I am the Only Son of Nyx-Chapter 42: New Leader

Namira cried profusely.

Strands of hair fell from how hard Layra pulled, and her legs were bleeding from the drag that peeled her skin. She wasn’t the weakest in the team. She was the closest one to Aaran, and that’s the reason Layra aimed at her.

Aaran was the one who suggested them to turtle on the hill and wait.

Soon, Team Crius would do some damage, and there would be an opportunity for them to slip away. But even until this moment, there was no sign of Team Coeus diminishing in number around the hill.

One thing that made them hopeful was the recent commotion.

It was the Awakened Monster, but the commotion was too far away to make an impact.

And Layra was now regretting ever listening to Aaran.

She went berserk.

"Layra, please! Don’t do this. Think about your dignity! If you surrender to Lion, he’d defile you! He’ll do horrible things like what he did to those of us who fall into his hands!"

"Yes, but I’d still be alive! I’m not dying here in this ditch!"

"What about Mayra?! He’s one of the reasons Mayra is dead!"

"I... I don’t care!"

"Just wait a few more days. If nothing changed, we’ll cut open a path forcefully."

"Please, Layra!"

"Don’t do this to us. You’re better than this!"

Namira swept her gaze across the area. She saw that Layra was already holding an intricate bow in her hand, seemingly having already decided on what she was going to do. The others were loud—begging her to rethink her decision.

It was utterly chaotic.

And it was only becoming worse. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Stay the fuck back! Don’t come any closer!"

"Layra, listen to me. It’s okay. We’re going to be okay."

"I said, get back!"

"Raarrgh!!"

Layra unleashed a glowing arrow that brushed past an inch from stabbing Aaran’s face and sank into the chest of another student behind. He squealed painfully, clutching the arrow as he fell to the ground.

Everything became louder after that.

Namira was sobbing on the ground beside Layra, clutching her head with her hands.

She was hyperventilating.

But then, silence fell.

"I wouldn’t do that if I were you."

A voice seeped into her ears.

Namira paused at the chilling warning in the voice. She glanced at the others and realized the voice didn’t come from one of them. All she saw was a sea of confused looks as they stared in a particular direction.

She followed their gazes and turned to the other side.

No more than ten paces away to the right, a figure was standing at the precipice.

It was unclear whether it was her blurry gaze that made it hard for her to discern the features of this figure, or perhaps that’s the same with everyone. But there was no doubt that this figure was the one who interrupted them.

Even though his voice was level, it somehow managed to cut through the chaos.

Only Aaran seemed to recognize this figure.

"You’re from Team Coeus, right?" Layra lowered her bow and pointed at the others. "Deliver a message to Lion. I’ll kill every single student in my team. In exchange, I can be a part of his team."

"I am not from Team Coeus." The figure answered. He spoke without urgency, without threat in his voice—only certainty. "But if you kill even one of them, I will treat you how I would treat Team Coeus. I’ll kill you."

Namira’s eyes widened.

Even though Layra was on the losing side right now, her strength is the real deal.

She’s a High Angel. And based on her previous battle, she is stronger than Wolf or even Snake.

Logically speaking, since this figure is not Lion, then he’d have no chance against Layra.

But for some reason, Namira believed what he said.

And her intuition was proven correct.

The fight lasted exactly eleven seconds. Namira’s eyes were wide open, focused, but she still barely caught the whole battle. She saw Layra making the first move, firing an arrow of light that was easily caught by the figure mid-air.

She saw Layra leaping up and fired more arrows, but was slammed back down hard.

Then, a thunderous crack resounded.

And when the dust finally settled, the figure stood victorious—with Layra suspended by his grip, one hand wrapped around her throat. He released her mercifully, and she collapsed to her knees.

A heartbeat later, the soft, broken sound of sobbing drifted through the air.

Layra broke down.

"I’m scared..." She whispered faintly as she reached out and held the figure’s leg. "I’m really scared."

"I know," the figure nodded, and then shifted his gaze to the survivor of Team Hyperion. He tossed a big lump of red armbands to the floor. "Layra and I fought this battle one-on-one. I won, so from now on, we’re all Team Crius, and I am your new leader. Does anyone have a problem with that?"

After the announcement, the silence that followed was deafening.

Everyone was still stunned. Still processing what they saw.

An unknown figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere, defeated their leader, who was a High Angel, easily, and now demanded that they change teams into Team Crius. It was hard for them to wrap their heads around this moment, but Aaran snapped them out of their stupor.

He took off the purple armband, bent down to take the red one, and wore it.

"You’ve gotten stronger again," Aaran gave an acknowledging nod to Kai and then turned to the others. "What are you guys still standing there? He’s the student from Team Crius I was talking about."

Realizing who Kai was, the other survivors immediately changed their armbands.

Submitting to him was easy.

Not only did he defeat their leader, Layra, easily, but he also showed mercy.

