Chapter 52 Monster

Kai's grip tightened around the corner of the sink, causing it to crack under the strength of his fingers.

He gritted his teeth and glared at his reflection, distorted by the half-broken mirror.

His brown eyes now had a shade of red and glimmered with a menacing light. His expression also contorted into something almost inhuman, twisted with anger.

Thud...

As Kai caught sight of a guy leaving the bathroom, his murderous aura spiked with a sudden surge of power.

"..."

Kai was kind of happy the student left, because he couldn't be certain that he wouldn't accidentally kill him in this state.

Growl...

A low growl rumbled in Kai's throat as he struggled to control his anger. This state typically lasted for only a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity.

Pluck...

He brought his hands to his lips and revealed razor-sharp fangs that dug into his skin. Blood flowed down his forearm as he sucked on the wound, drinking the liquid like a vampire.

Though he didn't need the blood to survive, it had a calming effect on him.

"..."

He watched as the red shade in his eyes slowly subsided, returning to their normal brown hue within a minute or two. Thankfully, no other students had entered the bathroom during his moment of rage.

Kai released his grip on the sink, examining the deep marks left by his fingers on the metal surface. He grimaced, regretting his loss of control.

"Metal Storm: Restoration!"

With a careful touch, Kai used his Mana Art to restore the deformed part of the sink, returning it to its previous state.

Unfortunately, he couldn't do the same with the mirrors, but at least he had prevented further damage to the bathroom.

"..."

Kai controlled his expression as he pushed open the bathroom door and walked towards his dorm, lost in thought.

He couldn't help but gaze at the beautiful view of the entire campus, sighing with a sense of longing.

"If only I was a normal human..."

Since birth, Kai had been more intelligent, self-aware, and physically stronger than his peers. However, he lacked one thing that all normal people had - emotions, except for anger.

He could discern them, but never truly felt them. Even when witnessing people getting killed, his heart failed to race. The only times he experienced some semblance of emotion was when his own life was threatened, or when he experienced these outbursts of anger.

Despite the chaos it brought, it made him feel alive, like a real human.

Kai lowered his gaze to the ground, feeling a sudden wave of exhaustion wash over him. It was another strange part about him - he was like a very big cat, requiring an enormous amount of sleep.

"..."

He couldn't help but recall the incident with Teacher Robbin, who had thrown him through a window. Even now, he could still feel the slight ache in his side, reminding him that sleeping in that man's class was prohibited.

"It's him..." he heard someone whisper.

"According to the Academy's archives, he's as strong as Drake..." another voice chimed in.

As Kai walked past the group of students, he could feel their eyes secretly peeking at him. Quickly, he directed his gaze, decorated with dark circles, towards the whisperers, causing them to shift their conversation.

He had grown used to the attention, but it still made him uneasy.

Kai knew that nobody in the world, except his parents and a select few, knew about his special constitution.

Being talked about throughout the entire academy as one of the strongest first-years made him uneasy, as it could lead to unwanted investigations.

As he walked, Kai recalled the memory of a man who had accidentally witnessed one of his outbursts when he was just 10 years old. At that time, he was returning home from school, and the man had stumbled upon him in a deserted alleyway.

Kai could vividly remember the fear and surprise in the man's eyes as he came face to face with a primary school student with deep red eyes and razor-sharp teeth protruding from his mouth.

The man had tried to escape, but Kai was faster, since the man was not Awakened.

Grip...

Kai clenched his fist, recalling how easily he had snapped the man's neck.

It was the first time he had realized that blood had a calming effect on him.

"He looks kinda handsome..."

Two girls sitting on a nearby bench gave him flirtatious looks, but Kai completely ignored them.

He never intended to find himself a partner. Who would want to be a soulmate of a fucking monster?

Having seen and experienced more than most war veterans, Kai knew that it was probably a good thing he had no emotions. If he did, his mental state would crumble.

It would only take a single moment of his life to scare away those girls trying to flirt with him.

Click...

Entering his spacious apartment, Kai dropped onto the large sofa that was as soft as a cloud.

Being a top ranker had its perks, and one of them was having access to luxurious housing.

Kai quickly retrieved a needle from his bag that was dropped behind the sofa and injected himself with a strange blue liquid.

As the substance entered his bloodstream, he felt his mind becoming clearer and the thoughts of anger and strange hunger subsiding.

Phew...

Putting the needle down on the table, Kai released a heavy sigh. This peculiar liquid that he just injected himself with was created by his own mother. She had spent several years locked up in her laboratory concocting this potion, which would have killed a normal awakener, but only managed to suppress his emotions, barely allowing him to live among humanity.

His mother had once told him that this was the only solution to keep him sane and coexisting with humanity at the same time.

"Mother is right..."

Recalling how he had barely restrained himself from breaking his fellow student's skull during the Combat Class, he covered his face with his hands.

"Why couldn't I have been born a mere human?"