Chapter 314: Arriving at the AAA’s Headquarters
It took hours for Kai and Layra to reach the AAA’s Headquarters; the sky stretched endlessly before them as their mounts carved through the clouds. They flew side by side—no, racing to reach their destination first.
Both the raven and the griffin matched in speed, but their beats were different.
Due to the raven’s unfair wingspan, it didn’t need to flap its wings many times to cover a great distance, while the griffin needed to flap harder to keep up. Both were locked in competition, and by the time they realized they had already arrived.
Across, the sun had begun its slow descent toward the horizon.
As for their destination, it announced its presence to anyone who happened to stumble upon it.
Kai saw a swirl of clouds appear ahead—similar to the one leading into a hive, but much, much more humongous in comparison. Additionally, these clouds were pure white, untainted by any other color, and they blotted out everything beyond them like a wall of living mist.
It came at the same time.
Both realized that they were nearing their destination when an invisible pressure pressed hard on them, a weight that grew heavier with every wingbeat, forcing them to fly lower. The closer they flew to the swirling mass, the lower they were pushed—until they skimmed right above the cloud floor.
Swoosh—!
Once the pressure became unbearable, the two stopped at the same time.
Kai laughed, patting the raven’s neck. "My mount’s beak arrived first; I won!"
"What are you saying?" Layra scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Nikka’s beak got here first. I saw it!"
"Your eyes must be failing you, Emerald Princess."
"Your arrogance must be blinding you, Red Prince."
Both then burst into laughter as the thrill from flying so fast tickled their stomachs.
Kai thought the journey would be boring, but thanked the Gods that he brought Layra along.
"Wait a second, Nikka? You already have a name for your griffin?"
"Of course, that’s the first thing I thought about after getting it. What? You don’t?"
"Err... Raveny?" Kai smiled sheepishly.
Croak—!
Just then, the raven croaked in protest. It didn’t like the name at all.
In fact, it despised the name.
"Come on," Kai slapped its neck. "That’s a good one! What about Darky? Or Shadowy? Blacky? Oh, I know! What about Nighty?"
"I’m starting to feel bad for your mount..." Layra shook her head and chuckled, not expecting Kai to have a bad sense in name. At this point—he probably won’t have a name for the raven until ever. "I’ll think of one for you, so give me a moment."
Croak—!
Hearing the suggestion, the raven croaked again, eager to go with anything Layra suggested.
It would certainly be better than Kai’s.
"So much about bonding," Kai clicked his tongue in displeasure.
Just then, their banter was cut short when a figure emerged from the swirl of clouds.
Kai looked upward, and also signaled Layra to do the same with a nudge from his chin.
Above, the figure stepped forward, and the air around her seemed to still. A one-piece white dress clung to her form, cinched at the waist by a white belt with golden accents. Draped over her shoulders was a high-quality cloak, matching in color and tone.
Its fabric rippled with a life of its own.
Like any other Angel, her face was covered by a pure white mask with gold rims, shaped like a sleepy human face with slitted eyes. But it wasn’t her appearance that Kai—and Layra were fixated on.
It was her aura.
Neither Kai nor Layra could feel her mana.
All they felt from her was nothing. No presence or living signature.
And this can only mean that she was far beyond their perception.
Someone of a much higher rank than either of them.
Kai could sense the deans’ mana, but not hers. From that, he could safely assume that a higher-ranked Supernal had to suppress their aura perfectly to become unreadable, and the fact that the dean’s presence could still be felt meant she was someone disciplined.
A warrior.
Or someone who knew something that the deans did not.
She hovered above them on winged boots, looking down with an unreadable gaze.
Kai and Layra exchanged a glance, then descended from their mounts—not forgetting to wear their serious looks. The security here was tight, and the rules were strict. This was not a place for games, and the woman’s presence made that abundantly clear.
"State your identity and your reason for coming." The woman demanded.
Her voice was light, but somehow it could reach them.
"I am Angel Layra from Aurelian Academy, the Emerald Princess. I came here because I heard that I need to register."
"I am Lesser Angel Kai from Eventide Academy, the Red Prince. I came for the same reason."
Upon their answer, the woman’s eyes sparkled.
Her gaze made them feel uneasy, like they were being stripped naked, unable to hide anything at all. And once she made certain of something, without saying anything, she turned around and headed back to the swirling clouds with drifting elegance.
Assuming that it was an invitation, Kai and Layra followed right behind.
Both told their mounts to stay and walked through the swirling clouds.
Neither knew what they were going to see on the other side, but the headquarters must be an extremely grand place. For a moment, there was nothing but white—an ocean of clouds that swallowed all sense of direction.
