I am the Only Son of Nyx-Chapter 46: Lesser Angel vs High Angel (2)

Kai’s body broke a tree, and he crashed onto the ground.

He looked over his shoulder and quickly leaped forward, at least tried to leap, but his attempt only managed to push him ten feet forward. Fortunately, that was enough to avoid the falling tree that would no doubt crush him.

As he panted, his stomach churned.

More blood forced its way out of his mouth, slipping from his mask, and pooling right under him.

Breathing is now hard for him. Even with the mask on, he couldn’t really breathe. His stomach refused to inflate because of the punch. A stabbing pain would stop his inhale mid-way—but the pain from everywhere else forced him to keep breathing through the pain.

"RAARGH!!"

Kai bellowed in anger.

Just when he was about to win, Lion used a dirty trick and caught him off guard.

Perhaps being strong isn’t only in terms of power.

Those who are truly strong can make a decision and act upon it without hesitation—like Lion did. Cowardly as it is, the end goal wasn’t to maintain his honor. It was survival. And he made a great choice there by using the other student as a shield to ensure his survival.

A loud thudding sound echoed as Lion landed not too far away.

He was still carrying the student by the neck, but the student was now unconscious.

Knocked out or perhaps the shock of being used as a shield made him pass out.

"I must admit, out of all the students I met and fought in this rite, there’s nobody who comes close to you," Lion circled Kai as he wiped the blood from his lips. "I can’t believe you’re only a Lesser Angel. Your Patron God must be incredibly strong.

"Who is it? Hades?" He guessed, and then waved his hand. "It doesn’t matter."

Frankly, Lion wanted to believe that there was a mismeasurement in Kai’s Divine Locks.

No chance that he is a Lesser Angel with this kind of growth and strength.

At this moment, Lion had already opened his Second Divine Lock and even used a drug to make him stronger than he normally would be in order to win this Blood Rite. And even with those things, Kai was still able to keep up and even have an edge over him.

It was simply shocking.

But the Supernals of those higher Gods are normally like this. Abnormally strong.

Kai must have the bloodline of a high-rated God.

"You could’ve won against me. You could’ve killed me," Lion stopped and turned to face Kai, looking down on the struggling Lesser Angel that was still prostrating on the ground in pain. "You have a strong body and heart, but you’re simply destined to lose. That’s how the Gods created you."

Hearing the mockery made Kai snapped his gaze towards Lion.

His right eye was blood-red—burst vessels bleeding into the white.

"Can’t accept it?" Lion grinned—behind the faceless mask. "The fact that you show restraint against an enemy made it clear already. Just like your sister, there is innocence in you. If you were those pampered Demons, sure, you can survive fine. But we’re Angels.

"If you’re weak, you die. If you hesitate, you die. If you’re good..." He leaned forward. "Guess what? You die."

A humorous laughter tore out of Lion’s throat.

Even though the battle had been more surprising than he anticipated, the end result was as he expected. "Had you realized your weakness sooner, you wouldn’t be in this state. At the very least, even if you don’t want to change, you could have convinced Matilda to return and help you. Unlike you, I am sure she’s not going to hesitate.

"From the start, attempting to fight me alone is a stupid move. All for what? A tribute to your dead sister? Please—"

Kai coughed a mouthful of blood.

As Lion mocked him for being weak, Kai searched for the uncertainty and fear that he felt since Bella’s death. Fear that he was weak and couldn’t possibly rise up to his sister’s expectations to become stronger.

But the darkness of the night whispered to him like a slumbering fragment of his own mind.

He had endured the century-long crucible of Noxian training. He had endured the meteoric life of Perion. Kai is the First Son of the Primordial Night. Fearing being weak was never meant to be his destiny, as even the Goddess has confidence in him.

Confidence that he’s going to be stronger.

At the thought of the Goddess, a soothing, familiar voice slipped into his ears.

’Is this going to be your beginning, or your end, my son?’

On the other hand, Lion’s brows furrowed into a frown when the night blew a chilling air.

’I don’t have a good feeling about this,’ He looked around warily. Inside, his gut was telling him that something bad was coming. Heeding the warning, he took out a needle from his pocket and stabbed it into his thigh.

Even though he was still standing, the wounds he suffered were taking a toll on his body.

Soon enough, exhaustion would catch up to him.

’This is my last dose,’ Lion thought, reveling in the surge of power that the drug brought for him. ’Since this is my second dose for today, the effect duration wouldn’t be long, and the drawback would be more severe. Once I take out this Lesser Angel, I should quickly end Layra and be done with this rite.’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Just as he thought of that, he saw movement.

Kai surged forward with a newfound strength.

His icy sword was backed with the Dark Discharge, and the mana that was infused into it was greater than any of the imprints he had done throughout the battle. Lion raised the student, but there was no sign of stopping from Kai.

