Chapter 208: Save the Kid
Defeating a Star Beast alone is still an uncertain endeavour.
Kai had gotten stronger from comprehending more Ending Fragments, but he hadn’t tried to take down one alone. It was still dangerous for him. As for the seniors, fighting and defeating Star Beasts are their daily activities.
It was obvious that the seniors were strong and battle-hardened Supernals.
Being able to stalemate them is already an impressive feat for Kai.
But he wasn’t doing this to gather feats.
He wasn’t doing this to test his current strength.
He was doing this to win. He was doing this to save Panas from their barbarity.
And yet, he was losing.
Each laboured breath that he took dragged defeat closer to him. Every pain that was recorded by his pain nerves is another step closer to failing to save Panas. Kai kept moving his body and fighting, but the pressure was wearing him down.
Clang—!
Kai raised his tentacle arm and reinforced it with his other arm as he blocked the swinging axe.
He was knocked sideways and coughed out a mouthful of blood.
Below, Damas charged in and thrust his sword upward.
In the nick of time, Kai reacted, leaping as the tip kissed his chin—and passed through empty air. He narrowly avoided the thrust that would have impaled him from the chin, and exploded from the back of his head.
But mid-leap, Makos was there. He already anticipated Kai’s next move.
Mana reinforced his body as he cast an imprint—and he leapt and rammed his shoulder into Kai’s chest with the full weight of his nine-foot frame. Kai’s chest caved in, and his ribs cracked inward with a sickening crunch.
The breath exploded from Kai’s lungs, and his body folded around the impact.
He was hurled backward.
As he fell, carving a curved arc through the air, his gaze found Panas on the far side. The small boy was still trembling on the ground, and the tears that streaked his pained face slipped from the edge of his mask.
His broken arm pinned him in place with a pain that wouldn’t let him move.
Kai landed hard and coughed out more blood.
His gaze remained fixated on Panas as he lay on the ground weakly.
Makos was already approaching Panas.
He deemed Kai no longer a threat and decided to bring the boy back to Asher.
Back to death’s door.
Kai reached out his hand to Panas as if he could grab the boy if he reached his hand far enough, but even that impossible hope was shattered as Damas pressed his foot against Kai’s chest and pressed hard.
"Once you grow older. Once you lose... more. You will understand—that there is no morality in this world." Damas said and put more of his weight into the stomp, causing Kai to flail for a gasp of breath. "Sacrifices had to be made for us to survive, and like the Gods who lazily gave mankind the liberty to manage their blood, you also have the liberty to choose—who is going to be sacrificed.
"Either your family or the others. Our squad simply chose the others. Even if it’s a kid."
Slowly, tiredly, Damas mounted Kai.
He sat on Kai’s stomach and raised his fist.
"You’re strong, Lesser Angel Kai. For mankind, we will spare you. Just take this as a lesson."
Bam—!
A fist crossed Kai’s face and knocked reason from his mind.
Bam—!
Another landed on the other side and erased clarity.
Bam—!
Damas kept going, raining down savage punches without mercy to vent his anger.
Each punch was heavy, and Kai’s face began to swell.
Kai tried to summon Perion despite his waning mana, but he failed to do so.
Behind Damas, only a swirling darkness formed before it dissipated again.
In a desperate attempt, he raised his arms to stop Damas from pummeling him.
But it was no use.
As another punch rammed against his temple, Kai’s mind blurred as he even forgot what he was doing out here. His mission was simply to gather minerals and carry equipment. He was supposed to be a porter, away from the battle.
And yet, he was now at the heart of it, being pummelled to the ground.
I promised Grines that I’d save his brother.
Bam—!
But I can’t do it. I tried my best, but I can’t win.
Bam—!
Stop hitting me. Stop hitting me! I don’t want to fight anymore. Please!
Bam—!
Kai had entered a disadvantageous battle for him. One against two. And even if he could win, Asher would come—and stop him from winning the battle. He was all alone. He couldn’t win against three seniors.
Brutally, another punch slammed into his face and cracked his skull.
He was seeing stars.
And his mind played tricks on him as a figure manifested beside Damas.
Bella stood towering before him, her gaze cast down like a princess looking down at her failed knight. She wasn’t smiling. She never smiled anymore—not in these recent visits. A coldness had settled into her features. Something foreign and wrong.
And it made his heart hammer against his cracked ribs.
She wasn’t supposed to be like this.
’Are you giving up?"
"I... I don’t want to, b-but I can’t win. How can I?"
’Really? Would you say the same thing if I were the one in Panas’ position?’
Bam—!
