I am the Only Son of Nyx

Staring at his empty six, the Chieftain’s eyes widened.

He stared at the space behind him—stared at the empty, churning sandstorm where his squad had been. Just hours ago, he walked out of his home with twelve Grey Orcs, all of whom were his strongest warriors.

All of them were trained to be alert.

All of them had gone through many battles that hardened their instincts.

And yet, none of them remained as if they had been swept away by the sandstorm.

Like they had never existed at all.

Upon realization, his chest heaved.

And gradually, his breaths became heavier, turning into furious gasps.

Each one stoked the flame building in his core. Rage rose through his neck, up his spine—and into his skull. His tribe was being ransacked by usurpers. And now, his warriors disappeared, most likely dead.

It was clear that there was an enemy nearby, but he didn’t know where.

He couldn’t pick up anything at all in the area.

Like a coward, the enemy was hiding inside the sandstorm, killing them without honour.

And the thought made the Chieftain clench the handle of his battle axe even harder.

But Kai didn’t care about the Grey Orcs’ honour. For him, the one who died was the loser, no matter the method used. So what if he killed them by stabbing them from behind? As long as it gets the work done, then that’s all that matters.

Kai watched the Chieftain freeze, watched the rage boil over in the Star Beast’s posture.

It was his chance to attack.

Still maintaining the Nigh-phantom Imprint to reduce his presence, he moved sideways like a prowling predator, circling the prey, and then charged at the Chieftain’s back with the most trustworthy weapon in his hand.

He had killed twelve already.

All of the Grey Orcs he killed had been hyper-vigilant—and yet none of them had sensed him in time. And Kai believed the Chieftain would be no different. He was stronger than the rest, yes—comparable to Grade-0 or Grade-1 Aspirant Supernal.

But strength didn’t sharpen senses.

Strength didn’t grant better perception.

As long as Kai could get the Blood-phantom Scimitar on the Chieftain, then it would be done.

Like the rest, the Chieftain would fall.

Once he was within the reach of the True Arc Ending Fragment, a translucent extension of any blade that he wielded, he swung. The blade arced toward the Chieftain’s neck; a killing stroke aimed at the spine.

But he struck only air.

Kai’s eyes widened in surprise.

In the last fraction of a second before the blade could touch skin, the Chieftain’s body moved on its own, as if it had known the attack was coming before the attack had even begun. Even though it was true that his perception wasn’t much greater than the other Grey Orcs, Kai had forgotten one variable.

One thing even his stealth could not overcome.

Danger intuition.

It was a supernatural sixth sense that separated veterans from normal warriors—the ability to feel danger even when it had no presence, made no sound, or was outright impossible to happen. Something that many battle-hardened warriors relied on, even Star Beasts.

Shit!

Reacting terrifyingly fast, the Chieftain swung its battle axe.

Bam—!

The dull back of the battle axe caught Kai in the stomach, and the impact was devastating.

A thunderclap of force lifted him off his feet and hurled him backward. Blood burst from his mouth, spattering across the sand as his diaphragm muscles spasmed from the impact, making it hard for him to breathe.

Kai hit the ground hard, rolled, and then caught himself before coughing out more blood.

Even though we’re in the same rank, the gap is still too much.

A single Pest-class Star Beast required several Supernals with adequate training to take down.

It was the simple fact that was made abundantly clear in class and when he first fought the slime monster that fell from that sky. This was because Star Beasts have a natural advantage in strength compared to Supernals.

So, a Scourge-class Star Beast would need several Aspirant Supernals to take down.

Logically, Kai could easily call the others.

But he could feel an eye on his back—he was being watched.

For him to prove himself as worthy, he would need to take this Chieftain alone.

"Sharh unklak imra!"

Kai raised his gaze and saw the Chieftain was pointing a finger at him.

Despite the language barrier, the Chieftain was speaking to him.

No—even without knowing what language he was using, Kai could tell that the words he said were curse words. Perhaps a solemn promise of vengeance for what he did to the Grey Orcs—and the tribe.

As if to show that he was honourable, the Chieftain waited for Kai to rise.

And this made Kai chuckle inwardly.

I missed my opportunity; I can’t summon Kaelmorath and Perion, and now I’m being mocked.

Kai put his hand under his mask to wipe the blood from his lips and stood back up again. He exhaled roughly through his mouth, stared ahead, and pointed his Blood-phantom Scimitar— at the Chieftain.

"Okay then. Let’s fight this fair and square, tough guy."

"Unklak, nirgha liushi!"

After hurling more curses at Kai, the Chieftain sprinted forward—the ground seemed to shake with every step he took. Kai met him head-on—charging straight at the nine-foot wall of rage and muscle.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Both collided, and the resounding clang from their weapons was ear-deafening.

