Ascension of the Dark Seraph - Chapter 285

Chapter 285: Onto the Third Checkpoint
Arthur met Mirel’s gaze directly.

An invisible tension builds between them, one that only these two could feel.

Breaking eye contact, Arthur offered Orivelle an apologetic smile as she continued lecturing him. Then, gently placing his hands on her shoulders from behind, he steered her aside, quietly urging her away for a private word.

Mirel kept an eye on them.

He could feel it in his guts that Arthur was talking about them, or Lucivar in particular.

“Say, do you have a guess why Lucivar brought them along with us?” He suddenly asked.

Caldaros glanced at Arthur and Orivelle, before sneering in contempt, “What else? He’s really addicted to killing. I’m sure he’s planning on killing them, somehow. I know Lucivar crossed that guy, Arthur, in the Trading Union main branch. Somehow, Arthur piqued his interest.”

“Piquing his interest is the most dangerous thing someone could do.” He added.

Upon hearing this, Mirel frowned.

Seems like Caldaros has been keeping tabs on Lucivar in his own way.

“What about you? Aren’t you also on his radar?” Mirel asked back. “Are you afraid?”

“Good will always prevail against evil,” Caldaros crossed his arms arrogantly. “I’m not afraid of him. Besides, we already made a deal. Our battle would wait until the third stage. Even then… I can’t say he wasn’t planning on doing something to me at this stage.”

‘Hypocrite,’ Mirel thought inwardly. ‘A person who proclaims to be good is always no good.’

About two minutes later, Lucivar finally emerged from behind.

Despite being chased by multiple participants from the Shadow Clan, one being Renis, who was known to be an extremely strong Hybrid, Lucivar didn’t seem to have a scratch on him. And more importantly, there was no sign of the Shadow Clan’s champions.

Clearly, he already handled them.

“Took you long enough,” Mirel teased with both hands on his waist.

“Needed to go around the rules, you know,” Lucivar bent down and panted heavily. “But I handled it.”

From the side, Orivelle’s group who were watching this sucked in a cold breath.

All of them, with the exception of Arthur, were shocked to see Lucivar coming back without a scratch.

It was as if he were only taking a walk in the park.

He was too nonchalant for someone who had only finished fighting four Chrysalis-rank Hybrids.

“You handled it?” Orivelle stepped forward and asked. “How?”

“I got lucky earlier,” Lucivar waved his hand nonchalantly. “We met a powerful Chrysalis-rank monster, and it killed three of them. Of course, Renis blamed it on me when I was only trying to survive, and we fought. Then, he tried killing me, and got disqualified.”

‘Meaning, he lured the three to their deaths and tricked Renis to get him disqualified.’ Mirel thought.

Surely, the way it actually happened was different from Lucivar’s version.

But then again, what was he supposed to do? Tell Orivelle the truth? That would be dumb.

Of course, Orivelle reluctantly bought it.

“Let’s move on to the next checkpoint and be done with this,” Caldaros interrupted.

Now that they’ve reached the second checkpoint, there’s going to be one more checkpoint ahead of them before the finish line. Since most kingdoms were fighting brazenly behind—their winning spots should be secured already.

Lucivar straightened his back and went over to stand beside Caldaros.

“Good work on the distraction,” He complimented with a tinge of mockery.

“Force me to do that again, and I’ll kill you right now,” Caldaros replied sharply. “I’ll drop the deal.”

“Alright, alright,” Lucivar placed his hand on Caldaros’ boulder shoulder, but he quickly shrugged it off as if Lucivar’s hand was poison. “Just a bit more until we can get our fight, hang in there. Prepare well. After all, Ciri’s future lies on your shoulders.”

Upon hearing this, Caldaros turned to glare at Lucuviar like a raging bull.

His crimson eyes glowed, reacting to the anger within.

If a gaze could kill, Lucivar would be dead ten times over by now.

Moments later.

About a quarter from reaching the third checkpoint, both kingdoms were blocked by monsters.

“Haargh!!”

BLITZ!

Mirel leaped skyward, channeling his lightning attribute, and slammed it against the big piece of floating rock he was standing on. A vicious carnival of lightning strikes burst forth, zapping all of the monsters nearby, evaporating them into nothing.

Then, a figure sprinted past him as a massive lava worm appeared.

Lava dripped from its body as it emerged from the lava sea surrounding them.

Summoning a massive spear made entirely of glass and charged with ether, Arthur stomped the ground hard, anchoring himself down—before he threw the spear at it. Like a bullet, the spear pierced through the air, and the twisting motion created air friction that sharpened the tip.

Crash!!

Upon impact, the lava worm shattered into volcanic rocks.

Compared to the previous terrain, leading to the second checkpoint, the path to the third was far more treacherous. Now, they had to cross a sea of lava, using scattered rocks of varying sizes as footholds, or the magically levitating stones above them that were floating midair.

Each one dripped with streams of molten lava like burning waterfalls.

No end in sight—the group was still far away from the third checkpoint.

“It’s my first time seeing you use your powers,” Mirel suddenly chimed. “Are you hiding your power?”

“What does it have to do with you?” Arthur asked back coldly.