Even though they entered side by side, Kai couldn’t see Layra beside him.
His hand shot to the insignia, the wolf-head badge pinned on his chest.
It was the badge that Professor Hera told him to bring in order to meet with Markus.
Kai didn’t know exactly how this badge would reach Markus—but he decided to pin it to his chest anyway. All he could do was hope that Markus, or one of his people, would spot it and recognize it as the badge belonging to Professor Hera.
Considering how uptight the woman seemed to be, it would be hard to do anything other than that.
Roaming around the AAA’s Headquarters would certainly raise suspicion.
So, wearing the badge was all he could do.
He held it to make sure that it wouldn’t get blown by the swirling clouds and continued.
Soon, he emerged on the other side.
Just as expected, the sight on the other side was grand, and it stole his breath away.
Before him, the AAA’s Headquarters grand structure came into his view. A massive, spherical structure of pure white stone and marble that sat atop a tall mountain. Its surface gleamed as sleek as polished marble.
Strong pillars ringed its circumference, each one carved with divine symbols that pulsed with faint light. And the top of the structure kept going. Up and up, a spire of white—that seemed to pierce the sky and reached the Second Sky.
It was a monument to power, built by mortal hands and imbued with transcended power.
"Feels like we’re looking at Olympus," Layra mumbled as she stopped beside Kai.
"Don’t say that, you’ll anger the Gods," Kai said warningly—and then paused. "But I guess it does have that feel. Mankind’s version of Olympus. Surprised that Zeus didn’t strike it down for daring to mimic his home."
Hovering above was the woman.
She gave the two a moment to marvel at the structure before she spoke again.
"I will be waiting at the gate." The woman said as she turned again. "Don’t make me wait."
Kai and Layra had questions, but she gave them no chance to ask. She turned to leave without a care in the world. Now—the two of them stared ahead at the towering cliff, a sheer drop of at least a thousand feet.
"Is she telling us to climb the cliff?" Layra asked dubiously.
"I think so," Kai sighed inwardly. "Come on, you heard her. We shouldn’t make her wait."
Normally, climbing a towering cliff with an uneven surface like this would take them a moment.
Each of them was strong enough to leap incredible heights and crush stone in their grip easily, as they were both at the Aspirant Supernal rank. But here, so close to the AAA’s headquarters, their superior physiques refused to obey.
A suppression was present that hindered their mana from properly empowering their bodies.
And worse, the suppression on their shoulders was stronger.
It felt like they were back to being a normal human again, novices attempting to do a real rock climb for the first time. Due to that, their climb was slower than anticipated. Layra grabbed a hold on a protruding rock, and when she pulled, it broke apart.
Kai caught her in the nick of time by her wrist as he hung on one hand.
"Errgh... Grab onto something!"
"I can’t reach anything! Swing me!"
Despite the strain, Kai forced his arm to move, swinging Layra toward the cliff until she caught hold and steadied herself. Only then could he breathe again—only then did his body begin to recover.
Both had expected one of them to slip.
So, they stayed close, never more than an arm’s reach apart.
And thanked the Gods that they did.
"I think I pulled a muscle..." Kai groaned as he rotated his strained right shoulder.
"Stop overreacting," Layra said, shooting him a glare. "I’m not heavy. I’m super lean."
Kai waved his hand—there she goes again, putting words in his mouth.
He never said that she was heavy.
Layra exhaled through her nose and looked up, realizing that they still had halfway to go.
"What even is the point of climbing this cliff? Can’t she just bring us up?"
"It’s probably a symbolic gesture. After all, A thirsty man would appreciate water more."
Making the people who came to the AAA’s Headquarters climb before they could witness the structure in full was an attempt to twist their senses. By the time they reached the top, all of their senses would be beautified by the view waiting for them.
That’s what Kai guessed the purpose behind this climb was.
Just another play to make the powerful look grander than they already were.
Soon, Kai and Layra arrived at the top.
They pulled themselves up with great struggle, fingers clawed at the final ledge and trembling arms strained from the effort. They rolled away from the cliff edge—and collapsed onto their backs, chests heaving up and down.
Sweat drenched them both, soaking through their clothes.
Kai, wearing black underneath his crimson mantle, had suffered worse.
For beings of their caliber, they never expected to be this exhausted from climbing. And yet—here they were, sprawled on the earth like exhausted Angels—after their first training session in the First Sky.
Kai recovered first.
He pushed himself up onto his elbows, then his knees, forcing his body to obey.
He turned his head to check on Layra, and then ahead.
But his breath was caught in his throat when a pair of bloodlusted eyes greeted him.