Ascension of the Dark Seraph-Chapter 366: Breaking Loyalty

"But that doesn’t mean I’m just his avatar..."

Hector’s heart skipped a beat.

He stared at Lucivar, really processing what he had just heard.

"W-Wha..." He stammered, eyes slowly widening in absolute terror. "What do you mean?"

"It’s exactly as I said." Lucivar grinned, smiling so wide that the smile turned unnatural.

Clearly, he was taking great pleasure in seeing how Hector’s face shifted as he began to grasp the whole situation. He came here prepared to take down Sutekh’s avatar, but it turned meaningless when he now realized that he wasn’t dealing with only Sutekh’s avatar.

Lucivar was more than what meets the eye.

In that realization, the floor collapsed on Hector as the truth came to light.

Facing an avatar is dangerous, even when he was backed by another avatar, and he accepted this mission knowing that he must be extremely cautious. But as it turns out, the mission was even more dangerous than he anticipated.

’So that’s how he got inside,’ Hector gritted his teeth as he had underestimated his opponents too much, taking what he was briefed to literally as if it were words from a holy book. ’He wasn’t detected by the dust because he wasn’t only an avatar of Sutekh. We’re completely blindsided.’

Recalling how nonchalant Zibbo was earlier, he should’ve been more wary.

But regretting that made him remember what Zibbo told him earlier.

"Sometimes when someone makes a move that looks too dumb to be real... It’s because it isn’t."

"Most of the time, the real fool is actually yourself."

Just remembering those words made Hector realize that he was the fool all along for believing that things were going to go smoothly for him all the time. He was too infatuated by his position to be close to an avatar, who became too arrogant and ignored the obvious red flags.

Slowly, with steady, menacing steps, Lucivar approached.

"Remember, you promised me him." Zibbo’s voice rang, fearing that Lucivar would take his kill.

"I know," Lucivar answered without looking.

Once he stood towering before Hector, he tilted his head, "Now, where is your avatar and his Vestal?"

Silence.

Even with the dawn of his situation, Hector still remained loyal, pursing his lips into a slit in defiance.

Instead of answering, Hector activated his communication line.

"Lily! Run! He can create clones!!" He shouted.

Upon seeing this, Lucivar smiled in amusement.

In the face of death, Hector was still defiant—and that tells a lot about his character as a man.

And breaking such a devoted man... is a delight to him.

It’s even better if it was challenging.

So much so that Lucivar licked his lips in anticipation.

Nodding his head, accepting the challenge, Lucivar lowered himself to meet Hector’s eyes.

"You can’t hurt me," Hector cackled despite already sweating profusely. "You promised him my life."

Lucivar didn’t heed what he said.

Instead, he looked down at the floor and pointed at it with his index finger.

Others might think he was pointing at the floor, but in truth, he was pointing beyond it, at a place where many people feared and dreaded. "Let me tell you what happened if you don’t tell me what I want. I will catch your and your friends’ souls before any external force could take them, and bring you down to meet with the Lord of the Red Sand in his realm."

He stated, mapping out exactly what he would do after all of them died.

And the sheer mentioning of Sutekh’s nickname already made Hector gulp harshly.

"In there, you will experience Hell—the actual Hell. Your consciousness will be split into three parts—your fleshy body, your soul, and your mind. Your pain nerves in your fleshy body will be enhanced one thousand times, and you will be tortured through the Anvil of Sutekh. It’s a painful training program. It is extremely painful. But unlike me, you’ll only be tortured, not strengthened."

Lucivar tore a big chunk of flesh from his arm, baring his golden bone.

Then, he continued.

"Your soul would be plunged into the Primordial Sea, where monsters of the abyss would drag you into the depths and devour you for eternity. As for your mind, it will be thrown into the Labyrinth of Arcane Menagerie, where you will be broken into madness." He studied Hector’s face, which was now already as pale as a sheet of paper.

"You..." Hector stammered. "You can’t do that."

"Oh, I definitely can." Lucivar grinned wider. "Hell is one of the perks—for being on the dark side. But even after your three-way of suffering, it’s still not the worst. There’s still one more thing."

Hearing this, Hector looked at Lucivar in shock.

Just the torment alone was already enough to nick at his loyalty, but there’s more?

Lucivar stood up and walked away, stopping a few steps away with his back still facing Hector.

"Worst part is that I’m going to do the same thing to your families as well," He clasped his hands behind him like an old man, looking at the bloodshed he caused with a profound gaze. "It’ll really be one grim day, especially to drag someone so innocent... like your sister."

Almost instantly, Hector’s throat turned dry.

He crawled forward like an insect and held Lucivar’s foot as if it were a lifeline.

"Don’t bring my sister into this! Your problem is with me! Do you have no shame? No honor?!"

"Hector, remember who you’re dealing with... I don’t give a shit."

