Path of the Extra

The moment Lioren finally arrived, the tension drained from Azriel’s muscles all at once, and before he even realized it, a relieved sigh escaped him. As chaotic and out of hand as everything had become, Azriel had still managed to accomplish exactly what he had set out to do: buy them time. Lioren had mentioned placing a blood tracker on him earlier, and Celestina had needed time to heal Lumine enough that moving him would no longer risk his life. On that front, Azriel had done more than enough.

”A traitor to Dusk. A traitor to Crimson. A traitor to Frost. And a traitor to Nebula.”

Lioren’s voice rolled through the empty chamber like the waves of a raging ocean crashing against the shore.

”Treason against all the great clans is treason against humanity itself.”

Corven’s face hardened and cooled at once as he looked up at Lioren, who stared back down at him with aloof, emotionless eyes of pure black.

”Today, for your heinous crimes, Master Corven Draumirius Zevrak, Sword and Right Hand of my grandfather, the former King of Dusk, I, Lioren, Prince and Heir of Dusk, will be your judge and executioner.”

His words set a series of events into motion all at once. Pierre, sensing the danger radiating off Lioren, teleported without a second’s hesitation and appeared looming directly above Jasmine’s sleeping body, alarming everyone in the chamber. Azriel and Celestina were both ready to launch themselves at him, but before either could move, a heater shield, forged from swirling grey and black energy, swept out and struck Pierre, sending him teleporting backward until his spine collided hard with the wall.

Standing before Jasmine now was a knight, its entire form condensed from swirling black and grey energy that somehow held together within the silhouette of armor. Its eyes, visible behind the visor, glowed a deep, steady blue. Lioren had used his unique skill.

A second later, another creature Lioren had summoned appeared behind the Plague and Corven. A towering, emaciated specter stood where flesh should have been, its body woven from swirling currents of condensed black and ash-gray energy. Its elongated limbs were unnaturally thin, ending in long, talon-like fingers. The torso was gaunt and hollow, with a cavernous chest. Instead of a head, a twisted, beak-like silhouette of compressed shadow arched forward, shrouded by a mane of flowing darkness that writhed like strands of liquid night. No eyes were visible. Only two faint, yellow pinpricks remained, buried deep within the void, glowing with cold and predatory intent.

Feeling the aura of the horrifying, nightmarish void creature, and that of the knight beside it, envelop the entire room, nobody dared move any longer.

The two creatures were both... Monarchs.

The battle should have ended right then and there before it had even begun, yet Lioren remained cautious nonetheless. Pierre, for all his madness, seemed capable of achieving the impossible, and Corven stood among the oldest Masters in their world. His two opponents were anything but ordinary.

If only they had been average Masters.

If only they had been the only threat.

A sudden rumble spread through the chamber, and the ground shook as dust rained down from the old, cracked ceiling, the cracks themselves widening further with each tremor.

For a single second, Lioren’s eyes widened, and with startling speed he waved his hand toward Azriel and the others. A swirling pool of black and ashen grey energy opened beneath Azriel’s feet at once. The same occurred beneath Celestina, Yelena, and Lumine, while one wide enough to hold her entire body formed beneath Jasmine as well.

”Revolting creature...” Pierre cursed. Corven’s face darkened, and the two of them vanished together, the Plague disappearing a second later in a mist of black smoke.

Azriel looked up as the ceiling began to cave in, and in that same instant he felt the aura of a terribly powerful creature, one Lioren had not summoned, drawing steadily nearer. Only a second later, the swirling black and grey energy beneath his feet surged upward, wrapping around him entirely and swallowing his vision whole. Despite how overwhelming the energy felt, it did nothing more than tickle against his skin, like a soft and continuous wind passing gently over him.

’This feels so strange... this must be the teleportation technique tied to his unique skill, the one he mentioned using to get us to the summit.’

Barely a minute passed before the energy enveloping him dissolved away, and Azriel found himself standing in an entirely new and empty chamber.

”W-wha... where are we!?”

Azriel whipped his head around and found Yelena standing there, her bow clutched tightly in hands caught somewhere between awe, panic, and apprehension. A moment later, three more swirling pools of energy opened beside her, each one shooting upward in a tall cylindrical column of black and grey that sent a rush of wind blasting across their faces before dissolving away entirely, leaving Lumine, Celestina, and Jasmine there as well.

”Cough! Cough!”

”Lumine!”

Yelena immediately dropped to her knees and took hold of Lumine, who knelt there coughing violently, his face drained of all color. Celestina, disoriented for only a second, quickly understood what had happened. Lioren had used his skill once more, and he now stood just in front of Azriel. Her eyes met both of theirs briefly before she turned toward Jasmine, pressed her lips together, and hurried to Lumine, who was thrashing against Yelena’s grip.

”Hold him still, Yelena!”

Lumine kept coughing over and over, blood spilling past his lips with every fit, while Azriel looked on, his frown deepening with worry.

”His outward wounds are almost fully healed, but his vocal cords have been severed, and it looks like he might be having some kind of panic attack!” Celestina assessed.

”Lumine, calm down!” she said. ”Stop trying to talk, you are only making this worse!”

Azriel was about to take a step toward them when a wave of lightheadedness crashed over him, and the world around him tilted sharply out of focus.

’Crap.’

He was on the verge of collapsing when Lioren moved quickly, catching his arm and holding him upright before he could fall entirely.

Azriel glanced at him, and rather than offering thanks, he spoke with open annoyance.

”What the hell was that? Why... did you not... kill them when you had... the chance?”

”Corven is stronger than he appears when he commits fully. Even for me, he would be extremely difficult to defeat. And that other one gave me a bad feeling,” Lioren said, his tone composed, and the answer left Azriel visibly disappointed.

