Chapter 269: Champion of the Dragon Ring Tournament

It happened faster than the eye can follow.

One moment Kai was standing still, and the next, he was already standing in front of Chester.

He raised the scaled shield, infusing it with dark energy that had no scent or trace. Nobody in the entire stadium could sense it other than seeing it with their own two eyes. And then, with a violent swing, he swung it horizontally straight into Chester’s head.

Like smashing into a watermelon, the shield ruptured the skin and shattered the skull.

Chester’s head exploded into blood, flesh, and brain matter.

Swoosh—!

And the moment that happened, the pillar of deep blue aura evaporated. Snuffed to nothing.

Serenity returned to the arena as if the corruption never happened.

Before the headless body fell—Kai reached out with his other hand and stopped it from falling by gripping the torn combat suit. Darkness concentrated in his hand, turning his fingers black, and with a slow twist, the darkness claimed the headless body.

It disappeared without a trace.

Chester was erased from the world as if he were never alive. Never a part of the academy.

Shock rippled through the stadium.

Before the corruption, Chester was already one of the strongest freshmen. A High Angel with high combat prowess, even in comparison to the seniors. After the corruption—he was even stronger than that.

His strength touched the entry level of an Aspirant Supernal rank.

No freshman or even seniors could defeat him.

And yet, the Lesser Angel, the one who was favoured to lose the tournament, killed Chester.

He did it with one blow like it was nothing.

Some of the seniors, in the middle of their surprise, shifted their gazes to Roan, who was now sitting on the first level of the seats along with the participants who lost. Earlier, they had gone ahead and ridiculed Roan for surrendering against the Lesser Angel.

As it turned out, he made the right decision to do that.

Both participants who went against Kai ended up dead.

One committed suicide, and the other got erased completely from the world, devoured.

Even though he had made the right decision, Roan didn’t feel relieved.

He still felt his soul was already in his mouth.

Meanwhile, on the ruined arena, Kai remained motionless—watching the void where Chester had been up until seconds ago. Then, he slowly turned his head to look at the Chancellor again like it was the natural thing to do.

And for a suspended moment, those total black eyes were fixated on the Chancellor.

Its gaze was icy to the point of stabbing into the bones.

Right now, the Chancellor was surrounded by his deans and the students. He had to maintain his reputation, but even so, he felt uncomfortable under the icy stare. And he was certain that the one who was staring at him right now wasn’t fully Kai.

Another being was staring at him, warning him.

Just that alone made him swallow harshly, though his clothes hid it well from prying eyes.

As suddenly as it came, the darkness seizing Kai’s body then disappeared.

Kai recoiled a little, forced to take a step back—and then blinked his eyes to connect his mind back to reality. He looked around and found every single person inside the stadium had their eyes on him.

He felt awkward under their stares.

Soon, he realized that he was the only one standing in the arena.

Memories flooded back into him as he remembered what happened seconds ago.

Chester had been killed by his own two hands.

Even so, since he had already declared what he was going to do to the Chancellor, there shouldn’t be any problem. Kai exhaled through his nose. He then inhaled deeply as he raised the shield, declaring victory.

And as if the crowd had the same mind, they erupted once again.

But this time, their cheers weren’t going to be interrupted.

A champion of the Dragon Ring tournament had been settled, and there was no disputing it.

Moments later.

Once the incident had been resolved and the red wall was finally taken down with the efforts of the deans, clawing out the energy source, the announcer finally declared Kai as the victor of this year’s Dragon Ring Tournament.

History had been made.

For the first time since the founding of Eventide Academy, a Lesser Angel had won.

Despite all odds, Kai had come out on top.

It was incredible.

Kai was now inside his designated room within the interior of the stadium. A few grey-masked Angels, including the one who tailed him earlier, helped him get to his designated room as he was extremely wounded.

Fortunately, he somehow had enough strength to walk a bit despite needing support.

It seemed the incident earlier had recovered a little bit of his stamina.

Now, he was sitting on the edge of a soft bed.

"Please wait a minute, Lesser An—" the grey-masked Angel paused for a second, and then he cleared his throat. "I mean, Champion Kai. Please wait a minute. Get comfortable, and there’ll be someone to attend to you."

Once he said that, he awkwardly turned around and exited the room to give Kai some privacy.

Silence enveloped the room.

Kai could hear the muffled sound of the students leaving the stadium in the distance, but that didn’t last long. He breathed for a moment, catching his breath—and then opened the combat suit that was already wet from sweat and blood.

