Ascension of the Dark Seraph
Chapter 325 - 325: Above Mortal

Lucivar was curious about what was going on with Master Tobias.

It was rare for him to be involved directly.

Frankly speaking, despite the oddness, there must be a legitimate reason behind this.

Behind why he did what he did.

Bob was the latest one to receive a reward from Master Tobias, and since Lucivar had never been—that particularly close to him, there was no telling how strong he might be now. For all he knew, Bob could have reached a new height of power and been given a new task entirely.

Having him 'disappear' because of a woman might be an excuse for that.

But then again, these were only assumptions.

Lucivar could only leave the matter regarding Master Tobias to the others.

He would be focusing on the three other avatars, his next target.

Upon reaching a couple of miles away from the city, the car stopped on the side of the highway.

Nerissa looked around with confusion, finding that there was nothing but the lake on either side.

"Why are we stopping here?"

"We're going to change transportation."

"Eh? Change? Change into what?"

Lucivar didn't answer and tapped the driver's shoulder, thanking him for the ride.

He and Nerissa got out of the car and took their luggage.

As soon as they were done, the car honked at them before going to the other lane and zooming away.

"Ah… It really left…" Nerissa whispered in disbelief.

Both of them were now standing on the empty highway under the glaring heat of the sun above them.

Lucivar ignored her comment and stomped the ground lightly.

Swish!

Almost instantly, Nerissa took a few steps back when the ground lit up with an emerald hue—shaping into a blazing portal. She could feel the heat coming from inside the portal licking her skin dry. Then, a green blur emerged and shot skyward.

Nerissa covered her face with her arm, and when she recovered, she saw a beautiful monster.

A blazing green phoenix, blotting out the sky and invaded the space around it with greenish corruption.

"Come on, let's ride it before anyone sees it."

Lucivar walked past her while carrying the luggage with his hands.

Seeing him approaching, the emerald phoenix landed on the street and lowered its head.

Despite its fiery body, the heat didn't harm Lucivar.

Instead, it was nourishing him.

Blinking, Nerissa snapped out of her trance and quickly followed right behind.

Once the two mounted the emerald phoenix, it flared its wings to the side, screeched, and flew away.

It was quite an uneventful journey from Sunhold City to where Morriva was.

Nerissa was busy sightseeing, looking down at the blurry land beneath them, as the emerald phoenix was moving at an extremely fast speed. It was certainly faster than the car, or even the pace Lucivar could go at with his wings.

Using the Chaos Constellation on the fallen Hybrids of the tournament wasn't a waste.

On top of the emerald phoenix, Lucivar also has a few other monsters at his disposal.

Losing Oval and Heart is heartbreaking, especially since they inherited the power of a Mirror Demon, which was quite useful. But there's no use in grieving over them, so instead, Lucivar replaced them with new monsters from the Labyrinth of Arcane Menagerie.

Along the way, Lucivar decided to take his Divine Merit from Sutekh first.

Since he'd already been through it once, he figured it was best to start with the easy part.

But he was too naïve to think that experiencing it once had any correlation to making it easier.

Compared to the first time, the sections remained exactly the same, but there was an additional section at the end.

First, it was the pulling of stone pillars.

Instead of ten, there were now twenty stone pillars—and he had to drag two over his shoulders for each lap instead of just one. To make matters worse, the time on the hourglass—had been cut in half, making the challenge more than twice as brutal as before.

Having his wings helped since the weight was distributed to four limbs instead of two.

But even then, it was still impossibly hard.

"Raarghk!"

Crash!

"A little bit more! A bit mo-ARGHKK!"

Splash!

Lucivar was killed countless times by being crushed by the stone pillars.

Occasionally, he was too tired to continue under the glare of the red sun, and his arms fell off literally, spewing blood everywhere. Once the Anvil of Sutekh started, there was no going back for him. He must complete it or the Divine Merit will never end.

It was a long and hazardous process.

Sometimes, Lucivar caught himself laughing at nothing, teetering on the brink of going crazy.

As soon as he placed the last stone pillar in its designated position, Lucivar collapsed.

His body was slicked with sweat and blood.

And before he could breathe properly, he sprang up as his wet body against hot, harsh sand wasn't quite compatible. He lay down for only a second, and the skin on his back was already burned. It has always been a mental test in this place.

Above the pain and the loneliness, he hated that he didn't know how long it had been.

Every time he looked up to the sky, the same red sun was always there consistently.

In the second section, it was the same ever-shifting labyrinth filled with deadly scorpions, but this time, heavy steel weights were strapped to his ankles. Walking was already a struggle, dodging collapsing and moving walls along with venomous stingers, felt almost impossible.

