I am the Only Son of Nyx

Kai could be stubborn and cold, but deep down, he is a good person.

A product of how close he was with his sister.

Bree wasn’t sure entirely about what ticked him off the most—but he always went feral when his life was threatened, like any other living being would, and when bullying occurred, like the way he beat up Alex for bullying Talitha.

Now, she learned another factor that could rub him the wrong way.

And that is when morality was thrown away.

Or perhaps someone who took advantage of another? Bree was not sure.

Regardless, that made others take advantage of him easily.

But not on Bree’s watch. She’s not going to let that happen. As long as she’s around, she will make absolutely sure that others will be grateful. Unlike Kai, she has no problem doing the things that he might not be able to do.

"Do you understand?" She pulled on Grines’ leather chest armour harder.

"Y-Yes..." Grines nodded his head after a brief pause.

What else can he say at the moment?

Earlier, while battling the Noble Star Beast, he could see that Bree had abnormal strength.

She remained steadfast beside him and even led him to victory through her support.

It was incredible.

"You can’t handle Senior Asher and his goons, and yet they were killed by Kai’s hands. Single-handedly defeated by Kai. I’m also like him. My strength is abnormal, too, and you don’t want me to be your enemy." Bree looked at his right eye, and then his left. "Do you believe me? Or do you want me to show you?"

"I-I understand." Grines nodded repeatedly, feeling his throat dry at the threat. "I’m sorry. I should have been more aware of the situation. A-Aware that Kai laid his own life for me when he doesn’t owe me anything."

"Good. Be grateful."

"It’s my mistake."

Bree straightened and turned before walking away.

On the other hand, Grines breathed heavily, watching her back go further away.

He was supposed to be the senior, but he was the one being dominated instead.

It was in reverse.

’Are the new batch of students like them? How come these two are abnormally strong?’ Grines thought inside with a shake of his head. Back when he was still in the First Sky, the seniors he had met were all invincible. ’Good for the academy, I guess.’

Grines looked at Panas and rubbed his head.

Now that he was snapped from his panic, he was relieved that at least Panas was still alive.

His broken arm would easily be mended.

Grines only need to work hard for a bit more to purchase the healing vial that was enough to regenerate limbs. A low price in comparison to Panas’ life. But even so, he was still worried about one thing.

Asher’s death would impact his review negatively.

And the academy might still execute him.

Just then, Bree returned.

She was dragging the Blood-phantom Scimitar by pinching its blade—grabbed a cloth from a tent, and began wiping the handle to rid it of the poison. It seemed she had something in mind, and she needed the scimitar to complete it.

"Bree, what if the academy still viewed me badly since Asher died..."

"Damas and Makos also died."

"What...? They were also killed?"

"I saw fragments of their swords. Kai must’ve killed them, too."

Grines gasped in utter shock.

Killing Asher was one thing, but to kill him alongside Damas and Makos was another.

Something like that shouldn’t be possible.

Only Aspirant Supernal—or a really experienced Awakened Supernal with a very high-rated divine bloodline could achieve such a thing. Kai was neither. His divine bloodline is strong, as Moros, the God of Doom, is not a weak God.

Even so, he didn’t have the experience to kill three seniors at the same time.

Not to mention, there was Damas among the ones killed. Someone who was the real deal.

But reality proved otherwise.

"And for your concern, don’t worry about it."

"Don’t worry about it? What are we going to do?"

"I’m going to kill Rob and Fimos, wiping the squad out. That way, you’re the only one who’d survive."

If Asher were the only senior surviving, and the Sky Gate were closed, then the academy would have no other choice but to give him credit. Despite the casualties, he could spin it in a way that would give him all the credit.

Not that hard to do when there’s nobody who could argue with whatever he said.

Once again, Grines couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Bree was talking about killing two seniors like it was nothing, and it was surreal for him.

"What if someone found out about this?" Grines asked worriedly.

"What are you, a nine-year-old?" Bree glanced at him with contempt as she threw the cloth to the side and wrapped her fingers firmly around the handle, feeling for whether there was still a sliver of poison she had missed. There wasn’t. "Are we your baby-sitters? Kai helped you deal with the immediate situation. You deal with the aftermath."

Grines was older.

He has more experience in dealing with Sky Gates and living in this grim world.

But that didn’t mean he was more composed and mature, and it shows.

She headed back toward the Sky Gate.

Soon, it would close as the Noble Star Beast was about to die.

