Free Web NovelChapter 86: Who is Seraphina
"Senior, Sera has been kidnapped. She has been taken to an abandoned warehouse east of the city," Vlad said, his tone strangely calm, his phone pressed against his ear. "Inform the academy and send someone for help."
He was standing inside the lift while it descended downward. Behind him lay Jenny and the five firemen, all of them unconscious, their bodies sprawled across the floor. The faint hum of the elevator mechanism was the only sound accompanying his steady breathing.
"What!!? H-how did something like that happened?" Sophia’s loud, panicked voice came from the other side.
Before she could press for answers, Vlad said, "this is not the time for questions."
"I-I understand. I will inform the authorities right now," Sophia said, her voice lowering but still panicked, a tremble underlying her words. "Stay where you are, or return to the academy if you have Lady Seraphina’s identity ca—"
"Senior, I am going to the warehouse," Vlad said, cutting her off mid-sentence. His jaw was set, his eyes fixed on the descending floor numbers.
For a moment, no word came from the other side.
"Are you sure you can stop her?" Sophia asked in a low voice.
"I will not let the kidnappers cause her any harm."
"N-not them," Sophia said in a hesitant tone, her voice trembling. "Pl-please stop Lady Seraphina."
Vlad’s brows furrowed at her words, his eyes narrowing. Now that he thought clearly, the quest did not say save Seraphina. It said stop her before the unimaginable happens.
"What do you mean?" he asked in a serious tone, his grip tightening on the phone.
"So she did not tell you..." Vlad could hear the sigh escape from the other side.
After a brief pause, she continued, her voice dropping to a whisper. "What I am about to tell you must not be revealed to anyone. The medicines that Lady Seraphina forgot to take is actually..."
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The iron doors of a large warehouse opened with a groan as two men dressed as firefighters walked in, each holding the straps of a suitcase between them.
The interior was dark, with an arched ceiling stretching high above like a skeletal ribcage. Its thin iron walls had turned brown and rusty, flaking in places where time and moisture had taken their toll. The roof was broken in a few places, revealing the iron bars and the night sky beyond them. Moonlight filtered through these holes, the only source of light in the dark warehouse. The dirt ground had grass sprouting in various parts. Long empty stands, scraps of metal, and stained steel rods were scattered across the area.
On one such rack of rods placed beside the side wall sat an adult man with sharp features, appearing to be in his late twenties. He had short, cleanly styled ginger hair. He was draped in a formal attire of a stylish coat over a shirt with slim-fit trousers, appearing completely out of place in the otherwise abandoned warehouse.
As the kidnappers walked in, his chestnut-coloured eyes turned to them.
"Did everything go smoothly?" he asked, his voice smooth.
"We faced no unexpected variables. All our tracks are currently being cleared by Selena," one of the kidnappers revealed as they placed the suitcase down on the dirt floor, a soft thud accompanying its landing.
"Good work," the man nodded in satisfaction as he rose from the rack. A cloth was placed beneath him to ensure his clothes did not catch any stains from the rusty pipes.
"Gabriel, we could have killed her in the restaurant itself," the kidnapper said, his tone serious, his eyes burning with hatred. "Why did you want us to bring her here and ordered us not to cause her any harm?"
"Because she is the daughter of the Pyro Tyrant," Gabriel said, walking towards the two men, or more accurately, towards the suitcase. "Do you think the Pyro Tyrant wouldn’t have given her life-saving artifacts that activate the moment her life is endangered? If you had tried to kill her then, not only would your mission have failed, but you would have alerted the Pyro Tyrant as well."
The kidnapper named Klaus nodded in understanding. His expression darkened as he continued, "I do not care if I get hunted by the Pyro Tyrant or get killed if I could get rid of her. But it would have been a problem if she survived."
"Precisely," Gabriel answered, his fingers brushing against the suitcase’s worn surface. "Our lives are a small sacrifice to pay if we can rid the world of these filthy creatures."
The two kidnappers shared the same sentiment as Gabriel, their faces hardening in determination as if they were actually prepared to die.
"Now then, surround the warehouse and make sure no one comes inside until I get rid of the artifacts from her body," Gabriel ordered, picking up the suitcase. fгeewebnovёl.com
Klaus and his companion went outside, closing the iron gates behind them. The heavy doors groaned shut, sealing the warehouse in darkness.
As soon as they left, Gabriel’s expression changed, his face forming a wide, sinister grin. He placed the suitcase down, opened its zipper, and whispered as he lifted one half upward, "Finally, you came back to me, my lady, Seraphina."
Inside, Seraphina was revealed lying unconscious on her side, her knees bent, touching her chin.
"You are looking as beautiful as ever," he murmured, his breath turning heavy as he looked at her serene face and the black evening dress she wore. "Tonight, I will finally make you mine."
From his waist he took out a sharp dagger, its handle made of silver finishing with a gem embedded at its end, clearly belonging to someone from a noble background.
He raised the knife high but before he could descend it, a sudden blow of fire slammed his body.
He instinctively moved back, dodging the fire, protecting his face with his hands. The knife fell from his grip with a clatter, his skin suffering light burns that reddened across his forearms. The smell of singed fabric and hair filled the air.
When the flames vanished, the suitcase was empty. The interior lay bare, only the indentation of her form remaining.
"So you were the one behind all of this, Gabriel Cendral," a voice came from behind him.
He turned his face only to find Seraphina sitting cross legged at the rack of steel pipes, her pink eyes staring at him with disgust.
Only for a moment but Gabriel’s eyes flickered with surprise. He rose to his feet, regaining his composure as he asked, "have you forgotten your manners after entering the academy? You should not call your uncle by name."
"All I see before me is a disgusting bastard," Seraphina muttered, her eyes sharpening like twin blades. In her hands danced amber flames, barely restrained, their heat distorting the air around her fingers. "Father is an idiot to let you live two years ago."
The flames in her hand grew more frantic as she continued, their wild flickering mirroring the rage in her voice. "I will finish what he could not that day."
With that, she swayed her hand forward. A compact sphere of fire released from her hand, launching towards Gabriel. It streaked through the dim warehouse like a miniature sun.
Before it could hit him, a similar sized fireball released from the other side. The only difference was that the flames was copper colored, gleaming with a metallic sheen.
The two fireballs struck head on, their flames spreading outward, casting long shadows on Seraphina and Gabriel’s faces. The collision sent a shockwave of heat and light rippling through the warehouse.
The copper flame proved stronger, devouring the amber flame before continuing it’s motion towards Seraphina.
"Two Ring Spell: Inferno Wall!"
Seraphina raised her both hands upward, materialising a wall of amber fire before her. The copper fireball struck the wall, the two flames hissing at each other like furious snakes. Sparks flew in every direction, sizzling against the rusty pipes and dry grass.
The brightness leaking out from the walls of the warehouse alerted Gabriel’s men outside.
The iron door creaked open as over fifteen peoples, draped in black clothes rushed in.
"Gabriel, what happened? How did she wake up?" Klaus from the group asked as they appeared beside Gabriel. His voice was strained, edged with panic.
Gabriel turned his sharp eyes at Klaus and slapped him across the face. "She was never unconscious to begin with!" He muttered, his voice echoing through the warehouse. "She let herself get caught to expose us. She must have already alerted the academy as well."
Klaus eyes widened, his lips parting in shock. The colour drained from his face as the realisation sank in. "But Selena put sedatives to her food and we even used high concentration of the sedatives to faint her as well," Klaus tried to explain himself. He turned his gaze at the front where the flames were slowly dying and continued, "In that case, we just need to kill her before the authorities arrive."
