I am the Only Son of Nyx

Kai continued absorbing the mana ores.

He had wasted too much time, and the professors might be coming soon.

It took him an hour to absorb a quarter from the mined pile, so he would need at least another three hours. But that entirely depends on whether flooding his Primordial Lock would be the same as progressing in rank.

Of course, Kai hoped that it wasn’t.

Hours passed.

Kai sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. His focus was entirely on the state of his body, and after absorbing the one-hundred and seventieth mana ore, something clicked inside him. It’s his Primordial Lock.

Just earlier, it was devouring mana like a bottomless black hole.

And now, it throbbed with a pulsating stream of energy.

One that spread across his entire body.

Kai’s brow lowered in concentration. Tentatively, he guided a thread of mana from the depths of his Primordial Lock, out to his body. Searching for whatever shift had occurred. Then, he sensed a natural path branching out of the Primordial Lock.

It was a surprise that ignited him like a spark.

And when he probed further, the natural branch was dropping vertically toward his core.

But it was only an inch long.

Emboldened by this growth, as this was the first time the Primordial Lock had given any kind of response, Kai continued absorbing the remaining mana ores. But even after exhausting the entire pile, the branch barely stretched further.

"Sigh..." Kai opened his eyes—and looked back at the shining mana ores. "It’s a shame that I can’t stay here for days. I’m too worried about the professors. I guess there’s no other choice than that."

Kai was worrying about the professors.

If he were caught doing this, which was basically stealing, he wouldn’t get off easily.

Not to mention, Lion’s professor probably hated him by now.

He would probably suggest executing Kai, a Lesser Angel, if he found out about this.

Staying for longer would only put him into more trouble, so he left.

Hours later.

"Mmmh..."

Matilda shifted on her spot. An excruciating pain stabbed into her stomach when she tried to curl her body a little.

She hissed through clenched teeth, her hands flew to her abdomen as her eyes snapped open, focusing forward like a hawk. Consciousness returned like a lightning strike. The memories crashed into her skull one after another, but only one sensation held steady.

It was the shift in the air, the impact, and then the excruciating pain.

And then she remembered being saved.

Looking around, she was met with a makeshift clearing with a bonfire at the center.

She heard a rustle.

Instinctively, she summoned her sword, but couldn’t stand up or balance herself properly.

Matilda scooted backward with great struggle, putting her back against the trunk—and then pointed her sword forward. After Rosaline stabbed her from behind, she realized that danger lurked everywhere, even now.

It’s not safe for her here.

Assassins who wanted her blood lurked.

She must be on guard at all times.

But when a figure emerged from the bushes, she lowered her sword.

It was Kai, and he was dragging a big boar.

"What are you doing?" Kai raised a brow, looking at the sword in her hand.

"Oh," She quickly put the sword away. "It’s nothing."

Kai hauled the big boar close to the fire, its bulk leaving a dark smear across the earth. Once it lay near the flames, he crouched beside it and began his work. He peeled the skin away and separated the meat from the fat, portioning the carcass into slabs large enough to roast.

Matilda watched in silence.

Her gaze drifted from the meat to the knife in his grip.

Firelight caught the familiar gold wrapping around the base of the knife.

One that made her realize that it was Rosaline’s knife.

She’s a wretched bitch, but she likes to be stylish.

So, she tore a piece of her armband and wrapped the dirty gold at the base of the blade.

Just like the one Kai is using right now.

And it was only then that Matilda saw the corpse that lay cold, not too far away to her right. It was headless, but the body unmistakably belonged to Rosaline. She had guessed that Kai had probably killed Rosaline, but she didn’t know why he was dragging her corpse around.

Not that she was going to question it.

Half an hour later, Kai was now blowing on a roasted boar leg.

It has no seasoning, flavourless, but it’s food.

Matilda watched him eat slowly, and when she found her courage, she sat properly against the trunk and faced Kai. "Am I right to assume that you’ll accept me into your team?" She asked; her voice came out weaker than she intended. "Am I forgiven?"

"Do you want to talk about it now?" Kai asked back without looking. "Not going to eat first?"

"I won’t have the appetite if I don’t know where you stand."

"Okay, let’s talk."

Kai tossed the boar leg into the fire, slightly annoyed.

He appeared fine, but he was not. It had taken him nearly an hour just to light the bonfire. His mana had done nothing but shatter the dry branches into splinters. In the end, he had been forced to abandon using mana and resort to the crude methods of the Stone Age.

It took so long to light the fire.

Hunting the wild boar only took five minutes, so making the fire is twelve times longer.

