Bree became quite certain that Kai is an anomaly.

Not much was known about his Patron God, so she already expected him to be special—but the fact that he has close to four hundred points in mana made him rival supernals that have an Olympian God as their Patron God.

And now, seeing him battle like this made it blatantly clear that his Patron God is strong.

Perhaps it was even stronger than an Olympian God.

As impossible as that sounded, Bree couldn’t help but think that way.

On the other hand, Kai’s focus sharpened.

I have triggered Retribution. Now, I believe I can kill it.

Even though taking a hit for Chester went against what he wanted, as he didn’t even gain any form of gratitude, that still triggered the Retribution Ending Fragment. It didn’t give him the same amount of boost as earlier when he protected the mother and son duo, but it should be more than enough.

And this also confirmed that the one he protected doesn’t need to be someone really weak.

Anyone who was currently weak can also stimulate Retribution.

Right now, Chester was exhausted, though he tried to hide it, and that’s enough.

Kai rose to his feet and stared at the monster.

Chester’s assault coupled with the concussive blasts from Matilda has driven the monster into a frenzy, but it’s not dead. The skeleton still writhes inside the goo—protected by a thick layer of regenerating slime.

It was the perfect situation for Kai to deal the finishing blow.

Its main form of protection came from its slimy body, but I have an imprint that can bypass that.

"Here," Bree took out a hidden knife from inside her uniform and handed it to Kai. "Kill it."

Kai accepted the knife, wrapping his hand tightly around its handle.

He went ghost-quiet.

Nigh-phantom fully enveloped him and turned him into a phantom that lurks the periphery— and the space that eyes ignored. Invisible to all but direct, knowing intent. The busy monster couldn’t see him. Chester, still hacking away, doesn’t notice.

Instead of leaping in, Kai circled the monster with the patience of a cold-blooded killer.

And when he saw his chance, the monster missing a heavy attack, he made his move.

Sensing an incoming familiar coldness, Matilda knew that Kai was coming.

She didn’t need to look behind her to know.

Charging the last remnants of her mana—she slapped her golden shield, and it blasted with a golden shockwave. Almost at the same exact time, Kai’s figure rushed past her and lunged at the surprised monster.

It noticed Kai when he was already right before it.

Dark Discharge coated the tip of the knife before he thrust forward with a violent grunt.

Clang—!

One strike—aimed true at the skull encased within the slime. But the blade met resistance far beyond flesh; the impact ringing out like steel on steel. For a fraction of a second, the monster seemed almost amused, as if laughing silently at the futile attempt.

Nothing happened.

But then, a black energy phased through its slimy body and punched directly at its skull.

A crack spread across its skull head and the mountain of slime began to collapse.

The impact launched it backward—a thick trail of purple slime streaking across its entire path. Kai hit the ground and watched as the monster smashed into a house hard. Its gelatinous body splattered apart just as the wall behind it crumbled in unison.

Right behind it, a scared man looked over and was horrified at the skeleton.

He had been hiding inside his house, waiting for the battle to end.

Now, he was exposed.

Even though the skeleton’s skull cracked and its body of slime collapsed, it hadn’t died.

"Shit!"

Kai lunged forward—eyes locked on the skeleton’s bony hand as it reached for the stunned man who was frozen in fear. But something wrapped around his ankle—yanking his momentum to a brutal, sudden stop.

Before he could realize what was happening, he was thrown aside.

It was Chester.

"That monster is mine!" He roared and charged at the skeleton.

However, since he was a few seconds later to move, the skeleton’s fingers had already closed around the scared man’s skull, squeezing with lethal intent. Just as the bone was about to give, a shield came screaming through the air and shattered the skeleton’s arm to splinters.

The man was freed, and Chester arrived, crushing the monster’s skull with his sickle.

Everything happened so fast.

And the man looked down at the ground and held his head with both hands.

Despite being at the very center of the exchange, he barely understood what had happened in that fleeting moment. But he did know deep in his bones that he had almost died. Hermes had been close, so terribly close, ready to guide his soul to the banks of the underworld’s river.

Such a realization made him hyperventilate.

Matilda landed hard not too far away from Chester, eyes blazing with fury.

"Are you out of your mind?!" She roared in anger. She saw Chester grabbing Kai’s ankle and throwing him away to the hard wall for the sole purpose of being the one who delivered the final blow to the Star Beast. "Why did you do that? That man could’ve died!"

"You covered him, so it’s fine," Chester straightened his back without a hint of remorse. Even though the scared man almost had his head crushed like a watermelon—he didn’t care. "Good work on your throw."

"Are you serious...? What if I missed?"

"You didn’t."