“Just asking,” Mirel raised both hands, smiling acutely. “Aren’t we supposed to be a team?”

“Temporary team,” Arthur rephrased. “We’re sticking around because your boyfriend also messed with Garran. She’s going to come eventually, and even you guys would need help to fend her off. Garran is the one who won first place last year.”

Mirel wasn’t disturbed by Arthur’s condescending tone.

Nothing Arthur said could tick him off.

“Garran? She’s not in our division, no?” Mirel asked again.

He remembered the muscular woman that Lucivar confronted before the tournament started, and she wasn’t a part of the division that would tackle the Ashen Cavern. Garran shouldn’t be able to get to them. If she really wanted to, then she could do it at the third stage.

“Read the rulebook properly,” Arthur walked past Mirel without explaining.

But it was clear that he implied there was a way to go over to the other division.

Meanwhile, above them, on a massive floating stone.

Swoosh!!

Orivelle slammed her staff into the ground, releasing a torrent of pale flames that surged outward like a tidal wave, incinerating the swarm of lava reptiles—massive, rock-scaled salamanders born of molten stone.

Her body radiated with blistering heat, climbing to an intensity that scorched the very air around her.

Possessing such a large-scale blaze while maintaining the precise temperature of a condensed fireball was a feat few Hybrids could replicate, let alone one as young as her. Her mastery over the fire attribute was nothing short of exceptional.

Clearly, she is a genius.

But even a genius has their limit when it comes to practical tests.

Swoosh!

Out of nowhere, claws emerged from the torrent of fire and swiped at her viciously.

In the nick of time, she was able to lean back, narrowly avoiding the slash.

As she stumbled backward, the flames gradually disappeared.

It took a moment for Orivelle to realize that her flames were being consumed by two lava salamanders, bigger than the rest. Each one of them sucked the flames into their bodies, causing the lava inside their veins to glow brighter, and their auras stronger.

‘I’m running out of ether. I can recover them, but I need time,’ Orivelle thought.

Her artifact from her sponsor was engraved into her staff, a gem that could replenish her lost ether.

But to activate it, she needed time, which she doesn’t have.

Just then, a shadow with wings blurred past her and shoulder-charged one of the lava salamanders.

Roar!!

Orivelle blinked and realized that it was Lucivar.

Once he sent the first lava salamander stumbling backward, he immediately pointed his free hand at the second and fired multiple Night Piercers, infused with his dark attribute. None of the beams did a dent on the lava salamander.

But it wasn’t surprising.

Lucivar didn’t put any God strands into them.

Crash!

He rolled aside, narrowly avoiding a swipe, but his pupils dilated as a whipping tail came straight for him. With a powerful flap of his wings, he shot upward, dodging the strike, then slashed downward with his dagger, now charged with the Fang of Ankh.

A cleaving arc burst forth, slamming into the massive lava salamander hard.

But this time, the force knocked it backward, causing it to slip and fall off the floating stone.

Upon getting rid of the two lava salamanders, Lucivar sheathed his dagger and walked over to Orivelle.

“I don’t need your help,” She complained as she picked up her staff.

“Really?” Lucivar raised a brow teasingly. “If that’s the case, I won’t help you next time.”

“Good,” Orivelle nodded, steadying her breath with slow, deliberate inhales. “What’s your bloodline, really…? How come you didn’t seem to be tired at all when we’ve been practically fighting for the last ten minutes?”

“An Angel Hybrid,” Lucivar said with a flat tone.

“Eh…?” Orivelle blinked, and then tilted her head in confusion, “Eh?!”

“Are you usually this gullible?” Lucivar laughed humorously. “I’m only playing around. I have a named bloodline for a Harpy Hybrid and also the Shapeshifter Hybrid, which is why my ether reserve is a lot more than yours or the others.”

“Here, I’ll take care of your wounds.” He added, kneeling down on one knee.

Lucivar saw a bleeding wound on her shin and decided to use the light attribute to heal her.

It was his first time healing somebody else, but he reckoned he could do it.

Albeit his light attribute has the power of purity, it also has a slight healing property.

Slowly, the wound closes up under the embrace of the light attribute.

On the other hand, Orivelle watched this from above before her eyes sparked with a peculiar intent.

“You’re the whole package, huh?” She suddenly complimented. “Capable of handling yourself, and even have healing powers. Being a Tribrid is really something.”

“Said the person who has a Phoenix bloodline,” Lucivar retorted. “How high is your purity? I’m sure it’s quite high, seeing how you can emit such intense flames.”

Upon hearing this, Orivelle paused for a second, hesitant.

Sensing the hesitation, Lucivar stopped for a moment, “Wow… I opened up about my bloodline to you, and you’re still hesitant to tell me about yours? I thought you’re better than this.”

‘Oh, what the hell? I need to gain his trust anyway,’ Orivelle thought inside before she finally confessed. “It’s really a secret, so you can’t say it to anyone. My bloodline’s purity is at 10,3%. I know it’s quite a shock, but it’s true.”

Lucivar’s eyes widened when he heard this.

But then, he smiled inside, ‘Jackpot… I hit the jackpot with this one.’