Rise of the White Devil

Even though the weather was terrible, they had no trouble walking in the open.

They had checked the weather forecast beforehand and knew it was going to rain, resulting in them bringing their umbrellas.

Even though Amaya could use her wind magic to ensure no raindrops reached her, or Sylviette could employ her ice magic against the rain, and Seraphina could use her space magic or dive into the shadows, they chose not to spend unnecessary mana.

"Seriously, where are you taking us?" Seraphina asked Sylviette as she led her and Amaya somewhere.

Seraphina might have thought Sylviette was leading them into an ambush if not for their friendship and her connection with Lucas.

She knew Lucas was extremely picky about who he spent his time with. If Sylviette was friends with Lucas, that meant she could also trust her, right?

'I swear I better not get kidnapped...'

"You don't need to worry this much, Sera," Amaya interjected, shooting a glare at Sylviette.

"You know how late it already is? We should be asleep right now," Amaya added, her irritation evident.

"You also don't need to worry this much, Amaya. It's not like anyone would judge us. Besides, it's weekend," Sylviette said, chuckling.

"I guess you are right. At least answer where we are going," Amaya sighed as they continued following Sylviette.

'My feet are killing me... why can't we just get a taxi or something!'

"Fine, fine. If you really want to know, we are going to a church," Sylviette revealed.

Both Seraphina and Amaya looked at her weirdly.

"You are making us go so far by foot just to pray?" Amaya glared at her.

"I didn't know you are a believer... On second thought, you are an elf, and they do worship the god of mana and the god of life more than the other two gods," Seraphina remarked.

"Yes, so it would make sense for her to want to go to church," Amaya nodded proudly as if discovering something significant.

"I'm sorry to say this, Sylv, but I really am not in the mood to pray this late," Amaya said apologetically, making Sylviette grit her teeth.

"Actually why even this late?" Seraphina asked, noticing Sylviette glaring at them, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and anger.

"Why would I go this late at night and in this weather to pray!?" she shouted.

"Besides, I don't go to church anyway, even though we elves mainly worship the god of life and the god of mana."

"So you are an actual believer, though, right? Makes sense for the princess of the elven race," Seraphina asked, eyebrows raised in intrigue.

"Hmph! I am, but I am not as devoted as most are, so I don't have any blessing or such," Sylviette admitted, though she secretly valued a particular blessing that she had not belonging to any of the four gods.

"We have arrived," Sylviette announced after they walked an entire hour to get to the church.

Glancing back, she saw the awestruck looks of Seraphina and Amaya, making her puff out her chest with pride.

"See, told you it would be worth it," Sylviette said, breaking them from their daze.

Amaya merely nodded in agreement as Seraphina spoke,

"Yeah, it certainly is beautiful... Is the whole church blessed?"

Just looking at the church made her feel warm and comfortable, even though it was raining and cold.

"Yes, it is. This is one of the most famous churches in the capital. Normally it would be filled with people, but since it's late at night and the weather is terrible, this is the perfect opportunity for us to check it out without drawing too much attention," Sylviette explained.

'To think she knows more than us humans about the churches in our domain...' Seraphina thought.

She realized Sylviette must have visited some churches in the human domain to get better at her affinity for life magic.

"Mm, you are right. This is the perfect chance. But is it even open?" Amaya asked, knowing most churches in the capital would be closed at this time, especially in this weather.

Sylviette chuckled before answering,

"Don't worry. Father Franky never sleeps and is always here, no matter the time."

"Father Franky?" Seraphina tilted her head.

"Yes, the priest who resides in this church. He maintains the entire church by himself. I have to say, he is a genius in life magic, probably one of the best healers that you humans have," Sylviette said.

"Huh, wait, for real?" Amaya asked, bewildered.

"Ah!" Seraphina suddenly exclaimed as she recognized who Sylviette was talking about.

"Wait, you mean the Father Franky? The Apostle of Life? I've heard he managed to heal dozens of people on a battlefield in mere seconds, all the wounds gone as if they were never there."

Sylviette proudly nodded her head, "Yep, exactly, that's him."

"Wow... I am sure Leo would have wanted to meet him as well..." Amaya sighed.

"Your boyfriend still didn't answer your calls?" Sylviette asked, making Amaya glare at her.

"He is not my boyfriend! And no, he didn't. What about you? Did you call Klaus?" Amaya asked, knowing Sylviette was the closest to Klaus since they were both in the same class.

