Free Web NovelChapter 87: Seraphina’s real identity
A/N: Ordinary humans in Argentum are called Morins. They do not possess the ability to weild mana.
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He along with his companions surrounded the rack of steel rods from all sides, drawing out daggers.
"Do you think some morins are enough to defeat me?" Seraphina’s voice echoed from behind the fire wall. As the flames died down, she was revealed, standing on the rack, her body glowing with a faint amber aura.
"Don’t be so full of yourself, you vile creature!" One of the opponents shouted as they launched at her from every direction.
"Two Ring spell: Inferno arrow!"
Around her body, followed by the flickers of flame, five arrows of fire materialised. With the guidance of her wand, the arrows shot forward.
Amidst the air, the arrows divided into two more copies, reaching the exact same number as the incoming enemies.
Each arrow moved as if it had the mind of its own, piercing the opponents at their shoulder, leg or sides.
The sound of screams and the weapon hitting the ground followed as the fire scorched their skin vaporising the blood before it could even pour out. The stench of burnt flesh and singed cloth filled the warehouse, mingling with the acrid smoke.
"With just a low ranked spell, she subdued fifteen trained individuals," Gabriel gasped, his eyes widened as they reflected the burning arrows piercing his subordinates’ skin.
He released a sigh, his expressions returning to normal as he murmured, "Not like I expected anything from them. They are just morins after all."
Seraphina turned her focus to Gabriel in front of her, her pink eyes narrowing at him as she declared, "Surrender, Gabriel. You cannot defeat me."
Gabriel let out a soft chuckle, finding her words foolish.
He stepped forward, an auburn aura covering his body as he said, "It has only been a year since your awakening ceremony. You are talented, I agree. But you are not strong enough yet."
His ginger hair swayed from the mana released by his body as he mumbled with a smirk,
"Three Ring Spell: Inferno Lance."
In his hand, a shaft of fire materialised, spreading to both sides. It ended with a sharp edge, flames dancing across its bright surface.
Seraphina’s eyes widened at the familiar spell, shock clear on her face.
"Inferno spells are exclusive to the main family. How did you learn them?" she demanded.
Instead of answering, Gabriel rushed at her with the spear.
She immediately released several fire arrows at him while forming an inferno wall before her at the same time.
Gabriel easily struck down the incoming arrows with the spear, closing the distance between them.
As he drew closer, he swung the lance in a diagonal slash, destroying the fire wall.
"Come to your uncle, Seraphina," he laughed, holding Seraphina by her neck.
She tried to cast a spell but the spear struck her wand hand. A sizzling sound echoed, followed by smoke as the spear burned her flesh.
"Stop resisting, Seraphina," Gabriel said, his face carrying a wicked grin. "You will suffer mana backlash if you try to cast a spell now."
"Take your filthy hands off me," Seraphina snapped. Despite the tight grip Gabriel had on her neck, which should have been causing her pain, the expression she wore was one of absolute disgust.
"Hehe~ you look just like your late mother when you turn angry," Gabriel said, his voice heavy. "I could not have her because of the strange composition of your species, but I will make sure to claim you."
His words drew an immediate reaction from Seraphina.
"Now you have done it," she muttered, closing her eyes.
When her eyes opened, her pupils had changed, turning from round to vertical slits with patterns spreading outward from them like a galaxy.
Her hair began to flutter, its crimson colour glowing as if actual blood were flowing through it.
Smoke rose from where Gabriel was holding her neck, his hand instantly retreating.
His eyes widened as he looked at his burnt hand and the bloody aura burning from Seraphina’s body.
She slowly raised her hand, pointing her index finger at Gabriel. A flame flickered at its tip but it was different from the amber fire she had been using. Its core was as black as black could be, with crimson flames dancing at the surface.
Gabriel instinctively took a step back, his lips parting in shock.
"Y-you have already learned the Sanguine Fl—"
"Sanguine Flame Art: Scarlet Needle."
From her finger, a piercing, laser-like crimson flame shot forward at blinding speed.
Gabriel raised the spear to block the attack but it easily pierced through the shaft and through his stomach, burning all the way to the wall several metres behind him.
