Ascension of the Dark Seraph-Chapter 240: The Sun (1)

Lucivar prepared this night on a whim, and it was solely for his benefit.

He knew Ravenna did not need to kill to get stronger—but the others? He didn't know their method of accumulating their natural ether. Bringing them here was the same as risking his haul, but there was no other choice.

And now, his haul really did get decreased.

Most, if not all, of the Lincoln Gang's thugs were already killed, and there were no more spared for Lucivar.

But that doesn't simply mean he was done here.

Once the delectable thugs were swept clean, he now turned to the bystanders—who were caught in this unfortunate moment. Since the Lincoln Gang would take all of the blame, there was no need for him to hold back.

Lucivar twirled the bloodied knife in his hand and sprinted at the man who was thanking him.

Had the man possessed any kind of standing, Lucivar would make use of him.

But the man was a nobody, ordinary, and having him feel indebted brought no benefit.

So why would Lucivar allow him to live? He would find the man more useful dead than alive.

As his leg muscles contracted, he made a swift dash and reached the man in no time, but a woman got in the way. Lucivar reached out his hand to grab the woman and flung her away, but as he did, a yellow flash shone from her hand.

It was blinding, and before Lucivar knew it, the yellow flash seared his skin and flung him away.

Crash!

Lucivar shattered multiple stalls along the way before coming to a halt.

He gazed up at the clear night sky—his face etched with clear confusion.

"What happened…?" He blinked his eyes a couple of times, confused as to what knocked him back like this. No Hybrids among those people. He already checked, none of them has even a trace of ether. "Did I miss one? No, that can't be it."

Groaning in pain, Lucivar sat up and gazed down at his body.

Surprisingly, cracks were forming across his skin—yellow trenches that caused burning pain.

For a second there, Lucivar tried channeling his God strands to heal the cracks and found that the yellow energy was strong enough to reject Loki's energy. Every time he tried to heal the cracks, the yellow light intensified and pushed the God strands away.

It was only then that something clicked inside his mind as he raised his gaze.

Ahead of him, the woman was helping the bystanders run away while keeping her gaze on him.

"Don't tell me," Lucivar's eyes flickered before he grinned. "Is she the 'sun'…?"

Stumbling across such a person, Lucivar could only praise his bad karma for giving him such a fortune.

"Quickly! Run for the exit and don't look back!" the woman guided the innocent bystanders who were confused as to why Lucivar suddenly attacked them earlier when he was obviously the thugs' enemy. It was unsettling, but they were glad the woman was there to help.

Then, the woman stopped a young woman and said, "Call the association once you're outside!"

Hearing this, the woman nodded repeatedly before running again.

Once the group managed to all flee, the woman turned to where Lucivar should be—and couldn't find him. Seconds ago, he was lying on the ground. But now, he has disappeared. An unsettling sensation washed over her—as she clutched her chest, "What's happening to me? My heart… It's aching when I saw that man. Who is he?"

She never felt like this before.

Locking eyes with Lucivar felt like looking down from a sky-high cliff.

It was scary, unsettling, and spiked her adrenaline.

"Akhh!"

Just then, the woman snapped from her daze and saw a young boy ahead.

He tripped and fell from the slippery, blood-stained ground.

Moving with alacrity, the woman rushed and helped the young boy to stand.

"You're okay, you're okay…" She consoled as she helped the young boy to stand and wiped the blood that was smeared on his face. "I want you to be strong—okay? I am going to bring you to a safe place. Can you trust me?"

Meekly, the young boy who was no more than six, nodded his head while wiping his tears.

"What about mom and dad?" the young boy asked.

Naturally, the woman's expression twitched when she heard this, knowing that if the young boy survived the chaos, there was a high chance his parents died for him. Instead of answering—she put on an assuring smile, "Hold my hand and don't let go."

Once she said that, she stood up, looked around, and headed for the exit.

But then, as she made the first turn—she stopped when she heard someone whistle at her.

Like a whip lashing the body, the whistle stiffened the woman's body.

Slowly, she turned around, not knowing what to expect but scared of whatever was waiting for her.

It was then, her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively pulled the young boy closer as she took in the scene unfolding behind her. Standing there with a smug smile was the man who had attacked earlier, Lucivar.

Lined up in front of him were four people on their knees.

All of their faces were streaked with tears as they looked at the woman with begging eyes.

None of them were restrained, but for some reason, none of them could run.

Surely, Lucivar had done something to them.

Gulping harshly, the woman knelt down to face the young boy and smiled again.

"Run in that direction and leave the night market," She said, pointing in a direction. "I'll catch up."

Upon hearing this, the young boy hesitated, but the woman already shoved him gently.

