Ascension of the Dark Seraph

Gulp!

Feeling the rising tension in the air, the lunch lady swallowed hard.

She could feel it—Sabrina wasn't her usual self.

Not the person who came here to chat and mostly complain about Lucivar.

"Excuse me…?"

Regardless, the lunch lady mustered her courage to reply—acting normal as she continued her work.

But her expression betrayed her, there was a hint of worry hidden there.

And Sabrina was keen and attuned enough to notice it instantly.

"Is there something bothering you, auntie?" Sabrina leaned closer, looking at the lunch lady's face with sarcastic curiosity. Then, she pushed the bowl again—this time close enough to bother the lunch lady's work station, "I said I want to see you eat it."

"H-How can you expect me to do that?" The lunch lady smiled nervously.

"Didn't you say you're passionate about your cooking? Something about academy hunters needing at least good food—for sacrificing themselves for the students?" Sabrina pressed further. Her eyes were opened wide, she didn't even bother to hide her malice. "Who knows? Maybe Master Lucivar did not eat your soup because it tasted bad."

Sensing trouble, the other two workers nearby became uncomfortable.

Neither of them knew what was happening—and why Sabrina was acting like this.

On the other hand, the lunch lady was muted, she averted her gaze, unwilling to meet Sabrina's gaze.

"Leave us for a minute." Sabrina finally said with a stern tone to the other workers.

She was only a personal maid.

Some might even consider her status lower than the workers—who worked for a respectable academy. But at this moment, her voice carried an irresistible command, one that made them obey without any question, as if their bodies were controlled by her.

Once the two workers paused and went to the other room, the lunch lady was now alone with Sabrin.

Nobody was around—the cafeteria was still empty.

"Is it you?" Sabrina finally asked directly with a cold tone. "Is it you who put something in the food?"

Despite being questioned, the lunch lady was still silent.

She was afraid—her body was trembling uncontrollably, but she didn't answer.

Sabrina's face reddened.

She couldn't keep her composure and hide her anger anymore.

All this time, she was happy that she managed to secure a bond with the cafeteria's people so that—as small as it was—Lucivar could eat better and more food than the others. He could even eat back in the room, avoiding the line at the cafeteria.

For the last couple of days, she has been bringing Lucivar food with a smile on her face.

To think that she was delivering likely poisoned food… it was infuriating.

So much so that Sabrina wanted to tear the lunch lady's head off and drink her blood.

Gulping down her anger, she took a step forward and stood directly beside the lunch lady.

Though she couldn't see it, the lunch lady could feel her anger radiating like waves of heat, making her side damp with sweat. Eyes squeezed shut in fear, knowing that this might be it, she flinched when the cold voice broke the silence once more.

"Is… it… you…?" Sabrina whispered hauntingly.

And this time, the lunch lady could feel that she would die if she didn't answer this question.

So she answered.

"No…" She shook her head meekly.

Once the lunch lady said that, she turned her gaze to the other room.

Sabrina glanced to the other room and back to the lunch lady, realizing what she meant, and then forced a nod. Then, she walked to the other room and stepped inside. On top of the two workers from earlier, who were gossiping as to what was going on, there were other workers inside.

It was the dirty kitchen, and there were five more workers who were actually cooking the food.

All five of them cast a polite smile at Sabrina, she knew all of them.

She made sure she knew all five of them.

Being trained as a personal maid, this was one of the important lessons—to always know the home.

Sabrina would know if even a spoon was missing from here.

And that lesson came in handy at this very moment.

On the corner, there was a man who seemed to be cleaning the steel table, wearing the same white outfit as everyone here, but Sabrina didn't recognize him. Perhaps the academy hired another person, but her mind turned to the worst-case scenario.

After all, the lunch lady directed Sabrina here, and she didn't seem to be lying.

Frowning slightly, Sabrina approached the man casually—not forgetting to greet the others as normal.

Noticing the others were saying hello to someone, the man glanced over his shoulder and saw Sabrina.

Sabrina scanned the man and noticed that he was rough, his frame was bigger, not someone who would be working in a kitchen. He was wearing long sleeves, refusing to roll them up like the others, and there was a scar poking out.

Even on his cheek, there was a scar—seemingly a cut from a blade that was quite long.

"You knew I'm Sabrina?" Sabrina asked after a small pause.

Hearing this, the man raised an eyebrow and wiped his hands with a cloth, "Am I supposed to know?"

"I'm Master Lucivar's personal maid. I regularly came here—but you probably know what I am after," Sabrina replied, smiling a smile that didn't seem to reach her eyes. "You know… So that my master is given more portion than the rest."

"I see…" the man returned the smile and placed the cloth down.

