Chapter 57: End of the Blood Rite (2)
A figure erged from the tree line and headed toward the road leading to the summit with asured steps. Blood drenched his entire body from head to toe to the point that even his tunic was completely red, emanating a strong stench of copper.
Even his face was the sa; trails of blood drizzled down and crossed his eyes.
Half of his mask was shattered, so his face was showing. And through it, one could see his breath was labored.
Such an appearance made him look inhuman.
"Is that...? No way," An established Angel glanced to his friend. "Isn’t he the Lesser Angel?"
On the other hand, the friend, soone wearing a pig-shaped mask, narrowed his eyes.
And when he realized it was actually the Lesser Angel, his skin crawled.
Instinctively, the two established Angels tightened the grip on their weapons. They watched in silence as the figure walked past them. He spared them a lazy glance and then dismissed them as if they were nothing at all.
Just weeks ago, these two watched the Lesser Angel weep when his sister was sacrificed.
A Supernal with no future.
Hades would soon claim him.
If not, soon, very soon, the hungry Supernals made for the Angel’s brutal environnt would devour him alive. Sacrificing his sister was rely a formality. In truth, from the mont he was assessed and deed to only have one Divine Lock, his fate had already been sealed.
But reality was full of surprises.
The Lesser Angel clawed through the underworld and survived.
And now, he was ascending to Olympus.
Kai stopped and looked up at the imposing mountain. A pool of blood ford where he stood in seconds, and when he resud walking, he left a crimson trail in his wake. Every part of his body scread in agony.
It hadn’t been easy to handle the pit full of Awakened Monsters.
But handle he did.
He and Perion slaughtered the Awakened Monsters, which took more than a day of fighting and hiding in a crack to recuperate. And only then did they make the hazardous climb back up to the very top.
In the end, he was almost late to the agreed ti.
At the midpoint, he ca upon a small group. One of them held a garland woven from colorful flowers, the East Keeper. Kai recognized him easily by the mask and by the woman standing at his side.
As for the other two, they must be the West Keeper and his assistant.
Seeing Kai and the condition he was in, the East Keeper’s eyes narrowed behind the mask.
He watched the crimson drops splatter against the ground.
It was such a haunting sight.
Frankly, he had anticipated that soone like Kai would not survive the third trial. Other than him being extrely ruthless when it cos to surviving, he’s also a Lesser Angel. Soone like him should’ve died.
But he lived.
"What are you doing?" the West Keeper turned to the East Keeper, confused as to why he was rooted on his spot—and let Kai walk past without saying or doing anything. "It is your turn to give the garland."
"Right..." the East Keeper wanted to call Kai, but he had already gone ahead. "Damn it."
Above where the seniors gathered, it was already rowdy.
"Bro, it’s done, right? Let’s get out of here. I’m sick of this place."
"Second that. I’d rather stay in a Sky Gate than this place. I still have nightmares until now."
"Still, for this Blood Rite to end in two weeks, the battle must’ve been fierce, huh? Ours only lasted like what? A week?"
"Less than that. It was a bloodbath on the fourth day."
A senior with pale green eyes and wings clapped his hands, drawing the attention to him. "I got news from the keepers," He said once everyone’s eyes were on him. "There’s still one more survivor. Once he passes, we’ll be dismissed."
On the right edge, there’s a pair of seniors watching the road closely.
One is a towering figure with a muscular stature, and the one beside him is a blonde woman that looked intimidating with the tattoos across her arms and chest. She made adjustnts to her uniform: rolled sleeves, crop white shirt, and an unbuttoned blazer.
Both wore orange and black with a panther crest. Seniors from the Caer Zarrow Academy.
"Here I thought sothing happened to Lion," the woman scratched the back of her head.
"You’re worried for nothing," the muscular man crossed her arms—and chuckled. "Professor Richard was sent to make sure that he survived. It’ll take a miracle for Lion to die in the Blood Rite. Not possible."
A figure finally erged.
Both of them stared at the figure and were distracted by the dotted line of red across his form.
His knuckles were completely red, and there was a peculiar air around this figure. One that made those who kept looking at him feel uneasy. Soon, the two seniors blinked and sucked in a cold breath, realizing the figure was too small to be Lion.
"It’s... Not Lion?" The man gasped in shock.
"Don’t tell ..." the woman recoiled. She couldn’t believe her eyes. "Lion is dead?"
It wasn’t only the two seniors who were surprised by Kai’s appearance. All of them were, but the shock ca from the thick stench of blood coming from him. Nobody knew what he had been doing, but the strong stench of blood made their imaginations run wild.
Only the senior with wings was able to snap from his daze and approach Kai.
He extended the ceremonial mask and smiled.
"Change into this," He said, though eting Kai’s abyssal black eyes unnerved him.
Kai removed his shattered mask and donned the ceremonial one. He inhaled deeply, finally able to breathe freely again, and the simple act made him feel like a new man. Without a word, he resud his ascent.
Everyone was waiting for him, so he had no ti for pleasantries.
No ti for celebrations.
"Who’s that?"
"His face looked familiar."
"Oh, right! It’s the Lesser Angel! He actually survived the entire Blood Rite? That’s insane."
"Maybe this batch of Supernals is weak. That’s why he was able to survive."
"Probably. Either that or they were pussies. Maybe that’s why the Blood Rite took this long."
"Hah! Our Lesser Angel died almost instantly. How weak can these Unblooded Angels be?"
