Chapter 170: Soothing Him
"Do something!" Bryan shouted in a panic.
He could feel his senses were screaming at him for even nearing Kai in this state.
It was especially unnerving after seeing what Kai’s touch could do to Barbara—he was afraid that in a rampage, Kai would accidentally devour him. "Holding a cracked-up bull sometimes demands a sacrifice, and if this goes on longer, I’m sure it’s going to be fucking me!"
Bree and Dorian have a longer history with Kai.
Even though Kai was now seeing illusions, he might be able to recognize those two.
But he most certainly would not recognize Bryan.
"Should I hit him?!" Dorian asked, finding an opportunity to punch Kai’s face.
If he aligned it well, he might be able to knock Kai unconscious.
"No, you most certainly will not!" Bree retorted—she could already see it going bad for them if Dorian attacked Kai in his state right now. Her eyes met with Kai’s again. She bit her lower lip and extended her hand, past the membrane—and embraced Kai’s face. "Kai, it’s me! Bree! Recognize me, please..."
Seeing no chance in his reaction other than more resistance, Bree took a risk.
She phased through the membrane and pulled Kai into her chest, embracing him tightly.
"You’re fucking insane!" Bryan gasped in shock. "Do you really think—hugging him like this would miraculously bring him back like some kind of romance novel?! He’ll stab you in your back, get away!"
Bree didn’t listen.
Instead, she used the Maternal Cradle Imprint, soothing Kai’s mind and body.
Bree didn’t know what she should do as Kai was completely unresponsive to her voice—Kai had turned into a vessel of murderous darkness. But she looked into his abyssal eyes, past the black that had swallowed iris and sclera both, and saw it.
She could see the nightmare.
A deep, drowning melancholy that had pulled him under and was still holding him there.
Its claws sunk deep into his mind.
No need for a genius or a healer to know what haunted him. Everyone had seen that grim day when he was forced to kill his own sister for being a Lesser Angel. Kai was completely trapped in that moment, reliving it, and Bree could see the pain of it etched inside his eyes.
Despite the murderous light, he was hurting inside.
Even though he was hurting every single day for being a Lesser Angel, this was far worse.
A pain that hurt him to the soul.
And that realization cracked something in her chest. Maybe it was the divine bloodline in her, but she wanted nothing more than to pull him into her embrace and let him rest there, safe from the voices, safe from the nightmare, safe from the world that had been cruel to him.
It was the reason why Bree reached out without thinking.
Her hands found his shoulders, and then she wrapped her arms around Kai’s head, embracing him tightly against her chest. And then, like instinct, she began to hum. A slow, mesmerizing melody in an attempt to ease his mind.
Just sweet sound and the quiet promise that he was not alone.
And to Dorian and Bryan’s surprise, it worked.
Dorian was the first one to notice; the iron tension in Kai’s arm loosened against his hold. The muscles went slack as the sweet humming continued to stroke his ears. Bryan’s eyes widened in utter disbelief.
He was the one who mocked Bree for even attempting to do this, and yet it worked.
Frankly, he didn’t know whether he should be glad or mad right now.
Under their gazes, the seething dark aura that had engulfed Kai’s entire body began to thin—to fray at the edges, dissipating back into the night like mist burned off by a gentle sun. After that was the black symbol on his forehead, vanishing like it was never there.
Kai’s eyes, those terrible abyssal pits, began to clear.
Still back as they always were, but the white sclera crept back into view.
And with it, his human side returned.
The Blood-phantom Scimitar trembled in his loosening grip; the ink-black mana coated every inch of its sharp length flickered and weakened. Kai’s fingers loosened around the handle, and it clattered to the stone.
Bryan wasted no time and kicked the scimitar away, sending it skittering across the ground.
Far out of reach in case Kai tried to take it again.
But there was no need for him to worry about that again as Kai suddenly made a deep gasp.
A raw, desperate inhale like a drowning man breaching the surface.
He blinked, and the nightmare finally released him. He panted against Bree’s chest. His body suddenly drenched in sweat as the cost of Pyre Overload crashed down on him all at once. In exchange for the boost, he would be drained completely right after.
Realizing that Kai had returned to normal, Bree’s lips curled into a relieved smile.
Her hands moved to his back and stroked it gently.
"You’re fine," She whispered softly. "It’s okay. You’re safe. I’m here with you."
Bree nodded at the others, signaling for Dorian and Bryan to release his arms. And they did, assuming that she now had everything under control. And once freed, Kai, still trembling and gasping, wrapped his arms around Bree and held on.
