Chapter 215: Eye for an Eye
Sabas turned, disoriented by what he had found.
He was in shock to see Senior Asher’s corpse, almost cleaved in half from the shoulder.
It was grotesque and unnerving.
"No, wait!" Kai quickly rose, ignoring the pain that was lancing every inch of his body. Even though he wanted to lie down more than anything right now, he needed to explain himself lest Sabas report this to the academy. "I can explain!"
"Explain what? It’s all clear for me to see."
"It’s not like that! Can you please stop for a second?"
Kai panted heavily, trying to catch up to Sabas with wobbly steps.
Other than his worry about being reported, he also didn’t want any misunderstanding with Sabas, as Sabas should be a classmate of Layra. Though she most likely had already forgotten about him, he didn’t want her to hear bad things about him.
"Senior Asher was plotting against Senior Grines. I found out about it and got into a fight with them!"
"I don’t believe you. Even if it was true, you didn’t need to kill him."
"Senior Asher is a Supernal of Atreus! He wanted to kill and eat Panas! He wanted to devour a little kid! I tried telling him to stop, to forgo whatever he was doing—but he left me without any other choice!"
"Save your excuses for the academy."
Kai gritted his teeth.
Just like Asher said before he died, someone would be sent to investigate this incident, and he was bound to be suspected. His involvement in this would be uncovered, and he had already made peace with it.
He’d find a way to go through it.
Perhaps asking Professor Hera for help.
But that should be a problem in the future, not right now, before he could even prepare.
"Wait, wait!"
Kai grabbed Sabas’ wrist with his only hand and pulled hard, stopping him mid-track.
He panted heavily, chest heaving up and down as he tried to catch his breath.
"If you’re in my position, what would you even do?" Kai asked as he tried to straighten his spine—but could barely stand upright. "What would you even do if you knew the seniors were planning to kill and eat a kid?!
"I can’t possibly do nothing. I can’t possibly pretend I knew nothing and let the kid die!"
For a good second, Sabas stared at the panting Kai.
His eyes shifted from panic to a lack of emotion, but Kai didn’t realize.
"You killed more than Senior Asher?"
"Yes. I also killed Senior Damas and Senior Makos. Both were adamant in killing the kid, too."
"Huh... You really are dangerous. Leaving you alive would be problematic."
"Hmm?!"
Splash—!
Kai slumped forward with a faint groan. A knife stabbed into his chest, creeping deeper with a slow, wet precision that reached for his heart. His tentacle arm coiled around the hot steel—holding it at bay, while his other hand pressed against Sabas’ chest to prop himself upright.
Just enough to meet those indifferent, ice-cold eyes now fixed on him.
"S-Sabas...?"
He whispered the name and tilted his head slightly, not expecting Sabas to do this.
It was true that this situation must be shocking to Sabas.
Regardless of the reason, Kai had killed three seniors. Even killing one is already unthinkable, much less more than that. But even so—Kai was not expecting Sabas to react like this. To react this fiercely to what he did.
Initially, he wanted to believe that Sabas was someone with a straight moral compass.
But the cold, indifferent eyes told otherwise.
"Don’t look at me like that. I’m not killing you because of what you did to the seniors." Sabas forced the knife to stab deeper. "Uncle Anklius sent his regards. An eye for an eye—Kai. You killed Lion despite being warned. For that, you must pay the price with your pathetic life."
Only then did Kai realize what was going on.
Sabas was never the regular student from the Aurelian Academy.
He was an assassin who was sent to kill him, exactly like those two seniors in the Fire Swamp.
And that realization also cut the string of restraint that he maintained.
Bam—!
Blood burst from Sabas’ mouth as his eyes widened in shock.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
Kai’s tentacle arm slithered forward and stabbed through his chest, exploding his heart inside.
Earlier, he had been watching how Kai fought the seniors. He wasn’t there from the start, but he watched long enough to know how powerful Kai was. It was the reason why he waited for a bit before making his move.
He wanted Kai to lower his guard.
Seeing the berry that Kai took from his pocket, Sabas immediately intervened.
He recognized the berry immediately—the one Kai had been about to swallow. But even if he hadn’t, he would’ve stopped him anyway. There was only one reason Kai would force himself to force down anything in his condition.
And that’s to heal.
Now, with his performance of innocence, he thought Kai was already out of his battle-mind.
His body should finally register pain and exhaustion.
And with the knife inside his chest, he should already be done for, but he wasn’t.
Kai was weakened—but the Reckless Ruin Ending Fragment was still active. His tentacle arm was proof of that. Sabas had made a fatal mistake by dropping his mask too soon. Now, with the knowledge of what he really was, Kai no longer had any reason to hold back.