"I've never seen you around," Sabrina averted her gaze, breaking eye contact the first time throughout their entire conversation. "So I'm here to introduce myself, and make sure you're also going to be kind enough to give more for my master."

"Aaron," the man introduced himself. "And don't worry, I'll also increase your master's portion."

"Good, good…" Sabrina nodded before her eyes glanced at Aaron's work stations.

It was mostly empty, with only a few cabbages here and there.

"I was on cleaning duty today," Aaron quickly explained—when he realized Sabrina was checking his workstation. "As you noticed, I'm new here, and frankly quite clumsy. I'm still learning. But soon—I should be handling more important tasks."

"I see… carry on then." Sabrina nodded and turned away.

Across the entire conversation, the workers there cast curious glances at them.

Despite being oblivious, they could feel the tense air around Sabrina.

She was usually talkative and cheerful, so hearing her talk formally was quite endearing.

Sabrina took a couple of steps away before her gaze landed on a knife.

She grabbed it without the workers or Aaron realizing.

Then, she turned back around and approached Aaron for the second time.

"Hey, Aaron," Sabrina called, forcing Aaron to turn to her again. "You're full of shit, aren't you?"

Splash!

"Kyaaah!!"

One of the workers exclaimed in horror when Sabrina, out of nowhere, stabbed Aaron on the neck with the knife she grabbed. Surprised, Aaron reached for Sabrina's neck, activating his ether in order to crush her windpipe.

Sabrina pushed him back before he could reach her and twist the knife brutally.

Blood squirted out and splashed onto her face as Aaron kept struggling.

But with the perfect sneak attack, he was losing strength rapidly, and couldn't retaliate for long.

Ignoring the shrills and screams, Sabrina pulled out the knife and stabbed the other side of Aaron's neck, killing him on the spot. Once his body turned limp, Sabrina pulled out the knife again. With no support, Aaron's lifeless body hit the steel table and slumped to the ground.

Upon turning around, Sabrina saw the other workers were crammed into the corners, horrified.

All of them looked at her with utter fear.

Even though they knew Sabrina was a Hybrid, none of them thought she was capable of violence.

Especially this level of violence.

Sabrina was usually sweet, childish even—so this came as a complete shock to them.

"Relax, he's an assassin." Sabrina muttered as she grabbed a cloth and wiped the bloodied knife clean.

Then, her hands moved to her face, wiping the blood that had gotten onto her face.

"Report this to Professor Aeldric, and tell him to do a better job," She said, placing the knife down with a sharp clink—before striding slowly toward the door. But then she stopped, frozen mid-step, and turned to the workers slowly. Both her eyes were still burning with suppressed fury.

"I have been working very, very hard to earn Master Lucivar's trust," Her voice was low, trembling, not with fear, but with wrath barely held at bay. "And this assassin—this…imbecile, nearly shattered that. Shattered everything I've built."

Sabrina wanted to explode, but she held it in—there was no point in that.

She took a breath, sharp and bitter to calm her nerves.

"You tell Aeldric that he will explain this to Master Lucivar himself," She continued demandingly." He will take the blame for letting this assassin get here, and he will make it CRYSTAL clear that this wasn't my fault."

Pausing for a second, letting her words settle, her voice then dropped.

Become cold and venomous.

"Because if he doesn't…" She whispered, her voice razor-thin. "I swear to God, by tomorrow morning, this entire mess will be front-page news. And when it is, I'll make sure the headlines scream that he was the one who orchestrated this assassination attempt against one of the rising stars under the Valerius Supreme House's rule, who was going to participate in the biggest tournament."

After saying that, Sabrina walked out of the door, leaving behind the stunned workers.

On the other side, Sabrina's eyes caught sight of the lunch lady.

She hadn't left, she was cradled on the corner like a scared cat.

"They just told them to bring him here," She confessed—tears of fear streaming down her face. "I didn't do anything. Please, understand—I have no choice, they knew where my kids live. This has never been personal."

"I have been a slave all my life—and all I wanted the most in my life is a master who understands me," Sabrina muttered with profound nostalgia. "Finally, I got the master I wanted. He is everything for me, my dream and my entire fucking purpose of life. This was personal to me."

Sabrina turned to face the lunch lady, still standing stiffly.

Then, she raised a finger, pointing it like a blade at the lunch lady, "And for that, if I still see you here, working, by the end of the day, I'll rip your jaw clean off and pour that soup down your throat. As for your kids, I'll also give them the privilege of dying the same way their mother did."

Cold. Cruel. Final.

The lunch lady knew that Sabrina would actually do that, so she nodded repeatedly.

"I'll leave. You'll never see me again." She said with a trembling voice.

Only then did Sabrina walk out, right on time as the academy hunters began to come in.