Chapter 42 - A Fight to Remember
Kai stood on one side of the arena with Luca before him.
Mana swirled around Kai as he prepared himself. Apparently, he had been unconscious for an entire week, meaning he had missed the original meeting. At least he was here now.
This time there were three teachers and one elder watching from the side.
One of them was Elder Huan, sitting among the crowd and acting as though nothing was happening. His aura was completely hidden, yet Kai could still see him. Only because Elder Huan allowed it.
Kai's and Luca's gazes locked together.
Luca spoke first.
"There was a slight change in plans. We will fight later. But you will still get to fight today. Just not me..."
A second later, the doors to the massive dome burst open with a loud bang.
A single person walked inside.
Glowing brown eyes sharper than swords.
The space around him trembled.
The pressure of a Heaven-ranked bloodline descended like mountains upon the weaker people around him.
Black flowing hair.
A powerful body.
And an even more powerful physique.
Along with a ridiculously powerful bloodline.
Kai remembered one of Nova's notes.
'Bloodlines have minor ranks within each realm as well. Heaven Rank is a major realm. Within it are three stages. Early Heaven, the weakest. Middle Heaven. Then Late Heaven, the strongest.'
Kai stared forward, his eyes dull.
Feelings bloomed within him.
Feelings he had thought he would have forgotten by now.
Because the person walking toward him was a spitting image of Kai.
Just...
A better Kai.
It was, of course, Kai's elder brother.
Ray Gremory.
He walked with pride and confidence, his body radiating power that Kai could barely even imagine reaching.
Kai glanced toward Luca.
His eyes carried a simple question.
'Why?'
Luca immediately looked away, avoiding Kai's gaze and hiding his face from Kai's cold eyes.
Kai had seen guilt flash in Luca's face just before he turned away.
Kai averted his gaze to his brother's
Kai could not even bring himself to look directly into his so-called elder brother's eyes.
--
Memories flashed through Kai's mind.
Every single time he passed an exam in school, his brother would always be celebrated first.
After all... Ray was alway's seen better.
Kai's chest had burned with fury in those days, but that fury had dulled over the years.
Now it exploded once again.
Just a few months ago, on the day Kai mourned losing his chance to enter the academy, his brother had celebrated entering it.
A massive cake sat in the center of the room.
A cake that cost more money than Kai even knew his family possessed.
Across its surface were written the words:
"Ray, Shining Star of the Gremory Family."
Kai didn't eat the cake that day.
Kai had always lived in the shadow of his brother.
And now his brother stood before him once again.
Proud.
Confident.
Arrogant.
---
Kai's eyes changed color instinctively.
They turned crimson red.
His pupils narrowed into dragon-like slits as tiny runes appeared within them, glowing with scarlet power.
The power of a Heaven-ranked bloodline.
One that was clearly weaker than Ray's.
But Kai had two bloodlines.
Both auras surged forward together.
They merged into one and pushed against Ray's pressure. Not only that, But they began devouring it.
Ray stopped for a brief moment. Before his own aura exploded outward. The pressure became nearly visible as the two forces collided.
The two crashed against one another like opposing storms.
Ray glanced toward one of the teachers.
The teacher visibly panicked "R-Ready when you are."
Ray's aura expanded even further.
Kai immediately felt his bloodline essence being affected.
He didn't hesitate.
He tried to resist the feeling through sheer control of his bloodline essence and yet he failed.
Just like every other time he failed.
So he silently turned to the system.
[You are under Bloodline Suppression. Your bloodline powers have been reduced by 50%.]
[You have gained a quest.]
[Defeat your brother.]
Kai silently spoke.
"Inspect."
[Name - Ray Gremory]
[Bloodline Tier - Late Heaven]
[Bloodline - N/A] [Must be in contact.]
[Strength - 40]
[Speed - 10]
[Intelligence - 50]
[Agility - 20]
[Soul Strength - 8]
--
Ray was honestly surprised.
He had heard that Kai had gained a bloodline.
But to gain a bloodline of such a high Middle Heaven tier was unexpected. Even so, it was still weaker than his own.
A Heaven-ranked bloodline so powerful that even Ray himself didn't know its true name.
---
Kai felt wrathful.
For some reason, he didn't want to turn around and walk away, He wanted to fight.
He wanted to prove to the world that he wasn't weak anymore.
That he was stronger.
Without realizing it, Kai allowed his aura to fuse with his bloodline aura.
A large, tangible flame appeared around him, swaying violently. He stood at the center of the storm.
The pressure forced many of the spectators to step back.
The teachers merely shrugged it off, though even they looked surprised.
Elder Huan, who knew far more about the situation than anyone else present, simply smiled.
'I might have found my successor,' he thought.
'But can he handle this fight? Ray is undoubtedly stronger... unless Kai lied to me.'
Kai looked around the arena.
If he unleashed all of his power, the teachers would undoubtedly begin paying close attention to him.
Little did he know, one already was.
Mentally, Kai asked,
"If I use Shadow Control to pull the shadows from everything around me except Ray and myself, then create a sphere around us, can it stop people from seeing inside?"
[...]
For some reason, the system remained silent for several seconds.
Then it responded.
[Skill Concept: Shadow Veil.]
[Gather shadow mana to create a veil that hides from prying eyes.]
[You can do it.]
Kai took a deep breath.
Then he activated God Eyes fully.
As he opened them again, his left eye became a mixture of black and gold.
His right eye became a mixture of royal blue and emerald green.
Above Ray's head, Kai could barely make out a flickering number.
[39]
Kai was baffled.
There should have been no way for Ray to become so strong in such a short amount of time.
How was that even possible?
But he didn't care.
He wanted to fight, He wanted to unleash all of his power He wanted to prove the world once and all that he was powerful.
And to do that, he would need to use his second bloodline.
Unseen by Kai, both of his bloodline cores began spinning rapidly, resisting the suppression.
Kai activated both Shadow Sense and Shadow Control.
Slowly, shadows gathered between him and Ray.
He felt mana leave his body at a frightening rate.
[10,000 / 15,000 Mana]
Finally, Kai felt he had gathered enough.
To the outside world, people were already beginning to wonder what was happening.
Ray simply watched the rapidly expanding mass of darkness.
Then it exploded outward.
The sphere of shadows swallowed the entire arena.
[Shadow Veil.]
Kai immediately prepared himself for battle.
Kai knew he had created a new skill that would have appeared in his skills tab.
But right now, He did not care for it.
After steadying his breathing, he silently checked the time.
Night.
Perfect.
Without hesitation, Kai summoned both of his weapons.
The short sword formed first.
Then the crimson katana appeared in his other hand.
The moment they materialized, Kai moved.
He didn't wait for Ray to react.
He slashed.
Two attacks shot forward at once.
One visible, glowing crimson.
The other invisible, formed entirely from mana.
Both raced toward Ray.
Ray did not dodge.