Right now, Kai was not going to stop.

Lion realized this and quickly dropped the student and activated the Fire Aegis.

Boom—!

Upon impact, Lion’s eyes widened in shock when the Fire Aegis cracked. His body recoiled backward, but it was already far too late as the icy sword pierced through and stabbed into his chest, bursting from his back.

"Harggh!" Lion grunted in pain.

He gritted his bloodied teeth and immediately used his Legacy Skill, Chimera Body.

Behind him, a serpent’s head burst from his lower back, surging outward into a full tail—that snapped onto Kai’s shin and sank its fangs deep, flooding him with venom. Lion gripped Kai’s sword arm, stopping him from pushing the icy sword deeper.

"You’re in trouble now. I may not be Chimera’s favorite Supernal, but I can call for its tail." Lion grinned at the successful sneak attack. "Do you know what happens to those who are bitten by its tail? The effect starts from the toes."

He looked down at Kai’s feet, "A burning sensation—that felt like a thousand fire ants were crawling under your skin. And then, your legs would grow numb as the venom flowed up to your heart. Soon, your arms and fingers followed. And then your face began to itch.

"In no time at all, you will also start to lose your five senses." He grinned nastily.

Chimera’s venom is the real deal.

Not only does it have a vicious effect, but it could also affect higher-ranked Supernals.

All victims would be left paralyzed and lose their five senses, leaving them incapacitated.

In retaliation, Kai seized Lion’s arm and drove dark energy into it.

He used his own Legacy Skill.

Lion was taken aback when a forceful energy seeped into his bloodstream and spread to every part of his body rapidly. His mind was stunned, and a level of drowsiness that he had never felt before seized his mind and soul.

"Let me tell you mine," Kai grinned back. "You will start to feel sleepy. Your vision will soon start to see doubles. And then came the darkness," He looked down at Lion’s feet. "It would devour you from the feet, eating you alive the closer you get to sleeping.

"And when you fall asleep," He leaned back and stared into Lion’s eyes. "You will disappear."

Deg—!

Lion’s heart skipped a beat at what Kai said.

He has heard of what Kai did to the other students in his team.

Frankly, he didn’t believe that a mere Awakened Supernal could devour someone and leave no trace. But now that he was on the receiving end, he realized that it was true. "You’ll not... You cannot devour me!"

"Let’s see who loses first," Kai whispered hauntingly.

Both of them were locked in place.

Finding themselves in an unexpected battle of attrition.

Lion was grinding his teeth, eyes wide with anger, trying his best to resist the sleepiness that was building with every passing second. On the other hand, Kai kept using his mana to force the venom’s effect down, but his body was getting weaker.

Ten seconds in, the winner was already evident.

Kai stared ahead and saw that Lion’s eyelids were already dropping involuntarily.

Darkness already swallowed him all the way to his knees.

’I’m losing...?’ Lion shook his head, fighting back the sleepiness. ’You are telling me I’m losing this battle of attrition?! I have the bloodline of Chimera. I also used the boosting serum, and yet, despite all that, I’m still losing this?!’

"What’s the matter?" Kai tilted his head a little. His abyssal-black eyes pinned Lion in place, yet looked straight through him, as if he were already a corpse. "Are you giving up already?" His voice fell to a hush. "Are you finally ready... to sleep?"

Lion controlled his tail, intending to have it bite Kai’s neck to quicken the venom’s spread.

But Kai caught on to that and stepped on the tail, pinning it to the ground.

Ego. Pride. Whatever Lion was feeling right now, Lion threw it all away in this moment.

As a Supernal of Chimera, pulling away from a battle of attrition was hard to do. But in the face of certain death, his feelings did not matter. Lion tried to pull away, to break free, but Kai’s grip held him dead in place.

No matter how hard he tries to break free, he can’t.

He doesn’t have the strength to do it anymore.

"This is it," Kai nodded his head as he stared into Lion’s right eye and then his left. From start to finish, he never broke eye contact, and his gaze was chilling. "This is it for you, Lion. You are going to die here.... Do you understand that?"

"Bastard!" Lion roared.

He opened his mouth and unleashed one last wind ball that exploded between them.

That explosion was enough to separate them as he rolled back, skin grazing against rocks and branches across the ground. Lion coughed up blood and quickly looked down at his legs, only finding them to be completely black.

Not that his skin was charred, but something ink-black was now covering them.

It was pitch black like the night.

’I... I need to run!’

Fear finally gripped his heart as he turned to run.

But he realized he could only crawl. He has no other choice but to crawl in order to survive, but Kai’s voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"You said I’m a fool for fighting you alone."

Lion paused and then slowly looked up at a massive dark creature that towered before him. It was almost as tall as the trees.

"I was never alone. From the start... You never had a chance to survive."