Kai limped through the overgrowth.
Each step forced a heavy grunt out of his mouth as his entire body was in pain.
Slung on his shoulder was Abigail. She managed to crawl about twenty feet away and passed out among the bushes. It was luck that Kai managed to stumble across her, so he brought her with him.
After that was a painstakingly slow walk for ten minutes.
Kai ambushed the two girls of Team Coeus, who weren't aware of their surroundings, and managed to land a few good hits. He didn't have a weapon, so he could only make do with his fists.
It was precisely why he was soon overwhelmed by the two.
Dorian intervened when he almost got stabbed.
Unlike him, Dorian has an attacking Legacy Imprint or Skill that wreathed his fists in small embers, amplifying his striking power by a notch. A single hit from him left the two girls struggling to recover.
He told Kai to leave first while he distracted the two girls and the bow-wielding girl.
Now, he didn't know where Dorian was.
How I'd kill to have an attacking imprint. But the good news, tomorrow, I can meet Noxian.
Because of what happened, his exp is now at twenty-seven. One more Deep Slumber, and he'd gathered the required additional twenty exp to meet with Noxian. That's his plan for the time being.
Kai couldn't force it.
After all, his body is broken and exhausted right now.
"Eurgh…"
Kai leaned against a tree to rest.
His skin glistened with sweat, and his eyelids now felt like they weighed a ton.
On top of needing to carry Abigail on his shoulder, his left arm wasn't responding to his command. Each time he tries to move it, he feels a stabbing pain in his shoulder. "I think it's dislocated. Shit."
Just then, he heard the sound of rustling.
Kai's body tensed as a figure emerged from behind a tree, but he breathed easily when it was only Dorian. "Can you talk before you appear? You scared the living shit out of me," He complained, almost buckling under his own weight.
"Great," Dorian scoffed at the pathetic sight. "Now our team consists of two limping guys and one unconscious girl. Do you still think it's worth saving that stupid girl? We could have died, you idiot."
"First," Kai trotted forward, practically dragging himself closer. "She's a healer. Can't go wrong there. Second, you could've left me to die a fool's death, but you didn't. I'm grateful for your help, but that still makes you as stupid as the idiot whose plan you followed."
Dorian's eyes twitched at the roast.
But he didn't have the energy to argue with Kai.
"Speaking of what happened, how did you lose them?" Kai asked incredulously.
Both girls he attacked were nimble and quick.
And Dorian is limping, so it sounded impossible for him to lose those girls.
"Yeah, if we want to win this, we should get to know each other's abilities," Dorian nodded, and then gestured with his head to follow him. "Come. I found a place for us to stay for a little bit."
Not too far away was a tight gap on a sizeable earthy-colored boulder.
It was embedded in the dirt wall.
Surprisingly, the gap was wide enough for one person to squeeze through. Too precise to be natural. Inside, the chamber opened up, spacious enough for three people to sit and settle comfortably.
Kai was certain that this must be man-made.
Someone from the previous rites, if he had to guess.
Bringing Abigail inside was a tough thing to do, though, forcing them to dig down so that it's easier to slide her inside. And once inside, Kai sat down and was pinned against the wall.
"Ready?" Dorian asked. "Grit your teeth and hold onto something."
His arms were now coiling around Kai's weak arm to handle the dislocated shoulder.
"Just do it," Kai said, and immediately prepared himself.
"Alright, on three," Dorian nodded and started counting. "One."
Krrk…
Kai bit back the scream as Dorian forced the arm back to its shoulder socket.
He only counted to one and did it.
"Now, go back out and grab a handful of silvermoss," Kai said breathlessly, his eyes fixed on Abigail. She lay on the other side, covered by his tunic. But her wounded arm, still exposed, had already begun to swell. "I saw a few along the way."
It's going to be infected soon unless treated.
"Can't do," Dorian shook his head.
Kai wanted to complain as treating Abigail is the utmost priority.
She'll be able to make things easier with her abilities.
But in the next second, Dorian's body swayed, and he fell sideways weakly.
Kai's eyes widened. He was not expecting Dorian to fall, but he quickly rushed to check on him. Fortunately, it was only mana exhaustion. Dorian had put too much strain on his Divine Lock, and his body shut down.
"Must be the ability he used to escape those girls," Kai sighed.
He was almost out of the count after trading a few blows with the girls, and left Dorian to deal with them alone as he got to safety. Surely, it wasn't an easy battle for Dorian.
Still, Kai could at least breathe easily now that he knew what he needed to do.
Had it not been for Professor Hera's notebook, he'd be really clueless right now.
He'll make sure to thank her properly if he manages to survive this.
Kai looked around and sighed. He was the only one still conscious right now.
So, the responsibility to take care of them naturally falls onto him.
