Transmigrated as an Extra: Awakening of The Ex‐Class'

His body, immobile, fortunately still breathing. The dark energy that enveloped him still kept him in that heavy sleep, like a coffin of fog that would not give way. There was no time to break this spell. So I wrapped him in the blankets quickly, carefully, as if at any moment he would break in my arms.

-Cyan..." I murmured, though he could not hear me.

A rumble further back, the sound of steel against shadow, of magic ripping through the air accompanied by choking laughter like violent thunder. That brief crossfire of attacks had been enough for us to understand: that woman was not simply powerful... she was already capable of exercising her Dominion, we did not let her try, yet she still seemed stronger than the three of us put together. And above all, we were in her lair.

This place reeked of a corrupt and malicious miasma, black magic. Being here was already drastically reducing our combat capabilities.

I gritted my teeth, stifling the rage that roared in my veins. Impotence was a slow poison, and it was already starting to climb up my throat, every time I imagined what that beast did to cyan something inside me twisted.

I cast one last glance towards the cloud of dust where his figure reemerged, still smiling, with blood on his lips and that gleam of madness in his eyes. Burning in me was the need to finish her off, to reduce her to ashes. But I knew I could not.

Not now.

I gently touched Cyan's cheek. There was a fine scratch on his skin, like the cruel signature of what had happened. A wound so small, but so symbolic, it made me want to break the world.

One part of me was dying to keep fighting to twist the shadows on his body with my flames.

Another... I just wanted to get him out of here and completely bury this memory.

And the guilt was beginning to sink its claws in.

If only I had come sooner.

If only I had been stronger.

If only I hadn't left him alone.....

Reality settled on my shoulders like a slab of stone. This was not a rescue. This was a retreat. And it hurt more than any wound.

-I swear this won't stay that way," I whispered, my voice cracking under the weight of the silence, as I clutched him tighter against my chest.

Then I turned around.

-Come on! -I shouted, my voice strained, broken by the smoke, the fury... and the impotence.

Erwing and Aziel reacted instantly. They knew what I was suggesting even without agreeing to it before. He didn't need to say more. With a last impulse, they both rushed forward as I fled, carrying Cyan on my back like a treasure I could not allow the world to corrupt.

Erwing went first. His sword sizzled, a storm engulfing the metal, alive and furious. His eyes flashed with determination. She took a clean swing, and with a roar imbued her blade with a roaring lightning bolt that unfurled in an arc plowing everything in its path, slicing through the air and space towards her.

KRZAAAM!

Aziel, from the opposite flank, let out a frozen exhalation. Her sword seemed to turn crystal clear, surrounded by a layer of pure ice that pulsed with light. With a skin-bristling scream, he channeled his aura into a ranged slash, releasing a blade of frost that froze the air with in a deadly hiss.

SHHHK-TAAAH!

Both attacks collided with that infernal woman's body.

But she did not move.

She only stretched out her arms, and a black sphere, dense as the abyss, opened around her. A swirling barrier of shadows that spat strange symbols and purple vapors that began to corrode the surroundings. His laughter seeped around the edges, malicious, grotesque.

KRRRRRRSHHH-BOOOM!

The impact was brutal. Destroying the entire room.

Walls collapsed, columns cracked like old bones, and the ceiling began to crumble. The air burned and the strange mana of the atmosphere became more savage, violent. A shock wave lashed us with fury, causing the floor to split open behind me and the entire hallway to show signs of collapsing.

I gritted my teeth. Cyan's body was heavy, not because of its mass, but because of everything it meant. I clutched him tightly, covering him with my own body as I ran through corridors that fell apart in my footsteps. I couldn't let go. Not again.

My breathing was becoming erratic, and pain prickled in my ribs. But I didn't stop.

I couldn't.

-Hold on... -I whispered, not knowing if I was talking to him... or to myself.

I knew we couldn't beat it. Not here. Not now. Maybe if we were somewhere else, if we had been faster, if....

But "ifs" won't save anyone.

That woman's laughter filled the corridors again. More distant, but present. As if she was following us from the shadows, as if she knew this wasn't over yet. That we had only survived by her mere grace.

-I swear..." I said, my voice ashen, as I brushed Cyan's wounded cheek. It won't stay that way.

And I kept running.

With my heart burning with rage.

With my eyes clouded with impotence.

And with the promise that someday, she would pay for everything I had done to her.

In the distance, footsteps sounded closer and closer.

Echoes of rushing boots, the clinking of weapons and the guttural murmur of voices merged in the gloom of the corridor. They were coming closer. Quickly.

Erwing, Aziel and I exchanged brief glances, knowing what it meant: the alarm had already spread. This place would soon be infested with enemies.

Our bodies were still burning from the previous combat. My breathing was ragged and I felt Cyan's weight in every fiber. We couldn't afford another direct confrontation... Not in these conditions.

-Shit..." mumbled Erwing, gripping his sword tightly as he swept the hallway with his gaze.

My mind whirled, desperately searching for a way out, an advantage. That's when I saw it.

Above us, hanging from the ceiling several meters high, dozens of cages were swinging in the shadows. Some broken, others sealed with magical locks corroded by a violent energy. Inside, barely visible figures writhed... creatures that should not exist. If it were the Vatican, it would be branded an aberration to the gods.