The Nameless Extra: I Proofread This World

Pain came first, so sudden and vicious that Ruvian could think of nothing else, as though every nerve in his body had been brutally ripped apart at the exact same moment.

The sensation of [The Endseeker] carving through his neck had already faded, yet the agony of death still lingered, clawing stubbornly at whatever fragment of him remained.

Oh, how he had thought he had forgotten this feeling, but death was exactly as he remembered it, haunting and inexorable.

There was also that terror, a primal instinct buried deeper than conscious thought, screaming at him that something had gone horribly wrong.

His mind knew that dying inside the memory was only supposed to force him awake, but his soul apparently did not care about such comforting details.

To that part of him, death was still death.

’I fucking hate dying!’

Ruvian could not even tell whether he still had a mouth left to curse with, but the thought came through clearly enough; he found himself wishing there had been a less excruciating way to escape that damned memory!

Then, the void suddenly trembled.

The dark world around him slowly began to take shape as distant sounds bled through the silence, muffled and warped before gradually sharpening into clarity. Soon, a heavy heartbeat thundered inside his chest, followed by the weight of his body and the cold pressure of air pressing against his skin.

Then came the stiffness in his muscles, the heat of blood coursing through his veins, and the coarse scrape of fabric against his skin.

Ruvian’s fingers twitched faintly, then his shoulders shifted, and little by little, control seeped back into him until every part of his body finally answered again.

His eyelids slowly lifted.

The maroon sky immediately filled his vision, accompanied by the distant roar of spells and the violent pressure of mana crushing down around him.

Ruvian drew in a deep breath, his chest heaving as his thoughts finally settled back into place, and for a brief moment, he simply savored the fact that he could breathe again.

’I’m back... haha.’

Then, a vicious throb suddenly tore through his left arm.

’Huh?’

Ruvian frowned.

’Wait... where the hell is that pain coming from?’

His gaze dropped toward his left side, and his expression slowly hardened when he saw several deep gashes carved across his arm, blood streaming down his fingers before dripping into the endless void below.

The entire limb looked as though someone had tried to rip it apart while he was gone, and another vicious pulse of pain immediately confirmed that, unfortunately, it was still very much attached to him.

Ruvian stared at the mangled arm for several seconds before his lips twitched.

’What the hell happened to my arm while I was gone!?’

Then his attention immediately turned inward toward the presence resting inside his soul.

Morvayne was supposed to be the one protecting his body while he wandered through Julian’s memories, so there was really only one person he could ask about this.

’Morvayne, what exactly happened while I was gone?’

Deep inside his soul, Morvayne’s entire presence went strangely still, as though those few words had struck her.

For some reason, she immediately heard an accusation where there had been none, and a faint trace of embarrassment crept into her otherwise ancient and dignified bearing.

[Before you say anything, Child, you should know that your body is far more fragile than I expected.]

Ruvian’s brow twitched slightly, but before he could respond, Morvayne hurriedly continued.

[That demon’s attack was strong enough to tear your body apart. Even for me, avoiding it while keeping this weak vessel alive was not easy.]

Her voice remained cold and lofty, yet the speed of her words betrayed her.

[You should be grateful that only your arm was injured. If I had reacted even a little slower, there would have been much less of you for your soul to return to.]

Morvayne paused, then quickly added another point to her defense.

[And that Chancellor of yours was not able to protect you either. So if you wish to blame someone, you should not place all of it upon me.]

Ruvian’s eyelid slowly lowered.

Morvayne, however, apparently took that silence as proof that her defense had failed, because the pressure of her presence shifted again inside his soul.

[Do not look at me like that, Child. It was because of me that you’re still alive, so rather than becoming angry, you should be thanking me.]

His lips twitched.

’I’m... not angry at you.’

Ruvian stared inwardly at her with a flat expression, then added, ’I just want to know what happened.’

[Oh... is that all?]

Morvayne’s voice suddenly lost some of its earlier force, and for a brief moment, the great spirit went completely silent inside his soul.

[Ahem... then I shall explain what happened.]

Morvayne quickly began recounting everything that had happened from the moment Ruvian entered Julian’s memories until he returned.

She kept most of it simple, explaining how Mamveth had found his location, how she had taken control of his body, and how she had barely managed to evade the attack that nearly tore his left arm apart.

As she spoke, Ruvian quietly reassessed his current situation.

For one, he was somehow floating several dozen meters above the endless darkness below, despite having absolutely no idea how to fly.

Morvayne casually explained that she had cast [Fly] before giving control of his body back to him, and the spell was still active under her control.

’Right... that explains one thing.’

Then there was the much more obvious problem. Ruvian raised his uninjured hand toward his face, feeling the two black horns growing from his head, while thick Dark Mana continued flowing around his body.

According to Morvayne, she had been forced to draw out more of her power when Mamveth attacked, and his body had temporarily changed to endure the strain.

He certainly never expected his body to take such a form.

’So this is what happens when you take over my body seriously...’

Ruvian muttered inwardly as his fingers brushed against one of the horns.

[Yes.]

He could also feel something strange along the left side of his face, almost like thin veins crawling beneath his skin.

’Well, that’s slightly concerning.’

But there was something far more important happening in front of him. Ruvian slowly raised his gaze toward the battlefield, and his expression immediately became serious.

Ophelia and Mamveth were still fighting.

Numerous copies of Ophelia filled the maroon sky, spreading across the entire domain like an endless army.

Hundreds of spells erupted from every direction at once, massive beams of mana crossing through the air while spatial blades tore open long black scars across the sky.

Mamveth moved through all of it like a monster unleashed, smashing through clones one after another as dark crimson mana exploded from his body.

Every collision shook the space around them. Ophelia’s clones vanished by the dozens, only for even more to appear from distorted space, while Mamveth tore through their spells with his claws and answered with waves of demonic power that ripped entire sections of the realm.

Even from this distance, the pressure from their exchange made Ruvian’s skin crawl.

’Such monstrous power...’

There was no clear advantage between them yet. Ophelia kept overwhelming Mamveth with numbers, attacks, and constant shifts in position.

Meanwhile, Mamveth answered with pure force strong enough to destroy nearly anything that came near him; it really did look like two monsters were trying to decide which one deserved to remain standing.

[More importantly, Child...]

Morvayne’s voice suddenly entered his mind again, pulling his attention away from the battle. [Did you manage to find Julian inside that world?]

Ruvian’s eyes narrowed slightly. Then, very slowly, the corner of his lips curled upward as everything he had seen inside Julian’s memories returned to his mind.

’Yes.’

His gaze shifted toward Mamveth in the distance. The smirk on his face deepened by another fraction, while his fingers slowly curled into a fist.

’And now it’s time to bring Julian back... and kick that demon out of his body.’

Calmly, Ruvian activated [Assimilation].

=============

[Choose the character you wish to resonate with...]

◇ Julian Rozenberg

◇ Vanessa Eldrienne

◇ Calyra Arcanis

◇ Rosalin Varion

◇ Silvena D’Elvoire

◇ Loden Armand

=============

Ruvian hardly needed any time to make his choice....

After all, he had already discussed with Morvayne what to do next after he successfully brought Julian’s consciousness back to the surface.

With a low, cutting, and resolute voice, he gave the Editorial System a single name.

”For this part...

──────── ✦ ────────

[Chapter 325: I’ll Go With... Vanessa Eldrienne]

Plot Points= 88,000 PP

A/N: I just finished my exam, but this is going to take a while for me to get back at my usual writing pace. So, please bear with it for the time being 🙂‍↕️🙏🏻I’m working on it (mass releases)