Eternal Freedom's Ascension

Chapter 172: The next stage

Kaiser’s brows creased slightly, but he didn’t react. He allowed her to feed for some time, and when he felt she was full, he grabbed her by the hair—yanking her away from him.

His expression was chilling.

"What do you take me for?"

Kiera winced, grabbing his wrist softly. She had a slightly pained expression on her face.

Staring into his bottomless eyes, her heart trembled.

"Ugh... I..."

Kaiser tilted his head, curious. "Your blood bag? Your prey?"

He tightened his grip, his expression unchanging.

"Perhaps I thought I could tolerate you colorless articles, but I’m starting to doubt my choice. Perhaps I should break off the deal between us and kill you? I’m sure it wouldn’t be a big deal once they learn you’re a bloodling."

Kiera shivered, her eyes widening in panic. "W-wait!"

He sighed and shook his head. "This is why I prefer being an observer. You’re making me displeased."

Releasing her hair, he pocketed his hands and said flatly. "This is your last warning. Any more mistake and I will gladly remove you from the stage."

Without sparing her another glance, he turned around and left.

Kiera remained standing, her hair dishelved. Her body was trembling ceaselessly, and she couldn’t control her fear.

’He’ll really kill me. I can see it. He doesn’t care about me.’ Her eyes trembled in their sockets. ’How many of my kind has he killed? How much blood does he have on his hands? Those eyes...’

They looked so indifferent to killing—like it was as trivial as taking a step.

Finally, her legs couldn’t hold out any longer and she squatted, burying her face in her knees.

’Why? Why does my life have to be this miserable?’

Tears fell from her eyes, dropping onto the soil beneath her.

Kiera Xenovia had never lived a pleasant life. Her parents were timid bloodlings and had always told her never to allow humans to see her for what she was.

At first, she had been arrogant—seeing humans as livestock. After all, to her—who was a bloodling—normal humans who were unawakened were merely livestock.

However, she made a mistake while in middle school. She fed on an Awakened’s child, erased the child’s memory, but forgot to heal the bite marks with her saliva.

Unfortunately for her, the child’s parent was aware of the existence of bloodlings and immediately made investigations. In just a few hours, Kiera was singled out—and almost killed.

She fled. She ran back home, easily. This was another mistake.

If she was an adult bloodling, then perhaps it might have been easy for her to escape the Awakened.

However, as a child, it was obvious that she was allowed to run to her source.

While she naively thought she had escaped home, three Awakened appeared, surrounding her house.

Her father was home, and as soon as he sensed the danger, he sent her down the bunker to an escape route he had prepared beforehand.

"Run, Kiera. Only come back after a full day."

That was the last thing she heard from him. She never saw her father again.

When she returned, her mother had also returned from her quick travel. Their house was a mess, ravaged and stained with blood.

Blood that definitely belonged to her father.

Kiera’s mother was devastated, having lost her husband brutally. Just like any other broken human, she took it out on the culprit—her daughter.

Kiera was maltreated and bullied by her own mother for three years, granting her irreparable mental scars.

By the time she became a teenager, she was already a broken figure herself. In the end, she awakened and was able to enroll into the Pegasus Will Awakened Academy where her life is now at risk—again.

’Any more mistake, and he’ll kill me.’

She hugged her knees, weeping in sorrow and helplessness.

"Kiera? What happened?"

Liam’s worried voice entered her ears, and he immediately rushed to her.

She looked up to face him, her face marred with tears.

"Kiera..."

Liam’s eyes glistened with worry. Before he could say anything, she lunged at him, crashing her face into his chest and weeping heavily.

Liam hugged her back, confused and perplexed.

"Was it Kaiser? What did that guy do to you?"

The girl kept weeping, not answering him.

Liam sighed helplessly, resorting to giving her gentle pats on her back, and brushing her hair softly.

"You’ll be fine. I promise. You’ll be fine."

He whispered softly, consoling her in a gentle manner.

He had no idea what had happened, but he knew it must be related to Kaiser. After all, Emily had informed him that they left in the same direction.

