Ascension of the Dark Seraph

Chapter 319: Another Chance
Moments after the South Hues Tournament.

Lucivar went back to the Bastion of Blades to take his belongings.

It was time for him to move out of this shithole.

A place like this isn’t suitable for the most promising academy hunter in the whole city.

He was tired and socially overwhelmed with how many formalities and interviews he needed to attend as the winner, so he was planning on getting some shut-eye for a few hours in his room. But the moment he arrived and opened the door—he was met with a surprising sight.

Sabrina was kneeling before the door.

For a second, Lucivar was confused, but then he remembered what happened.

Somehow, the food Sabrina brought for him was poisoned.

And she surely felt responsible, and she should be.

Sabrina looked unkempt, the entire room was exactly as it looked when Lucivar left it, and her knees were swollen red. Though he didn’t know how long she had been kneeling there, he assumed that it was quite long.

Realizing that the door was open, she looked up and immediately bowed her head again.

“Master… It’s my mistake. Please forgive me.”

“How long have you been there?”

“It doesn’t matter, master. I’m your personal maid. I should’ve known better. This is my fault. You can punish me as you see fit, but please forgive me.”

She bowed down further until her forehead touched the ground, prostrating.

Lucivar raised a brow.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t furious at her—he was, and for good reason.

Had the poison worked, his identity as an Angel Hybrid would’ve been exposed.

And worse, the news might even reach the Ashbourne Supreme House, and that’d be complicated.

Sabrina’s blunder almost got him in a lot of trouble, and he was furious at her.

Instead of answering, Lucivar walked around her and lay on the bed.

He closed his eyes, deciding to sleep while Sabrina stayed on the floor, not daring to move a muscle.

Once he woke up from his nap, an hour had passed.

Lucivar sat up on the edge of the bed and glanced at the door—Sabrina was still there, prostrating, not willing to move until he said so. Rubbing his forehead, he thought for a moment and placed one hand on his knee, twisting it to flare his frame.

“What makes you think I’d forgive you? I have a lot of people who can replace you.”

“In fact, I have one in mind right now.”

He smirked tauntingly.

“I’m planning on going out of the city to meet someone, a woman. Her name is Morriva. She grew up as a devoted woman of religion, serving the Blood God—and she’s also been a wife for a long time. I’m sure she’ll be a perfect fit to replace you since she is now devoted to me.”

Sabrina’s heart skipped a beat.

She rose and looked at Lucivar with trembling eyes.

For years, she has been searching for a good master to serve.

Now that she had it, she wasted it—one mistake ruined it.

A sharp, crushing pain gripped Sabrina’s chest—her breaths breaking into ragged gasps as if her heart were being squeezed in a merciless fist. Even after everything, after the big mistake she’d made, she truly believed Lucivar would forgive her.

As long as she shows her sincerity, this will all be in the past.

After all, they grew closer over time.

But she was naïve to think that.

She stared at Lucivar, sitting nonchalantly on the bed with a cold, merciless grin—her mouth opened, the word ‘please’ searing her tongue—aching to be spoken. She would beg, crawl, break herself apart if it meant earning his forgiveness.

She’d do anything to earn a second chance.

Being Lucivar’s servant should be the start of her rise in life, and she didn’t want to lose it.

However, she managed to bite her tongue and held in the urge to beg.

‘Master Lucivar… He doesn’t respond to weakness. Begging would only do the opposite.’

Above all else, Sabrina knew that.

Spending time watching Lucivar from the side, she knew how he operated.

Exhaling lightly from her nose, easing the tension inside her blood, Sabrina crawled to the side and took what seemed to be a pouch tucked behind the wardrobe. Then—she approached Lucivar and handed it over to him as if the pouch was the answer to his question.

Lucivar looked at her for a moment before checking the contents of the pouch.

He reached his fingers inside and took out the contents.

It was an ear, already blue and dry.

“I already killed the person who poisoned your food, and killed his accomplice. That’s the accomplice’s ear.”

“Who is it? The accomplice?”

“It’s the cafeteria lady.”

Sabrina thought of letting the cafeteria lady go, but when she recalled how Lucivar looked at her, she came back and killed her later that night. Subconsciously, she knew that it might come in handy in a situation like this, and she was right.

“I don’t know who sent them, but she said something about the Dark Angels.”

“The Black Zenith Order, I know.”

Lucivar shrugged.

He already knew the person behind this, which was most likely Samael.

Despite this new information, Sabrina remained composed.

She went back to her knees, but there was no desperation on her face, only silent determination.

“I’m sure Morriva is highly qualified, I don’t doubt master’s judgment. But like you said, she’s from a religious background. She would not be able to do what you asked her to do without question,” Sabrina stated. “And even if she can, she’d need to learn everything from scratch. Besides, I doubt she has the supporting abilities that I possess.”

