the tournament as much?”

“Hmm?” Ciri turned to look at her reflection in confusion.

Smiling lightly, Nerissa pointed at her own eyes, “You looked like a mess.”

“Ah, something like that,” Ciri replied, keeping it polite. “I don’t do well with blood and all of that.”

“Did you come here for someone?” Nerissa asked again, while still pretending to fix her appearance. “I came here to watch someone. I’m from the Bloodhaven Academy—you see. He’s a participant, Lucivar is his name if you know.”

Upon hearing his name being mentioned, Ciri was stunned, not expecting this at all.

“Lucivar…?” She repeated incredulously. “Can I ask who you are to him?”

“We’re not blood related, but he’s family,” Nerissa answered nonchalantly as she offered a smile, one that was angelic to see. “Do you also know him? Are you also—a student of the academy? I’m only an academy hunter, so I don’t really know many students.”

“Are you flattering me?” Ciri blushed a little. “I’m in my late thirties.”

“Oh, really?” Nerissa’s eyes widened a little. “You looked very young. I couldn’t tell at all!”

Both of them shared a brief laugh, light and genuine.

But as the laughter faded, an awkward silence crept in between them.

“I-I’m also here for someone,” Ciri said, filling in the silence. “My niece, Caldaros? He’s also from the Bloodhaven Academy. You must know about him since he’s the first ranker, not that I’m an expert in the dynamic between students and academy hunters.”

“Oh, really?” Nerissa’s face twitched when she heard the name. “Of course, I know Caldaros. That’s exciting.”

Ciri hesitated for a beat, then suddenly asked, “Is he good?”

“I’m sorry?” Nerissa raised an eyebrow.

“A-Ah,” Ciri immediately recovered and waved her hand. “I meant Lucivar, how is he to you? I always need to take care of Caldaros. He’s quite a troublesome kid, always wanting to spend some quality time and begging me to cook him food.”

“Lucivar, huh…” Nerissa tapped her chin for a moment. “If I had to say, he’s really a bad person who always does bad things.”

Upon hearing this, Ciri’s expression tightened.

It was as she expected, Lucivar was the root of all problems as Loki’s avatar.

“But my family is worse than his in some aspects, and that got me thinking sometimes… Lucivar might be acting really bad—so that the person around him would not beat themselves up too much for doing the bad things that needed to be done,” Nerissa continued, smiling inwardly at the thought. “I can’t help but think that he has a reason for acting like this, maybe to protect us, his family.”

Ciri was stunned.

Knowing the real Lucivar, she never would’ve thought that Nerissa would say something like this.

Not to mention, the admiration Nerissa had for Lucivar could be seen directly in her eyes.

‘An avatar of an Evil God must be evil in nature, so why is she saying this?’ She thought in doubt.

Realizing that she said too much, Nerissa waved her hand.

“I’m sorry, I think I said too much,” She mused wryly.

“No, no, no, it’s alright,” Ciri assured, holding her shoulder. “I did ask the question.”

“Nerissa,” Nerissa suddenly said, reaching out her hand.

Ciri glanced at the outstretched hand before taking it with a faint smile. “Ciri. Nice to meet you.”

Moments later.

Both of them stepped out of the toilet.

Nerissa parted with Ciri and went back to Leandra, who was waiting outside.

“So?” Leandra asked expectantly. “Who is she?”

“Ciri,” Nerissa replied—her face twisted into one of hideous disgust. “She’s Caldaros’ aunt.”

Almost instantly, something clicked inside Leandra’s mind.

Now that she knew Ciri was Caldaros’ aunt, Leandra was convinced she played a role in Lucivar’s plan to bring Caldaros down somehow. In fact, she was starting to suspect that the night market massacre had been nothing more than a setup.

An excuse for Lucivar to cross paths with Ciri.

It’s too convenient for it to be a coincidence.

Of course, had Lucivar known what Leandra was thinking, he would’ve laughed.

Such a lucky incident was far too convenient to be a mere coincidence, but with his karmic scale—tipping heavily toward misdeeds, it wasn’t exactly surprising. In this twisted world, fortune always favored the evil, and it was only natural that Lady Luck would hand him an opportunity on a silver platter.

Leandra hadn’t comprehended that fully, at least not yet, so she still thought wrong.

“Follow her, and we’ll arrive at where Lucivar would be…” Leandra mumbled with conviction.

…

Meanwhile, inside the Ashen Cavern Dungeon.

Sensing that Mirel was already on the first checkpoint, Lucivar decided to stick with Orivelle’s group and coursed through the forest. Soon, later than the other kingdoms, they managed to reach the first of the three main checkpoints.

As the rulebook stated, the checkpoint is marked by a translucent, rainbow barrier.

Once a King walked through it, the flag would be marked.

Now, if a flag was stolen, the kingdom would be teleported to their last checkpoint.

Awaiting near a tree were Mirel and Caldaros.

Both of them looked at Lucivar and then Orivelle’s group in surprise.

“What’s this? You didn’t say anything about this,” Caldaros said, pointing at Orvelle’s group.

“This is Orivelle,” Lucivar introduced. “Her kingdom would be our ally in the second stage. All of the champions from the Vanguard Institute never failed to reach the top three, so I thought we should be in a lot better shape with them around.”

“I don’t need their help, but I’ll not refuse their help either,” Caldaros crossed his arms arrogantly.

On the other hand, Mirel also forced out a smile.

No rules stating that kingdoms couldn’t work together, so this is fine.

“I don’t mind,” Mirel said before turning to Orivelle. “We’ll be in your care then.”

“And we in yours,” She nodded in return.

Glancing at the path ahead, all of them saw a devastating land of fire.

‘Normally—I’d be happy to see Orivelle. She’s certainly of help,’ Mirel thought before turning to the person who always has been in his mind, Lucivar. ‘But he never did anything without a reason, and this time, I can feel the killing intent radiating from his expressionless face.’