Ascension of the Dark Seraph
Chapter 363: In My Territory

Chapter 363: In My Territory

All of them were nervous about tomorrow.

Even Leandra, who knew it earlier from Lucivar, was completely silent and stressed.

None of them uttered a single word after knowing that tomorrow, they would confront Master Tobias.

Even in silence, the three shared the same unspoken thought: tonight might really be their final, peaceful night before everything changed forever. By tomorrow, they would either be proved wrong or bring the sheer downfall of the family.

It was so tense that the thought of not wanting to go through with it crossed their minds.

But all of them want to know the truth.

All of them wanted to know the answer to the question in their mind.

Master Tobias taking them into his family… is it out of compassion out of something more sinister?

Just when the tension was at its highest, the door was opened.

Sabrina walked in and was surprised to see the three of them inside.

“Where’s Lucivar?” Leandra immediately blurted.

“He’s confirming something about Master Tobias,” Sabrina answered truthfully—standing on the side with her hands clasped together in front of her stomach like a proper maid. “I suggest all of you to stay put for the time being.”

Hearing this, Mirel exhaled through his mouth, releasing some of the tension building inside his chest.

It was the same with Leandra, who leaned back on the headboard.

“Are we still going to go through with it tomorrow?” Leandra asked again. “To Master Tobias?”

“If all goes well tonight, then yes,” Sabrina nodded. “Lucivar said so.”

“I need to get some air.” Bakar turned and walked towards the door, feeling suffocated inside.

Before he could exit, Mirel caught his wrist.

“Didn’t you hear what she said? It’s best for us to stay put. Lucivar is the only one who can do this without bias since he hadn’t stayed with Master Tobias as long as us. Just sit down, Bakar. We should stay close in case something happens.”

“Stop babbling. I’m only going for a walk around the academy. I’m not going anywhere.”

Bakar freed his hand and walked out of the room.

He closed the door harder than intended, leaving the others behind.

Meanwhile, outside the student dormitory.

A female student with long, curly brown hair was taking a stroll—with two of her friends, chattering about their day, mainly about what happened in their class earlier, where a student failed to even properly show his ability from cold feet, and blew the fireball right on his own face.

All three of them were chuckling in humor.

Just as they were passing the student dormitory, already lapping around it one time, the curly-haired female student glanced inside with a sudden sharpness in her gaze. She then turned to her friends and smiled, “I forgot something, you guys go on ahead inside.”

“Oh, alright,” One of her friends nodded. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“No,” She shook her head assuringly. “No need. It’s not going to take long.”

After parting ways with her friends, she glanced over her shoulder before making a sharp turn toward the wing. She made her way to the secluded, famous couple spot near the student dormitory and sat on an empty bench.

She then cast a quick glance around to ensure no one was nearby.

Satisfied, she nodded to herself and pulled out a compact mirror.

Flipping it open, she dabbed her index finger into the skin-toned powder and gently traced a line across her wrist. Oddly enough, the mark shimmered with a faint, magical glow, then faded, as if the faint glow never happened.

She placed the mark near her mouth and spoke, “His personal maid had returned to the dormitory. No sign of Leandra or the other family members.”

A few seconds later, the voice of a man came from the mark.

“Okay.”

“How about on your end? Have you found what that pendant does?”

“No, but this burly mutant is following me. What about the avatar?”

Another voice rang, this time from a woman.

“I think the pendant is a tracker artifact. I’m following the avatar right now, but I’m keeping my distance from him. He has Sutekh’s blood. I’m afraid he’ll notice me if I get too close. Oh, wait a minute, he’s picking up his pace. I gotta go.”

Not even waiting for the others to respond, the woman on the other side cut the communication.

Now, only the curly-haired woman and the man remained in the line.

“Lily, I think this pendant is really for tracking. I can’t lose this mutant. Since he’s only as strong as a three-star Chrysalis rank at best, I’m luring him to our compound. Since your side is more peaceful, can you ask permission if I can kill this mutant?”

“I’m sure it’s fine. We’re said to create distractions for at least another day, so killing that mutant should not be a problem. But alright. Just in case it’ll ruin the plan, I’ll ask for permission. I’ll contact you once I’m done.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Once the communication ended, Lily stood up and went to a secluded corner.

She found a dead-end, and wasted no time drawin something on the wall with the same powder.

But instead of a line, this time, she drew another mark that’s shaped like an eye.

Like the line from earlier, the mark glowed.

Lily closed her eyes and asked permission through her mind.

‘Great Avatar, this humble servant apologizes for disturbing. Are we allowed to kill the mutant?’