Finishing the second section took at least seven years.

The labyrinth doesn't have a pattern, so he was forced to adapt to moving with the steel weights.

As for the third section, it was the same long and hazardous trek across the desert while being chased by mummies. Only this time, the distance had doubled or even more, and the mummies pursuing him were faster than before.

Though the speed increase was barely noticeable, it became very noticeable when he was exhausted.

Once he reached the end, Sha wasn't waiting there like last time.

Lucivar crawled through the last couple of meters until the finish line, and when he did, he flipped over and lay there on the sand. His back was burning, but he was too tired to do anything other than lie there for a good moment.

At this point, the number of deaths he had experienced already reached the three-digit mark.

Specifically, he died 171 times.

For several times already, he was deliberating on summoning Zibbo to help him.

But the thought of explaining the situation to him was already a hassle, so he decided to go at this alone.

Now that the third section was finished and Lucivar could feel his body again, he reached for his jugular and ripped it with a brutal yank. Blood splashed from his throat, and within mere seconds, he died from choking on his own blood.

Once he was resurrected, he was in full power again.

His body was reformed from the sand in perfect condition.

Lucivar clenched his fists a couple of times and gazed ahead with curiosity.

About a mile away from where he was standing, there was a circle-shaped structure or platform with a circular stage at the center, with glowing golden edges. He did not know what it was, but it should be the new fourth section of the Anvil of Sutekh.

On the side of that structure, Sha was already waiting for him nonchalantly, licking her paw.

Lucivar walked the distance.

And when he stood beside Sha, the structure became clearer.

It wasn't a mere structure.

It was a divine relic.

Ancient Egyptian symbols covered the outer rim of the circular structure, softly pulsing with threads of blue and gold light. What he first mistook for a raised platform at the center was, in fact, a crucible, and from within it came the faint sound of bubbling liquid, though its contents remained hidden from where he stood.

Before Lucivar could ask, Sha had already started explaining.

"Since it's your second time here—your physique is already at the peak of mortals. It's time to elevate you into the higher realm of physical prowess," Sha turned to Lucivar, her glowing eyes sparkled with excitement. "To the realm of the Demi-Gods."

Sha ascended the staircase, heading towards the crucible.

Seeing this, Lucivar followed.

"Your physique assessment has settled on the peak of the Sphinx-tier, so in order for you to reach the Obelisk-tier, your body must be shed of all impurities—and weaknesses." Sha reached the edge of the crucible and looked down at the bubbling pond of molten gold. "To be perfect."

Lucivar stood beside her and looked down.

He swallowed hard when he saw the bubbling, molten gold inside the crucible.

"And how do I do that exactly?"

"Gold is the flesh and blood of the Gods. The symbol of immortality and indestructibility. You'll submerge yourself inside the Golden Crucible and be reborn anew. You'll come out stronger and ready to face Horus' avatar."

Even though many would die for this opportunity, Lucivar has second thoughts.

Just standing on the edge alone, the heat already stretched his skin.

He didn't know if he wanted to go in there.

"Wait a minute," He crouched, sweating a bit. "What exactly would happen to me if I jumped in there?"

Hearing this, Sha paused for a second before she approached.

She placed a paw on Lucivar's foot while looking at his eyes with a sweet smile.

"Let me give you a tip," she said, drawing Lucivar's full attention. "It's better if you don't know."

Pah!

Sand particles gathered and elongated Sha's tail before she slapped his body with it, knocking him into the crucible without remorse. It only took Lucivar to blink for all of that to happen, and when he came to his senses, he was already falling.

"Eh…?"

"Good luck!"

"Sha, you motherfu-brrr~"

Lucivar didn't even have the time to curse before his head dipped into the molten gold.

…

Meanwhile, inside a particular village.

A massive church loomed at the center, its entrance marked by a sinister rune that forced passersby to lower their gazes in instinctive submission. Guards clad in leather armor—and robes, exuding a fierce, oppressive aura stood watch on all sides, their blood-spears glistened faintly under the sunlight.

Going in and out of the church were the priestesses, draped in emerald and white robes.

Inside, there was a remarkable woman with the appearance of a saint.

She stood on the altar, facing two men who were praying to her.

At the center of her chest, there was an emerald gem, pulsing with relentless power.

Emotionlessly, she flicked her fingers, burning the two men in green flames and turning them to ash.

"Clean it up and leave me."

Nodding their heads, the Blood Sisters swept the ash and excused themselves to leave the grand hall.

Once alone, the woman looked out of the massive window.

A smile of quiet excitement bloomed across her effortlessly beautiful features.

"He's nearby…"