Chapter 71: Sera

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Sera

Two weeks had passed quickly.

BOOM!

A black energy blast hit the wall and blew apart. Liora landed lightly on her feet, her sneakers squeaking on the floor.

Her pale pink hair bounced as dark energy wrapped around her arms like a shield. Ten sharp, dark needles floated around her, each about the size of an arm, packed with enough power to make an A-rank fighter be careful.

Felix stood a few meters away, hands in his pockets, totally relaxed. "Ready?"

"Ready!" she yelled.

The black needles flew at him from every direction at the same time. Felix didn’t even take a step. He flicked his left hand,

Smack

And knocked one away. He raised an elbow and deflected another coming from above. A third came at him from behind, and he casually swatted it aside without even turning around.

Liora jumped back and shot another round. This time, three of the needles disappeared into thin air mid-flight.

Felix’s green eyes narrowed slightly. He knew what she was doing: she was hiding her attacks inside empty space.

She kept running, dodging, and firing five more needles from the front. Felix batted them down one after another with his bare palms.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

Meanwhile, the three hidden needles stayed completely out of sight. Suddenly, one of them tore out of the air right behind his head, aiming straight for his blind spot.

Got him!

Liora thought, her pink eyes going wide.

Right before it hit, Felix tilted his head just an inch. The needle grazed past his hair without touching him. His hand moved in a flash.

Crack!

A thin dart of green healing mana shot out and shattered the needle into dust. He fired two more green darts, instantly destroying the other two hidden needles before they could reach him.

The room went dead quiet. Liora stood there staring, mouth open.

Felix lowered his hand and gave a couple of claps. "Good job. Your aim and timing are way better today."

Her entire face lit up. "Really?!"

The dark aura around her faded away, and her legs suddenly shook from exhaustion.

"Out of mana?" Felix asked as he walked over.

"Completely empty," she said, catching her breath and rubbing her sore arms.

Her rank was still stuck at B-rank, but two weeks of hard training had changed everything. She could now shape her dark power, boost her physical hits, and even borrow the dark elf’s trick of hiding her attacks in space.

Felix had explained why she couldn’t teleport her whole body like the elf: teleporting a person took way too much energy, and her B-rank core would run dry in seconds.

But hiding small needles took very little power, and they were much harder for enemies to dodge.

"You’re learning fast," Felix said, handing her a bottle of water. "Keep this up, and we might take you out on a real mission soon."

Liora stopped drinking, almost choking. "A mission? Like... an actual dungeon gate?"

"A mid-tier B-rank gate," he said with a nod. "A controlled run. I’ll be right there with you."

"Seriously?!" She practically bounced on her feet. "I can really fight out there?!"

"Yes, Liora," he chuckled.

Then she stopped, her face turning serious.

"Felix... if I fight real monsters and break through to A-rank... will the darkness stop hurting my head?"

"Yes," Felix told her, pointing to his own chest.

"Right now, your power is too big for your core. If your core gets stronger, it can hold the power easily. You won’t lose control anymore."

"Yes!" She pumped her fist in the air, totally excited.

The quiet, scared girl who used to cry in the corner was completely gone. But Felix noticed one thing: she only ever acted this happy and confident when it was just the two of them.

The moment a guard or an Association worker stepped into the room, she would shrink back, go silent, and hide behind him.

He knew she still needed time.

"Finish your water," Felix said, pointing to the exit. "Let’s get you back to your room."

After dropping Liora off and making sure her mana-jamming collar was locked, Felix took the elevator down to the residential floor.

The Association had just approved the plan for Monday’s B-rank dungeon. Felix would directly watch over Liora, while Aria’s squad covered the team’s sides.

Because Seraphina had spent the last couple of weeks training well alongside Aria’s team, the higher-ups put her on the team roster too.

Felix wanted to tell her in person. She hated sudden surprises from the Association, and he wanted to keep things honest with her.

---

The door opened with a soft beep. Seraphina was sitting by the small table near the window.

The second she saw him, her quiet look turned into a warm smile.

"Felix," she said, standing up. She walked over, grabbed his hand, and pulled him toward the window. "Come look at this."

