Kai hated the class system the academy operated in.

Hated the lens that viewed them as nothing more than the sacrificial lambs of mankind.

People who needed to constantly prove themselves worthy in order to keep on living.

He believed that there was a better way than using those with lower Divine Locks like this, but that very system wasn’t entirely useless for him. It had handed him a loophole. One that was more than capable of frightening even the strongest student in all of Eventide Academy.

Being a Lesser Angel meant he could force others to the execution rope if he wanted to.

And to do that, all he needed to do was beat them and have a witness.

Just like Lion—the academy would not hesitate to kill Angels or High Angels who lost against a Lesser Angel—deeming them unworthy to be alive despite everything. And since that’s the only upside, as being a Lesser Angel, Kai was going to abuse it.

Especially knowing that he was far stronger than ordinary Angels.

Alex wasn’t aware of this.

Why would he? Most students would go through the academy years without knowing this.

Besides, there was no precedent in the academy’s entire history—not a single instance where this had ever been treated as a loophole. Most Lesser Angels died early, crushed by the pain of having to kill their own family members.

And those who endured never survived the Blood Rite.

Isolation in that rite always meant certain death, at least until Kai appeared.

"Frankly, I want you to tell this to the academy," Kai continued—as he approached Alex, and then squatted right before him to bore the abyssal black eyes into him. "I’m rather tired of the discrimination I received as a Lesser Angel, so death doesn’t sound so bad right now."

"You... You’re crazy," Alex whispered raspingly.

He now realized that going against Kai was a bad idea from the start.

Unlike the other students, as a Lesser Angel, Kai had nothing left to lose. No family. No safety net. He lived constantly on the brink of death—and that proximity had changed him. Even a sick dog would bare its fangs when cornered.

Kai was that sick dog; cornered every day of his life.

If anyone were to target him, then they should also accept that Hermes’s sight would be on them.

"Get up and tell your friends about this," Kai rose again and walked past Alex. "Maybe talking with them would help you grow a spine to gamble your life away. I’ll be patiently waiting for your decision."

Kai headed back to the dormitory.

He stopped right beside Abigail, seeing that she had something to say.

"Is it going to be fine...?" She asked while staring at Alex and his unconscious friends. Beating them badly like this—she was worried that they might come for revenge. "Even though there are no grey-masked Angels here, they might say that you attacked them later."

"Do you love Talitha and your family?" Kai asked.

"What?" Abigail shifted her gaze to look at him, confused. "Yes, I do. They are my family."

"In that case, they won’t tell this to the grey-masked Angels. It’s going to be fine."

"It’s going to be fine...?"

Kai didn’t explain what he meant as he headed back inside.

Right now, the matter regarding Alex should be handled—he won’t be coming back again like Roan. He has more to lose compared to Kai. As much as he liked Bree—he’s not foolish enough to insist on having her at the expense of his family.

Reality isn’t like a romance novel.

Only a few chosen individuals could experience the accumulation of good things—which was the reason why stories existed in the first place. Be it fantasy, myths, or even reality. And those who tried but weren’t the lucky ones would be crushed.

For that, Alex is not dumb enough to gamble his entire family only to get Bree.

...

The next day.

Kai decided he’d had enough surprises for one night. He retreated to his room—and spent the remaining hours reading over Professor Hera’s notes, searching for anything he might have missed accidentally.

And throughout those hours, Talitha stayed on her side of the room entirely.

But hearing what Kai did from Abigail made her worry.

Despite Abigail telling her that Alex deliberately bumped into her, she still feels guilty.

She came out once to apologize again, and then returned when Kai gave little to no reaction.

It was only then that she could force herself to sleep.

Early in the morning, after the morning exercise and sparring, every single freshman student got a notification on their regulated phones. It was from the bulletin board app that announced the creation of the sixth group, the Ambrosia Pact.

Normally, they would simply think nothing about it.

Most of the time, it wasn’t anything worth mentioning.

But seeing the leader of this new group caught them completely off guard.

Eyes bulged across the academy—some wide enough to seem ready to pop from their sockets. A Lesser Angel had claimed leadership of the newest group. And worse, of the five members in the Ambrosia Pact, two were High Angels.

Such a lineup cracked the hierarchy of the First Sky.

Naturally, the grey-masked Angels and the academy itself should’ve prohibited this—laying out severe punishments to those involved, especially the High Angels. Yet the academy made no such moves.

A gathering of three students stared at their phone screens.

"Dorian? Who’s that?"

"Just a cripple nobody. He’s groupless, so I’m not surprised."

