Path of the Extra

’He left me!? He actually just went and left me! That bastard! No wonder Jasmine is always stressing herself half to death because of him! What a horrible little brother she has!’

If it had not been for these damned chains, Celestina would have smacked Azriel over the head herself.

She was so infuriated with him that it was almost unbelievable.

Who did he think he was, acting so nonchalant? So calm? So unbearably composed, as if he had not just dropped one revelation after another into her lap and then left her to choke on the aftermath?

Bombshell after bombshell.

Lie after lie.

So many secrets stacked on top of one another that he could no longer even hide them properly.

And worst of all, he had lied to Jasmine about the cure!

His life had been on the line, and he had still lied to her!

That was what made Celestina the angriest.

If there was one thing she hated more than anything, it was someone giving up on their own life without fighting to survive until the very bitter end.

Yet Azriel’s eyes, drenched in blood and exhaustion, had been hollow.

Empty.

As if he had already given up long before this moment.

His attitude was infuriating.

And now he had left her with far too many questions clawing at her mind.

Celestina clicked her tongue and looked toward the sleeping princess.

Then she clicked her tongue again.

Her silver eyes dimmed. The slits in her pupils slowly withdrew, returning to their usual human shape, and her gaze visibly softened.

She let out a sigh.

“…I don’t even believe he killed that child,” she murmured. “I heard the gunshot and everything, but… it feels so fake.”

She licked her parched lips, wishing she had at least asked Azriel for some water before he ran away.

“Caleus is the reason we’re in this situation, huh…”

Her expression darkened.

“It’s funny. He only meant to kill me, yet you got caught in the crossfire. And now he’s been forced to ruin his own plan by helping the people trying to save me.”

Celestina glanced down.

“Still… I suppose some of the blame lies with me too. You ended up in this cold chamber because of me.”

As for why Jasmine was asleep, it seemed some kind of spell had been cast on her.

At the very least, Celestina could not blame herself for that.

Luckily.

“Not even an hour ago, I wanted you to wake up as quickly as possible.”

She looked at Jasmine’s peaceful face.

“But now…?”

Celestina let out a humorless breath.

“What the hell am I supposed to say when you do?”

Her lips twisted bitterly.

“’Hey, Jasmine. You fell into a coma because of some evil god, and your little brother—who looked like he might die at any given second—now has a ridiculous bounty of three mana core levels placed on his head by an angel. Also, he visited while you were asleep and said he was inevitably going to die, either because of the gods or his mana core syndrome. Oh, and he killed over thirty masters to get here, killed a child so you would wake up, then told me to ask you for everything I needed to know.’”

Celestina stared at her.

Then her face fell.

“…Yeah. I’m screwed, aren’t I?”

She pouted sadly.

“Stupid Azriel…”

Her throat tightened.

For a moment, she felt as if she might cry.

It felt unjust!

All of it!

She looked at Jasmine and whispered,

“You asked for my forgiveness earlier. You looked so earnest…”

A nostalgic smile touched her face.

“It reminded me of when we were young.”

Her gaze softened further.

“You’re actually quite dense, Jasmine. Caleus loves you. Lioren loves you. Azriel loves you. I… I love you.”

Celestina gave a faint, helpless smile.

“You have all of us wrapped around your finger without even realizing it, while all we seem to do is hurt you.”

Her smile grew weaker.

“Or maybe you finally realized it, and all of this is some master strategy of yours to guilt-trip me into forgiving you.”

Celestina let out a weak laugh at her own words.

Then, softly, she said,

“If so… as long as it’s you, I wouldn’t mind.”

Thinking about it now, Celestina recalled how she had just blamed Azriel for dropping a floor on her head back at the facility.

A soft chuckle slipped out of her.

Because, if it had not been for him, that would have been exactly her plan.

She looked back down and spoke even more quietly, as if afraid Jasmine might hear her.

“The truth is… rather than being angry at you, Jasmine, I think I’m angrier at myself.”

“…”

“I often find myself wondering how difficult it must have been for you when we were younger. Having to divide your attention between me, who was always so needy, and Azriel, who kept disappearing off to wherever he went.”

Celestina’s gaze lowered.

“And I didn’t make it any easier. I wasn’t interested in anyone besides you. All I cared about was spending time with you and refining my skills.”

She gave a bitter smile.

“Sometimes I think… what if I had tried to become friends with Azriel too? Maybe things would have been different if the three of us had been friends from the very beginning. It might honestly have been more fun.”

Her smile faded.

“But I blame myself for that not happening. And what I regret most is that, when he was presumed dead, you were hurt so badly you had no choice but to push everyone away. You felt that the world was unfair. That the gods were unfair.”

Celestina swallowed.

“I regret that even though you pushed me away too, I didn’t push back. I should have fought harder. I should have resisted more. I should not have let you go through two painful years on your own.”

Her voice trembled.

“I wish I could undo my mistakes. But I can’t, can I?”

And now, things were looking bleak once more.

For everyone.

Especially Azriel.

“What should I do…?”

Unfortunately, Jasmine had yet to wake and answer her.

Then, suddenly, someone jumped down from the hole above.

Celestina’s head snapped up in alarm as the person landed on both feet. Her eyes widened the moment she saw who it was.

