Chapter 356: Power Makes Right

Dorian and Bryan knew what Kai was going to talk about.

It was inevitable.

As the deadline approached, Kai would have no choice but to have a talk with them.

So, the moment he asked them to talk earlier during the morning exercise, they knew that it was coming. A weight settled over them like a shroud. Even though the two wanted to believe in a lie, that things would turn out well in the end, Kai’s presence shattered that.

Kai always lived in reality.

He didn’t believe in delusions, only the harsh truths.

From the moment his sister was sacrificed for mankind, he knew that the answers to all of his problems could only be handled with strength. He dedicated every waking second to survive, fight the obstacles that were thrown in his way, and never let out as much as a moan.

Because the world didn’t care about excuses.

It was simply a matter of what had been done and what hadn’t.

In this case, Bryan had shown no sign of reaching the Aspirant Supernal rank.

And that’s the cold, harsh truth that they needed to accept.

One way or another, the Ambrosia Pact would need to talk about this problem and determine where it stood regardless of emotions. Kai also believed that resolving this problem would be pushing the group into a higher level of bond.

Something that the group desperately needed, as the future would not be easier.

It would only get harder. Horribly harder.

Dorian and Byran expected to be brought to a secluded place to talk about this—the cafeteria, perhaps, in the corner of the academy, the darker part of the garden away from other students, or even in the chamber where Kai had been tortured back then.

A place that possesses weight.

But Kai brought them out of the academy instead.

Dorian’s brows furrowed looking around through the heavy snow. The inside of the academy territory should be good enough. For the outside, the only viable places were the Aerial Stable or the Cultivated Clouds.

And both options weren’t good.

During this time of day, students would be swarming towards the cultivated clouds.

Mining is still very much a part of their daily activity.

Unlike the rest of the Ambrosia Pact that no longer needed to mine due to the taxation through Kai’s title as the Red Prince, the other students were still trapped in that slavery loop. Dorian and Bryan were glad they no longer needed to do it.

Just the memories of those days made them thankful for their conditions right now.

All the backbreaking labour, the exhaustion, and the fear of not meeting the quota now lived in the past. Regardless, it was surprising when Kai told them that they were going to a faraway place—Ixos.

"Ixos?" Dorian’s brows knitted together. "Why Ixos?"

"You’ll see," Kai answered without turning.

Both of them followed Kai to the Aerial Stable and then went straight for Ixos riding Feeny—the trio coursed through the heavily snowed sky. The flakes were thick like a pure curtain that swallowed the world and made navigation almost impossible.

Swoosh—!

Dorian took Bree’s responsibility and activated his Halo.

His body unleashed an aura that heated the surrounding area, melting the snow and keeping Feeny warm enough to keep going. It wasn’t as effective as Bree’s membrane—hers could also be used as a windbreak—but it was at least something.

Like a heartbeat, the warmth radiated outward in waves.

It melted the frost that gathered on Feeny’s feathers, keeping the raven’s wings from freezing.

From the academy to Ixos took a long time. More than they expected due to the snow. Kai had to stop and ask the Guard Angels intercepting them once every several miles for directions—it was hard to know where they were going with the low visibility and the heavy snow.

Even though Kai had gone to Ixos multiple times, it was still not easy.

Upon seeing the Red Prince mask and mantle, the Guard Angels saluted instantly, their lofty postures snapped to attention. They told Kai where to go immediately with hurried efficiency, eager to not make any further trouble for Kai.

It took several hours to reach Ixos.

Even with Feeny’s incredible speed, the snow had slowed them massively.

But finally, the familiar cultivated cloud came into view.

Back then, when Kai had boarded the shuttle ship after passing the Blood Rite, Ixos had looked like a terrifying forest steeped in death and danger. Now, as his abyssal eyes looked down on the supposedly fearsome place, it seemed utterly ordinary.

Not as terrifying as the Ixos in his mind.

Kai had grown so much that the forest now held nothing over him but contempt.

Soon, Kai clicked his tongue several times in a signal, telling Feeny to go down.

It landed on the tallest summit, the same place where he had been first given the three titles.

Feeny croaked once and lowered her head as the three of them got down. Her feathers ruffled from the cold, but she was still lively and powerful. Kai patted her neck, a silent thank-you—and she took off without needing a command.

Dorian watched her go in utter confusion.

"Where’s she going?" He asked.

"Shelter," Kai replied. "Just to get away from the snow until we’re finished."

He turned and gestured for the duo to follow him.

As Kai went down the mountainside, the two noticed that there was no hesitation in his step. No uncertainty. He walked with purpose as if he had traversed the terrain after the Blood Rite, and knew exactly where he was going.