‘…’

‘Okay, I’ll quickly inform the others about this.’

Smiling inwardly, Lily opened her eyes and immediately delivered the message to Hector, the man she was talking to earlier, via the same communication method. “Hector, heads-up, you’re allowed to kill the mutant.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll see if I can take out that personal mai—”

Before Lily could finish, her eyes widened when she saw a familiar figure tracing along the main street.

Just from the side alone, she could already tell who it was.

Sabrina.

“Oh, I think tonight is going to be a grim night for that wicked avatar…”

…

Outside of the Bloodhaven Academy, Pearl Street.

A well-built man wearing a black trench coat and a hat traced the side of the street with his hands inside his pocket. He has two small horns protruding out of his forehead, showing that he’s a Hybrid who was at least at the Acolyte rank.

He was walking at a leisurely pace, his boots tapping against the pavement loudly.

For a couple of times, he glanced over his shoulder.

But then, his eyes noticed a leam from his wrist, a sign of communication.

Acting as if he were rubbing his nape, he placed his wrist close to his ear.

“Hector, heads-up, you’re allowed to kill the mutant.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll see if I can take out that personal mai—”

Even though the communication was cut at the last word, Hector wasn’t worried.

It doesn’t seem like Lily was in trouble, so she must’ve found the opportunity to strike.

“Now it’s my turn to take this fool out.” He mumbled and glanced over his shoulder slightly, seeing that Zibbo was still following at a distance behind him, acting normal, but it was a pathetic attempt. “You’re dying tonight. Blame yourself for being on the wrong side of the battlefield.”

Looking up, Hector saw a flickering bar sign.

A bar on a secluded corner of the Pearl Street that looked sketchy no matter how one looked at it.

Before going in, Hector reached for his pocket and took out a small pouch.

Inside the pouch was sparkling sand that contained magical properties.

With a measured pinch, he sprinkled it forward and waited to see what would happen.

Under his gaze, the sparkling sand moved past him and headed toward Zibbo.

Since there was no wind tonight, it was unnatural for the grains of sand to move like this.

It was surely due to a magical force.

‘Melissa was following that wicked avatar, so he shouldn’t be here. But just in case, I sprinkled the sand, and there’s no reaction,’ Hector nodded firmly. ‘Then that means I don’t need to worry about anything. This mutant is alone.’

Hector wasted no time and entered the bar.

A lot of people were inside the bar—there were at least ten others who nodded at him.

Smiling inwardly, as a flicker of malice crossed his eyes, Hector sat down at the bar.

He looked around and couldn’t find the bartender anywhere.

On the side near his hand, there was a bell, and Hector didn’t hesitate in ringing it a couple of times.

“It’d look cool if I made a toast to that stupid mutant before killing him,” Hector muttered, grinning at the thought of being able to put down Zibbo—a literal Vestal. But the bartender was too slow; he didn’t come even after the fourth ring.

Only when Zibbo stepped inside did the bartender appear from the kitchen, wearing a mask.

Hector could tell he was smiling politely from how his eyes squinted.

“What do you want to drink, Sir?” He asked.

“Forget it,” Hector waved his hand. “I’ll drink after handling something.”

Nonchalantly, Zibbo stepped inside the bar and looked around.

He found nothing wrong with the bar, only people drinking and having fun with their friends.

Fixing his eyes on Hector, he approached and sat on the chair to the right.

Feeling the tension rising between them, the bartender turned around and cleaned the glasses.

Cutting to the chase, Zibbo placed the pendant right in front of him.

Hector glanced at it and saw that the arrow was pointing straight at him, which told him all he needed to know about the pendant. He didn’t know how, but Zibbo got his hand on a very useful artifact—even though he hadn’t gone anywhere but stayed in the academy.

“Are you following me?” Hector chuckled, still gazing ahead with both hands placed in front of him.

Zibbo reached out his hand forward and took a bottle from behind the bar.

He placed it in front of him and popped the lid open with only his thumb.

“I know who you’re working for, so don’t play dumb,” Zibbo said, chugging the bottle of alcohol and exhaled in satisfaction before wiping his mouth clean. “Stalking so close to the academy… that’s a bad move on your part. So, do you have any last words?”

Hector finally turned to face him with a mocking grin.

He rested his cheek on his fist, looking at Zibbo as if he were an idiot.

“Did you really think I didn’t know you were following me?” He asked, raising a brow. “You foolish gangster… I knew all along. Where do you think you are? This is not the academy anymore. You’re out of your territory.”

In hubris, Hector flicked his fingers, and the people inside the bar immediately stood up abruptly.

“You’re in my territory…”