In comparison to Lion, he was the far better option.

As the others were changing their armbands, Aaran approached Kai, "What happened? I was waiting for you to make a move all this time, but you hadn’t made your move. At least, I didn’t see the impact. If you hadn’t come tonight, we’ll be toast."

From Team Hyperion’s perspective, it looked like Kai hadn’t made his move yet.

But that was simply not the case.

Most of the students he killed were original members of Team Coeus sent to scour Ixos to find the Awakened Monster. As for those encircling the hill, they were mostly students who had betrayed Team Hyperion, with only a handful from Team Coeus.

Another one of Lion’s antics to lower the enemy team’s morale.

Despite how many students Kai had killed, it simply didn’t impact Team Hyperion.

"A lot happened—but one thing is for sure," Kai crossed his arms. "Team Coeus is on its last leg."

A few hours later.

The hilltop fell silent behind him.

Kai didn’t look back.

The blood on his knuckles was still fresh, and the faint tremor in his hands intensified—as he crouched down low to look around. Underneath him, gargling on blood as the Deep Slumber wrought the body to another dimension, was a student.

He was one of those who betrayed Team Hyperion and joined Team Coeus.

Even as he begged to spare him, Kai didn’t listen.

Both his mind and senses were attuned to the surroundings, searching for any sign of life.

None was found.

In his hand, he clutched a grade 0 enchanted sword that he got from Team Hyperion’s stash.

Not too far away from his position, on a clearing near the foothill, was Team Hyperion. Layra was the one leading, with the rest of the students following behind her. All of them were now more refreshed than earlier.

Other than eating food that Kai brought up there, hope was also now present in their eyes.

"Sister..." Kai looked up to the starry night sky—through the forest canopy, hoping that his voice could reach her. "I don’t know if I’m going to come out of this alive. I don’t know if I’m ready. But know that I’ve tried my very best.

"You told me to be strong," He clenched his fists harder. "And I am being strong."

Kai lowered his gaze again and heard footsteps in the distance.

Other students from Team Coeus were approaching the clearing.

"I can’t let another day pass while that bastard Lion bullies the weak." He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath through his nose. And when he opened them again—there was no doubt left behind. "His life will be my first tribute to you, sister. Watch me."

...

"Layra, Layra, Layra..." A student with metal gold eyes smirked, exposing his gold teeth as he played with a gold short sword, tapping it against his shoulder as he observed how much shittier Team Hyperion was now. "What got you all coming down here tonight? Let me guess, hungry?"

He grabbed his crotch, "I’ve got a full-package meat right here, you want some?"

More students emerged from the treelines, nine of them in total.

Only two among them were originally from Team Coeus, while the rest were all betrayers.

And all of them snickered at what the student said.

"Ronald—you backstabber scum!" Aaran spat in disgust. "Do you really think Lion would spare you when he won? Idiot!"

"I think my chances are far better than yours," Ronald looked at his friends and laughed. "At least I’d survive the next ten minutes, while you guys won’t. Lion had told us to kill all of you on the spot, but... we can make an exception for you, Aaran.

"Strip and dance naked," He grinned wider. "Maybe seeing a monkey dancing might lighten my mood."

Aaran could only grind his teeth in anger.

All of them were classmates. Though only for two weeks, the academy made sure that they were united through the training and teaching methods used. But even then, Ronald and his goons betrayed them the moment things looked dire.

It was a disgustingly selfish act.

"You should’ve followed me to surrender," Ronald pointed his short sword at Layra. "This is nothing but a stupid rite. Who cares if those weaklings die? You’re a High Angel. You should have thought about your future. Your twin sister’s future. Had you convinced her to come, I’m sure she’d be alive right now."

He raised his hand and licked the ring on his pinky finger.

It was Mayra’s ring—the other High Angel within Team Hyperion, and also Layra’s twin sister.

Layra grimaced, but she didn’t burst.

Instead, she straightened her back and tilted her head. "Do you think you can kill me, loser? You’ve been licking Mayra’s feet since the first day of the academy like a puppy dog, begging for her attention. And now, just because you’re backed by Lion, you think you have changed? You think you’re a man? No, Ronald.

"You’re a loser then—and you’re still a loser now. You killed my sister because you can’t get her, and now, you want me. But like her, you will also never get me, no matter what you do." She sneered in contempt. "If you want me, you’ll have to make do with a corpse."

Her words cut deep.

It was evident from how Ronald’s face turned red almost instantly.

He wanted to refute, but a voice beat him to it.

"Oh... Perhaps he can’t kill you," A figure emerged from the tree line—Snake. He licked his sharp bone for an arm with a sadistic smile. "But I can. You managed to catch me off guard back then, but you’re not going to be that lucky."

"Sorry," Layra forced a mocking smile. "You won’t be getting another round against me."

"And why is that? Are you scared of a rematch?"

"No. Because you’re a dead man, Snake... You just haven’t realized it yet."