”But I needed to get all of you out of there first. I barely escaped the Monarch-ranked void creature myself while tracking you, and it seems it caught up regardless. It intended to kill us all.”

’I had guessed as much,’ Azriel thought, sighing.

”Is the creature really that strong?”

”...I do not believe I would be able to defeat it.”

Azriel raised an eyebrow slightly.

”Really?”

Lioren nodded.

”It seems the proctor placed it here specifically to eliminate some of us. It is simply not meant to be beaten. Not without incurring heavy casualties, at the very least.”

’That is bad.’

”I could fight it, but unless I have at least three more Masters at my level fighting alongside me, we will never manage to kill it.”

”We really are in quite the bind here, are we not...” Azriel gestured for him to let go, and Lioren released him. Azriel steadied himself on his own two feet before retreating until his back met the wall. Lumine’s coughing fit seemed to have subsided, though he was still breathing heavily in ragged pulls, while Celestina continued healing him and Yelena helped him swallow another health potion. Lumine did not look to be in good physical or mental condition, by any measure.

’...Something feels off about him.’

He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.

”...Do you have any water? My throat is parched.”

’Not exactly in the mood for alcohol, though it might take the edge off,’ he thought, but the moment [Crazy Flask] crossed his mind, a ringing began building in his ears, and even with his eyes shut, the darkness behind them was suddenly overtaken by visions of flickering silver flame.

Azriel gritted his teeth.

’What the hell...’

The ringing grew louder, and louder still.

”Here.” Lioren’s single word cut cleanly through it, and it was gone.

Azriel opened his eyes, relief washing over him, only to find a strange, glassy flask held out before him.

”What is that?” Azriel asked.

”A temporary cure.”

Azriel went still, stunned.

Had Lioren not said there was no cure? Especially not for Azriel, given how far his illness had already progressed?

”...It is not permanent. After my sibling died, I took the precaution of ensuring that if I ever contracted this illness myself, a cure would already exist. This is the furthest I have managed to get.”

Azriel took the flask and studied the pink liquid inside.

”You said it is not permanent?”

Lioren nodded.

”It functions like sealing a lid over the illness. It continues growing regardless, but you can temporarily ignore its progression. Only...”

”The lid will eventually burst,” Azriel finished, offering a small, sad smile, already understanding exactly what Lioren meant.

Lioren fell quiet for a moment before parting his lips again.

”If you do not take this, you will likely live for a few more weeks. But if you do, you will have roughly six hours, by my estimate, given how far your illness has already progressed, before you inevitably die.”

Azriel looked at the flask, seemingly lost somewhere far away, and said quietly,

”Why give me this...”

”I cannot win without you.” Azriel’s eyes opened a fraction as he looked at Lioren, whose expression carried nothing but complete seriousness.

”At most, I might stand a chance against Master Corven and the Monarch creature. But the Immortal Eyepatch and the Plague, if either of them joins the fight against me, I will lose. I need you to fight.”

Without Azriel, the burden of dealing with the remaining two would fall entirely to Celestina, Lumine, and Yelena.

And their odds of winning that fight were close to none.

”Quite frankly, none of them could reasonably be expected to win against those two.”

”They can,” Azriel said, and there was genuine confidence behind the words, confidence meant to convince Lioren as much as himself. He considered it for a moment, glancing toward the others, still preoccupied with tending to Lumine, who was doing his best to hold himself together.

”Lumine might not look like the most dependable choice, but... he can do it. Especially with Yelena fighting beside him. Leave the Plague to the two of them, and they will find a way to pull it off.”

’I sound so foolish.’

”As for Celestina, we both know she has always been holding back. But... she is their daughter.” Azriel could not help but laugh softly, careful to keep it quiet enough that the others would not hear.

”Besides, if you or I make it out and Celestina does not, we will never be able to look Auntie in the eye again.”

Lioren glanced toward Celestina, who was mending Lumine’s wounds with total, worried concentration, and let out a sigh.

”...You might be right. At that point, it would honestly be kinder to die before she ever gets the chance to reach us.”

”Well, she is not killing me. I am her favorite between the two of us, remember.” Lioren looked back at him, and Azriel thought he caught the faintest flicker of displeasure behind his eyes.

”She only said that because she pitied you, certain you could never best me in a duel.” Yet the truth was, the two of them had only ever crossed swords in a formal duel nine times in their entire lives.

”Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Azriel looked at him with open mockery and smiled, but it faded quickly, replaced by something solemn and serious as his gaze dropped to the flask in his hands.

”...How quickly can you end this scenario once we are out?”

”It depends. The final night falls today. If we do nothing, we receive the standard ending to the scenario, but after everything we have already endured, it would feel like a waste not to pursue the hidden ending instead. Though I imagine the hidden ending operates on its own timer as well. The moment the final night concludes, regardless of which side wins, the scenario ends. Even if we have not completed the hidden ending by then.”

”Not a bad theory.”

But Azriel would still be dead if he drank this. He would never make it out of the scenario in time. Had there been any other option, he might have, though he despised the very thought of it, used his reward for completing the scenario toward securing a cure instead.

”Well... you had better win, then, Lioren.”

Azriel said it with a smile aimed at Lioren before popping the flask open and lifting its edge toward his lips.

”I promise you, I will.”

Just as the pink liquid was about to touch his lips, a thin, searing line of fire shot toward him, too fast for Azriel to react in time. The flask shattered directly before his face, its liquid splattering across his skin and the ground below, never once reaching the inside of his mouth. Everyone froze in stunned silence. Celestina, Yelena, and Lumine all turned toward the source at once, Azriel included.

”You really are a terrible little brother. You cannot even keep one simple promise, can you, Azriel?”

...Jasmine had finally woken up.