Chapter 58: Star of the Blood Rite
It was chilly and comfortable.
Kai closed the sliding door behind him and paused.
His blood-drenched body was an anomaly against the cream and white color, and there was guilt in him for dirtying this place with his presence. He placed the towel on the sink and then stepped into the shower box.
Once he turned the shower knob, water sprayed from the square shower head.
It was hot enough to sting, but Kai let it burn.
He let the shower run until the shower box filled with steam and the glass beca fogged.
Kai stood beneath the spray, leaning forward with one hand against the wall, letting hot water sluice over his shoulders, trace paths down his arms and back, washing away the very last stubborn remnants of dried blood and exhaustion.
A groan slipped from his mouth when the hot water made contact with his wounds.
Free from the gris of the Blood Rite, the wounds began to heal at a visible rate.
One of the perks of being a Grade-2 Awakened Supernal.
Kai rolled his neck, and the pop of vertebrae was a small liberation. He simply breathed under the hot water. Not the shallow, guarded breaths he had grown used to in Ixos, but deep and full, bordering on unnecessary breaths.
The kind people took when no one was trying to kill them.
The warmth seeped into muscles he had forgotten could relax, unknotting weeks of vigilance and paranoia. Sowhere beneath the rush of water, he heard a voice. Kai looked at the wall and then at the glass beside him that showed a different fogged reflection.
Bella was reflected there, and she was looking at him.
Smiling at him.
’You’re strong.’
’Stand straight. Keep your chin up. Be strong.’
Kai always carried those words to keep him going.
It was the fuel that helped him endure things that he could never endure alone.
Even though she was already gone, her spirit was still with him.
Kai promised her that he was going to be strong exactly as she wanted. Back then, speaking to her corpse about it, he wasn’t sure he could keep that promise. After all, there wasn’t one ti in his entire life when he won sothing against soone.
Not once did he feel the surge of triumph against soone.
But now, pitted against dozens of Angels in a rite to cut the weak, he had won.
For the first ti, the promise felt plausible.
And as he watched the dried blood swirl at his feet, he allowed himself to smile a little. It felt as though he was shedding his weak self and being reborn anew. Maybe it was the man in him, but his pride swelled.
"I might be addicted to the freeing feeling."
Brak—!
"It’s occupied!"
Kai flinched when the door was suddenly opened wide harshly.
He instinctively covered his crotch and turned away.
"Hmm—slls like a monster’s anus in here..." Dorian stepped into the bathroom with wide steps like he owned the room, completely ignoring Kai in the shower box. "Did the cleaner forget to clean this fucking place?"
"Hello?" Kai waved his hand. "Earth to Dorian? I’m using the bathroom!"
"Oh, Kai? I can’t see you in there with all the steam." Dorian reached for the shower box door and opened it wide, only to find Kai facing the corner like a bullied kid. "No wonder it stinks. Where’s all that blood co from, anyway?"
"For Zeus’ sake, why in the heck are you naked already?!" Kai recoiled when he saw a glimpse of Dorian’s shrinking junk. Damn Tiana’s mutations for attacking his manhood. "Where’s your towel?!"
"Fuck is wrong with you? Why are you acting like a virgin in front of ? It’s not like I’m a girl," Dorian grabbed Kai’s arm and pulled him, but realized he was rock solid. Not budging, no matter how hard he pulled.
But this only made Dorian pull even harder.
"Stop acting like I’m a girl! I’m a grown ass man!"
"Leave, man! I won’t show you my thing!"
"Who the fuck wants to see your dick?!"
"Why are you doing this to ?"
"Because you keep acting like I’m a girl or sothing!"
"I’m not acting like this because I see you as a girl, but because you’re gay with a divine bloodline that made you get off drinking blood of young n!"
Dorian paused for a second, stunned, pupils dilated, and then his features contorted.
He pressed his foot against the wall, using it as an anchor to pull Kai harder.
"Okay, you piece of shit. Since you think I’m gay, then I’ll be gay!" Dorian smirked devilishly, staring at Kai with a lecherous gaze, which gave him goosebumps. "Co on, turn around. Let
see it. If I like what I see, who knows? I might rub one out for you."
"Rub what out?!" Kai’s eyes widened in horror. "Don’t co closer! This is sexual assault!"
"Sexual assault? Here’s sexual assault for you," Dorian’s hand flew and slapped Kai’s ass.
A crisp sound echoed.
For a second, there was a deafening silence inside the bathroom.
And before Dorian knew it, a fist slamd into his face, sending him to the other side of the bathroom.
About five minutes later, Kai walked out of the bathroom and headed for the storage locker—passing by Dorian, who cursed him for punching him and kicking him out before entering the bathroom again.
Kai went to his locker and got dressed.
He wore a tight-fitting white combat suit, the ceremonial suit for the ascension ceremonies, a pair of golden wings emblazoned on either side of the chest. Right now, the students who passed the Blood Rite are being taken to another cultivated cloud.