"Right? How can they lose to a lowly Lesser Angel?"
’The Lesser Angel survived, and Lion didn’t?’ The senior with wings looked over his shoulder, staring at the two seniors from the Caer Zarrow Academy. Their faces were dark like they had eaten shit. ’Those two aren’t going to let this go.’
Kai didn’t heed their words.
He kept climbing and then went through the prismatic veil.
Once he arrived at the summit looking like a Demon who had swam through blood, everyone was startled. All had been expecting Kai to return, but not in this haunting state. So who had once been comfortable around him are now hesitant to approach or even look in his direction.
But so were smiling. Glad that he returned safely.
Professor Hera was one of them.
Despite all odds. Despite the unfairness as a Lesser Angel. Kai survived.
No—he prevailed.
Scanning the summit, Kai noticed the Blue Gem was already in place.
And the others seed to have already been checked for their second Divine Lock.
Kai saw the Angel holding the asuring orb, but he was wobbling.
It was hard to keep his spine straight when he was bleeding all over and was exhausted from the tireless nights of fighting the Awakened Monsters. Utilizing nothing but his willpower, Kai went aside to sit down slowly on a knee-high rock.
Despite the gazes that were directed at him, he didn’t rush.
He sat down, opened the blood-drenched Permafrost Gloves, and put them down.
Eventually, the Angel approached him after a nod from Dean Lincoln.
Kai looked up at the orb and reached out his hand. The silence that followed was deafening. Everyone knew this was the mont of truth. If he failed this test. If he failed the orb—then everything he had endured would an nothing.
He would be executed alongside the losers.
Everyone held their breath, including Kai.
It beca so silent that even a pin dropped could be heard loud and clear.
Swish...
Slowly but surely, the orb humd with a dark glow.
It didn’t take long before the first Divine Lock ford inside the orb. Dorian clenched his fists as he stared intently at the orb. Layra turned away, unable to handle the tension. The second Divine Lock never appeared.
But sothing else happened.
Before their disbelieving eyes, the first Divine Lock swelled. A branch beneath it began to grow, stretching downward with slow, deliberate purpose like a root. Confusion rippled in murmurs and shifted feet.
And then, the dark glow deepened.
In seconds, it beca blinding.
Until at last, the orb cracked.
It died before it could finish Kai’s inspection.
Everyone stared at the Angel that stood motionlessly, waiting for his assessnt.
And then, he eventually turned, "Lesser Angel, Kai. Passed!"
A surge of excitent imdiately swept the entire summit.
Dorian was the loudest, fisting the air as if it were him who would die if Kai failed the orb test.
None of them understood how Kai could pass the orb test when he only had one Divine Lock, but it doesn’t matter. What mattered the most was that he cleared the requirent and is now eligible to pass the test.
"Congratulations on passing the Blood Rite and ascending as true Angels," Dean Lincoln’s voice carried across the summit. With a flick of his wrist, a sphere of blood coalesced in the air and shattered into droplets, each one finding its mark on the students’ ceremonial masks. "You have shed your mortal skin. You have danced your first dance with death."
His gaze swept over them. "The Blue Void will ensure many more dances await. But today, on this beautiful day, I can say it with pride that all of you are now Blooded Angels. This is the first milestone for the repaynt of your sins."
Team Crius cheered, hugging and clapping in excitent.
Finally, the nightmare was over for them.
"Before you underwent the ceremonies to fully beco one of the Blooded Angels, I’ll now announce the result of the Blood Rite," Dean Lincoln took three paper slips from Professor Hera. He skimd them and was pleasantly surprised by the result.
It wasn’t often for sothing like this to happen.
In fact, it never happened.
"For the first title, Monster Hunter. Given to the Angel who killed the Awakened Monster. Let it be known: Lesser Angel Kai has claid this na."
Dean Lincoln flipped to the second paper slip.
"For the second title, Pri Exemplar. Given to the Angel who perford the best during the Blood Rite. Let it be known: Lesser Angel Kai has claid this na."
Once again, he flipped and read the third and last paper slip aloud.
"For the third title, Blooded Vanguard. Given to the Angel with the highest kill count. Let it be known: Lesser Angel Kai has claid this na."
Finally, Dean Lincoln raised his gaze and looked at Kai on the side, separated from the others.
"Other than the reward of a Crystallize Teardrop of Argus, the bearer of the titles can ask one thing from the Association of Angel Academies. Once you know what you want, you ca—"
"I want to shed my class and forsake the Lesser Angel title. I want to be a proper Angel."
Kai cut Dean Lincoln short.
He already knows what he wants, and that is to be free from the title, Lesser Angel.
Dean Lincoln stared at Kai. Longer than most were comfortable with. He saw the fire behind Kai’s eyes, and then his gaze dropped to the paper slips, the titles, every single one claid by the Lesser Angel.
His eyes searched for confirmation from the professors, then from the other students.
Most seed to approve.
"Granted," He finally said. "From here henceforth, you are Angel Kai."
Kai straightened his spine and squared his shoulders. Do everything he could to stop himself from shaking. He recalled Bella’s last words. She sounded as though she fervently believed that if he no longer held back, no longer let any restraints to shackle him, he would be the strongest.
He saw how Dorian was looking at him.
How Matilda was looking at him.
How the other students, the professors, or even the Dean were looking at him.
Bella might be right.
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