Path of the Extra

“Master! W-What do we do!? That angel placed a terrifying bounty on your head!”

“Yes, I heard, Nol.”

“If someone kills you, their mana core goes up by three levels!”

“Yes, I heard, Nol.”

“There’s also a white marker above your head, Master, and a gold one above mine! We’re both going to get hunted!”

“Yes, I heard, Nol.”

Having already resigned himself to this absurdity, Azriel looked away from the angel—and from Nol’s panicked face—and directed his gaze instead toward Dame Selene, who remained frozen in place, just like everyone else.

Then Azriel moved.

He shot forward at a speed far too fast for the average human eye to follow, Void Eater already in his hand. His fingers tightened around the hilt of the katana as he swung it straight for the knight’s neck.

“Hey! That is not allowed!”

The instant Azriel’s blade struck the frozen dame’s armor, a faint white translucent barrier flared around her body like a second set of armor. Sparks burst from the point of impact, white and sharp, and Azriel immediately leapt back as a stronger wave of pressure rolled toward him.

Blinking, he found the angel floating right in front of his face, pouting at him with obvious displeasure.

“That is cheating, human! Smart, but cheap! Are you perhaps one of those opportunists? Still, even if you are the current MVP, I cannot allow you to kill such an important character like this!”

“Tch.”

“Human!? Did you just click your tongue at me!?”

Without the slightest care for its outrage, Azriel swatted the angel aside like an annoying fly.

“Hey!”

Then Azriel focused once more on the master before him.

Ignoring everyone else, drowning out every other sound, he listened.

He heard the wind pass by him.

He felt it too.

Then he looked down, shifted his feet slightly, and noticed the dirt moving.

’So only living things from this world are truly frozen in time…’

Having reached that conclusion, Azriel dismissed Void Eater and began walking toward the master. The angel floated beside him, speaking straight into his ear as though the earlier offense had already been forgotten.

“You know, human, I cannot point the cameras at you unless you are with another participant. Why am I not allowed to do that? Normally, I decide who gets a camera and who doesn’t! I am getting so much grief over having an MVP who has barely had any screen time! Do you know why I can’t stream you when you’re alone? Hmm? Hmm? Maybe I can throw in a little reward if you tell me?”

“Go away,” Azriel said bluntly.

The answer stunned both the angel and Nol.

Then Azriel crouched down directly in front of the knight and began inspecting the ground beneath her feet.

“Wha—how bold of you, human! Do you not know what I am? I am an angel! And there is no way I am leaving after that! I barely get any chances to stream your face! Besides, why are you so calm? Everyone else was much more shocked when I revealed my amazing presence! But you were the only one who looked annoyed! How rude! Gah! This entire scenario stinks!”

Growing more frustrated with every word, the chatterbox angel suddenly lowered its voice and whispered,

“Hey, hey, think about it, okay? There are some unconfirmed rumors that some reaaaaaaaaally important figures have their eyes on this trial. Even within the Divine Court, some of the highest-ranking beings are said to be involved in creating this scenario… Why? Why? Do you know something, human? You’re kind of suspicious too. I don’t know why, but you seriously give me the creeps! So what do you say? If some reaaaaaaaaally important figures are watching, that could give you a chance to earn even more incredible rewards—as long as you tell me why I can’t stream you when you’re on your own. And maybe a few extra juicy details too? Hmm? Hmm? Hmm?”

For some reason, the proctor—who normally decided whose face could be shown whenever he pleased—was already suspicious that Azriel knew more than he should.

The “important figures” in those rumors were probably the Fourth Authority, the Second Authority, and Lucifer.

At least, that was Azriel’s guess.

Not that the proctor would ever reveal their identities so easily.

Even so, Azriel ignored him.

The angel’s mouth fell open in disbelief.

Then, slowly, its eyes began to water, as though it were about to cry.

“Angel! Angel! Are you really an angel!?”

Nol suddenly appeared beside him, his eyes shining with excitement.

The moment the angel saw Nol’s innocent, childlike face, his own expression brightened at once. He rubbed his nose smugly.

“Hehehe! Of course I am! Cool, right? Right?”

“Yeah! Say, Mr. Angel, how do you become an angel?”

“Oh? You want to become an angel, human? Unfortunately, you are far too weak.”

Nol’s face fell instantly.

“Eh…”

“Becoming an angel like I did is one of the hardest feats someone can achieve!” the angel declared proudly, placing a hand over his chest.

“Then… what is your name, Angel?”

The angel froze for a moment.

“N-Name? Well… angels like me do not have names. At least, not the kind you humans do. First, we must obtain titles. Then we can have names!”

“Titles? Then names?”

Tilting his head, Nol looked confused.

Then, instead of pressing the matter, he pointed at the marker floating above his head.

“Hey… you said that anyone who kills me gets their mana core leveled up by one, and anyone who kills Master gets theirs leveled up by three. But what about us? What rewards do we get?”

“Excellent question, human!” The proctor looked delighted. “You get the same rewards naturally! As long as you survive, that is…”

“Woah…”

Nol looked genuinely amazed.

Hearing those words, Azriel—still crouched on the ground, his fingers pressed against the dirt—narrowed his eyes and glanced at them seriously.

’So Nol would become an Expert. Jasmine would become a Master… and I would—’

“Except for you, of course, human,” the angel said suddenly, pointing at Azriel.

That made Azriel smirk.

The angel returned the look with a smirk of his own, but this time his eyes were freezing cold. He drifted closer and whispered,

“I told you, didn’t I? There may be important figures watching this stream… and I am not the one deciding these rewards. These extra rewards you humans are getting right now—for killing and surviving—are highly unusual. Especially when it comes to killing a human like you…”

“You don’t say,” Azriel replied dryly. “I mean, a master only has to take my life and they become…”

He left the sentence unfinished, but the angel already knew what he meant.

A Sovereign.

Someone like Master Ranni, or Lioren, would only need to kill Azriel and they would instantly become one of the strongest humans alive.

Just like that.

“Yes,” the angel said. “But in exchange for these unusual rewards, this scenario is slowly becoming more and more popular.”

“Isn’t this unfair?” Nol asked from behind them, clearly displeased. “If Master doesn’t get three mana core levels, then what does he get?”

“I love your questions, human.”

The angel bared his teeth in a sharp smile.

“And the answer is… I don’t know.”

“Huh? What do you mean you don’t kn—”

Nol’s question was cut short.

Suddenly, the ground trembled.

Both he and the angel turned toward Azriel, their eyes widening as far as they could.

A mist of ice swirled around him.

Then it faded.

A few sparks of white lightning crackled into the air—

and vanished.

In front of Azriel stood the knight.

Suspended in open air.

Beneath her…

there was nothing.

She stood over a circular hole, the ground beneath her feet having been destroyed and turned into a dark pit.

“You… you… human…!?”

For once, even the angel seemed to have no words.

Azriel stood, dusted himself off, and said simply,

“You should have stopped time for everything.”

Then he walked past the speechless proctor.

“Nol, take the little girl. Let’s go.”