His fingers grasped at her back, searching for something to hold onto.
Or perhaps checking whether she was real or not.
And once he did, he could finally close his eyes and inhale her sweet, flowery scent—letting it anchor him and soothe the raw edges of his fractured mind. For long minutes, Kai stayed in her embrace.
No one spoke. No one moved.
The clearing was silent save for his ragged breathing and the whisper of Bree’s reassurances.
Dorian and Bryan gave them some space, deciding to check out the carcass of a Star Beast.
Slowly, the rise and fall of his chest steadied.
His grip on her back loosened by degrees—and when he finally pulled away, his hands fell to her waist as though they’d forgotten where else to go. He stared around the clearing with the hollow confusion of a man surfacing from a dream he couldn’t quite remember.
Kai’s eyes found the shattered vambraces on the ground and the cracks on the stone.
"What happened...?" He slowly turned to Bree and asked.
All he remembered was staring at the night sky and seeing Bella demanding him to stand.
Considering that he had tried being harmless and kind to Barbara, wanting nothing more than a safe encounter with no problem whatsoever, but got punched anyway, Bella wanted him to strike back.
Kai already assumed that kindness would be repaid with kindness.
And since it didn’t go that way, he needed to retaliate.
After all, the strong can be kind to everyone but will repay with the same fervor if wronged.
For a few seconds, Kai’s forehead creased as he recalled back as to what happened after he sat up—but everything after was blurry. He could tell that a battle broke out as he was exhausted and in pain, more so than he was before.
But he wasn’t certain how it went down.
Bree offered a radiant smile, "Barbara hit your head hard; that’s what happened."
Moments later.
The four of them huddled near the Star Beast’s carcass with a bonfire crackling at the center—Dorian’s doing, its warmth pushing back the creeping cold. They decided to take a short break after everything that had happened.
Gathering beside the carcass didn’t bother them at all.
It’s a skeleton with no flesh, so it doesn’t smell like anything other than the earth.
As the flames danced, Kai listened and finally learned what truly went down.
Dorian and Bryan were quite detailed as they watched the battle from start to finish.
Both of them said that he had fought with Barbara in a duel and managed to put her—a High Angel said to be equal to Chester—on her knees. It was quite shocking even for Kai to believe that he was able to do that.
"Since when are you able to summon a shadow golem?" Dorian asked, raising a brow.
"Hmm?" Kai glanced at him and then shrugged, trying to remain nonchalant even though he was cursing inside for summoning Perion recklessly. The group knowing about Perion is fine, but Barbara is another matter entirely. "I can summon it even back in the Blood Rite."
"You can? Did you kill Lion with its help?"
"I was thinking of using it to beat Lion, but I won fair and square."
"Heh. Show off." Dorian propped his cheek against his palm, his voice dripping with theatrical sadness. "As a Supernal of Moros, you just erase someone with that fancy ability of yours, and Moros is pleased. Quite simple." He sighed heavily. "Me? I have to drink the blood of young— handsome men. Do you have any idea how inconvenient that is? Pleasing my Patron God is a pain in the ass."
"You want my blood?" Bryan stretched his arm. "I’m a man, young, and certainly handsome."
"Handsome? Buddy, you look like a cow."
"Fuck, a cow? Do you need to go that far?"
"What do you want me to say?"
"At least say that I looked like a bull, that’s a bit better..."
Dorian blinked and then shook his head at Bryan’s stupidity. Some people found a cow cute, but nobody found a bull cute. "Whatever dude, you always said—stupid shit. I am starting to wonder how you even graduated from high school."
As the two continued on their menial banter, Kai looked down at his hands.
I beat Barbara in a duel? No, it’s still not my actual strength. She held her own, and that’s a problem.
Kai won the duel, but it was mainly because of the Pyre Overload.
Had it not been for that, he would probably have lost badly against Barbara. As surprising as it was for him to win against one of the strongest freshman students, it’s still not fair—and square. Still not like his victory over Lion.
It was only through borrowed strength, and he can’t rely on that.
Still... At least I know where I stand now.
Barbara and Chester are close in strength, at least that’s what everyone believed.
Both had fought during the sparring session before, but they weren’t using their powers.
Just hand-to-hand combat, and Chester has the edge.
Barbara’s Patron God, Atalanta, is a huntress, while Chester’s Patron God, Perseus, is a warrior who had fought countless enemies. It wasn’t a surprise that Chester has the edge in pure close-quarter combat.
I need to be stronger, or else I won’t stand a chance against Chester.
Kai’s eyes glanced to the carcass, and a smile crept to his lips.
