Ascension of the Dark Seraph

Seth entered the hall.

All eyes immediately snapped towards him, sensing the overwhelming presence that he possessed.

A member of royalty or not, Seth carried with him the air of authority and power.

He didn't ask to be welcomed, didn't ask to be announced, but his aura alone drew eyes towards him.

It was as if he were the chosen one under the sky.

Being at the Chrysalis-rank for certain, he already developed a lot of a Vampire' characteristics—skin as pale ashes, fangs shy poking from his upper lip, and eyes as red as the deepest ruby. Unlike most of the participants, he was also toned and muscular.

One could tell with his sleeveless combat shirt.

Despite his status, his gears were also not too much to have him always be on the advantageous hill.

In fact, he barely has any gears other than the ivory fingerguards that adorn all his fingers.

Glancing across the hall as participants made way, his face showed no sign of interest, bored if anything.

Most of them weren't on his level, and he wanted to find those who were or close enough.

Suddenly, his ether, blood ether, seeped out of his form.

It was so thick and powerful that it looked like lumpy liquid.

Almost instantly, in the presence of such an aura, many of the participants trembled on their boots.

Upon the appearance of Seth's aura, there seemed to be a weight pressing on their shoulders, beckoning them to look down and avoid his gaze. Most of them obeyed this unspoken command, but some of the participants stayed strong.

Among them, Orivelle, Garran, and Abigail.

"Tch…" Garran clicked her tongue in displeasure when she sensed Seth's aura.

Orivelle also frowned, "I expected no less from the prodigy, but this is too much. He's way above us."

"Four-star Chrysalis-rank, that's insane for someone as young as him…" Abigail smiled wryly—nothing would prepare her for this revelation. She thought that at least Seth was at the two-star, but he was two stars above her expectations. "I can't compete in terms of talent."

However, the most surprised ones weren't them.

Many of the weaker participants were surprised the most.

Given that the tournament's entry threshold was merely the four-star Acolyte rank, most assumed Seth would be a modest five-star at best, or perhaps, if he was really a prodigy, a newly ascended Chrysalis Hybrid.

But they were sorely mistaken.

A lot of them had entered with dreams of glory, but those dreams were now shattered.

Looking at the others who were still upright and strong, they came to a united realization.

Other than those who had reached the Chrysalis rank, the others wouldn't stand a chance.

Anyone who was still at the Acolyte rank was nothing but fodder.

Realizing that there were a lot of them that are at the Chrysalis rank, Seth nodded firmly.

It seemed the tournament would at least be interesting.

Just then, however, his instincts yanked his attention to a figure on his right who stood unaffected.

Unlike the others, this figure wasn't even looking at Seth.

Instead, his gaze was cast elsewhere, to another participant, as if the oppressive aura meant nothing to him at all. Seth's eyes narrowed, he could smell a trace of blood ether coming from this figure, 'Another Vampire Hybrid… A strong one too.'

Now that the man of the moment has finally come, a man stepped onto the podium ahead.

He was one of the organizers, tasked with handling the first stage.

"Attention, everyone!" He called—his voice booming across the entire hall. "Now we will start the first stage of the tournament called the Proof of Strength. If your name is called, go through that corridor and proceed to the arena. You will be fighting Ninjas there, one by one, a duel."

Lucivar listened to this and nodded.

Seems like the information from Angel was accurate, or at least, the first stage was accurate.

It was the stage that would eliminate the weaker participants.

"For you to reach the second stage, you only need to beat the second ninja. But there's an option to fight the third ninja, which would give you one point that you could use for the later stages," The man added, making sure the participants knew what to expect. "However, be warned. If you lose your battle against the third ninja, you would instantly be disqualified."

Upon hearing this, the participants burst into a discussion.

Some of them tried to ask questions about these three ninjas, such as how strong they were.

But the man couldn't answer.

Lucivar, on the other hand, wasn't worried.

'It's not that bad, really…' He shrugged nonchalantly. 'After fighting the second ninja, everyone could tell whether they could beat the third ninja or not. As long as the participant is not reckless and stupid, none of them would be disqualified.'

'What's interesting is the rewarded point... What is it for?' He wondered.

Then again, he wouldn't know until he got to the second stage—the man wouldn't tell him.

As he thought of that, his eyes widened a bit when he sensed a chilling touch.

Looking down, he saw a dark string attaching itself to his chest.

Realizing that it was his bloodline's constitution, he glanced over his shoulders naturally, acting as if he was stretching, and found where it came from. Once he faced forward, an evil smile crept to his face, 'I don't know we're at the level of killing, but hey, I'll be happy to entertain you.'

Once he finished explaining the first stage, it was time to start.