“I finally found you two!”

“Are they there?” another feminine voice called from above.

“Yes!” Lumine shouted back, looking up with a relieved, bright smile.

“Your [Instinct] was spot on!”

He gave Yelena a thumbs-up before turning back to Celestina and Jasmine, his expression growing more serious.

“You…”

Celestina’s lips parted slightly.

Lumine immediately rushed toward Jasmine and checked whether she was alive.

Celestina hurriedly spoke.

“Jasmine is only asleep. She should wake soon, so don’t worry. How did the two of you get here? Did you defeat the remaining masters?”

“Remaining?”

Lumine ran toward Celestina and began trying to break the chains as he explained.

“No. We were losing badly. I think there were about four masters there, and even with Sir Felix and Prince Caleus’s strategy, the difference in raw power was too much.”

He clenched his jaw.

“Then Prince Lioren suddenly showed up with Nol and turned the tide immediately.”

“Nol? Lioren? They’re here?”

Lumine grinned while struggling against the chains. Celestina let him try, even though she already knew it was futile.

“Yeah. Apparently, Nol found Lioren somehow and quickly told him what he needed to know before they came here. They’re still fighting, or they might already be done, but Yelena and I took the chance to make ourselves useful instead of getting in the way.”

He exhaled.

“And thankfully, I guess it paid off.”

“You can’t break these chains.”

“What?”

Lumine narrowed his eyes and inspected them more carefully.

“Yeah… it seems like they’re at least master-ranked mana weapons. Or whatever they are called.”

“Listen to me, Lumine.”

Celestina’s voice turned so serious that his attention snapped back to her at once. He looked down and found himself gulping, feeling as though he was being swallowed by her gaze.

“Jasmine and I will be fine. There’s no point in you staying here. If you and Yelena want to make yourselves useful, then go and find Azriel immediately. He can’t have gone far in his current condition. You must find him and keep him safe before anyone with even the slightest greed in their heart decides to kill him.”

“Okay.”

“I know you must—”

Celestina blinked.

“Wait. What?”

Lumine nodded immediately.

Celestina looked perplexed. She had not expected him to agree so easily.

Perhaps this troublesome blond was more obedient than she had thought.

“I’ll do it,” Lumine said.

“I promise I’ll save Azriel.”

He said it with such conviction, with the gaze of a man who only spoke what he truly believed, that Celestina was stunned into silence for a brief moment.

“…All right,” she said at last.

Then her expression sharpened.

“But you won’t last long with someone like Azriel. Place your hand on my forehead.”

“E-eh? I… I don’t think that’s appropriate, Cele—”

“Just do it!”

“Y-yes, Your Highness!”

Lumine’s back went straight as a log. His tone turned formal in an instant, and he quickly placed his hand on her forehead as lightly as possible, already wanting to pull away. He felt as if he were committing some great sin by touching an actual princess.

Then a sudden, cross-shaped heat flared against his palm.

It burned.

Lumine flinched and pulled his hand back.

“Ouch…”

He looked down and noticed a white cross branded into his palm.

“I used one of my skills on you,” Celestina said. “When you trace your fingers over the cross, I will know your location. Find Azriel and activate it immediately. When possible, I’ll head toward you with Jasmine.”

Lumine stared at his palm for a few seconds before looking back at her, then nodded gravely.

He glanced behind him and down at his feet, noticing the blood, and frowned.

Pursing her lips for a moment, Celestina then spoke, trying to divert his attention from it, since it would do no good if anyone found out.

“Listen, Lumine. This task is an onerous one. It could cost you your life, and—”

“I understand everything, Your Highness.”

Celestina fell silent.

“As I said,” Lumine continued, “I promise to save Azriel.”

At the same time, doing this would complete some of his quests.

But right now, Lumine was not even thinking about that.

He was not done with the Crimson Prince.

Not yet.

But there was one more thing he had to deal with before leaving.

“Before I go… there’s something about Prince Lioren, Prince Caleus, and their plan.”

His expression tightened.

“I-I know I’m out of line, but I believe they’re planning to have us all sacrificed. At the very least, many of the participants. Including the Saintess, if she hasn’t already been sacrificed by now. Unless Instructor Ranni managed to rescue her.”

There was a chance Celestina already knew everything.

But Lumine had to gamble.

Right now, both of them wanted the same thing.

To get Azriel away from danger.

Away from all the participants who wanted him dead.

“I know it’s hard to believe me, especially without proof, but—”

“No,” Celestina said.

Lumine stopped.

“I believe you. Lioren and Caleus are easily capable of something like that.”

Her eyes turned cold.

“Do not worry. I promise you this. Go save Azriel, and once I am free of these chains, I will make both Caleus and Lioren pay.”

The way she spoke, the way she looked, the way she carried herself even while shackled, left Lumine in awe for a few seconds.

It reminded him that the girl in front of him was, indeed, the Frost Heiress.

Even bound in chains, she made him feel as though he could rely on her.

So he did.

He nodded.

And without another word, he left her behind, walked toward the hole, and jumped up.

No matter what, he would save Azriel.

Celestina watched him disappear.

Then she looked back at Jasmine and let out a quiet breath.

“…Now would be a perfect time to wake up, Jasmine.”