Chapter 374: Leaving the Hive

"What are you going to do?"

Matilda asked as he followed Kai back to Abigail’s house.

It was time for them to leave.

"You’ll find out soon enough." Kai cast her a glance, and then stopped abruptly when he came to realize that Bree—and the woman weren’t following him. He sighed. "Fetch them and meet me at the outskirts, where we arrived earlier. I’ll get Abigail."

Matilda wanted to protest, but she only turned around to leave.

She really wanted to know.

Not because she was curious, but because she didn’t want Kai to be reckless in his first move.

It would be better for him to run by her first so that she could make sure—that it was the right move to make, but since Kai said she’ll know soon enough, then she won’t push him. As long as soon enough didn’t mean after he finished, then it’s fine.

Along the way, Kai looked around.

Everyone was already pouring out of their houses to start their day.

Since nobody was unemployed in the Hive, they all woke up early and went to work.

Many of them were surprised to see him walk through the street. Kai saw familiar faces as he walked, but none of them recognized him. It seemed he had changed so much that it would be impossible to recognize him now.

Especially with the different mask he was wearing.

Kai stopped when he heard a scream.

He glanced toward a secluded alley where a crowd had already gathered at the entrance, and went to investigate. Thanks to his height, he could easily see over the onlookers. A man was weeping loudly in there, cradling the frail body of a young woman no older than twenty.

From the banter of the people around, the public deemed the death came from malnutrition.

Or perhaps because of the cold.

But when they realized the woman was not wearing her mask, their conclusion shifted to the obvious—suicide. Everyone knew that wearing a mask was mandatory to survive. It could not be taken off ever.

Be it sleeping, showering, or working—the mask stayed on.

Due to the lower oxygen level, they would pass out very quickly without their masks.

Kai studied the people around him—and realized that their masks were rough, cracked, and only mended with what he assumed to be glue-like liquid that could seal the crack, which left the surfaces uneven and fragile.

Completely different than the masks that the Angels wore.

It was a clear display of how the First Sky viewed these people, lower than even Angels.

Plenty of ways to commit suicide, and she picked suffocating to death? I don’t think so.

Death by suffocation is a painful process, so Kai doubted that the young woman would choose that if she really couldn’t live another day in the Hive again. He was quite confident that this wasn’t suicide.

"Move!"

"Get out of the way!"

A few Guard Angels arrived; their heavy boots struck the cobblestones like hammers.

Like they were trained to obey the Guard Angels’ words like the words of the Gods, the crowd dispersed instantly, moving out of the way. But then, the pair of Guard Angels stopped at the sight of Kai standing to the side.

As soon as they saw the dragon mask, their forms snapped to rigid salutes—fists to chests.

The onlookers scattered out of the way like they were trained to obey the Guard Angels, as if their words were the words of the Gods. But then the pair of Guard Angels stopped at the sight of Kai standing to the side.

A ripple of shock went through the crowd.

None of the commoners had realized the Red Prince was standing right behind them.

Kai waved his hand, telling them to do their work.

Both Guard Angels lowered their arms and cut through the throng into the alley. Both quickly and ruthlessly peeled the weeping man away from the young woman. His sobs echoed off the walls as he bawled his eyes out, desperately reaching for the young woman.

But against the Guard Angel’s strength, his was nothing.

His fingers clawed at nothing but the air.

Meanwhile, the other Guard Angel hoisted the corpse onto his shoulder and walked away.

Considering how frail the people are and how easily plague could spread—corpses needed to be handled quickly. Kai placed his arm over the Guard Angel—before he could leave, "Where are you taking the corpse?"

"To the burner, Red Prince," the Guard Angel replied. "We’ll make an offering to the Gods."

Kai paused for a second, and then sighed.

He let the Guard Angel pass.

The brutal, pragmatic efficiency of the Hive was a grim reality. One that he could not change with his current strength. He turned and continued toward Abigail’s family’s house, knocking on the door and calling for her so they could leave.

Most of her family had already woken up, though they were still out of it.

Groggy and extremely disoriented.

Spissos must’ve given them something to keep them asleep while he dealt with Abigail.

Any distraction would only be an annoyance.

He needed Abigail to truly understand the silence that would choke her after her family was dead if she ever chose to disobey him. It was the scare tactic he used to demand obedience of those he rests his eyes upon.

One that worked on the woman, as the embedded fear could be seen clearly through her eyes.

Kai only offered them a brief, polite greeting before getting straight to the point.

It was time to move.

As he walked out, heading toward the outskirts, Abigail hurried beside him.

