Chapter 377: Hidden Broken Ploy

Lucivar was no stranger to pain.

Be it the pain from having his entire body crushed—and reformed anew, or the excruciating pain from a heartbreak when his childhood friend betrayed him, or when his mother agreed to sell him for money as if he were nothing but garbage.

He still remembered the tightness inside his chest.

Still remembered the trembling in his fingers, as if even his hands refused to belong to him anymore.

Still remembered the sharp sting in his throat, the kind that made every swallow feel like glass.

Still remembered the pounding in his skull, each throb echoing the truth he wished he could unhear.

Still remember the way his vision wavered, as though the world itself was slipping out of reach.

Each of them was engraved into him so deeply that forgetting it was impossible.

And now, those sensations came back again.

Brak!

Lucivar lost his balance as he knocked over the table, causing the tableware on it to fall and shatter.

Nobody heard the commotion.

In such a big mansion, the sound of the tableware shattering was contained within the room.

All guests were already moved to the backyard to continue the party.

Lucivar sat down on the cold frame of the window and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs, and intertwined his trembling hands together. His breath was shallow and sharp, and his eyes were wide open as his mind reeled, connecting the dots that he had been ignoring all this time.

“Before you are ready, soon, very soon, your heart will be broken—just as broken as I am right now.”

Once again, the spy’s voice rang inside his head.

“If you wanted to know a secret, you’re Tobias’ favorite.”

“In the eyes of us women, he’s extremely charming, you know.”

Vanessa’s voice then rang, bouncing against the chamber of his mind relentlessly.

But the worst part was when another voice rang.

Lucivar recognized the voice instantly, one that he never expected to remember after her death—Ciri.

“He was charming. And the way he spoke… he made me feel like the center of the world.”

As soon as he heard that voice, his pupils trembled in absolute shock as he let out a shaky breath.

“Tobias… He-He… He’s behind everything?”

Lucivar—and the others came here to find out whether Master Tobias was the one behind the attack on Ravenna and also Bob’s disappearance. All of them came with almost certainty that Master Tobias was the one behind the bad things that were happening to them.

But none of them expected his lethal hands to be deeper than they expected.

Master Tobias’ ploy was deeper than any of them could imagine.

However, Lucivar’s heart skipped a beat when a question appeared in his mind.

“Delilah…? Did he?”

…

Meanwhile, inside the space of everlasting darkness, the dying star moved.

Suspended in the endless void, Seraphiel drew in a sharp, deep breath—her pulse thundering in her ears as the air—or what passed for it here—grew colder and heavy, pressing against her chest as she blinked into the suffocating black.

A creeping horror clawed her senses, and then she saw it.

She lowered her gaze and froze when she saw the darkness climbing her body, swallowing her faster.

A lot faster than how fast it should be.

It had already devoured her chest, its inky tendrils twisting and curling upward, lapping at her head.

Her lower and upper body had already evaporated into black mist.

Now, there was only her head left to be devoured.

Each passing second, the darkness ate away more of her divine being, but then, the darkness stopped.

It stopped devouring her, and Seraphiel could feel something amiss.

A tremor of defiance shot through her.

Swish!

Her light flared, golden and fierce, pushing back against the abyss.

But the darkness pressed harder, its presence heavier than what she could imagine.

It smothered her radiance until it guttered like a dying candle.

“What did you do to him?!!” She roared, the sound tearing from her throat.

Her voice reverberated in the void, reaching far and wide, yet it came back hollow as though the very darkness had swallowed even her fury. Despite her frustration, no answer came—the darkness answered her roar only with suffocating silence.

Seraphiel’s breaths quickened, and her holy heart pounded.

“Answer me!” She screamed again, desperation cutting through every word. “What did you do to him?!”

Still, the darkness only climbed higher.

Just then, movements could be seen within the darkness.

Out of nowhere, three pairs of monstrous eyes appeared.

Each came from a different direction.

Soon, three creatures emerged from the darkness, carrying with them an otherworldly malice.

One is a massive serpent, eyes glowing emerald, and its body stretched endlessly into the darkness.

Another is a small black cat, harmless-looking, but each step it made cracked the darkness.

And the last one was hovering above, a monstrous dark creature with wings—eyes glowing purple.

Seraphiel recognized all of them, Divine Beasts of the dark forces.

“Considering your situation, I’m surprised you still have the time to worry about others.”

Sha blinked, disappearing and reappearing right before Seraphiel.

Her golden eyes lingered on Seraphiel with a cold, almost mocking curiosity, as though studying some rare creature that had finally been caged. The so-called Archangel of Purity—the divine being with the densest connection to the forces of light—is now reduced to a mere prisoner.

Hung helplessly in chains of shadow.

A faint, disdainful smile then curved Sha’s lips.