Nothing bad happened while he went outside to gather the necessary herbs to treat Abigail's infection. It was only nerve-wracking since he could hear the sound of fights in the distance, and students screaming in pain.
It might be the remaining of his team being chased down.
Or maybe Team Coeus finally met with Team Hyperion.
Either way, this night made him understand that Team Coeus is a bunch of savages.
Kai focused on his task and returned to the hideout as soon as possible.
Now, Abigail's wound was covered by crushed herbs and padded by leaves.
And when it was nearing nighttime, Dorian finally woke up from his beauty sleep. He was still groggy, but at least he's awake now. "Rise and shine," Kai welcomed without looking. He was looking out from the gap to see the situation outside.
"How long did I pass out?"
"Hours."
Dorian nodded and stretched his body.
He saw a nutrient bar alongside a bow and arrow neatly placed in the corner.
"Where did you get that from?
"A private stash I kept in case of an emergency. Eat and let's get down to business."
Once Dorian has time to collect himself and eat, the two of them decide to spill out what their abilities were. Now that Team Crius might even come down to the three of them, they have to rely on each other.
Of course, there was still caution between them.
Matilda's betrayal made it clear that if given the chance, they would exchange teams.
Heck, even Kai thought of doing so when he learned what Matilda did.
It's only reasonable for Dorian to be wary of him.
Dorian is quite talented for an Angel as he has five Divine Locks. He is also a Supernal of Tiana, an Empusa with the rating of seventy-three. Impressively high for a Daemon. An Empusa is the creation of Hecate, the Goddess of Witchcraft.
A blood-drinking Daemon who lured young men with their beauty.
And this explained a lot of odd things around Dorian.
Supernals with the bloodline of an Empusa—are exclusively female. A rule Tiana enforced with brutal strictness. As a result, Dorian had undergone induced mutations due to being a male.
One being his feminine traits, and the other is his donkey-like deformity.
Because of these defects, he couldn't be considered a High Angel.
His imprint is called a Demon Fist, which was the fiery punches that Kai saw.
As for his Legacy Skill, Dorian doesn't want to tell.
Initially, Kai thought he was being careful not to show every card he had. But it wasn't entirely the case. He saw shame and reluctance on Dorian's face, which made Kai feel bad for asking further.
So, he decided to leave it at that.
"You're not going to suck me dry, are you?" Kai joked to break the ice. "I doubt your mutations erased the fundamental trait of an Empusa. The thirst for drinking the blood of young men."
"You're not wrong," Dorian smiled mischievously. "I do like to drink blood of young men, and am repulsed by the blood of women or even the sight of them. But I can handle the thirst. If any of us dies, the other would probably die too. So, no, I won't drink your blood."
Kai smiled awkwardly.
He was only saying that to break the ice, but it seemed there was really a chance.
"You hadn't actually thought of drinking my blood, have you?" Kai asked.
There was clear hesitation in his voice.
"What am I supposed to say? No?" Dorian asked back as if the answer should've been clear already. "You are young—and quite cute at that, too. It's hard not to think about doing that."
Right… I need to keep a distance.
Naturally, Kai also told Dorian about his abilities.
And by the end of their talk, they felt more grounded than they had ever been.
Knowing each other's abilities helped them picture how they could win.
Later that night.
Kai walked away to the other side, to Abigail's side, and lay down beside her.
He did that under Dorian's gaze.
"Really?" Dorian exhaled incredulously, disapproving of what Kai was doing.
"You need to stay over there," Kai said, and then pointed at Abigail. "She's going to be our border. Do not cross her."
"Please, you're overreacting. What if she's the one who'd attack you while you sleep?"
"I'll take my chances with her rather than a blood-sucking daemon."
Dorian rolled his eyes and lay down on the rough ground, facing the other wall out of spite. Only then could Kai also lie down comfortably. He stared at the ceiling of the chamber for a good moment, recalling what had happened today.
Other students from Team Coeus had adapted faster than him, relishing the savagery of this rite.
People who were normal not too long ago are now reduced to barbarians.
He shook his head, putting those memories in the back of his mind, and focused on the good things.
Inside, he could feel a swarm of fire ants crawling.
Even though he was trying to calm down, he couldn't.
He was really excited, as this would be the last Deep Slumber he needed to meet with Noxian again. Hope he can also give me an imprint. I'll be happy with being trained by him, but an imprint would be really helpful right now.
Once he was ready, he closed his eyes and let his body relax.
"Deep Slumber…"
Kai was brought back to the endless, starry expanse once again.
And without thinking much, he woke up again from the Deep Slumber.
Only a few minutes have passed in real life.
[You have gained 3 exp]
Upon seeing the notification, Kai smiled and closed his eyes again.
This time, he didn't use the Deep Slumber. Instead, he called out the name of the being he wanted to see the most. "Noxian…"