Chapter 307: Wrestling in the Sky

"Fuck did he say to Bree?"

Bryan watched as Bree headed straight towards Matilda with wide steps.

He couldn’t see her face through the mask, but she looked tense. And those heavy, wide steps she was taking promised nothing good at all. Off to the side—Dorian was already pulling out his phone from his pocket.

It was clear that he said something to pit Bree against Matilda.

"Had Kai seen this, he would’ve slapped the shit out of him." Bryan chuckled inwardly.

Secretly, he was also curious as to what Bree was going to do.

On the other hand, Matilda bit her lower lip.

’I shouldn’t have let him do it last night.’ She complained inside. Her lower part hadn’t fully recovered from that night after the tournament, and with last night, the soreness had gotten a lot worse. ’Next time when he asks, I’m going to refuse. I can do it. I’ll say no.’

As she raised her gaze, she was surprised to see Bree was going in the opposite direction.

Surprised to see Bree heading straight for her.

’What does she want?’ Matilda thought with a raised brow. ’I’m really not in the mood to talk to her, but it looked like she was going to say something serious. But with how peaceful things had been lately, what can it be?’

Bree reached Matilda and ran beside her.

For a second, she was silent.

But as she was about to open her mouth to confirm, a loud crash resounded in the distance.

Crash—!

It wasn’t only her—Matilda and even every student around heard the loud crash.

None had the time to properly register what they had heard—as a streak of darkness emerged from the academy’s direction. A loud roar reverberated through the air, and then the darkness soared past their heads with incredible speed.

"A Star Beast?!"

"Its energy... It’s a Scourge-class Star Beast!"

"Shit! Did it slip past the Second Sky’s defense again? Ask the seniors to deal with it."

"Kyaah—!"

Swoosh—!

Again—the streak of darkness slipped past their heads, causing some to instinctively use their Legacy Skill and Imprints to protect themselves. Most of them weren’t strong enough to deal with a Scourge-class Star Beast.

Heck, even the stronger ones didn’t have any confidence.

Not because they hadn’t seen one, but because this one seemed to be a cut above its own rank.

A Scourge-class Star Beast from the upper echelon.

"Are you seeing what I am seeing?" Bree asked, looking up at the streak of darkness. She was certain that it was a bird Star Beast—but her eyes were fixed on something that was dangling from its leg. Someone. "Or am I hallucinating?"

"No... You’re seeing it correctly." Matilda’s eyes narrowed. "It’s Kai."

Not too far away in front, the bald professor looked up with a clear frown on his face.

Realizing what was happening, he immediately blasted skyward.

Even though he was not wearing winged boots, he could use his mana to fly—at an incredible speed no less. It didn’t take long for him to fly right beside the raven; the high-speed pursuit made the wind resistance harsher, but mana blocked it for him.

Kai realized the bald professor was right beside him and quickly waved his hand.

"No!" He shouted so that his voice could carry. "Don’t help me! I’m taming this damn raven!"

"I know what you’re doing, and I didn’t come to help!" the bald professor replied. His answer confused Kai, but he ignored the confused look—and pointed at the crimson mantle flapping behind Kai. "Let me hold onto that! We don’t want it to get damaged!"

"Really?!" Kai was at a loss for words. "It’s made of a sturdy material, and you’re afraid that it’ll be damaged from being brushed by the wind?"

"It’s the rule, Red Prince Kai!" He insisted. "You can’t wear it to battle."

Kai clicked his tongue and took off the mantle—the wind blew on it hard, leaving it behind.

And without saying anything, the bald professor caught the crimson mantle and held it like it was the most precious thing in the world. Even though one of his students was in trouble, he cared more about that thing.

And without a word, the bald professor blasted away and caught the crimson mantle.

Holding it like a baby, he cradled it as though it were the most precious thing.

One of his students, a Red Prince no less, was in danger, but he cared more about the mantle.

Croak—!

Like it understood what happened, the raven croaked again.

"Do you think it’s funny?" Kai gritted his teeth and gripped its leg harder.

His arm muscles bulged, corded as he poured every ounce of his body into the pull. His recent breakthrough had pushed him to greater heights—elevating him to practically invincible among the freshmen, and it was now on full display.

And then, his shoulders screamed as his grip tightened until his knuckles went white.

For a heartbeat, the flight slowed.

And the raven felt it almost instantly as its wings stuttered and its rhythm broke.

It croaked in what might’ve been surprise or fury, and beat its wings harder, trying to continue forward with its speed. Realizing that it couldn’t, with Kai pulling it down hard, it spun in the air, an aerobatic maneuver in the sky, in an attempt to shake Kai.

