Path of the Extra

Not a second after Azriel said those words, he felt Lioren’s fist shoot toward the back of his head.

Without thinking, Azriel’s body moved on its own.

He dodged left, turned sharply, and summoned Void Eater into his hand. Mana coursed toward the soles of his feet and through his tendons as he propelled himself forward, striking at Lioren with a sweeping slash of his katana.

Lioren moved with eerie calm.

He sent out another right fist.

His knuckles collided with Void Eater.

The impact rang out between them as blade and fist parried each other, forcing both of them to skid backward. Azriel slid farther, stopping only one step away from the edge.

’W-woah...’

His heart lurched.

’I take it back. I don’t like this place.’

”Azriel! W-what the—what is happening here?”

Lumine emerged from the tunnel, sweat clinging to his skin. He looked breathless, but the moment he took in the open cliffside, the ocean beyond, and the sight of Lioren and Azriel clearly locked in battle, he froze.

Both Azriel and Lioren turned toward him.

Neither lowered their guard.

Lioren narrowed his eyes.

Lumine flinched, took a step back, and almost tripped over his own feet.

At the same time, the angel floating in the air spoke, twirling rapturously.

”Hello again, humans! Ah, what a wonderful day this is, is it not? All humans marked in red have officially been eliminated, whether by killing another participant or by having their brains blown out after failing to do so! Kaboom they went!”

His smile brightened.

”But don’t worry. The rewards related to the leaderboard will remain until the very end of the scenario. Aside from that, you have all made it. We gods are not cruel. We appreciate the hard work you have put in until now, and I promise you, all of this will be worth it.”

The angel spread his arms.

”You have come a long way. You have survived. For the next five hours, you may consider this one final break. Cherish it. Reenergize yourselves. Renew your motivation, participants.”

His eyes gleamed.

”From here on, you will have a chance to gain whatever you wish for. That is, of course, aside from the current participants on the leaderboard. All of you, however, have been assigned a new challenge, one meant to progress the hidden ending in a smoother way. Reach the summit. Then choose how you will enter what lies behind those doors. You have five hours to complete this challenge before also going kaboom!”

With that, the angel disappeared alongside the panel.

Silence followed.

Then Lioren looked at Lumine.

”...Who are you?”

”E-eh? I-I...”

As if Lioren’s stare alone might burn through him, Lumine could not bring himself to speak, much less compose himself.

Especially after everything he had just heard from the angel.

”He’s a student from my year at the academy,” Azriel said. ”The real question is why the hell you’re here, Lumine. It hasn’t even been that long since I left, yet you came running after me. For what?”

Was Lumine overthinking it?

Or was there a hint of reproach in Azriel’s tone?

Perhaps because it was Azriel, Lumine found his voice again. His face grew serious, and he looked at him with fierce resolve.

”I’m here to save you.”

”Ha!”

Azriel let out a dry laugh.

”There he goes again.”

”I’m serious, Azriel. I will save you. Besides, Celestina ordered me to.”

”So?”

Azriel tilted his head.

There was a hint of mockery in the smile he gave him.

”Looking at you, I can tell you still have no idea what I did inside that colosseum. I wonder if you’d say the same if you knew.”

Knew what?

Lumine did not know.

But he shook his head anyway.

”It doesn’t matter. I made a promise. I’ll keep it.”

Lioren looked at Azriel, his expression unchanged.

”So it seems you have chosen to live.”

Azriel shrugged, Void Eater still in his hand.

”What can I say? It seems I’m not ready to die just yet.”

”This is quite the conundrum, then,” Lioren said. ”Considering I still have to kill you.”

His gaze shifted to Lumine.

”And now this cadet as well.”

Azriel’s smile disappeared.

His expression turned serious.

Focused.

He was going to fight to kill.

Lumine realized it instantly, his face paling.

”I told you, Lumine,” Azriel suddenly said, shifting his stance and raising Void Eater above his head. ”I will kill anyone, no matter who they are, until my very last breath. If they stand in my path, I won’t look back.”

Lumine gritted his teeth.

His fingers dug into his palms.

”Weren’t you supposed to be friends, Azriel?”

Both of them glanced at him.

Lumine’s heart skipped a beat.

Still, he forced himself to take a step forward.

”Besides, what path?” he asked. ”Look around. The only path is back through the tunnel you came from. You’re at a dead end. You look like you could die at any moment. Blood is pouring out of your body. You’re alone, fighting everyone when the odds are stacked against you.”

His voice rose.

”Open your eyes, Azriel! You can’t keep going much longer than this!”

Azriel’s jaw clenched.

Then Lumine looked at Lioren.

”And you. How can you kill your own friend? I heard you were childhood friends, and yet you’re ready to kill him just because it will make you stronger?”

