I am the Only Son of Nyx

"Bastard!!"

Roan tried to break free with strength, but it was simply impossible.

From the exchange he had with Kai, he clearly has a better physicality. More raw strength. In hindsight, breaking free from this position should be as easy as rolling to his back since he’s stronger.

But that is not the case.

Somehow, despite his small stature, Kai felt heavy.

Like he weighed two or three times more than how much he should have.

Kai ignored the struggle and glanced at the door.

He could escape the chamber right now, as there’s nobody guarding the door, but he didn’t.

If he didn’t finish this right now, then Roan would only make more trouble in the future.

Roan’s eyes glistened with mana, and Kai immediately pressed down harder.

"Raargghk!!"

"Don’t use your Legacy Skill or Imprints. Don’t even dare."

Nobody can use their abilities inside the main building and within its premises, lest incurring heavy punishments. The anger took over him for a moment, but he knew the punishments, and quickly dispersed his mana.

Not worth it.

"Good."

"Get the fuck off me!"

"Do you really need to go this far? In the onlookers’ eyes, I landed a cheap shot on you. You didn’t lose face. If you keep doing this and the words get out, then you will really lose face. Just drop this and let’s agree on not bothering each other again."

Kai raised his index finger and stared at the other students who were inching closer to him.

"Don’t even try," He warned.

Roan breathed heavily.

Even though he was seething inside, the situation he was in forced him to calm down.

"Fine! Just get the fuck off me!"

"Say that you’re not going to attack me again after I let you go."

Roan grunted angrily, forcing to break free again, which was still a futile attempt.

"Say it."

"I won’t attack you after you let me go! Happy?!"

Kai eventually nodded his head and slowly let Roan’s arm go. Once he stood again, he quickly moved and placed his back against the door. If Roan and his goons tried to attack, he’d make his escape.

But it seemed there was no need.

"Are we good?" Kai asked.

"Just lower your eyes when you walk past me," Roan replied warningly.

Kai nodded and left the chamber.

He checked the time and realized class would start in five minutes, so he ran.

But after the seventh step, he stopped.

"Sigh... What am I doing?"

Meanwhile, Roan clutched his shoulder, still throbbing from where Kai had wrenched it behind his back. His face was grim, jaw set tight. He had never believed Kai could grow this strong. Reality had just corrected him. Brutally.

"Are we going to let him off like this?" Norman asked in disbelief.

"We can’t let him go," Bagas added, unable to restrain the anger from his voice. "Even if no one knew about this, we can’t. It’s humiliating!"

"Of course not," Roan grinned mischievously. "I definitely won’t let him off."

Nobody crossed him and walked away clean. That was his brand, etched into every mind that ever thought of testing him. Not because he was the strongest, but because he would fight tooth and nail, claw and bone, until the debt was repaid in full.

If he backed down against Kai, then that persona of his would collapse.

And alongside it was the Ursa Minor, as that very persona kept the group alive.

Roan couldn’t have that.

Kai had proven difficult to handle indoors, in a place where Roan couldn’t use his Legacy Skill and Imprint. So, the answer became obvious. He ought to take this outside. Away from prying eyes. Away from the consequences of fighting.

And there’s a suitable place that ticked all of those perfectly.

"I’ll attack him when he’s mining," Roan grinned ecstatically. "No rules can save him there."

Just then, the door was opened.

All three students stared at the figure who entered and frowned.

It was Kai.

Kai returned to the chamber. He closed the door behind him and locked it.

’Did he hear what I said?’ Roan thought with a frown, but quickly thwarted that away. This chamber was used for meditation and training, which meant it was soundproof. Even if Kai stood by the door, he wouldn’t be able to hear what was being talked about inside. ’If that’s not the case, then why is he back?’

"Fuck are you doing back here?"

"Why are you staring at us like that? Did you forget already? Lower your damn gaze!"

Both students barked.

Just being forced to stand down earlier was already bad enough.

Being instigated like this pushed them over the edge.

"Did we not come to an agreement?" Roan finally opened his mouth. "What are you doing?"

"I changed my mind."

Kai cracked his neck, almost like he was preparing to fight.

"You changed your mind...?"

"Yes. There’s no way people like you would keep your word, so I changed my mind."

Almost like they were waiting for this to happen anyway, the two students smiled and came onto Kai anyway. No mana or abilities, but their movements were fast. Sharp. Moves that can only belong to those who have had real experience in fighting to the death.

On the right, Norman flexed his leg muscles, preparing to dash.

Something shifted the wind inside the chamber.

Not something—it was Kai.

Kai dashed in first with a surprising speed, one that shouldn’t belong to a Lesser Angel. He made the first move and propelled himself straight to Bagas. His muscles tightened like steel as he smashed into Bagas and sent the surprised student flying across the chamber.