To a place where they would undergo the formal ceremony to beco a Blooded Angel.
Kai and the other students were inside a quite big aircraft.
It would take a day for them to reach their destination.
Just then, the automatic door was opened, and a figure entered.
"I haven’t congratulated you for managing to survive and even excel in the Blood Rite."
Kai glanced at the figure and realized it was Professor Hera.
She was the one who made it quite possible for him to do exactly that, and she’s also the one who helped Kai realize he could request Dean Lincoln to promote him to an Angel. It was her hint that made him think of that.
Frankly, he owed her for helping him, but he didn’t feel like thanking her.
"Are you still angry at
about your deceased classmates?" She asked when Kai ignored her.
Seeing that he wasn’t willing to talk at all, Professor Hera sighed. She took off her mask and sat down on a floating chair beside the automatic door, "I see that you’ve decided to spare the girl, Matilda. Are yo—"
"Why didn’t you co and help ?" Kai cut her sentence short with a question, finally turning to face her after he finished changing. "When that professor ca to stop
from killing Lion, why didn’t you co? Had it not been for Matilda, I would’ve been forced to spare that bastard."
"I can’t appea—"
"You can’t?" Kai scoffed. "What’s the excuse this ti? Is it your la code again?"
"I’ve been helping you silently, Kai." Professor Hera’s tone was serious. Convincing. "Lion’s professor wanted to give him another item out of caution because of you, and I stopped him." She rose from the chair and stepped closer. "When you broke into the real mine, you risked execution. I made sure you won’t be punished."
She stood before Kai, close enough that her perfu reached him.
A smile slowly climbed to her face, "And I did help you secure Lion’s kill."
"Hm? How did you secure it when it was Matilda who—" Kai stopped. He looked down for a mont, then lifted his gaze back to Professor Hera as realization struck. "You are the one who tipped Matilda off. You’re the one who told Matilda about the situation..."
Professor Hera cast a gentle smile, one that made Kai embarrassed.
Embarrassed that he acted like a brat to the one who helped him the most.
"I can’t be seen helping you too much, so I have to get creative," She confessed.
"I’m..." Kai turned away. "I’m sorry. I guess you helped
more than I thought."
"Don’t look so troubled. A little nudge from
doesn’t erase what you did." Professor Hera lifted her hand and tousled Kai’s hair with a gentle warmth. "You passed the rite and won the three titles with your own hands—your own will. Do not let anyone, especially yourself, take that from you."
She paused, her smile softening, "Congratulations on passing the rite. Your sister would be so proud of the man you have beco."
Kai looked up at her in surprise.
And then, his lips curled into a genuine smile. He didn’t need any approval from others, but it doesn’t feel bad when it cos from Professor Hera. Perhaps he could feel that she ant every word she said, and that was the reason her words touched him.
Once Professor Hera went back to the professor’s headquarters, Kai went to the cafeteria.
He was starving.
And after eating seasonless food for the last couple of weeks, he craved sothing rich.
Upon walking through another automatic door, Kai was greeted by a spacious chamber. There are three long steel tables with seats, exactly like how it looked in the academy’s cafeteria, and it was more crowded than he expected.
All heads turned towards him when he entered.
A sudden silence dropped across the place.
Kai felt awkward being stared at, and he wanted to turn around, but hunger made him walk down the stairs. But when he neared, the students snapped out of their stupor and called Kai to join them.
So even stood up and offered him their seats.
But Kai declined and went to take an empty seat before ordering so food.
It was a celebratory day, so the nu was filled with varieties.
"Just a nutrient bento?" the worker, a kind middle-aged lady, stared at Kai with a raised brow. "I heard from the kids you’re the star of the rite. All of them are talking about you. Don’t be too modest and order more!"
"R-Right..." Kai smiled sheepishly.
For soone who had only eaten the bare minimum to save money, this was new to him.
"Steak, dium-rare please! And bring out the crabs—and lobsters while you’re at it, lady!" Aaran appeared from the side with Namira, sliding into the seat across from Kai. "And make sure you sprinkle a little extra love and gold on it. It’s for Angel Kai, the Pri Exemplar!"
"That’s more like it! I’ll bring it out quickly." The middle-aged lady gave a thumbs-up and went away.
"Isn’t that too much?" Kai asked hesitantly. "I don’t think I can finish that much food."
"What are you talking about?" Aaran laughed. "Stuff your belly. It’s not an everyday thing to eat this good."
"Yes. Once we’re back, we won’t be able to eat like this," Namira added.
Kai nodded, as there’s no harm in doing that.
He then looked around, realizing that there was no sign of a certain soone.
"Where’s Layra? I thought you guys always stuck close to her."
"Layra? I don’t know. She hadn’t co out from her lodging after showering."
Kai turned to Namira and saw her face turning a shade of pink, and she seed to be holding back a smile.
One that made Kai suspicious.
"Should we check?"
"Forget about it. She’ll probably co out soon enough."
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