CHAPTER 379: THE ONE-SIGHTED SEER (1)

Mirel clenched his jaw until it ached, the grind of his teeth loud in his skull.

Despite everything that Master Tobias had done for him and the others, he needs to be realistic.

From the first day of being under Master Tobias’ wing, he was told that there would be a price to pay in the future. Until this moment, he didn’t know what the price would be, but he started to see that it was a great price.

One that would cost him everything, and he didn’t want that.

Nothing is free in this world.

Being saved from that dark room comes with a great price.

A price that might even be worse than the fate waiting for him if Master Tobias hadn’t stepped in.

Bam!

Mirel shoved Master Tobias hard against the wall, his elbow grinding into the man’s neck as the carved wall shuddered under the impact like a crack of thunder. His gaze bored into Master Tobias’ eyes, rage boiling over, "You... You can’t be trusted."

His breath came fast, each exhale searing with the heat of barely restrained rage.

All this time, Mirel considered Master Tobias to be their father figure.

But turns out, he was only nurturing them for his own gain.

Oblivious to Mirel and Leandra, Master Tobias flicked his index fingernail with his thumb.

It was thrown to the side, and when it was about to fall to the first floor, the fingernail turned red and expanded into a net of crimson ether, creating a barrier that separated the first floor and the second floor, blocking any commotion from being heard or felt by the other guests downstairs.

Master Tobias didn’t resist Mirel; he only turned to stare at Leandra.

Receiving the news about Teresa, Leandra was disoriented; her mind was a real mess as she now really thought that Master Tobias was telling the truth. ’Teresa came out of nowhere and told Mirel that Master Tobias was behind everything? How suspicious is that? Why now?’

Raising her gaze, she met Master Tobias’ eyes.

He was banking on the fact that Leandra should’ve realized now that he was being set up.

Snapping out of his trance, Leandra turned to Mirel again.

"Where is Teresa now?" She asked.

"She’s gone—dead!" Mirel spat, each syllable sharp enough to cut. "She’s infected by the same ability as Ravenna, I confirmed it—with my own two hands. An ability that belonged to a Vampire Hybrid, an ability that you used on them."

Hearing this, Leandra pulled on Mirel’s arms.

"Let go of him. I think this is a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?! All evidence pointed at him; there’s no room for doubt!"

"He’s being set up! Someone is trying to break us apart!"

Despite what Leandra was saying, Mirel didn’t budge at all.

Blitz!

A violent lash of his yellow lightning struck Leandra—sending her dozens of steps back until her back hits the railing, stopping the momentum. She blinked her eyes, recovering from the push, and saw Mirel was glaring at her.

"If you can’t see the truth when it’s right in front of you, then don’t be here." He said sharply.

But this only made Leandra angrier.

Swoosh!

Mirel raised a brow when he heard a whistling sound.

A powerful force struck him right on his ribs—penetrating through his yellow lightning attribute, and hurled him to the other side of the room. His body slammed against the wall, but when he landed on his knees, he immediately glared forward.

"Leandra!! He killed Bob and hurt Ravenna!!" He roared, eyes blind with rage.

"No, you’re wrong." Leandra stepped in front of Master Tobias. "Someone is playing with us!"

"You trust him over what we see with our own two eyes?! He lied to us about everything—and you now believe his bullshit more than yourself?!" He argued, standing up and raising his fists, ready to fight if he needed to force Leandra out of the way. "Open your eyes, Leandra. He’s not who we thought he was!"

"It’s a setup!" Leandra screamed. "Until we’re certain, we can’t be jumping to conclusions!"

"HOW CAN I TRUST HIM?!"

Knowing that Leandra was too far gone, too blind to see the truth, Mirel had no choice but to fight.

Sparks of yellow lightning coiled around his limbs, propelling him forward in a blinding dash.

Leandra’s eyes widened as he cut the distance between them in an instant, almost as fast as making a single step. She raised her hands—activating her ether to block, ’It’s been some time since we sparred... He had gotten a lot faster since then.’

Swish!

She leaned her head backward and pushed Master Tobias back simultaneously.

Narrowly dodging Mirel’s lightning hand.

In the next second, her gaze darted to the bookshelves on her right and pulled them with telekinesis.

Mirel noticed what she was doing even before the bookshelves were hurled towards him.

Raising his hand, he fired a lightning strike from his hands, shattering the bookshelves into pieces.

Now, both Leandra and Master Tobias were cornered with their backs against the railings.

Mirel seized the opening and lunged forward, but his charge faltered in an instant. A hand clamped onto his collar, wrenching him back—with brutal force. Before he could react, a knee slammed into his gut, forcing out air and saliva from his mouth.

And in the next breath, he was hurled across the room.

Crash!

His back was slammed against the wall again.

Once he recovered, his pupils dilated to see another person standing beside Leandra and Master Tobias.

"Bakar...?" Mirel rasped the name while holding his aching guts.

