I am the Only Son of Nyx

Kai stood upright and squared his shoulders. Powerful.

He had only gotten better after his bloody battle against Lion, wounds already covered in tissues, and it seemed they would open again. Perhaps got a few more new scratches, too. Not that he minds.

In fact, he was eager to settle this once and for all. To make certain that he was truly the strongest in Ixos.

If he could beat Lion, then he could certainly beat Matilda.

It’s not going to be like last time.

Matilda’s brows dipped into a frown.

She was expecting Kai to be less hostile now that he had calmed down, but it seemed that was not the case. Just the sight of her triggers his battle instinct, ready to fight. But then again, she couldn’t really blame him.

"I’m not here to fight," She said, raising her arms.

"No?" Kai raised a brow. "Then I don’t appreciate your presence. Leave. Now."

"Aren’t you going to at least listen to me first?"

"Why? I’m not obligated to listen to you. We’re not friends. On the contrary, we’re enemies."

Matilda clenched her fists.

Not out of anger at what Kai said, but at the realization of how far she went for Kai to be this hostile. Her inconsiderate decisions during the second trial pissed him off, but even then, it was not this bad.

"Fine," Kai gestured for her to talk with blatant mockery. "Let’s hear your final wish."

"I want you to let me in Team Crius again," She asked shamelessly.

Kai laughed.

A full-blown laughter as if he heard something funny.

"I’m sorry, what?" Kai leaned forward. "Can you repeat it? I think I misheard what you said."

"I helped you kill Lion. I’m the one who threw the knife," Matilda confessed—yet it does not seem to surprise Kai. He already knew it, or at least had his suspicion. "Had I not done that, Lion would still be alive. I heard what the professor said."

"Am I supposed to say thank you?" Kai sneered. "Okay, then. Thank you. Now you can leave."

"No!" Matilda roared—but quickly held back her frustration. "You were supposed to give me a chance."

"Like you give Team Crius a chance?" Kai shot back. His face darkened visibly, as Matilda is not the person who could bring that up. She’s the last person to have a say in chances. "You didn’t even give our own classmates a fighting chance and instantly betrayed them. Betrayed me. Now, you feel entitled to be given a chance? Look at the mirror, Matilda.

"Do you think out of everyone who survived," He stabbed a finger in her direction. "You deserved to be given a chance?"

"I should’ve killed you when I had the chance," She said with restrained anger.

"But you didn’t," He scoffed and turned around. "Leave. I’ll be anticipating your execution."

"I’m sorry."

Kai paused and then looked over his shoulder, surprised that she could even say that.

He stared at Matilda and saw no sign of her dominating presence.

Right now, she looked vulnerable. Feeble, even.

"The scout we captured told me everything about Team Coeus. He told me about those three vicious High Angels. He told me about Lion having something that boosts his strength even higher, making him comparable to a Grade 2 or even Grade 3 Awakened Supernal.

"And then the fact that they were heading our way. Just a day away. What am I supposed to do? I thought the only way I could survive was by siding with them. I can’t... die."

Matilda clenched her fists harder until her knuckles turned white.

She was trying to hold back her emotions, and it was hard.

"I’m the backbone of my family. I’m the only one who can support them. My parents are old now. I have two little brothers. If a High Angel died, their family would not be executed—but without me, they’re as good as dead."

"And you think our classmates don’t have their own families?" Kai asked coldly.

"Yes, I know that I’m wrong. And I’m sorry," She replied helplessly. "If I could turn back time— then I wouldn’t do the same thing, but I can’t. I already made the mistake. What is it going to take for you to give me a chance?"

Kai didn’t answer.

Earlier, when he talked with Dorian, he thought he wasn’t angry at Matilda anymore.

But seeing her face resurfaced that anger.

Had he not turned this trial around, he would’ve died.

And he was certain that she wouldn’t give a damn if that really happened.

Not to mention, the others would also not agree to take her back in as she’s from Team Coeus.

Everyone probably hated her.

Even if Kai wanted to give her a chance, he didn’t know what it would take for him to get rid of this flame inside his chest. Just looking at her face soured his mood. His blood boiled at the sight of her face.

"I’ll share half of my mining spoils for the rest of our academy years," She offered, knowing that Kai would need it as a Lesser Angel. But he didn’t react. "My Divine Armament legacy imprint. I can make a weapon especially for you and make it permanent."

It was enticing.

Having a weapon made through the power of Athena is really enticing.

Remembering what was done to the corpses of his classmate, how they were defiled, Kai couldn’t forgive her. Most of them were harsh on him, saying nasty remarks, and he could argue that some deserved death.

But not like this.

To have their corpses sullied? None of them deserved that.

Seeing that there was no softness on Kai’s face, Matilda already knew his answer.