Kai’s face snapped to the other side from another punch. In the distance, through the blur, he saw Makos walking away. He wasn’t dragging Panas but Bella instead. He dragged her by her beautiful, lustrous hair.
And the image seared into him, and fury boiled over.
Something stirred inside Kai.
It was from inside his Primordial Locks. From inside the House of Night.
...
Kaelmorath’s eyes snapped open as something pulled at him from within. His connection to the First Son of the Primordial Night was swelling—and burning up. A tether going taut with desperation.
And through it, he could feel the shape of the danger.
Could feel the dire situation that Kai was in.
Excitedly, he rose to his feet, turned, and ran out from the ruined cathedral to look skyward.
"Now you feel it..." He muttered inwardly. "Just a little bit more. Just a little bit more and you will reach it. I’m ready."
...
In the real world, as time slowed down, Kai’s eyes followed Bella in the distance.
’If it were me, would you give up?’
Her question rang inside his mind and woke him up from the depressed stupor.
Stamina—and determination returned to him as if they were simply responding to the clarity in his mind. Kai’s eyes remained fixated on Bella, and he saw her supple lips move to whisper the words that his mind clung to like it was his own life.
’Save the kid.’
Damas pulled his arm back to land another punch.
His brows furrowed when Kai turned to meet his gaze—the void in them was utterly replaced by fire. Unease crept into his heart when the swellings and cuts on Kai’s face began to leak dark energy as before.
The air in his lungs was stuck as a cold sensation seeped into his arm.
Kai’s tentacle arm was already wrapped around his wrist, and dark mana was infused into him.
It shot through his mana flow and rose up to his mind, instilling drowsiness unlike anything that he had ever felt. As Damas tried to break his wrist free frantically, Kai searched the despair and doubt that had settled over him seconds ago.
The despair convinced him that he was not strong enough and couldn’t save Panas.
That the only path forward was to give up.
But Bella reminded him that the mind is stronger than the body.
Just like Kaelmorath said, as long as the mind could continue, the body would obey.
He had promised Grines that he would save Panas.
And a broken promise meant a weak man.
’Save the kid by any means necessary.’
Bam—!
Kai grabbed Damas’ collar and pulled.
He slammed his forehead against Damas’ nose, breaking it completely.
Tears blurred Damas’ vision from the impact, and Kai used this to wiggle backward and drive a kick square into his stomach, shoving him away. Kai hastily scrambled to his feet, but Damas was stubborn.
Fiercely, he held his ground and threw a savage punch.
Kai blocked it with his crossed arms, and to his surprise, energy was produced in him.
Retribution was triggered.
Panas was no longer behind him, but Bella was. And as long as her presence was right behind him, someone precious remained under his protection. The Retribution Ending Fragment recognized that bond and answered, flooding him with renewed energy.
He roared at the top of his lungs and charged.
The cuts and swellings on his face were mended into dark glass through the Reckless Ruin.
Damas tried to react, but a fist had already buried itself into his liver.
His body seized involuntarily, buckling forward—and Kai met the descent with a rising knee that crashed into his skull. The impact was sickening. Damas crumpled, losing consciousness before he hit the ground.
Like an arrow, Kai shot straight at Makos.
Makos heard the roar and turned, smiling eagerly at the sight of Kai’s rush.
The tentacle arm shuddered with the energy from the Retribution Ending Fragment, and then it lashed forward like a living whip. It met Makos’ swinging heavy axe mid-arc, and the clash was decided in an instant.
Makos’ eyes widened when the axe cracked and shattered.
And the tentacle crashed through leather, flesh, and bone with merciless force.
He was launched away, overpowered by one attack.
Kai instantly went over to Panas, kneeling above him—like a tiger protecting his cub. He stared ahead and saw that Damas had already regained consciousness in the few seconds he had dealt with Makos, and there was still rage on his face.
Underneath, Panas saw Kai’s brutal condition and gasped.
To his surprise, Kai really did put his own life on the line to protect him.
"Thank you..." Panas’ weak voice escaped his lips.
For a second, Kai paused and looked down at Panas, surprised at what he heard.
"Thank you for going this far for me. No matter how this ends, you’ve protected me. I’m sure Grines would understand."
"You—"
[You have completed Kaelmorath Quest.]
Kai was surprised to see a notification appear in his vision.
Completing the quest wasn’t even in his mind, and yet he completed it.
Realizing that there was a path to victory, Kai channeled his mana and took a moment to focus to materialize Perion. He succeeded. Perion appeared and rushed, curling his body around Kai and hardening into a shell of living stone that shut out the outside world.
Even the sunlight couldn’t penetrate it.
And in the darkness, without wasting a single second, Kai closed his eyes.
"Deep Slumber."