“Give me another chance and I’ll prove it to you.” She added, assuringly.

Upon hearing this, Lucivar’s eyes flashed.

He was rather pleased with the answer.

An apology and a promise to do better meant something, but sounded hollow.

Lucivar needed more; he needed to see what the failure did to her.

And it must make her stronger.

‘I was about to devour her with Greedy Grasp if she started begging, but she didn’t.’

‘Good work, Sabrina. I’ll let you live.’

Nodding firmly, Lucivar stood up and headed for the door.

“Come, you’ll still need to be punished.”

“Yes, master!”

…

“Are you crazy?! You can’t keep someone locked like this.”

Angel shrieked, hurriedly going to check whether Sabrina was fine or not.

She hesitated, though, as the air coming from the chamber was eerily cold and suffocating.

But she didn’t let that stop her from trying to get Angel down.

“She’s a slave and my personal maid. I can practically do anything to her; she’s mine.”

“O-Oh, I didn’t know that…” Angel took a step back, but she snapped out of her trance and shook her head. “Still, you can’t do this to her against her will! She’s still a human being.” She turned to Sabrina, opening up the chains. “Come on. It’s okay, I’m going to help you get down.”

Lucivar laughed when he saw this.

It only made Angel shoot him a sharp glance—this was beyond heartless, especially for one of his own.

“Do you think I did it against her will?”

“Eh…?”

Angel paused for a second, and when she turned to look at Sabrina again, she gasped.

Behind the cover of her hair, Sabrina was panting, but she was smiling.

Angel blinked, stunned at what she saw—the chains were biting into her wrists, arms stretched above her head for what must’ve been days from how swollen they were. It should’ve been agony. But Sabrina was smiling. Her chest heaving up and down in sensual pants.

Clearly, the pain was there, but twisted into something else.

Something disturbingly carnal.

This wasn’t dread—she was enjoying it!

“Are you feeling refreshed now, Sabrina?” Lucivar’s voice rang loudly.

“Yes, yes!” Sabrina’s eyes glowed against the dark backdrop. “I’m ready to serve you master!!”

Clang!

Angel yelped when the steel chains suddenly snapped.

Even without her help, Sabrina could get down on her own.

It was clear now that what Lucivar said was true—this wasn’t against her will.

Lucivar shook his head.

‘I have to give her a punishment or else she’d not be effective. Now, she’s ready to get back to it.’

…

Later that night.

Around ten, the night’s air shifted into a breezy cool.

It was the closing time for the Crystal Reliquary, one of the biggest libraries the city has to offer.

People could be seen going down the staircase and onto the street, leaving for the day to come back the next day. Among them, there was a man in a black trench coat. He was taller compared to the mass, and his frame was quite intimidating.

As soon as he got out, he stopped near the entrance, and took out a cigarette and a lighter.

He lit it with a flick, took a long pull, and let the smoke curl lazily from his mouth.

“Ah… That hits the spot. Nothing beats smoking in the night after eating.”

Just when he was about to continue down the stairs, someone stopped him.

“Sir Samael,” A well-built man stopped him politely. “You didn’t forget about the meeting, right?”

“Ah, damn it, I know!” Samael pulled his hand in annoyance. “Am I not allowed to smoke?!”

“I was only reminding you, Sir.”

“I won’t go anywhere. I remembered the meeting.”

Once he said that, he continued to smoke, but his mood was now sour.

Samael looked up to the night sky and smoked faster, enjoying the sweetness of the cigarette as if that would somehow make the meeting go away. He was informed earlier that the Feradith Family wanted to meet with him.

It was urgent since they didn’t want the meeting to be postponed to tomorrow.

“Sigh… This is their city, I can’t really say no.”

As he was about to kill the cigarette, he stopped at a sudden realization. “Are they the ones—who took out my men…? I can’t think of a reason why they wanted to meet with me if not for that. Also, that kid Lucivar has a history with them—a bad one, so what’s their reason for doing this? To work together?”

Such thoughts prompted a frown from him as there were a lot of questions popping up in his head.

At this point, he should’ve known about Lucivar’s bloodline.

But someone sabotaged it.

Even if the perpetrator was the Feradith Family, he wouldn’t let this go easily.

Flicking the cigarette to the ground, he stepped on it and headed back inside.

Samael waited on the long table inside, reading books to kill time.

And soon enough, footsteps could be heard approaching him.

He stared down at the table, avoiding the approaching figure—until curiosity won.

When he looked up, his eyes widened in disbelief.

“Pleased to meet you again, Sir Samael. It’s been a while…”