I am the Only Son of Nyx

An Angel’s growth was supposed to be slow.

Only the favourites of the academies would grow exponentially fast compared to the others—ordinary Angels. A large part of the reason was that mana ores and null crystals are rare in the sky and restricted.

Just like this challenge, ten legal mana ores are incredibly valuable for Angels.

Demons might laugh at the pitiful amount, but for Angels, ten mana ores are worth a life.

Gaining legal mana ores was practically impossible unless the academy held something that’d reward the students with legal mana ores, and gaining null crystals was extremely difficult as it involved killing many Star Beasts.

Thus, normal Angels are practically stagnant, unable to gain either to increase their rank.

As a Lesser Angel, it should be even harder for Kai.

And that remained true as Namira could sense he was still at the Grade-2 Awakened Supernal rank, the exact same as he was back in the Blood Rite. But his strength was on another level in comparison to back then.

Kai could most likely contend with Grade-3 Awakened Supernal. Multiple of them even.

Such growth was unnatural.

It could only mean that he was pleasing his Patron God at a faster rate than anyone around.

For someone who was branded a Lesser Angel, that should also not be possible, but it was for him. Namira had remained somewhat around the same strength as she had in the Blood Rite, only now she was more experienced in fighting.

Her growth was incomparable to Kai.

Seeing him fight dozens of students around her strength at the same time made that clear.

And this made what happened even more devastating.

Namira and Aaran lost a powerful friend, and the gap between them and Kai would keep on stretching starting from now. The desire to fix their mistake was there—but with the gap that exists, they realized the chances of doing so were overwhelmingly small.

Meanwhile, Kai continued his fight.

Blood and snot already covered his arms from the damage he inflicted on the students.

A student lunged with a sword.

Kai sidestepped, shattered the elbow, and his free hand arced toward the exposed temple—in a killing blow. The fist stopped an inch from the skin. Another student came from his left with a dagger.

He spun, disarmed the student, and drove a knee into his stomach that folded him in half.

Kai turned, saw a student charging at him from behind, swinging a sword in a wide arc.

Already expecting the attack, he ducked under it and kicked the student’s front leg as he was about to make another step, tripping him forward. As he fell, a rising knee smashed into his face, breaking his face.

Every move was controlled, but more lethal.

Despite the desire to snap their necks, he controlled that impulse and channelled it.

He became a weapon honed to a razor’s edge.

Around, more students were arriving, coming back from their mining session to see bodies laid on their front lawns. Students were on the ground, groaning and whimpering in pain from their brief exchange with Kai.

And before one realized, the students that had gathered from earlier were now down.

Kai drove his fist into the last student’s stomach, folding her body. Before she could fall, he sized her by the hair and cracked another punch into her face. Her body went limp as the blow sent her to the dark, legs gave out beneath her.

Only his grip on her hair kept her from collapsing entirely.

Layra covered her mouth with both hands.

Just earlier—there was still the inkling remains of doubt inside her chest about Kai beating all of the students who challenged him. Only a few of them were High Angels—but even so, the number would be a problem.

Or at least she thought it was going to be a problem, but it’s not.

Not even one of the students managed to land a hit on Kai.

Not one.

And on the contrary, not one of Kai’s attacks missed their mark.

It was incredible.

Even the grey-masked Angel swallowed hard at the sight, realizing that it was the right thing to avoid confronting Kai. He was a senior with more combat experience, seasoned in battle—but defeating this many Angels was still far beyond anything he could’ve managed.

Yet Kai made it look easy, and the thought of a Lesser Angel being that strong was chilling.

"By the Gods, how is he that strong?!"

"You can’t be serious... There are dozens of us, and we can’t land a hit on him?"

"Quick, someone call Antonio! Or Tris! Or any of the damn High Angels! We can’t let him get away with this!"

"Someone already did! They should arrive soon enou—"

Just then, a sudden silence dropped onto the area.

One moment, the remaining students were fretting on how to defeat Kai—and the next, it was dead silent. So silent that it made one unconsciously hold their breath. So silent that even if a pin dropped, everyone would hear it.

From the dormitory’s gate, a male student walked out who seized the students’ attention.

Big and muscular. Long and thick black hair that fell to his shoulders like a lion’s mane. Dark chocolate-brown skin that looked unnatural. Long fangs that fully poked out of his mouth, a pair that could easily pierce through anything. And piercing yellow eyes.

Nobody dared to utter a single word at his presence.

And Kai, sensing the tension in the air, fixed his eyes on this male student.

"High Angel Pollos? Thought he was in the Iron Darkwood. I thought he lived there."