"O-Okay... I understand," A tear slipped past her defense, but she quickly wiped it away. "At least can you do one thing for me?" She took out a silver necklace with a deep gold pendant from her pocket. "Give this to my family, and activate it for them using mana. Can you do that?

"Please?" She begged. Her gaze was now tender, already accepted her fate.

Kai reached out his hand, and she tossed it towards him.

He caught it and looked at the pendant. It was beautiful, and there was a gold spark in it.

More than happy that Kai accepted the necklace, Matilda smiled in appreciation—and turned to leave. Since she’s not going to be a part of Team Crius, when the third trial is finished, she would probably be executed alongside the other survivors.

As she exited the mine and made a turn, Kai sighed.

"Dorian told me that I should make it hard for her—thinking that I’d forgive her." He clutched the necklace in his hand. "But it’s really hard to forgive her. Even if I decided to forgive her, I think I’d only resent her even more."

Kai also didn’t trust her.

No guarantee that once this was all over, she wouldn’t come to get him.

Maybe not killing him, but make his life in the academy more hellish than it already was.

After all, she’s still a High Angel. Far more privileged than a Lesser Angel.

Just as Kai turned to continue absorbing the remaining mana ores, he stopped. A frown crept to his face as he heard something. A faint sound that suspiciously sounded like someone’s choked voice, and it came from outside.

Kai looked at the entrance and ran.

Right outside the mine entrance, Matilda walked away when Kai refused to accept her again.

She could fight him again, but at this point, she was too ashamed to do that.

All she could do was accept her fate and get out of Kai’s face.

Deep down, she knew that Kai had fought tooth and nail to turn everything around against Team Coeus. It was selfish of her to ask her to be taken back again. She was the one who placed Kai and the whole of Team Crius into that position.

And the realization of what she did struck her like a physical blow.

Matilda leaned over a tree and covered her mouth. She cried. The emotions burst like a dam from being held on for too long. So many deaths. Her own classmates. Killed and defiled. The thought made it hard to breathe.

Before Team Coeus had fallen, she had simply been going through the motions.

Autopilot, nothing more.

Everyone around her had done worse, and that made her feel liberated.

And now that they were gone, dead, there’s nobody else for her to hide behind.

Matilda felt herself stripped naked—not in body, but in spirit. Every wrongdoing she had ever committed on the third trial came crawling back to haunt her mind like ghosts rising from the underworld to surround her.

Poine, the Goddess of Punishment, had caught the stench of her guilt.

And now, the goddess was exacting her price: wave after wave of mental anguish.

But Poine is also a Demoness. And her punishment came in more ways than mental pain.

Splash—!

Blood bursts from Matilda’s mouth.

Her eyes widened as excruciating pain spread around her torso and took away her strength.

Slowly, she looked down. A blade was protruding from her stomach.

An assassin.

"Finally, I found you," the assassin whispered into her ear as she drove the blade deeper, all the way until the hilt touched Matilda’s back. "Your blood is now ours. But don’t worry, I will drain you after I kill you. We’ll take good care of Athena’s blood."

"R-Rosaline...?" Matilda gasped, not expecting her to also be an assassin.

"You’re always on guard. Killing you is hard, but thank Zeus for that Lesser Angel," Her lips curled into a sinister smile. "I always knew you were not fully on Team Coeus’s side, and I also knew you were still hoping for something. For him to come. You really do have a special relationship with him. But no matter. You’re dead."

Just as she was about to cut her stomach open, a force struck her from the side.

Rosaline slammed into the tree.

She hit the back of her head, and everything was now blurry.

Survival instincts made her snap the dizziness away and turned to look at the one who struck her. She found a pair of abyssal black eyes. It was the Lesser Angel, Kai. "W-Wait a minute," Rosaline raised her hands when she saw him making a move. "Let’s talk it ou—"

Crack—!

Kai leapt and connected his knee to her face.

It struck her hard, breaking the bones of her face and pressing her head against the bark.

Even before she could recover, Kai swung his entire body and threw a vicious punch.

He shattered her skull, and when the energy from the Dark Discharge bursts from his knuckles, Rosaline’s head exploded like a watermelon. Blood, pieces of meat, and brain matter sprayed in every direction in a cascade of gore.

Killing a Supernal became easier now for Kai.

Kai waved his hand to get rid of the blood and turned toward Matilda.

She was still alive. Breathing heavily and hurt, but undoubtedly alive. She stared at him as she lay weakly on the ground. Defenseless. If Kai wanted to, he could kill her—and there’s nothing she could do to stop it.

Despite that, a smile crept onto her blood-stained cherry lips.

"You saved me..." She squeezed the words out through a choked throat. "I’m really sorry, Kai."

"Sigh..." Kai clicked his tongue and scratched the back of his head. "Damn it."