"I also trust Master Tobias, " Bakar said—his eyes levelled unlike how they looked earlier. "If you can’t trust Leandra’s judgment, then you’ll have to trust my judgment. Just stop with this madness. Give him the chance to explain."

Hearing this, Mirel was at a loss for words.

He looked to the balcony, and then to Bakar once again—his lips moved, but no sound came out.

Bakar seemed to be here all along, and the moment he intervened, it felt calculated.

Something was going on here.

Mirel stood slowly to his feet, a deep frown etched across his face as he pointed at Bakar.

"You..." He tilted his head and narrowed his pained eyes. "You were never on our side, were you?"

Bakar remained silent.

It was then, Mirel’s eyes flew wide in sudden realization.

"So, that’s why he isn’t surprised. You told him we’d be ambushing him here, didn’t you? You met with him when you said you were going for a stroll to clear your head—that’s why you came back so late." Mirel couldn’t believe this was happening; he couldn’t believe Bakar would go behind their backs like this. "Did you know what you just did?"

Mirel gritted his teeth in sheer anger.

"You give him time to think of a reason!" He roared thunderously. "That’s how he could poison Leandra like this! Can’t you see it? He’s using you for a way out! Had you stuck to the plan, he wouldn’t be able to make up some damn excuses!"

"No, Mirel. He raised us, and the least we could do is to give him the benefit of the doubt." Bakar said.

But his answer only fueled Mirel with more anger.

As he was about to attack again, he remembered something as he smiled.

"Lucivar..." Mirel smirked, eyes wide with a crazed light. "Let’s see what he has to say about this."

Just the sheer mention of his name, Bakar’s and Leandra’s faces changed.

Lucivar wasn’t only stronger, but he also would not hesitate.

Neither of them would be able to reason with him.

Mirel turned towards the staircase, intending to call for Lucivar.

"Stop him!" Bakar shouted.

Almost instantly, Leandra activated her power and gripped Mirel in place with telekinesis.

Her power as a Star Witch Hybrid is stronger during the night, especially under a sky like this, where the full moon blazed bright—and countless accompanying stars glittered beside it, drenching the whole world in celestial light.

Mirel found himself trapped in place, unable to move any further.

He tried to retaliate, but it seemed like he didn’t need to.

Clap!

Clap!

Clap!

All of them froze as the sharp, deliberate sound of clapping echoed from the staircase.

Each strike was punctuated by slow, measured footsteps drawing steadily nearer.

Around them, the air seemed to tighten with every step, dread curling in their chests.

Mirel’s lips curved into an eager smile—but Leandra and Bakar wore no such expression, their eyes widening in tense, unspoken alarm. Even without turning to look, the aura coming from the person was enough to tell them who he was.

Lucivar.

"Clever. Very clever, Tobias." Lucivar’s voice rang like the voice of the Grim Reaper. "I was thinking of turning the family against you, regardless of whether you’re the one behind Bob’s disappearance or not, but it seemed there are more important things we need to talk about."

Seeing him stepping to the second floor, Master Tobias’ lips curved into an expectant smile.

Almost as if he were anticipating him to come eventually.

"Lucivar..." Leandra whispered, stepping in front of Master Tobias to protect him.

On the other hand, Lucivar looked at Leandra and smirked.

"Are you certain you want to protect him, Leandra?" he asked—his tone laced with mockery. "I already know the truth—and I promise you, once you hear it, you won’t stand by his side. Besides... Tobias doesn’t need your protection to begin with."

Everyone was confused as to what Lucivar was talking about.

But Lucivar didn’t heed their confusion.

He looked down at the ground and bent down to pick up an expensive-looking pen.

Slowly, under the others’ gazes, a purplish energy enveloped the entire pen.

And before any of them could react, Lucivar flicked the pen straight towards Master Tobias.

Boom!

Despite seemingly only making a casual flick, the pen was launched like a bullet, far too fast for anyone to react as it slammed into Master Tobias with brutal force. The impact erupted in a sharp, concussive blast, and Lucivar observed the spectacle with keen interest.

Just that attack alone would’ve punctured a Chrysalis-rank Hybrid.

But as the dust settled, Master Tobias was still standing.

He was unscathed.

Leandra looked at him with wide eyes.

She knew that he was a Hybrid still, a descendant from the supreme house even, but not this strong.

Lucivar, on the other hand, chuckled when he saw this.

He only knew now that Master Tobias was still a Hybrid, and a strong one at that, too.

"Had it not been for luck, a misspoke from your beloved new woman, Vanessa, I wouldn’t have pieced things together," He said, back straight as he put his hands inside his pockets. "But now I know the real truth. You weren’t only responsible for Bob’s disappearance or Ravenna’s attack, weren’t you? You’re behind everything that happened in our lives, good and bad. And your real target..."

Lucivar paused, letting his words settle before he finally spoke again.

"It’s me..."