Chapter 331: Kai Reborn
"Don’t tell me clones of yourself are all you’ve got?!" The handsome man easily handled the three Kai’s, making the main Kai realize that he was extremely outclassed.
Even Narwhal could have handled three Kai’s and easily killed the one he was fighting.
The clones returned to his body, and all of their memories flooded his mind. He saw how they kill his other selves with no effort at all. It was honestly pretty scary to him. For the first time since he’s been to this new world, Kai was scared.
He didn’t show his emotions, though. Instead, he cleared his mind and checked the number of points he had.
"Heh, 699 million." Kai chuckled
The handsome man and Narwhal were confused. "What did you say that number for?"
"To beat your ass." Kai dumped all of his points into mana, jumping it up from 1 million to 700 million. His other stats increased as well, jumping up to 70 million.
The power was out of this world, nearly too much for Kai to contain, but he handled it, and his body produced an energy wave so powerful that it created a storm.
"Time for round two." Kai went in for the attack.
Shockwaves cracked the air, tearing the clouds as Kai clashed with Narwhal and the handsome man over the raging ocean. Water spiraled upward, forming colossal vortices from the force of their blows. Kai’s aura ignited like a burning star, his fists wrapped in raw destruction energy. Each strike detonated like a world-ending explosion.
Narwhal weaved through the storm of energy, releasing blades of condensed destruction that ripped through space. Kai deflected them with a flash of his heat vision, beams cutting the sky in half.
’Destruction energy?’ Kai was taken off guard by the use of destruction by Narwhal, not understanding how he could use it.
The handsome man appeared behind Kai, his fist glowing with pure source energy, which is an energy beyond any form of magic. The punch landed, shattering Kai’s ribs and launching him through the air. But Kai didn’t stop. His clones emerged mid-flight, swirling around him in a ring formation. They moved in unison, unleashing barrages of runic blasts that twisted the atmosphere.
Narwhal raised his hands, summoning a sphere of destruction. Kai teleported in front of him, kicking it back into his face before driving his knee into Narwhal’s chest. The ocean cratered beneath them. The handsome man’s counterattack came instantly. He swept his arm, forming sigils of source energy that canceled Kai’s runes. A blast of condensed light engulfed Kai, but he tore through it, his body glowing with power.
"Get the fuck back!" Kai growled, his voice vibrating with rage. He split into dozens of clones, all converging on Narwhal. The real Kai appeared behind him, smashing him away with a blow that sent him flying beyond the horizon.
Then he turned, meeting the handsome man head-on. Their fists collided, an explosion louder than thunder. Kai roared, pouring everything into his strike. The handsome man caught it effortlessly and looked disappointed.
"You’re weak for a child of Nemean."
’What the-"
He drove his fist through Kai’s defense, sending him crashing into the island, obliterating it in a single, blinding impact.
The ocean hissed beneath Kai, still boiling from the last clash. Kai lay in a crater carved into the shattered island, his body cracked, smoking, barely moving.
"Arghhhh!!" Kai could barely breathe. He couldn’t even stand up. His body was healing rapidly, yet the damage he sustained hurt him far beyond his regeneration abilities.
The handsome man descended through the settling dust, his expression void of mercy. When his boots touched the ground, the entire island groaned under his presence.
Without a word, he drove his heel into Kai’s chest. Bones cracked, the impact forcing a strangled gasp from Kai’s throat. Before Kai could recover, the man’s fist came down like a hammer, smashing his face into the earth. Another punch followed. Then another. Each strike detonated with seismic force, the island trembling beneath every blow.
"Why are you here, child of Nemean?" The handsome man growled, his tone low and sharp enough to cut through the air. "Did he plan to use this planet as a zone to kill me? But seeing as you’re this weak, I don’t think that’s the case. And where are the others? Don’t think that just because you hid your siblings that I won’t be able to find them."
Kai spat blood, coughing through the pain. "You both keep saying ’Nemean,’ but I don’t even know who or what that is!"
The man’s eyes narrowed. "You dare lie to me?" His aura erupted into a blinding gold color threaded with black energy. The air warped. Then he struck again, this time with brutal precision. Every punch carved shockwaves through the island, each one breaking more of Kai’s body.
Kai tried to fight back. He raised his arm, summoned destruction energy, tried to form a rune, but the man shattered it mid-creation, crushing Kai’s face with a backhand that launched him across the island. Kai skidded, tumbling through molten rock, before crashing into the sea.
Narwhal emerged from the mist above the waves, wringing his neck as if it ached but still grinning. "Still breathing? Damn, he’s tough. I guess he really is his child."
"Stop messing around and deal with him," the handsome man said coldly.
Narwhal grinned wider. He appeared above Kai in an instant, slamming a knee into his gut while the handsome man followed up with a descending kick that buried Kai deeper into the ocean floor. They didn’t stop. The two of them beat him relentlessly, each hit powerful enough to vaporize mountains. Water turned to steam, and lightning flashed from sheer friction.
Kai roared in pain, his aura flickering weakly. He tried to retaliate, his clone formed beside him, but Narwhal ripped it apart with his bare hands. The handsome man drove his knee into Kai’s jaw, sending him flying back toward the surface.
As Kai gasped for air, he finally began piecing it together. "Nemean...? The only Nemean I know is the Nemean Lion—which is also a constellation. Wait..." His eyes widened. "Leo! You’re talking about Leo? The Progenitor?"
Both men froze for a heartbeat. Kai’s voice broke through the storm. "Why are you looking for the children of Leo? They’re all dead!"
The handsome man landed before him, his expression unreadable. Slowly, a smirk spread across his face. "Not all of them." His aura flared once more, the heat distorting the very air around them. "You’re looking at one."
Kai’s breath caught. "You—"
The man stepped closer, eyes burning gold. "My name is Aion," he said softly. "Your eldest brother."
Before Kai could move, Aion’s hand plunged forward—piercing through Kai’s chest.
Kai’s world froze. Blood spilled down his torso, his heartbeat echoing faintly in his ears. Then—beep.
A crimson holographic screen flashed before his eyes.
STATUS WINDOW: PROTOCOL DEMIGOD ACTIVATED.
The ocean split apart. The ground trembled. Kai’s eyes ignited red as divine energy burst from within him, reshaping his body. And Aion stepped back, watching as the true power of a demigod awakened.
"Finally, now we’re getting somewhere," Aion smirked as he witnessed his younger brother step into the realm of the gods.