Dorian and Bryan exchanged a glance, but they followed anyway.

It was Kai.

No need for them to worry, as he must have his reasons for bringing them here.

"How did you survive the Blood Rite, Bryan?" Kai asked as he led the way.

"Me?" Bryan paused, and then looked down to recall those horrifying memories. "It’s nothing special. Our first battle happened early—and it was bloody. But I followed the right person at the time, and that person led us to victory. Many died, but I survived."

"Yes... Survive. It was the academy’s intention to teach us new Angels—that there was a price to be paid for us to survive. To make us stronger and willing to go the extra length in the name of survival."

"..."

Dorian and Bryan said nothing.

Both of them agreed with what Kai said.

Forcing the new Angels to fight one another hardened their wills. It made them stronger, and they would do anything to survive, even if that meant becoming monsters themselves. After all, if they could kill a human, then killing a Star Beast would come easily.

And for Angels that were destined to serve mankind, it was a small price to pay.

Angels aren’t taught and trained to become pillars of mankind.

No—they were taught and trained to become the slaves and killing machines of mankind.

Eventually, the trio emerged from the thick evergreen to an open space.

Kai stopped right at the tree line and stared at the hill ahead, riddled with familiar cave holes across its surface. It was covered in snow, but the landscape was still visible. He turned toward Dorian. "Do you still remember this place, Dorian?"

"Hm..." Dorian looked around.

He remembered the angle, the cave holes, and then his eyes flickered with recognition.

"It’s our team’s base."

"Yes. Do you remember that you had brought me here for the second time?"

Dorian nodded grimly. "I remember."

Back then, when he realized that Kai was still holding onto his naivety, he brought Kai back to this place and showed him what Team Coeus did to the corpses of Team Crius. It was his method of telling Kai that they can’t hold back when the enemies are doing whatever they can in order to win.

Everything was coming back to him again.

"Dorian showed me what the enemy team did to the corpses of our teammates," Kai repeated, making sure Bryan followed. "It was barbaric. Horrible. And Dorian succeeded. I realized then that I won’t win without doing everything I could to win."

Before Kai could continue, the bushes to their left rustled.

A figure walked out from the thick bushes.

He was barely a man.

Just a skinny, wasted frame, barely covered by a roughly made hide that was smaller than his own body. The hide reeked terribly, carrying the raw, putrid scent of unwashed flesh and infection.

His hair had grown long and matted, falling forward in a tangled curtain over his face.

Scars covered his body from head to toe—a canvas of healed wounds, reopened wounds, and freshly festering cuts. His right arm hung loosely at his side, useless. On his upper arm, there was an infected wound that had turned a grotesque, mottled blue, oozing yellow pus.

A man barely clinging to life.

Despite the ruin of his body, his height and frame spoke of what he had once been.

Long limbs, broad shoulders, and the sputtering trail of mana that leaked from his pores made it clear that he was a Supernal. Or he had been—before he was broken. A survivor from those who had failed the Blood Rite.

It was hard to believe that this pathetic, rotting creature had once been one of them.

He reached out a trembling hand.

Desperate tears drizzled down his grimy face.

"Please..." He pleaded—with a ragged voice. "Help me. I don’t want to die. I need to live so my family can live."

Kai inspected the man—taking in the festering arm, the trembling frame, and the teary eyes.

The contrast between them was stark, unbelievably so, but it didn’t matter.

"Okay." Kai nodded his head. "I’ll help."

In the next second, he moved.

It wasn’t a punch so much as a catastrophic impact. His big fist drove clean through the man’s chest, shattering his sternum with a wet, percussive crunch. The force of it exploded the man’s heart into a mist of blood.

Almost instantly, the body stiffened before limping, dead before it could fall.

Kai pulled out his bloody arm.

Bryan stepped forward, his face twisted in shock and sudden fury. "What are you doing?!" he shouted—his voice cracking through the quiet snow. "Why did you do that?! He’s asking for help, and you killed him?"

Even as he shouted, his aura rose, reacting to his emotions.

Kai didn’t answer in a hurry.

He simply looked down at the blood coating his arm and then turned around to face Bryan.

"So, I killed him. What are you going to do about it?" Kai asked icily.

And in the next moment, his mana flared out in a vapor of absolute darkness—overpowering Bryan’s aura in an instant. The gap between them had stretched so much that Kai could easily suppress him like this.

Bryan couldn’t utter a single word.

No chance that he could beat Kai in a direct confrontation.

Just then, Kai dispersed his mana again.

"Can you see it now? Power makes things right." Kai said; there was melancholy in his voice. "The world rotated according to the strong. As such—as long as the ones with power stay the same, the world will never change."