She was dressed in a tunic and pants that didn’t fit her properly; the fabric tightly clinging on her frame, with a thick blanket wrapped tightly over her body to ward off the chill. She looked incredibly vulnerable.

"It’s already morning..." She murmured with worry in her voice. "We’re going to be late. What are we going to do about the punishment? Even with your title—the academy wouldn’t let us go easily. Being late a bit could be okay, but skipping a few is crossing the line."

"We have a few options," Kai said without breaking his stride. "We can take the punishment, and I’ll ensure it’s lightened. Or, you can tell them the truth about what happened tonight and hope it would be acceptable. Or three, we hand over the spy."

"Spy?"

"Spissos left someone behind to watch over your family. I caught her."

"I-I see..."

Abigail bit her lower lip.

Had it not been for Kai, then she would really be under Spissos’ mercy with no way out.

She would become a puppet.

But she was glad that she had the heart to tell Kai the truth, and things ended really well.

"I need the spy for something," Kai continued. "So, we can’t go with option three."

"Then I’ll explain what happened to the academy. I’ll take responsibility." Abigail’s voice was steady. "This happened because of me—because that man lured me here. It’s only right that I be the one to answer for it."

"No need to think like that. Spissos aimed you because he wanted to get to me."

"I want to do this, Kai. Let me do this."

"Okay. I’ll leave it to you then."

"Yes!"

Of course, Kai was also hoping that Abigail would be the one to explain things clearly.

Not only would it give him the alibi he needed, but it would also help him with his goal.

I need a distraction. And considering how temperamental the Chancellor was when it comes to outsiders who dared to make a move—within Eventide Academy’s territory, this might give me the best chance to catch Spissos by surprise.

Near the outskirts of the Hive, Kai’s caught the low murmur of a conversation.

To his right, there were two Guard Angels standing guard in front of what looked like a food storage. They were facing away—so they did not see Kai walking down the street. And though they were wearing masks, Kai could see the grimness in their eyes.

Kai narrowed his eyes, catching what they were talking about.

"...a damn shame about Irana," One Guard Angel muttered, shaking his head.

"She lost her family recently, so I guess I understand," the other replied—his voice hollow. "I understand that there was no longer any reason for her to live. But why did she have to really choose a painful method to go?"

"She’s not all in the head. She spaced out many times throughout the day, remember?"

"Right... Just a damn shame."

Kai’s forehead creased into a frown before he tucked the information away.

A cold knot formed in his chest—though clarity soon reached her mind, which only made his eyes colder than they were seconds ago. He kept walking, ignoring the surroundings this time to not get distracted again.

Right now, there were more immediate problems at hand.

Once the ordeal in the Hive was over, they quickly returned to the academy.

Of course, Abigail and the woman also came along.

By the time they arrived at the Aerial Stable, the morning exercise and sparring had already concluded, which meant they were more than late. It was really bad, but Kai reckoned Abigail could still help the academy pardon them.

As long as she could be convincing enough, that is.

Bree and Matilda dismounted, and then were surprised to see Dorian and Bryan—waiting for them in front of the Aerial Stable. But their curiosity was paused abruptly as their eyes shifted to Bryan like steel to a magnet.

Both sensed the raw, heavy aura leaking from his frame.

"Bryan, you—" Bree gasped in shock.

"Congratulations," Matilda cleared her throat. "Frankly, I’m surprised you could succeed."

"Hah! I’m an Aspirant Supernal now!" Bryan laughed. "Fuck you, bitche—"

Pah—!

Dorian slapped the back of his head before he could finish his flaunt.

Even though this came as a surprise, Matilda and Bree knew that Kai had gone to have a talk with Dorian and Bryan yesterday. He must’ve helped Bryan somehow break through, though it was still surprising.

As soon as they landed, Dorian spared a glance at the captured woman.

But didn’t ask a single question.

Instead, he stepped forward and tossed Kai a heavy pouch. The clinking sound of mana ores echoed from within. Kai caught it and turned to Abigail. "Only talk about what happened when you were given the Deans or the Chancellor himself. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Abigail nodded and also dismounted.

Kai also followed before the woman came down last.

"Come," He said, heading towards the Aerial Stable. "You’re coming with me."

Bree and Matilda were flabbergasted. The situation was moving too fast—the pieces not fitting together. They had just captured a mole, and now Kai was walking away with her and a pouch of mana ores?

"Kai, what are you doing?" Matilda called out, frustration bleeding into her tone.

Kai didn’t stop walking. He didn’t even look back.

"What else?" He said, his voice carrying a cold, dangerous edge. "I’m going to make my move on Spissos, of course. There is no better time to move than right after the first attack."