"Aghh!!!" He screamed as smoke rose from his sizzling skin.
As with every other attack of Seraphina’s, no blood came from the injury. When the flame needle vanished, it melted the skin shut, sealing the wound. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
It was more painful than an open injury, as the blood boiled inside the body where the flame had touched.
Gabriel clenched against the burning pain, his jaw tightening, refusing to yield.
At the same instant, Klaus swung a steel rod at Seraphina from behind, ignoring the pain in his shoulder from the flame arrow.
Thud!
Seraphina caught the rod with her bare hand without looking back. The rusty iron turned red hot in her grip, the heat spreading through the shaft.
Klaus’s grip on the rod loosened as its temperature became unbearable.
Seraphina swung the rod backward in an arcing motion, its edge hitting square on Klaus’s temple. The physical force behind the strike was not great, but the scorching rod was enough to knock him out.
Taking advantage of Seraphina’s distraction, Gabriel raised both arms upward and brought them down.
"Four Ring Magic: Rain of Inferno Arrows!"
With the movement of his arms, numerous arrows of copper fire rained down upon Seraphina from the ceiling, where a large magical circle had materialised.
Seraphina took a deep breath, strangely calm even as the arrows drew terrifyingly close.
She brought her palm level with her face, fingers pointing at the incoming arrows, and whispered,
"Sanguine Flame Art: Rose Spring."
With a gentle breath across her hand, countless rose petals fluttered upward from her palm, gracefully meeting the sharp arrows.
The moment the petals touched the burning arrows, their flames extinguished and the arrows vanished into thin air as if a candle had been blown out.
The petals reached the ceiling, where they neutralised the magic circle as well.
Some of them drifted toward Gabriel.
His expression turned pale, as though he was not looking at rose petals but at death itself coming to claim him.
His survival instincts took over and he tried to run, but the petals had already reached him. As they touched his body, they burned effortlessly through his clothes before adhering to his skin.
"Aghhhh!!!!!" His gluttonous roar tore through the warehouse as the petals burned his skin, the stench of scorched flesh filling the air.
He rolled on the ground in agony, trying to smother a fire that was never there to begin with.
"Suffer until the authorities arrive to arrest you," Seraphina declared as she turned toward the exit a few metres away.
The glow faded from her hair, her pupils returning to their normal shape. Her complexion had turned pale, sweat trickling down her temple.
"I must return to the academy quickly," she murmured, her breath heavy as she moved slowly toward the exit.
Just as she grabbed the gate’s handle:
Thump... thump...
Seraphina’s heart beat heavily in her chest, freezing her mid-step as she sensed something behind her, something... enticing.
She turned, finding Gabriel lying on the ground with a dagger stabbed through his arm, his chest rising and falling in pain. Yet his face carried a smile of victory.
Seraphina did not look at his face. What her eyes were fixed on was the blood trickling from his arm, pooling on the ground.
Seraphina’s pupils trembled, her lips quivering at the sight of blood.
Thump... thump...
With each passing second she looked at the blood, her heartbeat grew louder, her pupils turning vertical once more.
"Hahaha, c-come, S-Seraphina..." Gabriel laughed. The sight of Seraphina staring at him like a hungry beast was outweighing the pain he felt.
Seraphina slowly took a step toward Gabriel, a smile forming on her face, revealing her sharp, elongated canine teeth.
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Fifteen minutes ago...
"What I am about to tell you must not be revealed to anyone. The medicine that Lady Seraphina forgot to take is actually...a blood pouch."
Vlad’s eyes narrowed at her answer. "What do you mean?"
"She must drink a certain amount of blood every week to keep herself stable. If she does not, and then uses her true power, she will lose control," Sophia explained in a low but breathless tone. Vlad could hear her quick footsteps through the phone. She was already on the move to notify someone at the academy about Seraphina’s abduction.
"Why does she need to drink bl—" Vlad stopped his question mid-sentence as realisation dawned on him, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"Lady Seraphina... is a Vampire," Sophia revealed through the phone, confirming his suspicion.
