I AM EXTRA IN A SHONEN MANGA

Kaen stepped forward, shoulders trembling, but his eyes burned brighter than they had the entire fight.

Flames coiled around his fists… but they weren't pure flame anymore. The fire flickered black at the edges, leaking strands of shade that warped the air itself.

The Clown tilted his head, laughter rattling from his throat.

"Hoh… a fire brat wants to step up."

Khael's pupils narrowed, his dragon-mark system flashing a red glyph in his vision:

⚠ Warning: Shade Unstable.

His chest tightened. (At this rate… the seal on his Shade Affinity will break…)

Kaen clenched his fists tighter, veins bulging as both flame and void spilled from his skin. His voice came low, shaking, but determined:

"I'll beat you."

The ground cracked beneath him. The Clown's void tendrils twitched, then recoiled slightly recognition flashing behind that grinning mask.

The Clown leaned forward, tone shifting from amusement to… intrigue.

"…You. How can you have void inside you?"

Kaen's body trembled, half flame and half shadow. His Shinrei flared violently, one moment searing bright crimson, the next flickering into that unnatural void-black hue. The ground cracked and hissed beneath his steps.

Kaen's lips curled into a snarl. His words shook with fury, yet beneath it was pain.

"Shut up….I'll burn you down."

A ripple of unstable Shinrei burst out, forcing even Rael to tighten his stance. Seraphis's divine wings folded protectively around him for a moment, the spirit's eyes narrowing.

Ceyla hissed, staggering as sparks stung her skin.

"Tch—his Shinrei's… breaking apart."

Andromeda pulled Junjun closer, his own Echo Beast growling low, unsettled.

Khael's fists clenched. (He's holding on, but just barely. If that seal cracks any further… it won't be Kaen standing there. It'll be something else entirely.)

The Clown chuckled, letting void tendrils unfurl lazily from his fingertips.

"So, fire brat… will you collapse first, or will you show me something even more fun?"

Kaen's glare sharpened, the unstable aura around him spiking again. He forced the shade back into his flames, trying to weld them together by sheer willpower. His voice rose, steady despite the trembling veins across his body:

"No… I'm not collapsing. I'm surpassing."

For a moment, just a moment, everyone felt it—his fractured soul trying to reach a higher state. Half flame, half void, yet burning with raw determination.

Khael exhaled slowly. (A crazy fight… and now this. Rael is losing ground against seventy percent, and Kaen is forcing open the edge of his cursed power. This battlefield… it's becoming hell.)

Rael steadied his breathing, Lumen Blade dripping with light. Blood still streaked his lips, but his eyes weren't on the Clown anymore. They flicked to Kaen—burning, trembling, his Shinrei a storm of fire and shadow.

(Tsk… are you showing that thing again…) Rael thought bitterly. The image of their first mission flashed—Kaen, cornered, screaming, his Shinrei splitting into flame and void, voidborn falling all around him. Back then, Rael intended to cut Kaen back then but Kaen suddenly went unconscious.

The Clown laughed, delighted, arms spread wide.

"Come, little experiment. Show me your teeth."

Kaen lunged. Flame wrapped around his fist, but at the core of the blaze swirled a streak of pure shadow. The punch tore the air like a cannon.

The Clown raised a single hand, void tendrils swirling. Kaen's fist smashed into it, light and dark colliding with void. The blast split the ground, throwing sparks and dust into the air.

Kaen growled, pushing harder, his aura flaring—flame struggling to swallow the shade that leaked out.

"I… beat you!!"

The Clown's mask tilted, amused.

"Strong. But cracked."

With a flick of his wrist, the void wrapped around Kaen's arm like a serpent. For an instant it looked as if the Clown would tear it apart but Kaen roared, his Shinrei surging, flame burning the void itself.

The Clown's empty eyes widened slightly behind the mask.

"Oh? You burn void? Impossible."

Kaen twisted his body, dragging the Clown into his next strike, a flaming knee, cloaked in shadow. The impact sent the Clown staggering back for the first time, his laughter ringing louder than ever.

Rael's jaw tightened. Seraphis's voice whispered in his mind:

(He's unraveling. His seal won't last much longer.)

Ceyla, barely standing, shielded her face from the shockwaves.

"That idiot… he's really doing it…"

Kaen panted, his aura flaring in wild bursts. Half flame, half shade. His veins bulged unnaturally, cracks glowing across his skin. Still, his eyes burned steady—unyielding.