"Yes, as long as you fulfil my requests, then I’ll let you in the team," Kai finally answered, and he said it with a heavy heart. At least he got Dorian’s blessing. "And... I can’t forgive you, Matilda," He averted his gaze. "At least not now."

"What can I do to help you forgive me?"

"Huh..."

Kai reclined back, surprised by the question.

He thought he was going to ask what the requests would be, as that was tied to her survival, but she asked about that instead. "Our classmates... They bad-mouthed me, and some might even deserve to die, but none of them deserved to have their corpses played with."

"I know," Matilda clenched her hands. "It was mostly Wolf and a few other students. I tried stopping them, but they said I am only fully on Team Coeus if I watch them do it and not mind about it."

"Regardless," Kai pointed the knife at her. "It was still your fault."

His features hardened, and his face reddened.

Just remembering the state of the corpses resurfaced the anger he had felt back then.

Of course, Matilda couldn’t deny that.

Her betrayal is the cause of Team Crius’s fall, so it was still mostly her fault.

"I want you to apologize to them," Kai said at last—his voice flat and final. "You’ll hunt as many animals as there are corpses. You will make a sacrifice. An offering of atonement to them and to their Patron Gods for what you have done. And then, you will eat a piece of meat from every single one."

"The Amysia Ritual," Matilda nodded. "I’ll do it. If that’ll help you forgive me, then I’ll do it."

She had expected Kai to demand an apology for himself, or perhaps for Dorian. But now she understood. The fact that she had decimated an entire team—without giving them a fighting chance disturbed him far more than the fact that he himself had nearly died in the process.

Above all, Kai has a good heart.

Just that he has a limit to his patience, exactly like any other person has.

"And your requests?"

"First, I’ll take you up on your offer about making me a weapon," He raised his index finger. If he decided to spare Matilda, then he’s going to make use of it. "Second, you’re going to give me a portion of your mined mana ores for the rest of our academy years."

He decided to go with Matilda’s suggestions.

Both of them were beneficial to him.

"Done," She nodded, not minding the requests at all. "Is there anything else?"

"Just one more thing," Kai stood up and approached Rosaline’s corpse.

He hauled the body across the ground and settled it near the edge of the firelight, turning it enough to ensure Matilda could see everything. The flames cast dancing shadows across the body as Kai knelt beside it.

And with two fingers, he firmly pressed them against her chest.

Kai activated his Primordial Lock, and a low vibration suddenly filled the air.

Before Matilda’s eyes, two Divine Locks shimmered inside the corpse.

It was almost like his fingers could determine a Supernal’s talent. But this spectacle was more than that. Kai focused, and the two Divine Locks began to secrete mana. It climbed out and went to his fingers before being absorbed by his Primordial Lock.

"In case you’ve forgotten," he said, never looking away from her face even as the strange light played across her features, "I possess only a single Divine Lock." He let the words settle. "The first requirement to pass this trial should be beyond my reach. It should be impossible." A pause. "But there is a way."

"You mean..." Matilda’s brows furrowed, knowing where this was going.

"Yes," Kai nodded. "My third request is for you to help me hunt the survivors of Team Coeus."

Kai already defeated Team Coeus.

The moment Lion died is the moment Team Coeus crumbled.

Most of Team Coeus’ core students are dead.

Those who remained were predominantly from Team Hyperion, though a thin scattering of the original Team Coeus still drew breath. Kai had never heard whispers linking Matilda to Lion’s barbaric excesses.

Her hands, as far as he knew, were clean, so she barely deserved a chance.

But that’s not the case for the other students.

He knew that the same grace didn’t extend to them.

All of them did horrible things.

And now, horrible things would befall them.

For the next couple of days, he would allow himself to be the harbinger of everything horrible.

"Isn’t that the same as me betraying them?" Matilda asked. "That’s the same with me, making the exact same mistake, no?"

"Matilda," Kai said in a low voice. "Lion is dead. Wolf is dead. Who are you betraying? Have you even met and talked to these survivors? Have you promised to lead them? Save them? Protect them?"

Matilda remained quiet.

She didn’t know any of them.

Heck, she wouldn’t even recognize them had it not been for their armbands.

"Then you’re not betraying them," Kai chuckled. "You’re never a part of their team. You just... doesn’t have another option."

That word struck Matilda.

She never expected Kai to be able to put it into words perfectly like that.

A smile crept to her face, and she eventually nodded.

"Okay, we have a deal." She approached while holding her stomach. "Now, let’s eat. I’m really starving. I preferred meat with seasonings, but I bet this roasted boar tastes really good right now."