Not too far away, a larger group of students in the garden were also staring at their phones.

"Isn’t Bryan from the Ichor Legion? Chester’s group?"

"Yes, he’s from the Ichor Legion. Why the hell did he change group to the Lesser Angel’s group?"

"I heard from a friend in the Ichor Legion that Chester sent him to scout—the Fire Swamp on his own. That place is crawling with Star Beasts, and Chester sent him out alone."

"What? On his own? No wonder he left the Ichor Legion; that’s basically telling him to die. I would also leave if I were him. Just that... why did he change to this one? Why not the Auric Cabal? He’s strong enough."

"To the underworld with that, I am wondering how the fuck the Lesser Angel convinced Matilda to join. I thought she wanted to be low-key, which was why she decided to be a part of the Stygian Collective."

"She got into a fight—with Chester. Draksa already submitted the Stygian Collective to the Ichor Legion, so she must’ve changed groups to the Ambrosia Pact because she doesn’t want to be in any way subservient to Chester. Since that Lesser Angel has a problem with Chester, his new group is perfect for her."

"That made sense. Shit... With only five members, the Ambrosia Pact seemed better than the Rising Phalanx. Andre’s group."

Inside one of the classrooms, the Ichor Legion gathered around in bulk.

As the top-dog of the freshmen, they had free rein to do as they wished without needing to fear any retaliation from anyone. One group that they needed to be wary about was only the Auric Cabal; but that group rarely encountered them.

It was almost like a silent agreement between the two strongest groups.

That they would steer clear of each other’s path.

However, that changed today.

"Chester!" A student with a mohawk burst into the classroom, opening the door roughly and scanning his eyes across the entire place. His eyes lit up when he found Chester, as he quickly approached. "You have to see this! For Zeus’ sake, he’s insane!"

"Who?" Chester took the phone and looked at the notice.

As he read through the paragraph, his brows only dipped further and further. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Frankly, he hadn’t known what to expect from the mohawk student’s reaction. However, now he realized it was something deeply displeasing to see. Other students took the phone—from him after he finished reading, while some checked through their own phones.

A stunned silence swept over the classroom as the students read the notice.

It was the creation of the newest group, the sixth group—Ambrosia Pact.

But what was surprising about this group was its leader being the Lesser Angel, Kai.

All of them collectively sucked in a cold breath.

"This... This is a direct challenge," the mohawk student said with a grim tone, understanding that the Lesser Angel making a new group for himself meant only one thing. "He’s planning to participate in the Dragon Ring. He’s planning to challenge you, Chester."

Everyone knew what happened in the hive.

Knew that Chester and Kai had an altercation that only stopped by the professors.

And they also knew Kai tried to challenge Chester.

Now that he has his own group, he technically could champion himself into the Dragon Ring.

"Heh," Chester sneered and leaned back on his chair. "What does that even matter? He’s only a Lesser Angel. If I wanted to, I can take ten of him down at the same time. I hope that piece of shit really participates. That way, I can kill him without repercussion."

In the cafeteria, there was a large group of students sitting at a long table.

At the heart of this group was a female student with an imposing aura. She was quite towering for a woman, able to eclipse the men around her, with broad shoulders and a powerful, battle-hardened physique that radiated with raw strength.

Long dark green hair cascaded down her back in untamed waves, framing her sharp features.

Unlike the norm, her black shirt was sleeveless, which accentuated the sculpted muscles of her arms and torso, while a black blazer adorned with crimson accents hung over her shoulders like a mantle of authority.

One feature that made her look intimidating was the scar crossing her right eye.

It seemed to be left behind by the claw of a ferocious animal.

"Barbara, a new group was formed—the Ambrosia Pact, and it’s led by the Lesser Angel," the student beside her said, eyes glued onto the screen as he scrolled the list of members.

"And?" Barbara kept eating her food without sparing a glance. "It doesn’t have anything to do with me."

"Oh, I beg your pardon, but it does..."

"Hmm?"

Before Barbara could turn, the student already placed his phone before her face and pointed at the name with his index finger. "Look here," He said, tapping the screen as if to emphasize what he found. "Bree was poached."

Almost instantly, Barbara snatched the phone and read the notice once again.

She read it over and over again, making sure that she didn’t read it wrong.

"Bree... left?" Barbara leaned away, and her hand that was holding the phone slowly dropped to the table. She was contemplating what could possibly make Bree leave the group. Then, she looked at the leader’sname again. "Kai, huh... Let’s say you have now come to my attention."