Free Web NovelChapter 26: The Dominion Exam
Inside one of the homes in Sanctora. Lucien’s stepmother was still catching her breath, her hand resting against his chest as she led him toward a plush armchair.
Just as Lucien was about to lower himself onto one of the massive leather chairs in the sitting room, hurried footsteps echoed through the hallway outside.
Before either he or his stepmother could react, the door swung open with surprising force. Adeline stood there, breathing heavily as though she had run across the entire residence.
The moment her eyes met his, the anxiety on her face disappeared completely, replaced by overwhelming relief.
She stared at him for several seconds as if making sure he wasn’t an illusion before a bright smile spread across her face.
"Lucien! You’re really here!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with excitement. "I thought you weren’t coming back, after you said your path is the dominion."
Without waiting for an answer, she hurried across the room and wrapped her arms around him. Lucien was caught off guard by the sudden embrace, taking half a step backward before steadying himself. A confident smile slowly appeared on his face.
"I told you I’d come," he replied casually. "Have you always doubted my words? And why would I leave my beautiful ladies in this house all by themselves."
Without a care in the world, Adeline leaned down and captured his mouth, kissing him with a fierce, desperate passion right in front of their mother.
The stepmother watched, her breath hitching, but there was no disapproval in her eyes only a growing, heavy heat as she witnessed the raw intensity radiating from the returned master of the house.
Lucien pulled back just a fraction, his red and greenish-blue eyes flashing with a wicked charm as he glanced over at his stepmother. "Don’t just stand there watching. Join in."
Neither of them needed to be told twice. The room quickly dissolved into a blurring, intensely hot session of tangled limbs, hushed gasps, and deep, possessive kisses as Lucien thoroughly reminded both women exactly who they belonged to.
Hours later, the frantic heat finally subsided. They migrated over to the massive velvet couch in the center of the room.
Lucien laid back against the plush cushions, completely relaxed, while his stepmother and Audrey draped themselves over his chest and lap, their bodies tangled together as they rested against his powerful frame.
Lucien ran his fingers through Audrey’s hair, his gaze turning serious as he began to lay out his cards. "There are things you both need to know. I left because I got recruited into the crew of Lucifers daughter. Because I possess both the holy priest and the dominion devil powers."
His stepmother bolted upright, her eyes wide. "Lucifer’s daughter? A crew? What does she need them for?"
"Her mother had been captured after Lucifer’s death." He answered.
" You said ’Both’? Lucien, that’s fundamentally impossible. The two elements would destroy your soul from the inside out!" Aurora gently said.
"No and it’s possible," Lucien said smoothly, his tone laced with an unshakeable confidence. "But because of this dual nature, I couldn’t just stay here, that was one of the reason why I agreed with them, so I can learn things from the dominions."
"Okay...so how will you be able to go to the holy academy and same time going to the dominion academy." Adeline questioned.
"To make it work, I used a primordial artifact to split myself into two entirely independent bodies. The other version of me is currently across the border, about to participate in the Dominion Academy’s entrance exams."
Adeline leaned up, resting her chin on his chest, staring at him with a mixture of awe and fierce loyalty. "Two bodies... so you can conquer both sides at once. It’s insane, Lucien. But it’s exactly like you."
"Exactly," Lucien smirked, kissing her forehead.
"But why them, why the ones related to Lucifer?" ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
"I’m going to become powerful enough that nobody can decide my fate except me, they benefit me the more."
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Meanwhile, back in the subterranean corridors of Lucifer’s hidden mansion, the dark version of Lucien stood straight, adjusting his heavy obsidian-trimmed collar.
Nyx stood before him, her golden eyes gleaming as she raised her hands. A massive, swirling violet magic circle manifested on the stone floor, hissing with dense shadow mana.
"Okay, let’s go," Nyx said, stepping into the center of the ring. "Time to get you to the testing grounds."
The magic circle flared, blindingly bright, before collapsing in on itself and dragging them through the void.
In a fraction of a second, the space warped, and Lucien found himself standing in a massive, sprawling obsidian courtyard.
He looked around briefly, absorbing the unfamiliar, oppressive architecture of the dark estate’s outer grounds that swarmed with zillions of students.
"Okay, we will be gone now. You can handle yourself from here," Nyx told him, her voice returning to its usual guarded, authoritative tone.
With a subtle ripple of smoke, she and her attendants vanished from the platform, leaving him entirely on his own.
* If my theory about my father is correct... if he really is out there... then have to find him and I’ll finally have the strength to find the fallen angels and take back my mother.*
Down in the courtyard, Lucien ignored the sudden departure and stepped forward into the sea of applicants.
The place was swarming with thousands of people, all dressed in the uniform of the Dominion Academy a striking, dangerous blend of deep red, stark white, and jet black.
The moment Lucien joined the crowd, his long, cascading white hair shifting in the wind and his pitch-black sclera reflecting the dim sky, the chaotic chattering of the crowd began to die down. People started turning, staring at him with wide, intimidated eyes.
"Look at him..." a girl whispered to her friend a few feet away, her eyes locked onto his face. "Those features... is he a Primordial Devil?"
Primordial Devils are like original devils, the devil that created devils and fallen angels, just like Lucifer.
"Don’t be stupid, why would a primordial devil want to go to an academy," her friend shot back, though her voice was trembling as she took a step back from Lucien’s passive aura. "But... look at his eyes. He looks just like the ancient records of Lucifer."
Lucien heard every single whisper filtering through the air. A cold, wicked smirk touched his lips. *Let them wonder,* he thought, his red and greenish-blue pupils glowing faintly.
*BOOM.*.
A sudden, deafening blast of dark energy erupted on the high stage at the front of the courtyard.
A tall man dressed entirely in jet-black clothing stood there with his hands behind his back. His expression was cold enough to silence thousands without effort.
"My name is Ramiel." His voice echoed across the academy.
"Welcome to Dominion Academy. Before we begin, let one thing be perfectly clear: do not think for a single second that there are no rules here. Chaos requires structure, and our structure is absolute."
With a wave of his hand, a massive screen of crimson mana materialized above everyone’s heads.
Five rules slowly appeared.
Rule One: Any senior student who challenges you to a duel has that right. Refusing a legitimate challenge counts as a challenge to the senior.
Rule Two: Outside interference in an official duel is prohibited.
Rule Three: Surrender is permitted, but only before unconsciousness.
Rule Four: Cheating through forbidden artifacts results in immediate expulsion.
Rule Five: Killing another participant is forbidden.
The crowd swallowed hard, a collective wave of anxiety washing through the applicants. Lucien merely tilted his head, his smirk widening.
"Now, for the main exam," the proctor continued, pointing toward a massive, dark portal opening behind him.
"This is a survival of the fittest. You will be cast into the hunting grounds. You will fight each other ruthlessly. However, you are not permitted to kill. The academy needs soldiers, not corpses.
The moment a student is knocked out or incapacitated it give the winning student point that would determine the classes to enter, the safety array will trigger and they will instantly disappear from the exam grounds and be eliminated."
The man leaned over the balcony, his eyes flashing with a sadistic light.
"And for those of you who think you can hide a murder anyone who intentionally kills another participant will immediately face the exact same fight. The array will lock your mana and grant the rest of the field a free pass to hunt you down. That is the devil academy for you."
He raised his hands, the portal roaring to life with a tempest of dark wind. "Now... are you ready?"