On the window ledge sat the little flower pot he had brought her before. The tiny seedling had grown into a healthy, dark-green plant with delicate leaves and glowing flower petals.

"Look at it," she said softly, her violet-blue eyes bright. "It’s growing so well."

Felix leaned in to look. "You’re really good at taking care of magic plants. Most people give them too much mana and kill them."

"I just did what you told me," she murmured, standing close to him. "A little care every morning. It feels good to see it alive."

"It makes the room look nicer," he said with an easy smile.

They talked for a while about the books she was reading and the phone games she had tried. Once the conversation slowed down, Felix leaned against the wall.

"We have a mission on Monday," he said.

Seraphina looked up, interested. "A gate?"

Felix explained. "The board approved Liora for a field test. Her control is much better now, and she needs to fight real monsters to grow her core. Aria’s squad is covering our scheduled raid, which means you’ll be running alongside Aria and Darius like usual."

The warm air in the room suddenly turned ice-cold.

Seraphina stared at him, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Aria’s squad.

While he stays right beside that pink-haired girl.

Her hands tightened into fists at her sides.

"I’m with Aria?" she asked, her voice flat and cool.

"Aria knows how to fight with your lightning,"

Felix reasoned. "I need to stay close to Liora to make sure her dark power doesn’t go wild."

"No," Seraphina said directly.

Felix blinked. "No?"

"I am not fighting on Aria’s flank."

"Seraphina, you work great with their frontline—"

"Sera."

Felix stopped. "What?"

She looked up at him, her usual cold mask gone, replaced by a soft, serious expression.

"Call me Sera. The people who were nice to me when I was a little kid... before my family locked me away... that’s what they called me. I only want people who actually matter to me to use that name."

Felix looked at her for a second. He knew how awful her childhood had been with her ruthless family. He let out a quiet sigh. "Alright. Sera."

A small, genuine smile touched her face, but she didn’t drop the topic. "Put me in your group. Next to you."

"Sera, listen to me," Felix said, rubbing his forehead. "Both you and Liora have unstable, dangerous powers. If I put the two of you right next to each other, it’s a huge risk. If something goes wrong, the Association will shut down this whole project and blame me."

"Nothing will go wrong," she said, stepping closer until she was looking right into his eyes.

Her voice became soft and calm. "I won’t cause any trouble. If she needs to learn how to fight in a real gate, I can teach her. I control high-level power too. I can protect her blind spots better than anyone in Aria’s team."

Felix raised an eyebrow, not fully buying it. "You want to mentor her? Since when do you care about teaching anyone?"

"Since you’re the one leading the team," she said without missing a beat. Her face was totally honest, calm, and sweet. "Felix, you fought the Association to give me freedom. You protect me. Do you really think I would do something stupid and cause trouble for you?"

She looked completely harmless.

Deep down, though, her thoughts were sharp and possessive. No one else gets to stand next to you. Not Aria. And definitely not some little girl playing with shadows.

On the outside, she gave him a warm, steady nod. "I will follow every single order you give me. You won’t have to worry about me at all."

Felix looked at her, thinking it through. Having Seraphina right next to him did make the team much stronger, and she was powerful enough to obliterate any monster that got near Liora. Plus, Seraphina had never broken a promise to him before.

He sighed, giving up. "You really never take no for an answer, do you?"

"Only when it’s important," she said, a little sparkle of victory in her eyes.

"Fine," Felix agreed. "You’re with me. But the second you stop listening to my orders, I’m sending you straight back of the team."

Seraphina stood up straight and gave him a goofy, dramatic military salute. "Understood, sir!"

Felix chuckled and pushed her hand down. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"Kael," she said, smiling innocently.

"I need to keep that idiot away from my patients." Felix checked his watch and turned toward the door. "Get some sleep. Monday morning, six o’clock at the staging area."

"I’ll be ready," she said softly.

The heavy steel door slid shut and locked.

Inside the quiet room, Seraphina walked back over to the window and touched the glowing leaf of her plant.

She had made her promise. She wouldn’t cause trouble during the raid.

She would simply make sure that when Felix looked to his side on the battlefield, she was the only one standing there.

---