Kai stood before the whimpering student in contemplation.

He was certain that it had been Chester. The person who sent this student to steal from him had to be Chester, but now he knew that it wasn’t the case. Someone else was behind this, and the worst part, Kai had no idea who this person was.

Not even a guess.

His gaze trailed to the leather sack in the mud to his right.

From the start, why did this person even throw one sack to this guy?

Regardless of who this person was, the purpose was undoubtedly to make him unable to fulfill his weekly quota and have him be publicly executed. He doesn’t believe this person stole his mana ores simply because of greed.

For this person to even find him meant a thorough search.

Intent on finding him.

So, the purpose should be to take care of him for good.

And to do that, the person should’ve brought it away and dumped the mana ores into a water body or something. That way, Kai wouldn’t be able to find the mana ores. And that’s basically game over for him.

Instead, this person shoved a sizeable amount of mana ores to this student.

Strange.

Just then, a movement in the shadow and the sound of a broken branch followed.

Kai caught the mistake and immediately sprinted in that direction.

He didn’t forget to bring the leather sack with him.

I almost caught up to him.

A flicker of malice stirred in Kai’s eyes as realization dawned upon him that the person had thrown the leather sack of mana ores to the student because Kai was approaching fast. He must have realized he’d be caught soon, so he bought himself time to escape by creating a distraction.

One that would pull Kai’s attention away for a moment.

Kai picked up his pace as he saw the figure was not too far away from him.

From behind, this figure seemed to be a man and is wearing a simple black shirt and pants.

Physique-wise, he could’ve passed for Chester, but his hair gave him away. No blue tinge at the edges. It became apparent that this person was not the Ichor Legion’s leader. And beyond that, Kai had no idea who he was dealing with.

He’s leading me to a trap.

Kai’s brows dipped into an evident frown.

It took him a few minutes to gain answers from the student earlier, and that was enough time for this man to set up a trap, which was why he came back. Not to mention, there was no leather sack with him, which made it even more obvious.

He wasn’t that oblivious and gullible not to realize he was being led to a trap.

But he has no other choice.

He tilted his head back, catching glimpses of the night sky through the swamp’s tangled roof. It was already nearing midnight. And that means he only has a bit over twelve hours before his weekly quota is due; the clock is ticking.

Frankly, it was more than enough time to gather another three thousand mana ores.

It’s possible to gather that much with Perion and Matilda.

However, this man can also return and steal his mana ores again.

Kai needed to deal with this—put an end to this, whether he liked it or not.

After a minute of cat and mouse, the man slipped into a cave. Kai stopped directly before the entrance and summoned Perion. "Sorry for this, but help me scout ahead. Go inside and check if there are more of them waiting for me."

He gave Perion’s leg a firm tap, and the shadowy golem slipped into the dark.

Not minding what Kai wanted him to do, Perion entered.

A moment later, he returned and shook his head.

"He’s alone, so he must want to assassinate me." Kai nodded to himself and stared at the cave. "His aura is strong, but not to the point of being overwhelming. I can handle this," Determination firmed inside his chest. "He’s underestimating me, and that’s a good thing."

Kai entered the cave with steady steps.

It was dark, but his eyes could see perfectly, or even better, in the dark.

At the other end, he saw light, moonlight, so ahead should be an open chamber.

Upon stepping into the spacious chamber, the size of a classroom, Kai’s eyes locked onto—the leather sack slumped against the far side. Mana ores glinted where they’d spill from its neck. He wanted to quickly snatch it and go, but he held himself back.

No need to rush. Not yet.

Instead, he scanned his eyes around, searching for the man.

But he couldn’t find anyone.

Kai threaded forward with slow steps, holding his scimitar tighter in his hand, ready to strike.

Anything that moved would get slashed.

As soon as he reached the midpoint of the chamber, a slow, echoing tap seeped into his ears. Kai snapped his head around when the wind whistled, but he was far too late to react, surprised by the speed of the man.

Bam—!

Kai clenched his teeth as he blocked the punch with his arms, crossing them in the nick of time.

But shockingly, the punch packed more strength than he had anticipated.

He was hurled away and slammed into the wall hard; the air in his lungs was forced out.

Kai covered his mouth and felt something warm sluicing down his arm—blood. His blood.