"Since when did he return to the dormitory?"

"He never returned to the dormitory. Heck, his room even accumulated dust by now."

"No, never mind that; this is perfect! He most certainly can kill this damn Lesser Angel! As a High Angel of the Nemean Lion, his physical strength is probably the strongest. Not even the seniors can overpower him easily."

Namira also frowned when she saw that somehow, Pollos was around.

’Kai is in trouble now...’ She thought inwardly, knowing how strong Pollos was. ’He has never been beaten before, or even pushed back. Even the seniors who picked a fight with him—due to his arrogant demeanor couldn’t do anything to him.’

Even though Kai was strong, there was also someone like him in Aurelian Academy.

Pollos was that person.

From the start, he never bothered anyone at all, but that didn’t stop others from bothering him from the way his walk—and how his chin was always held high, like he was looking down at everyone he passed.

Some messed with him, and most were seniors.

One time, the seniors tried cornering him, but what happened was the exact opposite.

Pollos returned from the Iron Darkwood alone, his face and arms drenched in blood, and the seniors that entered never came back. The academy’s official statement was that—the seniors had died from carelessness. Mauled by Awakened Monsters.

Nothing more to investigate.

But everyone knew what really happened.

It was Pollos who killed them, and as a High Angel, his fault was covered up.

Ever since that incident, nobody dared to mess with Pollos again.

Namira believed that Kai, as strong as he was, would be in trouble facing Pollos still.

One of the students ran and intercepted Pollos.

It was their only hope to not be humiliated even further by a mere Lesser Angel.

"Pollos!" He skidded to a halt in front of the towering man, eight feet of solid muscle. Then— he thrust a finger in Kai’s direction. "You have to help us deal with that turd! He mocked our academy! Called himself stronger and more superior than all of us when he’s nothing but a Lesser Angel!"

"Get out of the way, nerd." Pollos groaned in annoyance. "I’m going back to hunt."

"No, you can’t!"

"Can’t?"

Pollos sneered and pushed the student aside.

He only pushed lightly, but the student stumbled to the side hard.

As if that push was not a push, but a strong shove.

"Pollos! Don’t fucking go!"

"..."

"Are you going to let our reputation be stepped on like this?!"

"..."

"Defeating him would kill High Angel Layra, and give you ten legal mana ores."

"Hmm?!"

The moment the rewards were mentioned, Pollos stopped dead in his tracks. He spun sharply; his yellow eyes gleamed with a sudden, hungry interest. "Ten legal mana ores?" His baritone voice dropped further, low and dangerous. You better not play with me. If you are, I’ll smash your face in."

"No! Really! I’m being serious! Everyone can attest to that."

"Really?"

Pollos turned to the other students, and all of them nodded in response.

A slow grin spread across his face, baring sharp fangs.

His gaze settled on Kai, who had been standing in wait for the next challenger. Without a word, he launched himself forward—and crashed down inside the white-drawn circle. The ground shuddered under his weight as he landed opposite Kai.

The students’ eyes flickered in excitement, knowing that Kai was screwed now.

No more playing around.

It was time to watch Kai being beaten and mauled to death by Pollos.

"I do not know what’s going. Do not know what brought you here. But since you created this chance to get legal mana ores—I am thankful." Pollos straightened his towering figure, staring at Kai like he was a snack. "And I’m sorry for what I’m about to do. It’s not personal."

"Same here," Kai replied with a flat tone. "Forgive me for needing to break a few bones."

Kai closed the distance in an instant like usual.

His fist drilled forward with the force of a piston, but Pollos caught it before it could land.

The massive hand swallowed Kai’s knuckles whole, absorbing the impact with terrifying ease.

"Strong."

The heaviness of the punch registered in Pollos’ grip, but this only made his grin wider. His leg snapped up in the same breath, a front kick that slammed into Kai’s chest—and launched him backward, boots skidding across the ground.

Pollos marched without a care in the world.

Mid-stride, his fingernails sharpened into claws—sleek, curved, and gleaming under the night sky. Like a lion’s claws. His eyes burned brighter yellow as his movement quickened with a burst of speed

Kai dropped into a defensive stance, widening his feet, and braced.

A kick came from nowhere.

It cracked against his shin, snapping his stance sideways, and his balance shattered.

Before he could recover, claws raked upward from below. A vicious—gutting arc. Kai threw his head back at the last second, but the claws still slammed into his chin with brutal force. It lifted him off the ground.

He landed a few feet away and staggered a few steps.

Kai touched his chin and came away red.

Blood dripped onto the ground as a frown formed on his face.

He’s not like the others.