Once the young boy ran, the woman stood up again and faced Lucivar.

For a good five seconds, the woman stared at Lucivar in silence, uncertain about the situation.

Then, she finally spoke, "Why are you doing this? Aren't you helping get rid of those ruffians?"

"I may be killing those thugs who suddenly attacked the night market," Lucivar answered—with a tinge of amusement as his lips curled higher, enhancing the unrest within the woman. "But that does not mean I care about these people, nor am I a good person."

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"So what?" the woman asked. "Are you doing this because I stopped you?"

"Well…" Lucivar walked over to the right-most woman, embracing her face from behind. "Not really, but that's a factor, yes. Since you clearly wanted to save these people, why don't we make an exchange? It is nothing you can't afford, really."

Almost instantly, the woman frowned in hesitation.

But that was a mistake.

Crack!

A loud, bone-cracking sound resounded as Lucivar snapped the neck of the innocent woman.

Seeing this, the woman, or rather, the sun's eyes widened in shock.

"I forgot to mention, I'm really impatient—a side effect from having a meddler blocking my way," He mused nonchalantly as he slowly made his way to the kneeling person beside the dead woman. "Let me say it again, why don't we make an exchange? Their lives in return for… answers"

"Okay, okay!" the sun quickly answered. "Just don't kill them!"

"Good…" Lucivar nodded, pleased by her eagerness. "I like it when people listen to me."

"First, what is your name, miss?" He asked.

"Ciri…" the sun answered instantly, fearing Lucivar would kill more. "It's Ciri."

"Ciri… Such a beautiful name," Lucivar praised, it was a name befitting someone like her. He then tilted his head down, looking at the whimpering man in front of him—and patted his head, "You're in luck! It seemed she was really going to answer my questions for your sake. That's good."

"Don't play with him! Just ask your questions!" Ciri demanded.

Lucivar smiled and continued, "Do you know a student who goes by the name Caldaros?"

Almost instantly, Ciri's expression froze before her eyes turned sharp.

"You… You're that vile God's avatar, aren't you?" Ciri answered with a question.

She immediately put two in two together and deduced who Lucivar was.

"Oh…? You knew about me?" Lucivar raised both his eyebrows, mildly surprised that Ciri knew about him. "I guess Caldaros must've high regard for you, to think that he even told you about me is quite a surprising finding. This made it way easier."

"You're nothing but a vile monster who took pleasure in others' sufferings," Ciri added with hate.

But this only made Lucivar even more excited.

Such a beautiful face contorting so hideously was a sight to behold, it was almost poetical.

"Is that how you view me, or is that what Caldaros taught you to view me?" Lucivar asked curiously.

"Caldaros and I are the same," Ciri answered firmly. "We hate people like you the most."

"I see…" Lucivar nodded and paused for a moment. Then, he continued despite seeing Ciri's reluctance, "So, what exactly did Caldaros say to you? I suggest you answer my question. In case you forgot, these people's lives are still in my hands."

"He said there was a cancer in this world and he's going to take care of it." Ciri coldly answered.

Such a brutal description stung the heart, and Lucivar took delight in it.

Lucivar chuckled, "Caldaros and I are going to fight to the death in the South Hues Tournament. I'm Loki's avatar and he's Sunna's avatar. And fun fact, there has never been any Loki's avatar—who has won against Sunna's avatar."

"The forces of good will always win," Ciri smiled. "And I'll be watching you lose from the front row."

"Oh…?" Lucivar couldn't hide his glee anymore. "Didn't you say earlier that a vile person like me took pleasure in others' sufferings? Why are you anticipating—for my demise? Or does your logic only apply when it benefits you?"

Upon hearing this, Ciri's eyes widened for a second before she quickly shook her head.

It was clear that her inside was in turmoil.

"Don't even think about provoking me, it won't work." Ciri retorted.

Feeling the small crack forming in her belief, Lucivar smiled inside, but this was far from over.

"Tell me, Ciri, what do you think I'd feel when I succeeded in killing Caldaros?" He suddenly asked.

It didn't take long for Ciri to respond, "Of course you'd feel good about yourself. Do you even need to ask? Like you said—none of Loki's previous avatars have ever, ever bested Goddess Sunna's. As the first to do so, you're basking in your wicked triumph."

"Wrong," Lucivar scoffed. "I wouldn't feel good. I'd feel powerful."

Pausing for a second, letting his answer stretch out, he then stared at Ciri intently.

"Now, what do you think Caldaros would feel if he succeeded in killing me?" Lucivar asked again.

But this time, he didn't wait for Ciri to answer.

"Powerful… he'd also feel powerful." He continued with a smirk. "As much as you want to deny it, we're not that much different."