”You have quite the mouth on you, cadet,” Lioren said. ”Still, you will not understand. It is my duty to do whatever I deem necessary.”

Lumine exhaled quietly.

”I won’t pretend I understand your duties, your responsibilities, or the decisions people from the great clans have to make. I’m not mature enough for that.”

His hands tightened.

”But I’ve been watching everyone these past few months. Ever since coming to the academy, I realized how naive I was to think Void Creatures were our only real problem. I’m good at fighting them, but I’m terrible at fighting humans.”

His gaze moved between the two of them.

”I’m sure both of you are better than me at both. Much better, even. Maybe that’s why it’s so easy for people like you to fight. To kill. But what’s the point?”

Neither of them spoke.

”Life, death. Death, life. Sacrificing yourself for another life, or sacrificing someone else for another death. Making every plan based only on who benefits from it. But have either of you considered that this angel... these rewards... might not benefit you at all?”

His voice trembled, but he did not stop.

”What if he’s lying? What if it doesn’t end with killing someone? And even if it does, what comes after? What’s the point if you forsake your humanity in the end?”

Lioren and Azriel both looked at him with expressions he did not understand.

Lumine finished speaking and tried his best not to swallow too loudly.

”...Has anyone ever told you that you have quite an annoying voice, cadet?”

Lioren said it plainly. Without emotion.

”H-huh?”

”You were simply spouting words without even understanding where you were going with them. Do not ever consider a career in communication.”

The words stung far more deeply than Lumine expected.

”N-no, I...”

He faltered.

”Y-yes, but...”

He had no idea what to say now, especially with his self-confidence suddenly taking a massive hit.

Then he noticed Azriel.

Azriel was crouching on the ground, both hands pressed against the stone.

His condition seemed to have worsened all at once. He looked as though he might faint at any moment. In truth, it was a miracle he had not already collapsed long ago.

”You know...”

Azriel spoke between shallow breaths.

”The first time... I found myself in an unfamiliar world... back in the Void Realm, inside that facility...”

He looked up, breathless, then coughed blood onto the ground.

Still, he continued.

”I thought it was some god who brought me there. Here. But now... now I think I was wrong all along.”

A broken smile touched his lips.

”Maybe...”

His fingers curled against the stone.

”Maybe it was me.”

The wind howled around them.

”All along, it was... me.”

Lumine stared at him.

Lioren’s gaze sharpened.

”And the key Pollux wants... It’s probably inside me.”

He swallowed.

”My soul... meaning... I am the key.”

A low, weak chuckle escaped Azriel’s breath as he went on.

”Last time, I escaped by betting on a god...”

His fingers pressed harder against the ground.

”This time... I’ll bet on myself.”

He looked at Lumine.

”As you said, Lumine... the odds are against me. So let’s see how much I really care about myself... and how much I care about you guys.”

”W-what are you—”

Suddenly, the ground shook.

Only for a brief moment.

Azriel’s fingers stopped touching the stone.

Yet where they had been, red lightning curled and crackled.

A horrible dread began to fill Lumine’s gut.

Then the ground started shaking harder.

”That was stupid,” Lioren said.

Azriel looked at him.

”Scared you’ll die?”

”No.”

”Sure?”

”Yes.”

”Want to bet?”

”W-wait, what is going on?”

Lumine interjected immediately, his voice panicked as the shaking refused to stop.

Lioren turned to him with a bland expression.

”If I were you, I would run back the way you came.”

Instantly, Lumine turned around.

But at that exact second, the entrance collapsed.

Rocks crashed down, burying the tunnel completely.

”Too late,” Lioren said, almost sounding disappointed.

Then Lumine realized what was happening.

Azriel was dropping them.

He was bringing the entire cliff down.

”No, no, no—NO!”

Lumine’s eyes darted everywhere, desperate for anything he could use.

”AZRIEL! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”

Then he heard Azriel laugh.

A wild, almost deranged sound.

”You said... I was at a dead end, didn’t... you?”

Azriel’s grin widened.

”Well, then I simply need... to destroy the dead end until it... becomes a new path.”

Horrified, Lumine stared at him.

Lioren, however, merely stood there with an absentminded expression, as if there were no thoughts inside his head at all. He made no attempt to escape.

He simply looked as though he had accepted his fate.

”No!” Lumine shouted. ”Your body can’t handle a fall from this height! No—not even we can! We’re all going to die!”

”Hehe...”

Azriel’s laughter came out breathless.

”Let’s see if my... gamble... lets me win.”

And with that, Lumine felt his stomach rise into his throat.

Gravity seized him.

The section of stone beneath them shattered completely, breaking away from the mountain and sliding into open air.

Then they fell.

From thousands of feet above.

Straight down.

Plummeting toward the deep, endless ocean.