Ascension of the Dark Seraph - Chapter 79

Chapter 79: Veloria City: the City of Blood Chapter 79: Veloria City: the City of Blood Bakar, furious, charged instantly at Lucivar without hesitation.

His muscles swelled and bulged, showcasing the full might of a Troll Hybrid as he charged in for a vicious swing at Lucivar who seemed to be surprised by this hostility.

However-before he could strike Lucivar, Leandra, and Mirel held him back.

Both of them swiftly moved and stopped Bakar.

“Calm yourself and explain what’s going on” “What is wrong with you?!

Did your bloodline act up again?” Despite this, Bakar gritted his teeth and kept pushing forward, his strength was enormous.

“Let me go!

He tried to kill me!” He bared, glaring at Lucivar.

Upon hearing this, Mirel couldn’t help but frown.

“No, that’s not right.

Why would Lucivar try to kill you?

It doesn’t make sense” “I don’t know!

Do you think I would lie about this?!” Knowing that Bakar was the friendliest out of the whole bunch-never treated others roughly in any way possible, even with his vigorous Troll constitution, Mirel’s frown dipped further.

He was torn between which to believe but he still turned to Lucivar for an answer.

Similarly, Leandra also turned towards Lucivar in question.

Unlike Mirel who was completely oblivious, Leandra’s gaze was a meaningful one.

She knew what was happening here.

“Excuse us for a second, I’ll resolve this issue with Bakar.

Keep a lookout for bandits”  Lucivar told the others to prolong their break, before signaling for Bakar, Mirel, and Leandra to go to a more secluded place.

All four of them walked to the side-away from prying eyes with Bakar still breathing like a bull.

Reaching a far enough place, the four stopped.

But as expected, Nerissa, who saw what had happened also came in utter confusion.

“Nerissa, you should stay with the others in case something bad happens,” Lucivar said.

Nerissa shot him a look, “Don’t exclude me from this, I can handle it” Seeing that he couldn’t push Nerissa away, Lucivar sighed.

Instantly, Lucivar became the center of attention as all were waiting for his explanation.

From Bakar’s shouts earlier, it was clear that Lucivar attacked him.

“Guess I’ll be entrusting you guys with this burden,” He started.

“I have a doppelganger” Now that the doppelganger has made a move on Bakar, keeping this a secret-is no longer possible.

So he decided to tell the others what he told Leandra, that the doppelganger has something to do with his bloodline.

It was trying to cause as much trouble for him-an evil apparition of himself.

Lucivar also told them that the one who killed Dylan was the doppelganger, not him.

He told them everything to earn their trust.

Of course, he excluded everything about Loki or the other Gods inside of him.

“So you’re using me…?” Bakar said in utter astonishment.

“I’m sorry for using you,” Lucivar apologized.

“I still know little about the doppelganger and I used you to know more.

I could’ve used Mirel, or Leandra, but out of all of them, I know that you could handle yourself on top of having the opportunity to use you” Upon hearing this, Bakar was assaulted with mixed feelings.

On one hand, he was glad that Lucivar was not trying to kill him but on the other, Lucivar did use him to learn more, about the doppelganger, risking his life.

If the doppelganger managed to execute a flawless sneak attack, Bakar could’ve died there.

Knowing what was inside Bakar’s mind, Lucivar continued.

“Also, you are the one who fought with me the most.

So you know how I fight,” “It’s not fighting like you at all.

It spat at me and headbutted me like a maniac” As Bakar said that, he covered his nose as more blood drizzled down.

Seeing this, Nerissa quickly channeled her ether and healed him.

She was tearing up from the sight of the wound-seeing the others getting hurt pained her.

“Please don’t do that again, don’t hide things from us…” Nerissa said, glancing at Lucivar.

Lucivar sighed and nodded, guilt could be seen on his face.

Going back to the topic, Mirel spoke.

“I think you should think of a unique gesture to identify yourself when approaching us” “No, that won’t do.

I’m sure my doppelganger is watching us right now” “Should we try finding it and take it down?” “It could hide inside the academy grounds, I think finding it will not be easy” “Then what should we do?” “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it myself.

I won’t involve you guys again” As he said that, Lucivar tilted his head down and rubbed his forehead, stressing out.

But then, Nerissa came and held his hand, shaking her head repeatedly with puffed cheeks.

“No, if it’s your problem then it’s our problem.

We’re a family” She said.

Mirel nodded, “Yes, she’s right.

Just tell us what we need to do to help you” Albeit reluctantly, Bakar also nodded, showing that he was on board.

Leandra too, she didn’t say anything but Lucivar could feel her pinch from behind.

Seeing them all supportive, Lucivar covered his face, seemingly emotional.

“I appreciate you guys…” He whispered, almost inaudible but the others heard what he said.

Upon hearing this, Mirel and Nerissa hugged him, also emotional.

As they were making a group hug-Lucivar heard a small rustle seeping into his ears and the sensation that he was being watched was gone.

But even then, the foreboding feeling didn’t disappear but became stronger instead.

Amidst the group hug, Lucivar’s lips curled into a grin of unknown origin.

Moments later, Lucivar and the others returned to their groups.