A frown crept to his face as he raised his gaze, fixating on the man standing in the middle—lean-muscled and towering, at least a few inches taller than Kai. He has nothing in his hands. No weapon. Heck, he didn’t even wear any kind of armor.

"Who are you?" Kai asked and rose to his feet. "And why are you doing this?"

The man was wearing a mask, only his eyes were visibly, and Kai didn’t recognize them.

"You were warned. You were told what you can’t do. And still, you allow rage and spite to take over—and recklessly killed someone important." The man’s voice was a baritone so deep that it seemed to press against the walls of the cave. "That mistake carries heavy consequences."

"It’s the Blood Rite," Kai argued, realizing that this was about Lion. "Death is normal there."

"You still don’t understand," the man scoffed lightly. "I forgot, you are still a new Angel."

"All I’m understanding is that you and whoever is behind you couldn’t accept that I’m stronger than Lion. Under the rule set by the academy, the weak deserved death and the strong survive."

"Did you think only catering to the academy would keep you safe? That it will be enough? That you could survive as an Angel—" He paused, then corrected with deliberate cruelty. "Survive as a Lesser Angel? No. Now you must cater to your group, too, or else you’d die mining. Soon, like me, you’ll answer to a higher figure.

"When an Angel dies, the divine bloodline inside their veins is recycled and then bestowed on the next one. To the next baby born somewhere on the surface. The entire world wants us dead. That... is the life of an Angel," He raised his hand and clenched it. "The longer you live, the higher the price of survival becomes."

Judging from the way he talked, Kai could guess that he was a senior.

And that made this talk even worse.

Kai could see through the man’s eyes that there was no light at the end of the tunnel.

Especially for a Lesser Angel like him.

"Don’t make this harder than it needs to be, Kai..." The man lowered his hand—and his eyes softened. Like he was pitying Kai, who hadn’t experienced what he had. "No use in struggling. Nothing good will come in the future. You’ve already proven what you need to prove.

"Your sister wanted you strong, and you are strong. You killed multiple High Angels. You’ve proven enough," He reached out his hand like he was extending a helping hand. "Go reunite with your sister. Accompany her as you have always done."

Kai’s face turned grim.

He lowered his gaze to the floor, thoughts churning in the silence.

It was an unfair world he was living in.

Everything in it was against him.

On the surface, the weak are protected in the name of morale and justice.

Here, on the clouds, there are no such things—the opposite reigns like a cancer to the body.

As tempting as it sounded, ending it all so that he won’t need to suffer and struggle anymore, he knew Bella would never want that. She had wanted him to live. A long, fulfilled life. With as many children as his arms could hold.

She wanted him to make a statement.

Leave a legacy behind.

And he wouldn’t be able to do that if he surrendered right now.

Plus... People kept using Bella to pressure me. I’m getting sick of it.

Her name is too good to be uttered by the likes of him.

Instead of backing down, Kai tilted his head and held the scimitar before him, ready to fight.

"Is that how it’s going to be?" The man’s voice rumbled through the chamber. From the stone above the entrance, a tendril of thick, briny black water slithered forth like the Kraken’s tentacle. It approached the man and coiled around his waist, lifting him slowly off the ground. "Then so be it."

He took something out of his pocket and tossed it at Kai.

It landed a few steps away from Kai and shattered; white smoke burst out.

Kai covered his nose with his arm.

Even with his arm on the way, some of the white smoke slipped in, but it doesn’t have a scent.

He leaped back, expecting it to be some kind of poison gas, but this made the man chuckle.

"Don’t worry—it’s not poison gas." The man’s smile was audible behind his mask. "I’m under orders to keep a low profile. Careful. So, your death needs to be... natural." The ground began to tremble, a steady, rhythmic quake rising through the dirt. "You have to die here, and then the academy registers your death. Only then will I bring your corpse back."

Kai’s gaze dropped to the cave, entranced.

He saw movements. Shadows are pouring into the tunnel with speed. And there are a lot of them.

Once the first shapes lumbered into the chamber’s moonlight, his blood ran cold. Steel-tusked boars. He wouldn’t be worried about them as he had killed many of them throughout the day, but there were dozens of them. No—more. At least a hundred of them.

And many of them are glaring at Kai as if there was bad blood between them.

Seems like the white smoke hadn’t been a weapon.

It had been bait, and it had called multiple scourges into the cave.