"Please come forward and walk through the corridor when you're called," The man said before pausing for a second. "Oh, the governor has graced us with his presence, so do your absolute best. Make this be worthwhile for him."

Just like that, the first stage started.

One by one, the participants were called and headed for the arena.

Each time the automatic doors to the arena slid open, a surge of cheers spilled into the hall, even though the walls were very thick—built to muffle sound. Despite that, the crowd's roar was thunderous enough to pierce through, a testament to their excitement.

Participants came and went.

Some came back excited and cheerful, while some were crying and slouched.

Based on their conversations, the first two ninjas were at the four-star and five-star Acolyte rank.

It made it quite clear that the third ninja would be a Chrysalis-rank Hybrid, a seasoned one, perhaps.

For the first hour, nobody seemed to have challenged the third ninja.

Lucivar looked at the holographic screen above the entrance, which recapped the battles, and could tell that in the past hour, nobody seemed to have challenged the third ninja. Like Angel said, only the top hundred or so are at the Chyrsalis rank.

Most of them, hundreds of them, were still at the Acolyte rank.

So this wasn't surprising.

Then, at the second hour, his name was called.

"You're up," Abigail said, nudging her chin at the entrance door. "Good luck, out there."

"Don't say that," Lucivar cast her a sharp glance. "It's insulting."

"Wha-?" Abigail was at a loss for words, she said that out of politeness, not because she was rude.

She failed to understand Lucivar's mind.

For him to need luck to beat the three ninjas was the same as calling him weak.

It was insulting.

Just as he walked to the front, a few names were being called again.

Since there were ten arenas, each round was composed of a batch of ten.

Lucivar waited for the others to be called with his arms crossed until suddenly, he frowned.

On the same batch, a familiar name was called.

"Caldaros of the Bloodhaven Academy!"

Upon hearing this, Caldaros walked forward and stood beside Lucivar.

He didn't even cast Lucivar a glance, but the tension between them was palpable, even for Mirel, who was a distance away, watching. As the two waited, Lucivar opened his mouth, "How was Ciri? I hoped she would be watching. It'll be a lot tastier if she watched as I suffocate the life out of you with my hands."

"Talk more," Caldaros replied coldly. "You'll not be able to use your tongue soon."

"Oooh~" Lucivar hooted playfully. "A threat? Was that really how someone like you speaks?"

Caldaros only snorted in response.

Clearly, Lucivar was trying to get inside his head—that was all Loki's Avatar always did.

Best for him to ignore Lucivar.

Soon enough, the automatic door was opened.

Lucivar and his batch walked along the corridor until they stepped into the light, emerging on the arena.

As soon as he was outside, he was greeted by flashing lights, cameras, and a crowd of people who were cheering from their seats. A euphoria unlike anything he has ever seen. People were raising their phones and screaming excitedly at the top of their lungs.

Men and women alike reached out their hands towards him, hoping for him to touch them.

It was quite a new sight and feeling for Lucivar.

For some reason, he felt like a God at this moment, worshipped by thousands of people.

Continuing ahead, the batch came to the center, where ten arenas and ninjas awaited them.

As they made their way forward, cameras tracked their every move, their faces projected across the city and far beyond. At the heart of it all stood the tournament arena, encased in a robust spherical energy barrier.

An unyielding shield designed to contain the unleashed ethers and keep the crowd from harm.

Giving them the liberty to enjoy the battle without needing to take cover most of the time.

On the VIP seats, a separate section that flanked the arena, closer and lower than the rest of the crowd, were the others. Linthia, Ravenna, Bakar, and Nerissa were there. Only Bob did not come, saying that he had something urgent to do.

Along with them were a few dozen of Bloodhaven Academy's students.

Surprisingly enough, the students were able to afford the seats here despite the sky-high price.

Once Lucivar and Caldaros entered, the students stood up and cheered.

Not only that, they also went above and beyond, holding up a massive banner with their academy's logo printed on it to attract both Lucivar and Caldaros to look. "Lucivar!" Nerissa stood up and shouted, waving her hands frantically. "Look here! We're here!"

She also pulled Leandra and Ravenna to stand, encouraging them to join in with her.

"It's embarrassing..." Leandra complained. "He won't look."

"What are you talking about? Look! He's searching for us!" Nerissa pointed ahead.

As she said, Lucivar was turning his head left and right, seemingly searching for them.

Biting her lower lip, Leandra also called for him, albeit quieter.

On the other hand, Lucivar ascended to his arena while still darting his eyes left and right.

'There's no way I could tell if she's here…' He sighed and focused ahead. 'I can only hope she was.'

Looking at the ninja, Lucivar waved his hand.

"Both of you, attack me together," He said nonchalantly. "I refused to waste my time here."