But Kai didn’t let go.

Spite and determination made him endure the change of motion.

Not to mention, from this height, he would probably get really hurt if he fell, so he couldn’t let go.

Swoosh—!

Just like him, the raven was also determined to get him to let go as it pulled its wings, hugging its body with them, and spun even harder. Kai was thrown left, right, up—and down. Anyone else would’ve fallen by now.

I’m slipping! I need to stop it.

Kai wracked his brain and thought of something.

He raised his free hand and channelled mana into it, activating the Dark Discharge Imprint.

Boom—!

A violent burst of energy thundered after Kai punched forward—yanking the raven back and momentarily stopping its flight. Despite its humongous body, its wings unfurled again due to the shocking force, and its body was hurled backward from the force.

It was a moment of weakness, and Kai wasn’t going to let it go.

"Rrrrgh!!"

Kai pulled hard with his entire body—using the raven’s own mass against it as he spun in the air like a hammer thrower. The raven was massive, far heavier than him, but he had leverage now along with momentum.

He dragged the raven alongside him and then, with a final, guttural roar—he let go.

Swoosh—!

Like a meteor, the raven plummeted from the sky.

It fell in a streak of shadow, wings flailing, and croaks of fury echoed across the area.

And somewhere in that chaos of its descent, Kai saw it—a flicker in those terrible eyes.

One that made him feel like something was wrong.

Kai didn’t even get the time to celebrate this successful throw when he realized that his entire body was still shown. Something was still above him. As gravity seized him and he began to fall, he looked up and gasped.

Above him, a shadow loomed. Darkness.

It took the shape of the bird, but more like a phantom.

And its glowing crimson orbs, which were its eyes, glinted with cunning.

"Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. It has a clone and blink ability?!"

In the blink of an eye, the falling raven dissolved and replaced the phantom above Kai as if it had two bodies. An ear-shattering croak erupted from its beak, and its massive wings snapped downward with a force that unleashed a hurricane of wind and darkness straight at Kai.

Boom—!

Kai bounced off the cloud ground hard, and the impact would make anyone flinch.

Underneath the cloud ground, the barrier that separated the First Sky and the surface was as solid as bedrock, an invisible foundation that shrugged off his crash like it was nothing. It was far too sturdy even for the brutal fall.

He slid across the surface, carving a long furrow through the pale mist.

And a pained groan tore from his lips as he finally came to a stop.

"Eurgh..."

He sat up slowly, and his right hand immediately found his shoulder—the one that had taken the full brunt of the landing. He rotated it with a wince, testing the joint and felt the sting. But then again, this pain was expected from such a fall.

In fact, it was too underwhelming.

A hundred and fifty feet. Kai had fallen at least that high, and the wind and darkness that had accompanied his descent had only made it worse—accelerating him to the speed of a meteor. By all rights, his body should’ve been wrecked.

Bones would be broken. Internal organs ruptured. And death would almost be imminent.

But aside from the stiffness in his shoulder, he was fine.

Completely fine.

Kai rose to his feet and rolled his neck. He looked down at his own body, checking whether it had any problems, and nodded when he found nothing. "Being an Aspirant Supernal—I’m still not used to this."

Since he hadn’t gotten the time to test his power, he was still detached from it.

A fall like that—he was preparing to be wrecked completely, but he didn’t.

Kai shook his head and lifted his gaze skyward.

He saw the raven was still up there, circling lazily against the dark sky—as its massive wings cut slow arcs through the air. It hadn’t fled. Why would it be? Kai had no way of reaching it— not without his winged boots.

Moreover, it wanted another piece of him.

Still wanted to fight.

"I can maybe blast myself that high, but once in the sky, what then? I’ll only be slammed back down to the ground." Kai’s eyes narrowed, contemplating on what he could do to bring this annoying raven down.

Just then, a thought came to him.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out another Dark-eyed Grape—holding it up between his thumb and forefinger. The raven’s circling stuttered. Its head swiveled, those crimson eyes locking onto the small, dark fruit with an intensity that bordered on obsession.

Kai smirked and waved it tauntingly, a silent challenge.

"Come and get it!" He shouted and then tapped his pocket. "I still have more in here!"

Croak—!

The raven didn’t hesitate. It furled its wings and dropped like a jet-black arrow, plummeting straight down with terrifying speed. Kai leaped away—rolling clear as the bird slammed into the cloud floor where he had been standing.

He watched as the impact detonated outward.

A shockwave of smoky darkness spread across the entire area, swallowing the clouds.

Kai smirked inwardly.

This is a mistake, you damn bird.