"Nope, he didn't answer my calls either... Weird," Sylviette replied.

"What about Lucas?" Sylviette asked Seraphina, knowing she was the closest to Lucas out of everyone.

Shrugging her shoulders, Seraphina answered, "No, but I am sure Lucas is just either asleep or training."

"Still, what if something happened to them?" Amaya asked, concerned.

"You worry too much, Amaya. Leonne is a champion, remember? Besides, no one in the capital would be crazy enough to attack one of the three great duke's sons without anyone noticing," Sylviette reassured her.

"I guess you are right, yeah..." Amaya conceded.

"By the way, have you seen that video of Lucas?" Amaya suddenly asked, making both of them nod their heads.

The video she was referring to was of Lucas getting into a fight in a fast food restaurant during lunch break.

The video had only been up for a few hours but had already become extremely trending on social media.

"To think he would actually face that Allen guy. His father is a marquis, after all, yet he isn't scared in the slightest," Amaya remarked.

Seraphina merely smiled as Sylviette scoffed, "Scared of him? Please. He even almost got into a fight with Father once. He was actually prepared to fight him and everyone in the castle back then."

'Eh?'

Amaya and Seraphina looked at her with wide eyes.

"H-he almost fought against the king of elves?" Amaya asked in disbelief.

"Yes... It's as if that crazy maniac isn't scared of anything. I mean, you heard him tell everyone that he wouldn't mind becoming the enemy of humanity back at the entrance exam," Sylviette confirmed solemnly.

"I didn't think he was actually serious... Crazy, he is actually crazy," Amaya muttered.

'Just what the hell are you even doing, Lucas?' Seraphina wondered, unable to figure out his actions.

"Ugh, please, let's forget about Lucas for today," Seraphina grumbled, not wanting to get a headache worrying about him.

"I agree. Now let's go. I don't want to stand in the rain all night," Sylviette said, leading them to the wooden gate.

But as they were about to enter the church, they heard someone talking inside, though they couldn't understand what was being said.

Furrowing her brows, Sylviette spoke,Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"What type of weird people would still be inside the church this late?"

"Well, let's find out, shall we?" Seraphina said, using her sound magic to create a dark, transparent dome around them.

"No one will be able to hear us now, and everything we touch as well."

"Isn't this going a little too far?" Amaya asked, confused by their spy-like behavior.

"It's exciting, no?" Seraphina said, making Amaya in the end nod in agreement.

What if something extremely shady was going on this late at night?

Seeing this, Sylviette opened the gate, allowing them to enter inside.

Their eyes widened as they saw who was inside.

'Huh?'

Seraphina's mind blanked at the scene before her.

Lucas was seated, and in front of him was a priest standing.

None of them expected to find Lucas here, of all people.

He was the last person one would expect to see in a church.

'Why...'

She was sure Lucas would have normally sensed someone watching him by now, but he didn't.

Her heart ached as she looked at his appearance.

His clothes were drenched, his hair a mess, and he looked extremely tired.

She barely managed to register the priest's words to Lucas, both of them focused on each other, oblivious to the newcomers.

'Hope... Just what are they talking about?' she wondered. Explore more stories at empire

"What if there is no hope to believe in? Hope to live? Hope for a better future? What if there are only the darkest of times, never to have hope in them again?" Lucas's voice was desperate, like a child pleading to its mother for answers.

Seraphina couldn't remember the last time she had seen such a vulnerable side of him.

The strongest student, the most talented of their generation, the White Devil, yet he looked so fragile and weak now, nothing like the image everyone saw him as.

Suddenly, Sylviette stepped forward, intending to leave the sound dome and approach Lucas, but Amaya grasped her hand, preventing her.

"Don't," Amaya said, shaking her head, gazing into Sylviette's eyes as Seraphina looked at her too.

Before Sylviette could retort, Amaya spoke again, "We aren't supposed to be here... Not this time. Let's leave."

They felt reluctant to leave but understood Amaya's point.

They shouldn't be intruding on Lucas's struggles.

Each of them respected Lucas for different reasons and didn't want to hurt him more.

But before they could leave, they glanced at him once more.

Seraphina felt her heart skip a few beats, sure it wasn't just hers.

Lucas...

The smile he suddenly showed.

She had never seen such a smile on him.

It was a smile that made them want to protect him naturally.

'A-arg, what is going on? No way I am leaving now!' she screamed in her mind, removing the sound barrier around them.

She knew she wouldn't rest until she found out what was happening.

"Lucas?"