Even though the others showed their support, Lucivar only told them, that the only thing, he wanted from them was to keep themselves safe.

He didn’t need any help other than that, he only wanted them to be safe.

Following that logic, he told them to not pull back against him if he was acting suspiciously.

Just treat him as if he was a potential enemy, always.

Finishing their problems, the groups continued their journey.

Bakar’s group and Lucivar’s group separated halfway through the forest.

It was almost midnight when Lucivar and his group saw the sight of Veloria City’s entrance.

Unlike the robust walls that surrounded Sunhold City, unbreakable and massive, the entrance to Veloria City was nothing more than two wooden sticks on either side of a muddy road.

The condition of the city was even worse than Lucivar’s hometown.

“Man, this place is very spooky…” Mirel commented, glancing at a totem on his left.

Lucivar also glanced at the totem and saw that the totem was clean.

Despite the condition of the road and everything else, the totem was spotless clean.

An obvious sign that it was cleaned regularly.

‘Since the people of this city are religious, this totem must be their God, the Blood God…’ Appearance-wise, the totem has the head of a skull-red eyes, and is draped in a red cloak.

Spanning on each side is a pair of bat wings, mighty and eerie at the same time.

Lucivar led the group and entered the city with wide steps.

Eventually, he came across a man wearing a black and white cassock, holding a skull-shaped censer.

A deep scent of blood permeated from the censer, causing Lucivar, and the others to cover their noses.

“May I help you?” the man asked, his face unseen, and his voice was hoarse like an old man.

Lucivar nodded, “We’re academy hunters to deal with the dungeon” Upon hearing this, the man’s body stiffened for a second before relaxing once again.

He nodded his head and brought Lucivar and his group to meet with the pastor.

Along the way, the eerieness of the city became even worse.

Bone lanterns were the only thing lighting up the street, allowing them to see the road.

Moreover, the ground felt sticky and slippery, donning the color of an odd brown.

Each of the houses along the road was run-down-with cracks everywhere, and didn’t seem to be inhabited.

Reaching the church, Lucivar and the others got inside and were told by the man to wait as he called for the pastor.

It took a couple of minutes before the pastor came, wearing a wide, friendly smile.

“Thank goodness-God has answered by sending you all here.

Please, let me show you your temporary lodging.

Your journey to reach here, and aid us is long and hard, I’m sure you’re all tired.

Come, please, I’ll show you the way” Hearing this, the others nodded, they would take a brief break before making their move.

However, Lucivar quickly stopped the pastor.

“Can he be the one to show the rooms?” He nudged at another.

“I want to know the details” Pausing for a second, the pastor’s smile returned.

“Of course, you must be the leader.

I’ll have old priest Kaki show the lodgings” He replied.

Lucivar gestured for the others to follow Kaki while he stayed behind with the pastor.

As the others went to the other room, Lucivar’s eyes peered through the back.

He saw someone peeking from a door, a woman.

It made him frown but he kept his cool until the pastor nodded and led the way.

“Follow me, I’ll show you the portal,” He said, heading to the door again.

Expecting the portal to be quite far away, Lucivar was surprised when he realized that the portal was a hundred meters away behind the church.

Passing the wooden fence door, he gazed at the yellow portal the size of a two-story house.

Looking at this, Lucivar nodded, the dungeon was yellow as expected.

Shifting his gaze to the other side, Lucivar saw a group of people with the exact clothes-as Kaki wore earlier, hanging nearby.

He raised an eyebrow and asked, “Who are they?

Are they here to keep an eye on the portal?” “Yes, somebody has to keep a lookout.

It is for the good of everyone,” the pastor replied.

Lucivar approached the portal and took off his bag to take something out.

Since he was the leader, he was given a couple of equipment to assess the dungeon.

One of them is a measuring gun to measure the energy level of the portal.

He simply needs to point and touch the portal with the tip of the gun.

It was a tool to gauge when the portal would break through the concentrated energy.

Upon reaching the 80-120 points area, the portal would break open.

Letting the gun analyze the portal for a couple of seconds, the number 90 was displayed.

Just as he was informed, the portal would probably break in the next couple of days.

Of course, this measurement could only be used in weak dungeons.

Strong dungeons would have the Primordials attacking-so the portal would break whenever they wanted, there are even some strong portals that hadn’t broken even after years of them appearing.

It was all about mind games against the Crossers for the strong dungeons.

But for this specifically, using this measurement gun is enough.

Nodding his head, Lucivar then put back the gun into his bag and turned to the pastor.

“Tell me, pastor,” He said whisperingly.

“Does the Blood God condone the act of lying” “Hmm…?

Of course, not.

It’s a cowardly act with no honor” “How about the act of killing?” “As long as it is for the betterment of Him and to His servants, killing is allowed” Lucivar nodded repeatedly, his movement hinted at a slight suspicion.

“Even if the people you killed are academy hunters?” “I’m sorry?

I don’t quite understand what you meant by that.

I, no…

we are glad that you and your friends came to help us in this time of need.

We have been haunted by the po-” “That’s a lie…” Lucivar intervened and stepped forward until he was inches away from the pastor.

His eyes glowed gold, staring directly into the pastor’s eyes.

“You lied just now, pastor…”