She and Grines had already carved out its Null Gem and let it bleed to death. It was a standard procedure whenever an Angel was about to kill a Noble Star Beast without noticing the others, to buy time so that the others could leave before the Sky Gate was closed.

So, Bree only has a small window to do this.

She grabbed Asher’s corpse and Sabas’ corpse by their collars and shoved them into a tent.

Then, she turned toward Grines.

"Do remember... If any of this leads back to Kai, I will find you, and I will kill you. And even if you managed to give the perfect alibi for everyone that died—and everything went smoothly, you still owe us."

Swoosh—!

Bree charged her winged boots with mana and blasted skyward without waiting for a reply.

...

Meanwhile, inside the Sky Gate.

"Seems like the Noble Star Beast is not this way. Let’s return to the rallying point."

Rob swirled his hand, gesturing to wrap things up.

He turned around and walked past Barbara and another porter. Nothing but grey grassy plain on the east side of the Sky Gate, and there are also not many Star Beasts along the way. It was a relatively mundane and safe trip.

But it should be obvious that the Noble Star Beast was to the west.

Barbara and the other porter already realized that ten minutes ago.

And someone with more experience, like Rob, should also realize that the last Noble Star Beast was to the west. Even so, he kept leading them east, pretending to be careful. It was blatantly clear to them that Rob was wasting time.

Neither said anything to him, but they knew something was up.

Not to mention, Makos had suddenly separated from them earlier.

He said something about Damas getting into trouble.

But nobody said anything on the radio channel. Clearly, the seniors were using a completely separate channel from the porters, and that’s even stranger, as it defeats the purpose of giving them earpieces to communicate.

It was clear to them that the seniors thought they were idiots.

Regardless, neither said anything.

Just go with the flow. Don’t draw any unwanted attention.

If the seniors are hiding something from them, then it wasn’t meant to be known.

As long as their lives weren’t threatened, they would turn a blind eye to whatever was going on in the background.

"Damas. Makos. Do you copy?" Rob pressed two fingers to his right ear; the frown on his face could practically be seen through his mask. "Damas. Makos. I repeat, do you copy? Answer if you can hear me."

His frown deepened as the silence stretched for a few seconds.

Eventually, someone else answered—Fimos.

’Let’s return to the portal. Nobody is answering, and I’m worried.’

"Okay."

Rob looked over his shoulder and gestured for the porters behind him to keep up.

It only took them fifteen minutes of rushing to arrive at the portal; the way back was far easier now that they knew the way and what to expect. Rob paused near the portal and took a look around.

No Damas in sight when he was supposed to be guarding the portal.

Something is wrong in the air.

Rob didn’t know what was happening exactly, but he knew that it was something bad.

Like the stillness before being ambushed.

"Should we look around?" Barbara suggested.

"No." Rob shook his head. "We’re sticking together and waiting for Fimos."

Minutes passed as the group waited for Fimos.

It was close to ten minutes now, and there was still no sign of Fimos and his group. And this made the situation even more unnerving. "Where is he?" Rob muttered as restlessness began to creep into his heart. "Where is everybody?"

"Is it the Noble Star Beast?"

"I don’t think so. If it were the Noble Star Beast, there would be a commotion."

"We did hear a commotion earlier in the distance."

"Yes, but that’s almost half an hour ago. Before we even turned around."

Assuming that Fimos and his group might stumble upon a problem, the group waited for fifteen more minutes. Once the time had passed, it was effectively more than half an hour, and Rob couldn’t stand still anymore.

Rob drew his weapon.

"Go down and wait in the camp. Check if there’s anyone there."

"What are you going to do?"

"I’m going to look in the area. I’ll be right behind you soon."

Barbara and the other porter nodded their heads and lunged into the portal.

As they plummeted, their winged boots stirred to life—beating against the air to catch their weight, then they leveled out and soared forward. Considering what their professors pressed before they departed, they gladly took their leave.

After all, their lives were a priority.

On the other hand, Rob didn’t even look back and went north.

’What’s going on? Is the Noble Star Beast stronger than we expected?’

His mind immediately went there, as there’s no other reason that came to mind.

’No, Asher already scouted the Noble Star Beast. Damas called Makos earlier for help, but his voice didn’t seem to portray any trouble. Where did they go? Is it really the Noble Star Beast? If not, then what?’

Rob landed between two big slabs of rock, scanning his eyes around the area.

He was searching for any sign of Fimos and his group.

But then, a cold chill seeped into his spine.