Extra's Descent

"....What?"

Amelia was perplexed as she watched the black flames spread across the forest.

What the hell is Brandon doing?

He was currently facing no enemies. So why is he just standing around?

He seemed to be staring at the sky and his shoulders were trembling.

"...."

But it was then when Amelia noticed something peculiar.

The atmosphere around Brandon changed. The mana around him suddenly grew heavy, and it seemed magic energy was leaking from him.

She hadn't actually seen his instability, but this was how Ciel described it.

The mana around him began thrashing around, relentlessly spreading the black flames.

Amelia was taken aback. From what Brandon had told her, the pain agonized him for nine months straight.

But for some reason, his body didn't flinch at all. However, she could feel the intense atmosphere around him.

At this moment, Brandon was a hazard to everything, and everyone around him.

Everyone but her.

With such thoughts, Amelia ran towards him.

"Bran—-"

But she halted in her steps as she noticed movements coming from the bushes.

More Frostwolves?

They were annoying. It became apparent to Amelia that the Frostwolves' difficulty lay in their defense.

She could surmise that due to their tough armor, they should be ranked within the A- category.

"….!"

However, what she thought were more Frostwolves, was actually something else.

From the bushes, emerged two tall—like moving statues. Just like the wolves, their figures were covered in ice—like crystals.

But as she narrowed her eyes and focused her attention on the statues, she realized they were quite different from the wolves.

Their armor.

"…."

There was no gap.

Their builds were bulky, and they were tall for Amelia's height. But comparing them to Brandon, they were only a bit taller than him.

Amelia realized they would be impossible to kill with her swords.

A creature of the A+ category?

….Maybe even S-.

A sudden feeling of fear rose within Amelia. At the moment, she knew she couldn't count on Brandon.

He looked as if he was fighting off the feeling that plagued him.

But Amelia had to try.

The statue's eyes suddenly flickered and glowed an ominous blue glow.

In an instant, Amelia's alarm bells rang and she quickly returned to the children.

The goblins bore their weapons forward and glared at the statues.

The statues' movements were quite sluggish. But each step they took, it felt like the ground shook slightly.

Gathering the magic energy around her, magic swords materialized in the air and floated around Amelia.

Pointing her finger at one of the statues, a magic sword cut through the air and struck the statue.

Crack!

But it was to no avail, as the magic sword quickly dissipated and the statue only staggered slightly.

"Tsk."

Amelia clicked her tongue.

Extending her hand forward, a magic sword floated towards her and Amelia clenched the grip tightly.

The tip of the blade suddenly extended at that moment, fully materializing itself.

Closing her eyes, Amelia prepared herself for an uncertain battle.

***

The integration process.

Due to his Sovereign's Will, being too strong for his body, his mana core rejects the integration process.

For that reason, the mana core inside his body purifies itself of the Sovereign's Will.

And it was for such a reason that caused the instability.

Which is why he needed a Sovereign's Fragment.

The only living fragment.

Amelia Constantine.

According to Ciel, with how pure Amelia's mana was, directly injecting it inside his body would help stimulate his mana core, purifying it in the process, and assisting the will's integration.

But it wasn't a one time process.

What Amelia needed to do was to inject it during its crucial point.

When his mana core becomes unstable again.

And that day…

….Was today.

He hadn't realized it.

But the pain was real.

"Kh…! Haha."

And by now, he was well used to it already.

Much to the point where he could delude himself that it wasn't.

Thud!

He fell on both his knees as black flames continued to spread around him.

Due to the instability, he couldn't stop the flames. His mana continued to dwindle in each passing second.

But he didn't want the flames to stop.

The flames.

….They were beautiful.

As if they were the sole manifestation of his darkest thoughts.

Brandon Locke.

He was tired of pretending.

Tired of hiding secrets.

Bound to the restrictions of being Brandon Locke.

This world was real.

Killed and he would undoubtedly die.

And this world was on the brink of destruction.

The syndicate's plans.

The calamity.

Lucian's death.

Jin's death.

Wraiths' Descent.

….And,

Sovereigns' Descent.

If that were the case, then it meant that he had some kind of connection to whatever a Sovereign even was.

And since the system had deemed it as the main act, then….

….They were the end game.

What he thought the end game was Wraiths, wasn't actually the case at all.

And now, he was thrusted into this world.

Just to die?

No.

He refused.

As he gazed ahead, a sharp and agonizing pain pierced his skull. But unlike before, Brandon didn't groan in pain.

The flames in his peripheral vision had completely captivated his attention.

Beautiful.

The sheer destruction the flames had brought.

With that kind of power, he could change the world's fate.

….But that kind of power.

It was out of reach for the moment.

He was still too weak. Even weaker than his teacher, Evelyn.

At the moment, she was his only basis.

Jin was gone, as well as Lucian.

He hadn't met the other strong figures of the world just yet.

There were more.

Others who were below Lucian, but above Evelyn.

And most of them operated differently.

Staring at the burning trees, his lips unknowingly pulled up.

Burn, keep burning.

Burn everything.

Burn them all.

The syndicate.

The other races.

The Wraiths.

The Sovereigns.

All of his enemies.

Destruction.

Burn them all down.

Until nothing but ashes were left.

Such were his thoughts.

Helping himself up, he looked around. A smile crept up on his features as he took in the sight of the ever expanding black flames.

Smiling, he turned around.

There, he could see Amelia fending off against tall looking–crystal statues.

"....Huh?"

Since when did they get there?

Scanning, it was then when his eyes shot wide open.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as his mouth was left agape.

His body was already heating up several minutes ago, and the sharp pain in his head continued to grip him.

Realizing he was suffering the same symptoms as back then, he clenched his chest tightly.

The situation finally clicked.

The goblins.

"...."

They were dead.