"I'm not breaking… I'm breaking through."

The Clown's laugh dropped into a low, almost reverent tone.

"Magnificent. You're a mistake… but a beautiful one."

The battlefield writhed in fractured light and creeping void. The air warped with every breath Kaen took, his unstable aura lashing outward—half flame, half shadow. Crimson sparks split against ribbons of black, a storm barely held together by will alone.

Across from him, the Clown twirled his arm lazily, void dripping from his fingertips like liquid tar. His mask gleamed under the broken moonlight, its cracks now carrying a faint hiss of smoke.

"Come on, fire brat. Let's dance."

Kaen's eyes flared, and the ground beneath his feet seared with sudden sparks. With a blur, he launched forward, Flare Step carrying him like a streak of crimson lightning. His first strike, an overhead flaming chop, fell with enough force to split the earth.

The Clown caught it on a single palm. Void welled outward, soft but crushing, swallowing the brunt of the blow. The collision cracked like thunder, a violent burst hurling dust and stone aside.

Kaen snarled, twisting mid-recoil. He spun on his heel, shadows bleeding into his motion, and unleashed a sweeping kick. The arc tore through the air, cloaked in shade. The Clown ducked, but not completely, dark flame grazed the porcelain mask, leaving a jagged fracture across its surface.

The Clown stilled. Then, softly, he chuckled.

"…You cracked it. Interesting."

Kaen's breath was sharp, ragged, but his grin cut through the pain.

"You bleed like anyone else."

The Clown's laughter twisted, and in the next instant he vanished.

Kaen barely caught the distortion behind him. He spun, his elbow wrapped in fire and shade, and caught the Clown's thrusting strike. Their clash detonated, a shockwave splitting the earth and tossing both of them back. Neither slowed—both lunged again, movements blurring into a storm. Fist met palm, knee met knee, strikes shattered air itself. Each impact flung ripples that leveled trees and crushed stone.

Kaen forced his momentum into a feint—flame surging bright—before he let shadow coil from his core. A jagged eruption of black lightning burst from his chest, ripping through the battlefield. The Clown twisted, but not fast enough. The surge struck him full, cracks spiderwebbing across his mask as smoke hissed free.

This time, his laughter was sharp, edged like broken glass.

"Yes! Burn yourself more, child!"

Kaen staggered, one hand clutching his side. The backlash of mixing flame and shadow carved agony through his veins, threatening to tear him apart from the inside. His aura flickered, unstable, eating at his very body. Yet his fists remained raised, trembling but resolute.

"I'll… keep going… until you fall."

The Clown's void spiraled, coiling like a living thing. Kaen's fire roared back, fused with that stubborn streak of shade. They charged, and when their blows collided—flame and shadow against writhing void—the explosion split the earth open. The crater shook with a roar like a collapsing mountain, the shockwave drowning the battlefield in dust and fractured stone.

From a distance, Matthew shielded his eyes, clutching the injured dog to his chest. His voice cracked with fear.

"he's—Kaen's—"

Khael's hand shot up, silencing him. His voice was calm, steady.

"Stay here."

But inside, his pulse thundered.

(That kid… if he pushes any further, the seal will rip apart. His body won't survive. And that bastard Clown… no one here can stop him.)

His hand clenched. Faint veins of light glowed beneath his skin, crawling upward, pulsing like molten fire.

(I have no choice. To use that technique… the crest will burn itself into my flesh. The crest of the Dragon Knight. Proof of what I am…)

His jaw tightened, teeth grinding.

(Damn it. I swore I would never reveal it. I just pray none here recognize what that crest means. A Dragon Knight… is no simple title.)

Khael stepped forward. The air stirred, heavy and ancient, like the growl of something vast and draconic echoing from a cage long locked away.

But then—

A crack of static rolled across the field. The dust swirled, then stilled as if paralyzed by an unseen hand.

A figure stepped forward. Yawning.

"Kaen…"

Kaen's head snapped up, his unstable aura flickering. His eyes widened.

Standing between him and the Clown was a tall, wiry young man with wild, untamed black hair. His uniform hung loosely, collar open, his posture slouched like he'd just woken from a nap. But his eyes half-lidded, calm, disinterested held a depth that froze even the Clown mid-movement.

It was Raiden Kurogami.

Khael watch the figure and murmur "Raiden… the Thunder God."

To be continue