Blood spilled and almost instantly pooled around his feet.
He stared at the decapitated monster. Muscles rippled underneath its fur and skin; the thickness made the skin tough. Then, he looked down at the golden sword in his hand, appreciating the sharpness.
"You're much more than you looked," Matilda tossed the massive head aside.
Her body was hunched as she held her throbbing stomach. She was hurt.
"Not really," Kai handed the golden sword back to her. "Your sword is that sharp."
Even though he said that, he could tell that his body moved abnormally well. It must be the Perfect Slash that somehow changed him from within. "I wouldn't have been able to kill it had it not been for that."
"And nobody would get close to it enough like you did," Matilda answered.
She had seen others try to ambush this monster, but all failed.
Kai, on the other hand, succeeds in getting close easily.
"Where did these things come from?" Kai looked down at the corpse—and then to the hallway. He could still hear chaos. There's more than one monster. "How did it even get through the walls? A Sky Gate?"
"No," Matilda leaned her head back against the wall, breathing weakly. "It's rare for a Sky Gate to appear here, in the First Sky. And the established Angels aren't that weak to be overwhelmed by these things."
"You mean…" Kai turned towards her, eyes narrowing.
"It's the exam," She smiled weakly. "Look, we can even breathe in the hallway without our masks."
Matilda was incredibly perceptive.
Due to his fear, Kai didn't even realize that he had forgotten to take his mask, and yet, he could still breathe normally. Likely, the entire first-year dormitory was already prepared for the exam.
Is that what they were doing in the backyard?
"But I thought the exam was about the winged boots," Kai questioned further.
Matilda chuckled, but she hissed as that stabbed her lungs with pain, "It's a lie. Most of us cannot fly properly even now. It'll take a month or two to properly use those boots, and yet, they were already going to hold an exam? That's absurd."
Since that was the case, it became apparent that this was really a test.
So that's why the monsters weren't killing the students. Kai nodded. He was now determined to show good performance so that at least he could be an Angel, if that is possible. Should I get to Bree? She might need help.
"Find… you!"
Kai snapped his head to the hallway behind him, and his eyes widened.
All the air was knocked out of his lungs as someone tackled him.
Crash—!
Unable to withstand the impact, the wall cracked open, and the two rolled into a room.
Someone was hiding inside, a timid student with pointy ears.
Kai coughed up blood to the side. Pain assaulted him from every inch of his body. He tried to sit up, but two hands already grabbed him by the collar—and hauled him off the ground.
More blood burst from his mouth as he was pinned against the wall.
"I got you now, fucker!"
Kai looked down and realized that it was Roan. His eyes were sparkling with a crazed light, thrilled that he now could finally get his hands on Kai again, "I'll make you pay for what you did!"
Brak—!
Brutally, he pressed his elbow against Kai's neck, choking him hard.
"You make a fool out of me in front of many students," He leaned his head close with a snarl that of an animal. "You humiliated me in front of everyone. For that… For that, you will die here."
"Krghkk—Do you think the academy will allow this?!" Kai roared.
He pushed Roan's elbow back to breathe, but was overpowered again.
"No need to worry about that," Roan cackled and gestured with his other hand like he was telling Kai to look around. "There are many monsters on the loose. A few accidental deaths are normal."
"Damn it, Roan!" Kai roared. "This is not the ti—?!"
Crash—!
Kai's eyes widened in horror as the monster swung its massive fist.
It hammered Matilda's side and threw her to the other side of the hallway.
But what surprised him wasn't that Matilda got hit, but that the monster was still headless. "Roan! Look!" Kai shouted desperately, watching in horror as the headless monster walked through the hole in the wall. "Fucking look, you piece of shit!"
Roan finally turned to look, but it was already too late.
A massive fist slammed into Roan's back.
He collided with Kai as they burst through the wall, rolling across the back yard.
Everything was spinning and blurry.
His ears were ringing. His entire body was numb. And when he tried to look up, he saw Roan was already on his feet, roaring like an animal at the headless monster. And around, the backyard was also surrounded by a black stone wall.
No way to escape.
Roan was hit directly, while Kai only got the secondary impact.
And yet, the man still stood, trading blows with the headless monster while Kai could only lie broken on the ground. The contrast was its own brutal lesson in power. Before long, Kai's consciousness frayed, and his body slumped to the earth, utterly spent.
Everything else after was darkness.
Surprisingly enough, he was fond of this darkness. It was silent. Cold. But somewhat pleasing his soul. Kai feels like drifting in an endless, dead ocean—facing the sky and basking in the kind of peace the living couldn't experience.