This was why he came despite his injuries.

’Kaiser... you’ll have to give me an explanation for this.’

His eyes hardened with a determined glint.

Not far away, Kaiser watched the two hug with an expressioness face.

"Boring."

He muttered, and he was gone.

......

By evening time, all the classes had gathered at the safe zone, staying some distance away from each other.

In Class-A, Iruca sat alone, burdened by guilt and worry at seeing her classmates injured.

Rita and her close friends tried to console her, but she merely replied with a frail smile.

It was really a heartbreaking sight.

Class-B was faring better. Their main force had returned, having made a great haul of essence crystals. Other classes glanced at them with envy and hatred, but they reacted indifferently.

Even those who had been injured by the Nectar Bees felt like their injuries were worth it.

Unlike Class-B, Class-C was a bit lost. Their leader—Apollo—was seething with anger and vexation.

It had been a total loss for his class, and he disliked the feeling of being played by the girl Adela Lincoln.

Seated on a luxurious chair, he calmly took a sip of juice in his hand.

’Unexpected, but not all bad.’ He thought to himself. ’Class-D and Class-E also suffered greatly. That means they’ll be less of a threat in the upcoming Special Evaluation.’

According to Elon who got accepted into the Student Council, the first Special Evaluation for this semester was going to commence in a week or two.

Sadly, the content of the evaluation had not yet been disclosed.

’Class-B... let me crush you well on this upcoming stage. Then, you will kneel and grovel before me.’

He didn’t really care about Class-A. That class was too fragile, and little effort was needed to bring them down.

He merely left them there so Class-B wouldn’t have an upper hand for now.

As for Class-D, he was a little wary. Although he believed they were cowardly, their consistency with training made him always reevaluate them.

’Perhaps I should keep an eye on them too.’

Sighing, he took another sip from his juice. His eyes scanned the surroundings, landing on Thyla.

Their gazes locked instantly.

Apollo beckoned to her with a flick of his finger. Wearing a displeased expression, the girl stood up and approached him.

Luckily for her, she had just a few injuries which had been treated.

"What?"

She asked in a grumpy tone, glaring at him. Among all his subordinates, she was the only one who didn’t fully support him. The only reason she cooperated with him was because she believed Apollo had the capability to lead the class to becoming Class-A.

Amused by her attitude, Apollo smirked. "Is it that time of the month again? Your expression is interesting."

Thyla’s eyes burned with anger, and she had to reign in the urge to give him a slap.

"Just say what you want already." She growled threateningly.

Clicking his tongue, Apollo brushed aside a strand of his hair and spoke.

"I have a new mission for you."

Thyla blinked. "I should stop tailing Tamara?"

"Hm. Instead, monitor Class-D’s secretary—Ava."

She was confused. "Why do you want me to change target?"

Taking another sip from his drink, Apollo answered.

"I will deal with Class-B personally. However, I want to keep my eyes on Class-D too. I don’t want a snake hidden in my garden."

Thyla nodded in understanding. "Fine. I’ll monitor that Ava girl. You focus on making us Class-B."

Suddenly, the atmosphere turned icy. Apollo’s gaze towards her became a glare.

"Did you just speak to me with that tone?"

Thyla took a step back, her expression hardening. Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she bowed slightly.

"Sorry."

Apollo’s gaze remained heavy. "Louder."

"Sorry!"

Finally, he relaxed. "Good. You’re dismissed."

Thyla shot him a subtle glare, then walked away.

Apollo took another sip of his juice, looking towards the place Class-E camped. There, his gaze landed on their leader—Hazel.

The girl was sitting alone, thinking about something with a serious expression.

’Weaklings.’

His gaze brushed past Logan who was covered in bandages. It was easy to say he had taken the most damage among all the students.

’That guy... I’ll crush him properly next time.’

Suddenly, Apollo felt his hair stand on end. Alert, his attention shifted to the source of the empty gaze, locking eyes with the blue-haired wildcard—Kaiser Solace.

To his utter surprise, Kaiser raised a hand and waved at him with a faint smile.

’This bastard-!’