Despite swearing, giving his promise as a man to be loyal to Horus, Hector was now struggling to keep robust under the pressure when his sister was brought. He was fine bearing all the consequences himself, but it was completely different when his sister was brought up.

It was extremely terrifying when Hector knew that Lucivar wasn’t playing around.

Seeing how brutal he was, killing people for his own amusement, it was clear that he had no morals.

Nothing noble about him, and that’s precisely what made Hector believe that he’d actually do it.

Lucivar freed his foot and turned around.

"You know what to do. All you need to do is tell me everything you know." He said calmly, slipping both hands into his pockets, his smile never fading. "Unless you’d prefer I pay your dear sister a visit. And don’t even think about lying. I’ll know. And trust me... You don’t want to find out what happens if you try."

Helpless and cornered, Hector confessed what he knew.

He told Lucivar everything.

Lucivar made sure to use the Trust Constellation to make sure that everything he said was the truth.

Seems like the threat to his sister was super effective, as he didn’t even try to lie.

’Just like that, loyalty is shattered. The easiest way to destroy loyalty is by pitting it against a stronger loyalty. I gave him a choice between Horus’ avatar, whom he probably knew recently, or his sister, and unsurprisingly, his loyalty to his sister prevailed.’

’Man... After embracing evil, it’s easy to break people. Probably because I understand them.’

Moments later.

Zibbo came out from the backroom seemingly more refreshed than before.

He had been torturing Hector for the last ten minutes and only now came out.

It’s clear that Hector was no more.

"That guy talked big to me earlier," Zibbo took a seat on the bar beside Lucivar. "It’s refreshing to hear him scream."

Even then, Lucivar didn’t answer.

He was playing with a glass that was half-full of alcohol, seemingly deep in thought.

Zibbo glanced at him before he recalled something, "Oh, right, how did you know about his sister?"

Hearing this, Lucivar blinked once, then downed the drink in a single gulp.

He hissed at the sharp burn as it slid down his throat, then causally glanced over his shoulder.

"I asked her earlier—expecting he was going to be difficult," Lucivar pointed at another woman sitting on a chair, still closing her eyes and covering her ears. "Those girls seemed to be a part of their group, so I thought they knew something, and I’m right."

"Huh..." Zibbo turned the chair towards them, leaning against the bar. "Nice foresight."

Looking at the girls, Zibbo rubbed his chin.

"Can I bring them to the gang?"

"Do whatever you want. Give better treatment to that woman in white, though."

"Oh, you’re having a soft spot for her?"

"Nope. I got a good sense for someone useful, and that girl is pretty, so she can be useful in ways."

Lucivar waved his hand, not wanting to talk about it anymore.

But then, he realized something.

"Wait a minute... Did you say the gang? Have you taken over your gang?"

"Just a little bit more. Two more bases to go, and a rat to find, and I’m good."

"I have the least expectation of you, but it seems like you’re doing good."

’I’m still your Vestal. I can’t be that pathetic now, can I? That’d be too humiliating."

Zibbo rubbed his nose, feeling good at the compliment.

He had been moving in silence, hoping for this exact moment, and he got it.

"How about those two other spies?" He asked, remembering that other than Hector, there was still two other spies that were stationed here by Horus’ avatar in preparation for his arrival. "You seemed a little bit troubled. Did something go wrong?"

"Go wrong? Not exactly. Just that I got another troubling thing to handle..."

Back in the academy.

Lily was following Sabrina from behind, keeping her distance so as not to alert the oblivious maid.

She glanced around the street, finding that it was mostly empty.

Only a few students and one Kalvin could be seen on the street.

Most of the students were ahead, while the Kalvin was way behind her, too far to notice anything.

’But the hard thing is the CCTVs...’ She thought, biting her lower lip.

Even though the moment was right to strike Sabrina, the cameras that basically covered the entire length of the street were the hardest part to avoid. Other than the well-known blind spots in the academy grounds, it was practically impossible for her to ambush Sabrina.

’Tch, I don’t know where she’s going, but I hoped she’s heading to the garden.’

In the garden, there are a lot of blind spots, and she could also play around with the darkness and corners.

Killing Sabrina would be a lot easier here than there.

As she followed Sabrina attentively, she found herself nearing the outdoor cafeteria.

And Sabrina was heading to the backside through a small alley.

’Oh... Does Lady Luck stand by me tonight? Is she heading to some sort of secret stash? As far as I know, Lucivar is hiding his identity as an avatar—so he certainly has secret stashes,’ Lily picked up her face, smiling eagerly as she took out a knife from her purse.

She looked around the corner and saw Sabrina heading toward the dumpster, and it was a dead end.

Nowhere for Sabrina to leave, and there’s also no camera.

Just as she was about to strike, Hector’s voice rang.

"Lily! Run! He can create clones!!"

Deg!

Lily stopped, realizing that, like Sabrina, she was also alone.

But it was already too late.