I am the Only Son of Nyx-Chapter 44: Big Bad Lion

It was the deciding battle, and everyone was consciously aware of it.

Team Hyperion was absorbed into Team Crius, so there are only two teams remaining.

Only one can pass this rite. Fifteen people maximum. More of them needed to die.

Desperation and anger that had been accumulating throughout the duration of the rite are the driving factors, pushing Layra and the other students to charge with a roar inside their throats.

As for the other side, domination and spite fueled them to meet their enemies head-on.

Nobody was pulling back any punches.

The ground cracked. Trees toppled over and broke. Mana flashed brightly against the night.

Clanging of steel against steel rang sharply as mana explosions flashed the darkness with a blinding light, leaving behind fire that charred the trees. Firelight bathed the hateful faces of the students, making it harder to believe that they were all normal people not too long ago.

Harder to believe that not too long ago, they were high school students.

Layra stomped the ground with her foot, and her two Divine Locks glowed.

One at the center of her chest, and the other at her stomach.

Both shot mana into her bow, manifesting a glowing arrow that promised penetration.

She aimed at Matilda, who was about to turn and charge in the direction where Lion and Kai had gone.

If she helped Lion, then Kai wouldn’t have a chance.

"She’s trying to get to Kai! Stop her!"

Layra let loose of her arrow. A minor shockwave of air blasted the moment she let go.

Swoosh—!

Hearing the sharp sound of the air being split open, Matilda turned and immediately raised her shield. She blocked the arrow, but the impact knocked her off balance. From the sides, she saw three students going straight at her.

Seems like Team Crius was hell-bent on stopping her from leaving.

Matilda raised her sword to attack the first student.

But the piercing sound returned; the arrow curved and turned, striking her dominant hand.

It stabbed into her right hand and knocked her sword away.

’So annoying.’

Gritting her teeth, she clenched her wounded hand into a fist and struck. The student’s sword shattered against the blow, but her fist continued through, hammering into his face and hurling him backward.

In quick succession, she lowered her center of gravity.

Her sudden drop made the attacks coming at her miss awkwardly, which gave her the chance to deal with the other two students swiftly. She parried the second attack and dislocated the second student’s jaw with an uppercut.

Then, the third came from behind.

Matilda pivoted her body forcefully and slammed her shield into his face.

It didn’t knock him unconscious, but the broken nose guarantees he’s out for the count.

’This is the perfect chance to finish this rite once and for all,’ She turned toward where both Kai and Lion had disappeared, tuning out the noise around her. ’If I am there, I can help him. He has gotten stronger, but Lion... He’s supercharged right now.’

Just as Matilda was about to dash away, two more arrows came.

Both strikes landed squarely on her shield, but the impact reverberated through it, jarring her arm. Once she lowered the shield, a blur of motion caught her eye—a perfect roundhouse kick slammed into her face, disorienting her for a few seconds.

And when she blinked, Layra was already above and drew her bow.

Her body was arched in a perfect archer stance, and her eyes gleamed with killing intent.

Matilda raised her shield in the nick of time, blocking a point-blank arrow, and got the chance to summon her sword again.

Layra rolled forward and stopped.

She drew back the string again and took aim, "Don’t try to run away. Your opponent is me."

"Listen," Matilda frowned, the pain from holding her sword, with a wounded hand, is quite distracting. "There’s no time to explain, but you have to let me go. This is not what you think it is. I’m als—"

"I’m not here to talk," Layra infused more mana into her bow, creating an even bigger arrow.

"Just let me pass, and you’ll thank me later. Lion is har—"

"I don’t want your backstabbing hands anywhere near the Lesser Angel!"

Layra’s eyes burned with something feral. The rage she had been trying to contain throughout this time came spilling out. No matter what Matilda said, whatever she promised, Layra was not going to let her anywhere near Kai. "You want past me? Then you’ll have to walk over my corpse."

"Fine," Matilda’s eyes narrowed into focus. "If that’s what you want, I’ll kill you right now."

Meanwhile, not too far away from the battlefield.

Crash—!

Kai and Lion had been brawling and exchanging blows after blows like two feral animals.

Everything around them was trashed.

Scars marred their bodies as they crashed through a massive tree, then traded punches to the face simultaneously. Kai stumbled backward several steps, struggling to keep his balance, but it was far easier for Lion to take his punch.

Lion’s head only turned from the punch, which was surprising to see.

Raw strength-wise, Lion still has the upper hand.

"I’m using my bare hands because that’s how I fight." Lion rubbed his cheek—and turned to Kai, his face twisting hideously—veins bulging as if ready to burst. "But you have a sword. Why are you using your fist? Are you mocking me?"

Frankly, Kai didn’t use his sword to attack because he wanted to see how he would fare against Lion.

But he didn’t give a satisfactory answer to Lion.

