Shattered Innocence: Transmigrated Into a Novel as an Extra

Chapter 587: Knight of the Wind (4)

Time stretched.

The spear, once too fast for my eyes to track, now moved as if trapped in thickened air. Every rotation of its shaft, every flicker of wind mana dancing along its surface—I saw all of it.

The agony inside me was unbearable. My nerves burned, my bones felt wrong, my mana circuits screamed in protest. Every cell in my body was caught in the war between life and death, between destruction and survival.

Yet—

I moved.

My body, weighed down just moments ago, now felt weightless. The air itself seemed to bend around me, every detail crisp, every motion clear.

Dodge.

A fraction of a second before impact, I shifted.

Not wildly. Not with desperation.

A single, precise step to the side.

The spearhead tore through empty space, grazing past my ribs. I could feel the force of it, the sheer weight of the technique behind the strike. Had I moved even a breath too late, my chest wouldʼve been torn open.

But it missed.

And in that moment—Aldric was open.

Now.

I lunged.

My estoc, gripped in both hands, twisted in a perfect, needle-like thrust. No excess movement. No wasted effort. My muscles flowed like a taut wire releasing all its tension in an instant.

—SHNK!

My blade pierced Aldricʼs shoulder.

His body jerked, the force of the impact sending a rippling shockwave through his aura body.

For the first time, his balance wavered.

For the first time, I broke through.

His head snapped toward me, his crimson eyes widening.

Too late.

I had already moved again.

I twisted the blade—angled just right, forcing the wound open, severing deeper into flesh. Aldricʼs body reacted instinctively, his stance shifting to counter—

But I was already gone.

My speed was unreal.

I wasnʼt running—I was tearing through space itself. Each step carried me further than it should have, as if the very concept of movement had changed.

I felt it.

The wind. The force. The momentum.

My body wasnʼt just keeping up.

It was leading the rhythm of the fight.

Aldric staggered back, his free hand snapping up to grip his wounded shoulder. Blood—rich, dark—spilled down his armor, staining the gleaming metal.

He exhaled sharply, his expression unreadable.

”You—”

His words faltered.

I pressed forward.

Aldricʼs wound was still fresh, his aura body flickering from the force of my strike. His stance—unyielding, controlled—was the only thing keeping him from collapsing.

I wonʼt let him recover.

I surged in, my estoc already snapping toward his ribs. A direct stab—no hesitation. No mercy.

—CLANG!

Aldric barely managed to twist his spear, deflecting the strike with the shaft. But he wasnʼt steady. His movements werenʼt as fluid as before.

Another strike.

I reversed the grip, pivoted, and slashed. The edge of my blade screamed through the air—

—CLANG!

He blocked again, but this time, I saw it.

The way his left foot slipped back an inch too far. The tightening in his jaw. The way his breathing staggered.

He was feeling it.

Again.

I twisted my body, mana surging through my limbs as I aimed another thrust for his thigh—

THUMP!

I froze.

A sharp, violent pulse shot through my chest, spreading like wildfire through my veins.

THUMP!

I staggered. My vision swam.

And then—

—A rush of warmth clawed up my throat.

Blood erupted from my mouth, splattering against the cold stone beneath me. My knees buckled, my body folding forward as another pulse tore through my core.

THUMP!

What—

[LUCAVION!]

Vitaliaraʼs voice slammed into my mind, urgent, desperate.

[STOP! YOUʼRE DESTROYING YOUR CORE!]

I clenched my teeth, gripping the hilt of my estoc so tightly my knuckles ached. My body—still flooded with the chaotic fusion of my two cores—was breaking apart.

I felt it.

My mana circuits seizing, the conflicting energies raging inside me like a beast trying to tear its way free.

[STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!]

I could hear the fear in her voice.

But I couldnʼt.

Not when I looked up—

And saw Aldric.

He was still standing. But his posture—shaken. His shoulder—still bleeding. His breath—just as ragged as mine.

I hurt him.

I finally hurt him.

And it wasnʼt enough.

Not nearly enough.

Then—

I saw them.

Garret.

Mateo.

Felix.

Elias.

Clara.

Their bodies, lying motionless in the dirt. Their wounds gaping, blood soaking into the ground.

As if time had folded in on itself, I saw them again—the moment they had fallen, the moment I had failed.

My breathing came in short, shaking bursts. My fingers trembled.

ʼNo.ʼ

Not again.

Not when I was this close.

I clenched my jaw, my body screaming in protest, my core cracking under the pressure.

And I forced myself to stand.

I stood.

Pain flared through every inch of my body, raw and unrelenting, but it no longer mattered. My breath came in sharp, ragged bursts, my vision pulsing with the aftershocks of forcing my cores to meld. Every heartbeat sent another wave of agony through my chest, but my fingers tightened around my estoc.