"Is your ego that fragile that you’d stop the Lesser Angel and risk that man’s life?"

"That Lesser Angel tried to take my kill. I’ve been fighting it non-stop, and he tried to take my kill."

"Who damn cares who killed the Star beast!" Matilda was at a loss for words—Just imagining that it was her family that might be in the man’s shoes made her blood boil. "We’re not in any kind of test, and you care about that?"

"Are you siding with the Lesser Angel?" Chester leaned down, taking a white Null Gem inside the skeleton’s sternum. He straightened his back and glanced over his shoulder sharply. "For the Lesser Angel to survive this long is impossible, so there’s a rumour circulating. Someone was really helping him.

"Is it you?" He raised a brow, changing the topic entirely.

"And a High Angel who prioritized his own life at the expense of an innocent person," Matilda didn’t back down, eyes shining gold. "How do you think the academy would react? I’m pretty sure what you did is the worst thing an Angel could do."

Chester’s brows dipped into a frown.

He never expected Matilda to react like this when normally, she avoided direct confrontations.

"Not a mistake if the person didn’t die," He answered with a sneer.

Just as Matilda was about to argue, the clatter of loose bricks tumbling aside stopped her.

Both turned to the side, watching someone buried under rubble slowly climbing out.

’Kai...?’ She thought inside.

Earlier, Chester had launched Kai away with brutal force, sending him crashing through two houses before he finally came to a stop inside a third. Right now, his entire body had to be in avid pain—throbbing and deep.

The houses on the outskirts were poorly built, but they were still solid enough.

An Awakened Supernal’s body simply wasn’t strong enough to shrug off collisions like that.

From the mound of bricks, a hand clawed its way into the dust-choked air. The fingers were laced with cuts, trembling violently—yet they firmly gripped the debris and pushed. Kai rose from the rubble not like a warrior, but like a corpse that had refused the grave.

His movements were slow, faltering, like every motion he made was a struggle.

Dark mana seeped from him in cold, languid wisps.

It flared weakly at first, a guttering candle in a storm—then steadied, pulsing in time with his labored breaths. He shoved aside one slab of broken wall, then another. At last, a knee found the ground, and with a deep groan Kai hauled himself upright as rocks rolled down from his battered form.

Kai lifted his head, exposing a grim mask of bruises and blood.

A face that was filled with restrained anger.

Chester stood apart, sickle still in hand, watching.

His frown carved deep lines into a face that, only moments before—had been poised to boast in triumph for being the one, the first student who killed a Star Beast. Right now, regardless of what Kai is going to do, it doesn’t matter.

But something changed about Kai.

Something in the way Kai was looking at him changed.

No matter how much this Lesser Angel struggled to stand straight, his eyes remained fixated on him. Like there was nothing in this whole entire world—that matters other than him. Soon, Kai finally walked.

The rubble beneath his booth crunched, and the dark mana flared wider.

It writhed like living shadows that devoured the light.

A chill bled into the air, faint but growing; the kind of chill that Matilda realized instantly.

Sensing that things were about to spiral, Matilda shot Bree a sharp look. A silent signal to stop whatever Kai was about to do. Bree moved without hesitation—stepping in beside him and taking hold of his arm. "Let’s get you treated. You’re hurt right now."

Kai didn’t answer.

He simply freed his arm and pushed Bree away.

"Kai," Bree called softly, glancing around to see that the other students had come to check on what happened. "People are looking right now. It’s not worth it. Whatever you’re going to do is not worth it. Listen to me, please?"

Still no answer.

For the second time, Kai pushed her away. But this time, the push was harder.

It was a cue for Bree to stay out of this.

Seeing that Bree couldn’t stop him, Matilda stepped forward to intercept him. But before she could even part her lips, Kai already raised a finger, gesturing for her not to say anything right now. That he won’t be dissuaded.

He walked past her without a word and closed in on Chester.

"What are you going to do—Lesser Angel?" Chester lifted up his chin arrogantly. "Let me tell you this: Don’t do something you’re going to quickly regret."

"When you sent your goons to steal from me, I stayed silent," Kai inched closer, one step at a time, and his unblinking eyes remained on Chester. "When you marked me to die, I still stayed silent. I stayed silent, but now... for endangering an innocent man, I can’t stay silent anymore.

"Did you think I stayed silent because I’m afraid of you? Did you think I stayed silent because I’m weaker than you? No, Chester—I stayed silent because I have nothing to prove. Because I have killed people like you," Kai stopped a good distance away from Chester, and then lifted the knife in his hand—pointing at Chester. "I am Lesser Angel Kai of Moros, and I challenge you, High Angel Chester of Perseus, to a duel."