“You still cling—to a scrap of power… enough for you to crawl free, if you truly tried,” She tilted her head, tone dripping with derision. “Why not lift that trembling voice to your precious Gods? Go on, it’s now or never. Sing to them. Beg. I’m sure they will stoop into the darkness to save someone as precious as you.”

“She couldn’t,” Gandr chuckled. “Her pride as an Archangel is too strong.”

“Archangel of Purity…” Sirrush hovered closer and landed behind her. “Forget about Lucivar and go.”

Upon hearing this, Seraphiel’s eyes blazed brighter.

“I’ll ask you one more time… what did you do to him?” She asked again, her voice laced with threat.

Gandr hissed in amusement, but then, his expression turned grim instantly.

It was the same for Sha and Sirrush; all of them stared at Seraphiel with murderous intent.

“You must think we’re fools, don’t you?” Gandr whispered grimly. “You must be reeling with happiness now since he couldn’t end you and become a true champion of darkness. Do you really think we would not notice? Do you think we’re fools?!”

Rumble!!

Gandr’s presence flared destructively, crushing Seraphiel like a mountain.

Even the void trembled from the sheer weight of his divine power.

Seeing this, Seraphiel’s eyes flew wide, her breath catching in her throat—as her heart lurched violently.

From the churning abyss beyond, a torrent of crimson sand surged upward like a living spear—striking her in the stomach with the unyielding force of a God’s wrath. It tore through her flesh with merciless precision, grinding and drilling into her as if determined to hollow her out from within.

A gaping hole was left behind on Seraphiel’s stomach, but she didn’t seem to be in pain.

But her face instantly turned pale when she realized she was caught.

“Clever, very clever, Seraphiel,” Sirrush rasped, his hoarse voice dripping with malice. “When did you do it? When did you plant it? Was it during your last meeting with the Blessed Oracle? To think you’d embed your true self into a cherished memory—hiding within Delilah, lodged deep inside his mind to secure a place there… I must admit, I’m impressed.”

Sha’s lips curled into a venomous sneer. “Had your false body been completely devoured, you might’ve actually won. We would have believed you died, never realizing you’d taken root deep in the Blessed Oracle’s thoughts. But fortunately for us, the Blessed Oracle sensed the flaw. He felt it—how he found it hard to erase you… or Delilah.”

“Father does not take kindly when others try to manipulate him…” Gandr added threateningly.

Serpahiel felt naked.

Her established plan was her lifeline to remain within Lucivar’s body and prevent him from falling deeper into the pit of darkness. If this fake body had been devoured, her plan would have worked, and she could have kept Lucivar within the Second Divine Elevation.

Never fully turning into a Dark Seraph, hoping that one day he could see the light.

But her plan was exposed.

All because Lucivar questioned his reluctance to kill Seraphiel, which in turn would also kill Delilah.

From his mind, of course.

“N-No… You can’t do this.” Seraphiel’s words rang lightly—lacking any strength and defiance she had earlier. Tears drizzled down her eyes as she realized she was failing, “Lucivar… He had gone through enough. Don’t hurt him any further.”

Hearing her so frail, Sha smirked devilishly.

“We managed to stop in time. Now, your fake body stays here, and your true self wouldn’t be able to establish a place in his mind,” She said, cackling with extreme malice. “And soon, very soon, our Blessed Oracle will be complete. You spent too much time focusing on Delilah, that you didn’t realize another piece right beside her.”

“No!” Seraphiel’s cry tore from her throat, her eyes burning crimson—with desperation. “Take me instead—claim me! Tell your Gods I will surrender my power willingly! I am the highest among Angels, the very embodiment of purity itself! I can become your Devil! Just spare him!”

Gandr slithered closer, coiling upward as his head stopped beside Seraphiel’s.

“A tempting offer,” He hissed. “That would indeed almost be better than having the Blessed Oracle.”

“Then in that case, take m—”

“But where’s the fun in that? Watching you crumble is far more delightful than having you.”

“N-No… You can’t do this! No! Take me! Take me!!”

As Seraphiel cried and wailed, begging them to stop, the three Divine Beasts disappeared.

All three of them left her, allowing her to sink in despair and agony.

However, Seraphiel didn’t give up.

She screamed at the top of her lungs and channeled her last remaining power to make one final burst.

“Lucivar, please… Listen to me this one time.”

…

Oblivious to what was happening in the void, Lucivar steadied his breathing.

His mind reeled with questions.

Even though the answers were clear already, he didn’t want to assume.

No, he didn’t want this to be real.

Not until he could gauge it out of Master Tobias’ mouth himself.

Swish!

Lucivar’s gaze lifted up when he suddenly sensed a wave of ether brushing against his skin, an ether that he recognized instantly. It was Leandra’s ether—and it seemed to be coming from the second floor, which could only mean one thing.

Gritting his teeth, he snapped out of his trance and stood up.

He ran towards the entrance of the room to check on Leandra upstairs.

But before he could come out, his eyes blurred as a figure of light intercepted him.