In fact, he didn’t give any answer at all.

"Why...?" Kai rested his sword against his shoulder.

He stared ahead with something closer to confusion than fear, as if he was trying to read what was inside Lion’s head. "From the start, you’re stronger than everyone. You could’ve dominated them without effort and won cleanly. Instead of doing that, you tortured. You cannibalized. You used. Even defiled the dead.

"Not too long ago, we were all ordinary people. So why? Why are you doing this?"

"Of course, I’m doing all of those things to win," Lion shrugged.

He doesn’t seem to be disturbed by the bad things he had done throughout the rite, and even looks proud of them. "There is no limit on a battle to survive like this." A sharp smile marred his face, exposing his sharp lion teeth. "Fear guarantees my total trium—"

"Don’t lie to me," Kai cut him short. "You’re already guaranteed to pass. What did you ask for from your professor? It’s an enhancement drug, isn’t it? I don’t believe even for a second that you could be this dominating with a half-assed bloodline of the Chimera."

It has always struck him as odd that Lion can oppress many High Angels.

Rating-wise, the bloodline of a Chimera is not even near the likes of Athena and Apollo.

Those with the bloodline of a divine beast are indeed stronger in the earlier ranks due to their innate physical strength, but for him to be far stronger than even Matilda was wrong.

Something is not right.

And that was when Kai remembered about the perk the other students got.

If an Angel could receive a knife to help them survive the early trials, like the first student he killed in that cave, then a High Angel surely received something far greater. Since Lion didn’t appear to carry any powerful weapon or armor—then it could only mean that what he asked for is edible.

A drug or something close to it that enhances his capabilities.

That’s how the academy operates.

Even though the higher-ranked students were already inherently stronger, they would still get more perks to dominate those lower than them. That’s the unfairness of the system, which encourages those with low talents to quickly die for mankind.

"You already got that. Your chance of winning is already high," Kail tilted his head. "Tell me the real reason."

"Ah... I see." Lion chuckled inwardly. Nothing Kai said was funny—but he laughed anyway. "To tell you the truth, unlike you, becoming an Angel wasn’t my only option. I’m not... obligated to be here. Instead of being stuck in this pathetic place, I could’ve become a Demon."

"You mean..." Kai’s brow furrowed.

"Yes." Lion combed back his lustrous hair with his hand, revealing the sinister smile that carved across his face. "I have six Divine Locks. I can become a Demon and live a life of passion and luxury. But... where’s the fun in that?" 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

His grin widened. "Why settle for being some common Demon, when here, I can be the King of Angels and do whatever I want?!"

He spread his arms and laughed louder, showing how happy he was being here.

Not a sane laugh. Not a controlled one. It tore out of him like something he couldn’t control; each note dripped with the madness he could no longer contain. Bloodlust seemed to flow through his frame like an endless tide.

A clear testament that the number of lives he had taken dwarfed Kai’s count.

Perhaps, even before coming here, he was already a killer.

Kai cackled at the response.

"Huh...?" Lion lowered his gaze, and the grin on his face disappeared in an instant, replaced by the cold face of a killer. "What are you laughing at?"

Instead of answering, Kai cackled even more.

For the last several days, he had been preparing extensively to beat Lion, thinking that even in his state, it was still not enough. But now, with the confirmation from Lion, as he did not deny the use of a drug, he realized that he had been as strong as Lion for quite some time.

Just that Lion got a power boost from the drug.

That somehow made Kai feel good, like the pain he had gone through was worth it.

And perhaps, this was also the testament that he had gotten much stronger.

Kai was sure that Bella was happy to see him get this far.

"Do you really want to die that badly?" Lion asked.

His vambraces flared to life, burning with an intense heat that made their nature undeniable; the grade-1 enchanted gear—the Fire Aegis. One lick of that flame could burn even the skin of an Awakened Supernal.

"Your answer was about what I expected," Kai laughed, activating the Permafrost Gloves. An icy aura crawled the length of his sword, matching the mana radiating from the Fire Aegis. It was then that he pointed at Lion mockingly, "Six Divine Locks and you still picked the shallow end of the pool. Poor Chimera.

"To think his Supernal is a scaredy cat who’s afraid of bigger teeth," Kai smirked.

"Fuck you say to me?" Lion ground his teeth.

It was clear that Kai’s words struck a nerve.

Just from Lion’s face alone, which looked like he wanted to eat Kai, made that obvious.

But Kai didn’t pounce.

"Oh, right, I haven’t answered your question earlier. You asked me, why am I using my fist when I have a sword?" Kai lowered the sword and tilted his head. He used his free hand to gesture for Lion to come at him with his finger, "It’s because you’re going to be the first tribute for my sister.

"It’ll be a shame if I end this too quickly, wouldn’t it?"