He kept his body low and twisted, moving to Norman and slashing with his bare hand.

Blood arced through the air as Norman suffered a cut to his cheek.

Norman bellowed with wounded pride, but the sound died as a foot slammed into his roaring face and erased him from the fight. Knocking him clean out. Roan came, still eager to fight as he refused to believe what had happened earlier was real.

Seeing Kai knocking out his two goons also motivated him even more.

He would teach Kai a lesson now. Surely, it won’t end like earlier.

Seamlessly, Kai stormed in.

He avoided Roan’s massive hands and drilled a punch into the stomach.

That punch hurt more than Roan expected. He staggered back, clutching his stomach with a painful groan in his throat. Then, a knee smashed into his face and pushed him into the wall. Kai was utterly relentless.

No time for Roan to even open his eyes as punches rained down on him.

One caught him by his chin, making him see stars.

He threw his arms up to shield his face, but it was only a desperate and futile attempt.

A punch drilled into his liver—and stole the air from his lungs. His body folded. He dropped to his knees, gasping. Before his head could sag forward, Kai caught it and held him, forced him to keep kneeling.

Kai inspected Roan’s face and then let go.

Not many bruises. I made sure not to go overboard.

From his pocket, Kai took out a phone. It was a standard phone given to Blooded Angels, one that can only be used to communicate with other Blooded Angels. No internet. He opened the camera app and began taking a video of Roan.

"Roan," Kai whistled and flicked his fingers like he was calling a dog. "Look up."

With great struggle, Roan raised his gaze, and his eyes bulged at the sight.

"Say cheese."

"Why are you taking a video of me, bastard?! Delete it!"

"And why should I do that?"

"We already had a deal! And you did this?!"

"I wanted to think positively, but I’ll be a fool to believe you’d get off my back. This... This is insurance."

"What the fuck do you mean by insurance?"

Kai stopped the recording and put the phone back into his pocket.

"I want to give you a choice." Kai raised a single finger. "One, you swallow your pride, and as I asked you nicely earlier, stay away from me. You don’t mess with me, I don’t mess with you. We both came out happy." He let the silence stretch, and then continued. "Or two, you could mess with me. Report me to the academy for this, and I’ll be punished severely. But...

"This video," Kai patted his pocket. "I’ll share it with everyone. You’ll be a laughingstock."

Of course, Kai wanted to be freed from his title as the Lesser Angel.

But now that it has come to this, he needed to make use of what is accessible to him.

Being a Lesser Angel is being less than even a normal person—but it didn’t come without its hidden perks. During the Culling of the Nonentity, Kai saw how he could use his class to his advantage.

He saw Lion’s family being put on the execution table, along with Professor Richard.

All because Lion lost to him, a Lesser Angel.

Angels or High Angels who lost to a Lesser Angel are deemed an embarrassment.

Normally, that would indeed be an embarrassment.

But with Kai’s current strength, this could be exploited if he played it right.

"Do you understand, Roan?" Kai patted Roan’s face. "Do you know what to do now?"

Silence stretched between them.

And Kai nodded, taking the silence and the way Roan kept his face down, that he understood perfectly the situation he was in. Now, with this, Kai believed that Roan would really stay out of his way.

Kai knew the risks.

Knew that this could backfire, and he’d be pulling the Chancellor’s attention to him.

He didn’t know Roan that well, but he knew one thing for sure.

Roan is prideful.

No chance he would report Kai and admit that he lost fair and square.

Even if the punishment didn’t scare him, his pride wouldn’t allow him to do that.

Outside, Kai jogged to the class, hoping that he wouldn’t be late.

Along the way, the gears in his mind were turning. He was thinking about something.

That being said, I wonder why the academy needed justification to get rid of anyone.

Kai entered the class and immediately spotted new faces.

About twenty or so new faces.

Most seats were empty. Those that weren’t held students huddled in distinct packs—survivors of the same Blood Rite teams. It made sense. When death had thinned the herd, one stayed close to the ones who’d kept you breathing.

Trust didn’t come easily anymore. Only familiarity.

Sitting on the right front of the class near the window are the familiar faces.

He quickly found Dorian.

Dorian sat at the very back of the group’s seats, gaze fixed on something beyond the window. An empty seat rested beside him, and just past that, Bree. Kai doesn’t know how she had predicted where he would sit.

But there she was, waiting anyway.

Kai sat down on the empty seat, passing Matilda sitting beside Abigail along the way.

"Careful when you fight," Bree whispered, wiping the bloodstain from Kai’s chin with her thumb. "Did you see the grey-masked Angels out there? They are tasked to keep a lookout for any student who breaks the rules. We’re Blooded Angels now. Our lives aren’t in our hands anymore."