A painful groan escaped his lips as the fabric scraped against his wounds.

It was so tight that every pull caused him extreme pain.

But eventually, with great struggle, he managed to get it off. He tossed the combat suit aside and could finally feel like he could breathe again. "I think I’m starting to develop hatred—to suits that tight," He rasped, casting a spiteful glance at the crumpled fabric. "Damn thing."

Kai averted his gaze from the source of hatred and leaned forward.

He placed both elbows on his thighs and waited patiently.

Only then did he look around the room.

Unlike the one he was in earlier, this room was clean, had a soft bed and even a sofa for visitors, a table with a basket of fruits on it—and even a dispenser to drink from. Instead of a waiting room, this looked more like a three-star hotel room.

"I don’t think there’s a room for the champion. This must be Chester’s or Barbara’s."

Speaking the names of the dead felt weird.

Kai shook his head and pushed the thought of those two away from his mind.

In the silence, he finally settled on what had happened.

"I won..." Kai whispered as his lips curled into a smile. His voice was filled with disbelief, as achieving this victory was not easy in the slightest, but nevertheless, he did it. "Even though I am fighting on three fronts—against the participants, the academy, and that damn Demigod. I still won in the end."

Of course, he didn’t forget the help that he needed in the end.

But he didn’t let it take away the glory.

Kai was quite sure that the Demigod was the one who somehow corrupted Chester, so the last bit of help was simply necessary. No chance that he could defeat Chester in his corrupted state, even if he was at peak condition.

"Like you said... You’re always watching me."

Considering that he has other siblings, he was confused as to why the Goddess could watch him at all times. But then again, he wasn’t going to question a literal Goddess. She must have extraordinary ways to do that.

Something that he couldn’t even begin to grasp.

"I wasn’t sure that you were going to help me, especially how I was humiliated and tortured. But I’m really grateful for yo—"

Just then, Kai stopped mid-sentence.

His lips parted a little, and his face flushed beet-red as he remembered something.

"Ah... right." The words came out as little more than a whisper—as the realization struck him. Heat crawled up his neck and flooded his face, each second deepening the red until it felt like his skin might actually burn. All because of one thing he remembered only now. "I did say that."

Earlier, he had accidentally called the Goddess of the Primordial Night—mother.

In the moment, Kai remembered that she wanted him to call her that, and decided to do it out of sheer desperation, in case she might not want to help. His life was on the line—so he blurted it out without thinking.

Now, as he remembered it, he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

Because that was most likely the reason why the Goddess decided to help him.

"Arghk..." Kai scratched the back of his head. "Whatever. I’ll never say it again."

Soon enough, a knock came from the door.

"Come in," Kai answered after he straightened his posture and calmed himself down.

"Excuse me." A middle-aged woman stepped into the room. She was wearing a white robe— and her face looked familiar. "Champion Kai, I’m the healer assigned to address your wounds, Indira. May I come in?"

"Sure."

Kai waved his hand.

He was suffering right now, so a healer would be greatly appreciated.

Even the slightest bit of relief would really help right about now.

"Lie down on the bed, please." Indira took a chair on the other side of the room and placed it directly beside the bed. She sat down—and frowned when she saw that Kai was still sitting in the same position. "What’s wrong?"

"Erm..." Kai looked down at the bedsheet; the edge was already stained with blood. "I would smear blood everywhere if I lay down right now. Blood is a real hassle to clean. Can’t you treat me while sitting?"

A chuckle slipped from Indira’s lips.

She found it funny that Kai would even fret about that.

"Did your sister scold you that much?" She asked humorously—and then covered her mouth when she realized what she said. "Oh, I apologize. I shouldn’t have brought up your sister. I am really sorry."

"No need to apologize. I’m fine." Kai raised his hand, gesturing to her that it was fine.

It has been months.

Even though he still felt sad whenever he thought about Bella, he had already made peace with it.

Besides, she wouldn’t want him to get stuck on her for too long.

Just mourn enough to show that he really loved her, and then move on with his life.

Kai finally lay down on the bed after Indira said that it was fine.

She then began treating his wounds.

About an hour later, Kai was standing inside an office room.

Across from him was the Chancellor, sitting behind his desk, and the situation was a déjà vu.

Triumphing over the Dragon Ring Tournament is one thing, but this was the most important moment for Kai. It was the final decision of whether he really succeeded or not. Whether he’d be robbed again or allowed to win.