In an instant, the victor was clear.

Kai was pushed back; his body lost balance, and he recoiled as he was forced to take several steps back while the Chieftain barely budged. Those wrathful eyes glared down at him, bright with fury, and the Chieftain pressed his advantage without hesitation.

He raised his battle axe and swung.

Despite his bulk, the Chieftain wielded the weapon with fluid speed.

And though his natura as a barbarian, the battle axe moved with eloquence in his hands.

Each swing was precise and deliberate.

Five swings in two seconds—each one was backed by enough force to make the air whistle.

Kai ducked under a horizontal slash, feeling the air brush against his skin, and sidestepped a diagonal chop before quickly leaping away to avoid a vertical strike that would’ve split him into two from the crown.

He saw his opening—stepped on the handle of the battle axe to pin it down, and swung.

It was a seamless counter, but the Chieftain’s reflex was faster as he caught Kai’s arm.

Fuck.

A massive hand closed around Kai’s wrist, and before he knew it, he was already airborne.

Lifted like a doll, as if his bodyweight was meaningless against the Chieftain’s raw strength. He was slammed into the sand—the impact drove the breath from his throat, and his vision was drowned with spinning stars.

Kai blinked and saw the battle axe was already coming his way again.

He rolled in the nick of time, and the axe-head carved the sand where his skull had been.

Thank the Gods that he let go of my wrist.

Once again, he scrambled to his feet and charged again. His Blood-phantom Scimitar met the battle axe’s handle with a shriek of steel. But this time, he channelled Dark Discharge Imprint into the strike.

"I got you."

Swoosh—!

A black energy arc blasted from the blade, bypassing the axe entirely and striking the Chieftain square in the chest. Blood sprayed, carving arcs in the air. But the wound was shallower than Kai expected—barely a scratch on that thick, scarred hide.

Kai retreated, but the Chieftain kept coming.

"Espinkargh, Unklak!"

Another slash came his way, and he dodged it. Another one, and he weaved.

I can’t keep moving back like this. Let’s take a risk.

Kai halted his retreat when the battle axe was planted into the sand again and thrust forward, making use of the opening in the Chieftain’s hard—and rageful pursuit. He aimed to stab the Chieftain’s torso, hoping that the Chieftain would try to avoid it by leaping back, abandoning his weapon in the process.

But that didn’t happen—the Chieftain didn’t leap back.

It took the stab.

Kai watched as the blade sank into its stomach, but the Chieftain didn’t flinch.

Instead, he swung his massive fist and cracked against Kai’s face like a battering ram.

Kai’s skull crunched, and blood filled his mouth. He was hurled sideways, rolling across the sand. He coughed out blood several times as he tried to climb back to his feet. And along the way, he realized that he had lost the Blood-phantom Scimitar.

To his surprise, he was the one who got disarmed through that exchange.

Across, the Chieftain pulled out the scimitar in its torso with a grunt.

It stared at the blood on the blade, and then at Kai.

Swoosh—!

Kai panted heavily, and he saw the sand around him darken. He snapped his head over his shoulder and saw the Chieftain was coming down at him. But unlike the previous attacks, the battle axe was humming with a bronze hue.

He used an ability.

BOOM—!

In the nick of time, Kai managed to throw his body sideways, but the impact pushed him even further than he anticipated. He bellowed in frustration, gritted his teeth—and channelled his enormous mana into his hands.

A few dozen black stars formed overhead.

Kai didn’t waste a single second and used the Black Starfall, raining lances the size of an arm directly at the Chieftain. No time to dodge as the Chieftain was swallowed by the barrage. The impact churned the sand, covering the entire area in a cloud.

Now that he was an Aspirant Supernal with enormous mana, he could go all-out using the Black Starfall Imprint. Each black star would normally shoot out a needle, but with his mana, each shot was a long lance as strong as an arrow.

It’s not enough.

Even then, Kai knew the Chieftain would survive.

Inside the cloud of sand, the Chieftain curled his body into a ball to protect his vitals.

Realizing that there was no end to the barrage, he leaped skyward.

But it was then that his eyes caught a pair of abyssal eyes.

Kai had been waiting for the Chieftain to do exactly that. And without ceremony, he struck—a single blow to the throat that shattered the windpipe. Then he seized the Chieftain—coiled upward around the thick neck, and locked him into a chokehold.

His muscles strained. A long, heavy grunt escaped his lips.

Even when the Chieftain grabbed his hair and pulled, he kept squeezing his arms.

Until finally, with the sound of the lumber splintering, the neck snapped.

Crack—!

Kai felt the Chieftain’s body go limp as the two fell back down to the ground with a crash.

He pushed the Chieftain off of his body and gasped for breath.

But even before he could revel in his victory, his eyes snapped towards the horizon.