"Y-You..."
"I only kill people who deserve it. And you... You also deserved this."
Splash—!
Like a hook, the tentacle arm yanked out along with Sabas’ heart.
Instead of Kai dropping to the ground, it was Sabas who fell to his knees and toppled over.
His body wrapped around Kai’s feet.
"Arrogant bastard." Kai stumbled backward and fell on his bottom. He sneered at Sabas’ for getting too close, allowing him to sneak a fatal attack. Sabas was sent here to kill him, but he’s still a new Angel. Inexperienced.
Kai looked down at the knife in his chest.
It was his body’s first instinct to pull it out, but he knew better.
He looked over his shoulder and crawled toward the berry that he had dropped.
Sabas’ sudden appearance made it slip from his fingers.
Even though the kill was clean, Kai had used all his remaining strength to do it. Now, his body was reaching its limit. His tentacle arm dissipated. He crawled with one arm and lost strength more quickly.
Just a little bit more. Come on.
Desperately, he reached for the berry with a trembling hand.
His vision was growing blurry, but he persisted.
Relief spread across his chest when his fingers managed to wrap around the berry, but in the next second, his head dropped. The last remnant of his strength bled away, leaving him utterly hopeless on the ground.
However, as the world grew darker, he saw a brilliant light.
A messenger from the Gods came, and a smile crept to his lips, "Bree..."
Kai lost consciousness.
His body and mind didn’t resist the darkness the moment he saw Bree, as if her presence alone was enough to make him feel safe. As if her presence were enough to make him understand he no longer needed to fight.
Bree turned Kai’s body to face up.
Her expression contorted grimly at the sight of his condition.
Bleeding scars. Deep punctures. Missing an arm. Cracked bones. And a knife in his chest.
Just seeing him like this turned her face deep red.
She pried the berry from Kai’s grip, crushed its juice into his mouth, and then shoved the pulp down his throat. Gently, she lifted his head onto her lap and massaged his throat, coaxing him to swallow until nothing remained.
Only when a greenish hue began to wrap around his body did she finally stop.
Bree looked around.
She saw Sabas’ corpse, Asher’s corpse, and also the unconscious Panas nearby.
"He’s supposed to treasure his life for his sister, and yet he did this. He risked it all for what?" Bree gritted her teeth and combed her lustrous hair back in frustration. "He’s too kind. Now, on top of risking his life, he would also need to deal with the aftermath."
A cynical chuckle escaped her lips as her irises glowed with a terrible hue.
Anger and malice flickered in her eyes.
Multiple people died, and there must be an explanation for the academy. Knowing Kai, he’d most likely deal with the aftermath and bear the consequences alone. "I’m not going to let you do that." Bree turned toward the Sky Gate, watching a figure rushing towards them. "Let me handle this."
"Panas!"
Grines’ voice could already be heard as his eyes frantically searched for his little brother.
He landed in front of Bree and stepped forward.
Many wounds covered his body—torn flesh still weeping blood. The battle against the Noble Star Beast had carved him to the edge of death. Frankly, without help—his defeat would have been certain.
Considering that he could still walk, the battle ended far better than it should.
"Where is Panas? Where is my brother?!" He asked demandingly.
Bree lowered Kai’s head gently to the ground, then rose and disappeared behind a tent. She returned dragging Panas by the collar, his small body limp in her grasp. "Here’s your brother," she said, easing him down. "He’s only unconscious, and his arm seems to be broken."
"Panas!" Grines rushed to his brother and held him close. "Panas!"
No response.
It seemed the pain from breaking his arm had knocked him out for good.
"How did this happen?!" Grines snapped his head towards Bree. "Kai was supposed to—"
Pah—!
A slap landed hard against his face; the sound it produced was loud and crisp.
Before Grines could recover, Bree already grabbed him by his leather chest armour and bore her furious eyes into his. "Listen to me, you ungrateful low-life. Your brother is alive, isn’t he? You should have been thankful for that. But instead, you still want to scream at me? Just because of his broken arm, you want to get loud with me?!"
"W-Wha—?"
"Did you even ask yourself what happened to Kai after you knew your little brother was safe? Did you spare a single thought for what he had to endure—what he sacrificed—to save your pathetic, useless brother?"
Grines was at a loss for words.
His mind was so occupied with checking on Panas that he forgot about Kai.
"Look at him," Bree pointed at Kai lying weakly on the ground, still broken, though the healing property was beginning to mend his wounds. "He was reduced to that state because of you and your useless brother. Show some gratitude—or I’ll murder and eat you and your brother myself. Do you understand?"