Aldric was still there. Still breathing. Still standing.

Not enough.

I forced my body forward, forced my mana to respond.

「Void Starfall Blade. Dance of the Celestial.」

The moment the words formed in my mind, everything around me shifted.

The Void Starfall Blade wasnʼt just about destruction. It wasnʼt just about power.

It was about flow.

And I could see it now. The steps. The rhythm. The intricate weave of movement and blade, void and motion.

I envisioned it—

And then I moved.

The first movement—

Stellar Prelude.

I dashed forward.

No—I tore through space itself.

The ground beneath me cracked as I launched off my back foot, my estoc carving a clean arc through the air. The void element laced along my blade erased resistance, making each motion effortless.

Aldric reacted instantly, twisting his spear to intercept—

⚡ CLANG! ⚡

His aura flared, wind mana bursting outward as he blocked, his footing sliding back just slightly.

I wasnʼt done.

The second movement—

Nebula Spiral.

My footwork twisted, my estoc whipping around in an unpredictable arc. The void around my blade expanded, warping space itself, making my trajectory impossible to track.

Aldricʼs eyes narrowed—

His spear snapped up, adjusting—

Too late.

The blade cut across his side, carving through the mana reinforcement of his aura body. Blood sprayed, his coat splitting open.

I could hear his breath hitch.

But I was already onto the next strike.

The third movement—

Falling Astral Spear.

A single thrust.

Pinpoint. Precise.

Everything funneled into a singular, fatal strike aimed for his heart. The void compressed, condensing into pure destruction.

Aldric felt the danger.

⚡ FWOOOSH! ⚡

He vanished—his body flickering back with a sudden burst of wind mana. My estoc missed his chest by mere inches, slicing into his shoulder instead.

I saw it—

His breath, uneven. The stiffness in his movements.

He was weakening.

I had him.

The fourth movement—

Ecliptic Waltz.

A blur of motion.

I pivoted, my body twisting in perfect synchrony with my blade. The estoc traced a circle of starlit void before—

Crash!

I slammed it downward.

⚡ CLASH! ⚡

Aldric blocked, but this time, he didnʼt fully deflect.

His footing buckled. His spear shook under the impact.

His aura body—once unbreakable—was cracking.

I inhaled sharply.

The final movement—

Eventide Descent.

The finishing strike.

I exhaled, my estoc rising high—

Void starlight flooded around my blade, the energy coalescing into something vast, something absolute.

For a fleeting second—

It was as if the night sky itself had descended into my hands.

And then—

I moved.

A single downward slash.

All of my speed. All of my power.

Everything—

My blade descended.

Aldric raised his spear in a final act of defiance, but it was too late.

My estoc, wreathed in the consuming void, cleaved straight through his aura body—through his arm—through bone.

SHLNK!

The resistance was nothing.

Like a hot knife through butter.

Aldricʼs right arm, the one gripping his spear, separated cleanly at the shoulder.

Blood erupted from the wound, spraying across the battlefield.

”AAAAAAAH!”

His scream tore through the night, raw and broken.

But I wasnʼt finished.

I pivoted, reversing my grip—

SLASH!

My blade severed his other arm at the elbow.

Aldric collapsed to his knees, his body trembling violently, his breath coming in short, erratic gasps. His once-proud stance, the towering presence of the Knight of the Wind—reduced to this.

His head tilted upward, his crimson eyes locking onto mine.

I stared down at him.

And then—

I saw them.

Garret.

Mateo.

Felix.

Elias.

Clara.

They stood beside him.

Not in blood, not in horror—

But smiling.

Their faces were as I remembered them before the massacre.

”””””You did it.”””””

The words drifted softly through the air.

”We knew you would be able to do it.”

I swallowed, my chest tightening in a way that had nothing to do with my wounds. My grip on my estoc wavered.

Garret nodded, his easy grin never fading.

Mateo laughed, rubbing the back of his head. ”Took you long enough.”

Felix smirked. ”Hah. So he wasnʼt untouchable after all.”

Elias adjusted his glasses, a look of quiet pride on his face.

And Clara—Clara just watched me, her eyes warm, full of something I couldnʼt name.

She stepped forward slightly.

”Now itʼs time to let us go, Lucavion.”

My breath hitched.

A single tear slipped from my eye.

”Yeah…..I am sorry it took this long.”

I raised my blade.

Aldricʼs lips parted, but no words came.

”Goodbye…..My ghosts of the past.”

SLASH!

His head rolled onto the blood-soaked ground.

Silence.

The wind carried the last remnants of his life away, dispersing like dust beneath the stars.

And when I looked back—

Garret, Mateo, Felix, Elias, and Clara—

They were gone.