But the mind wasn't equipped to handle this kind of peace.
He started to hear things. His sister's groggy, sleep-thick voice, protesting as he shook her awake. The bright lilt of her laugh when she'd ambushed him with a well-prepared meal after school; her pride was practically audible. And even the helpless, gasping giggles as he pinned her and tickled her during one of their play-fights.
Each note more beautiful and more shattering than the last.
She has such a beautiful, angelic voice.
One that Kai would never hear again.
And when that realization settled in, his eyelids fluttered open.
Kai blinked, his vision swimming as it adjusted to the gloom. An unfamiliar ceiling of rough-hewn stone resolved above him. A single lamp was hanging from the center of the chamber, providing enough amber light that reached the corners but failed to reach the dark.
"You're awake,"
A familiar voice greeted him.
He looked across from him and saw Matilda.
Considering what happened to her, he expected her to have some bruises and cuts, but she looked completely fine. She was only in her bra and underwear, both are dark red. Two small vials dangled around her neck on a necklace, and her hands were tied behind her.
"You look like you're struggling," Kai sat up with only his core strength.
"Look at me as much as you want. This is your one and only chance," Matilda sneered at his probing eyes that couldn't help but look. She was annoyed by the comment, and more about her predicament. "You're not going to be able to see me in this again."
Kai brushed it off and looked down.
No pain in his body. He must've been healed before being placed here.
Then, he scanned the chamber.
He found himself in a cramped, low-ceilinged cavern. There are two more of them in the chamber. He didn't recognize the other two students, and they both still lay on the cold stone floor unconscious.
Is this another test? Either way, I'm glad that bastard Roan is not in here with me.
"Come here and help me get this rope off," Matilda turned around, shaking her tied hands.
Kai nodded his head and pressed his back against hers. And with a little bit of time, they managed to free the ropes tying their hands and legs. It was right on time as the other two were also waking up.
Like him a few minutes ago, they were confused and dazed.
But Kai and Matilda helped untie their restraints.
Soon, from the center, a holographic figure emerged from a small metal cylinder.
Professor Hera, still perfect in her formal professor uniform, stood and eyed them one by one. "All of you have woken up, good," She started, completely disregarding the look of puzzlement and anger on her students. "Have you caught up with the situation yet?"
"No," the guy with blue spiky hair shook his head. "What's with those monsters?"
"Okay, seems like some of you don't have a brain. But I'll explain so that even babies can understand," Professor Hera said sharply, not even bothering to sugar-coat her words. "The monsters are sent there to only knock you all out so that you can be transported to this place."
"What's this place?" the guy asked again.
"I'm talking," Professor Hera cast him a warning look. "You are on a cultivated cloud, Ixos, and are now going to go on the Rite of Blood. It's to prove yourself worthy of the academy. Only through passing this rite would you all be able to continue being a part of the academy and work your way up to earn your unique mask and become an Angel.
"Some of you might already understand it, but for those who don't, the academy does not want burdens. You're all aspiring Angels, so you have to earn the right to live and serve mankind in the world of the living."
Kai clenched his fist.
Even after sacrificing his own sister, he's still a Lesser Angel.
And now, he was forced to prove himself.
He could feel a fire blazing inside him.
To think that he still needed to prove himself to his sister's killers is maddening.
But for his sister. For Bella. He would endure.
His trembling, clenched fists didn't escape Matilda's eyes.
"Before being placed into this chamber, all of you have been poisoned by a slow-reacting poison," Professor Hera continued. She raised her hand and showed her wrist. "On your wrist, your veins should already be green by now. Since it's impossible to be really fair in this part, the level of poisoning differs from student to student."
Kai and the others looked down at their wrists, and sure enough, their veins were green.
"Normally, you only have thirty minutes before the veins across your body are poisoned, but it seems like you have less than that," Professor Hera announced grimly. "All of you have two vials around your neck. One is the antidote, while the other is the same poison that would quicken the poisoning process and kill you."
Both vials contained red liquid. Identical.
No way they could guess which one was the antidote and which one was the poison.
"You can only drink two vials. One of yours, and another from others," Professor Hera's lips curled into a knowing smile. "That's the only rule. If you wanted to test us and break that rule…"
Swish—!
Kai's eyes widened when a red beam brushed past his head and struck the wall.
It came from the metal cylinder.
He looked over his shoulder and saw the beam had burned a three-foot hole into the wall.
Deadly is an understatement.
One touch from it would've vaporized skin, muscles, and bones in an instant.
"Better start thinking of how you'd approach this," Professor Hera's voice pulled back their attention. "You had less than thirty minutes a few moments ago. Now? You have even less."