The Extra is a Hero?-Chapter 274: THE RETREAT

Chapter 269: The Retreat

​The blast door slammed shut with a finality that shook the bones of everyone in the South Tunnel.

The deafening roar of King Thorgar’s suicide strike was muffled to a dull, angry thrumming, vibrating through the thick steel.

​Inside, it was dark, lit only by the flickering emergency mana-lamps.

​"Move!" Michael Wilson shouted, his voice cracking for the first time. "Don’t stop! The King just destabilized the foundation. This entire tunnel is going to collapse in three minutes!"

​He didn’t wait. He grabbed the back of Leon’s armor and shoved him forward. Leon stumbled, his eyes still wide and vacant, staring back at the sealed door.

​"The King..." Leon whispered, his voice sounding small. "He’s still back there. And Freya... and the Queen..."

​"They are fighting so we can run," Michael snapped, not slowing down. "Honor their sacrifice by not dying like an idiot."

​Ahead of them, Arthur Pendragon was leading the charge. He had sheathed Excalibur and was now carrying a wounded student over his shoulder.

​"To the platform!" Arthur bellowed. "Varkas! Clear the debris! Eric! Light!"

​"On it!" Eric William cried out. The arrogant noble was gone. In his place was a terrified boy covered in demon blood and soot. He raised his hand, casting a blinding [Flash] spell that illuminated the dark tunnel ahead.

​They rounded a corner and burst onto the underground platform.

​There it was. The Iron-Horse.

​It was a massive, rune-etched train, built by the Dwarves to connect their subterranean cities. It was black iron and brass, humming with the power of a contained mana-engine.

​But the platform wasn’t empty.

​A dozen Hell-Stalkers—lithe, four-legged demons that had bypassed the arena lockdown via the ventilation shafts—were already there, clawing at the train’s reinforced windows.

​"Demons on the platform!" Aiden screamed, raising his daggers. "They’re trying to breach the engine!"

​"Clear them!" Michael ordered.

​But before Michael could draw Draken, a blur of silver and ice shot past him.

​It was Deiman Frostheart.

​The Lord of the North had made it to the service elevator with the other Patriarchs. He stood on the far end of the platform, his fine clothes torn, his face a mask of frozen rage.

​"GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER’S RIDE!" Deiman roared.

​He didn’t cast a spell. He simply extended his hand and clenched.

​The air temperature on the platform dropped to absolute zero. The Hell-Stalkers froze mid-leap, turning into statues of ice.

​CRACK. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

​Deiman shattered them with a wave of his hand.

​"Get on the train!" Deiman shouted at the students. He spotted Michael carrying Maria. His eyes softened for a fraction of a second, filled with a desperate gratitude. "Boy! Get her inside! The stasis pods are in the second car!"

​"Go!" Michael yelled at his team.

​Varkas and Eric rushed past, carrying the unconscious Selena and Maria. King Elandor was waiting at the door of the second car, his silver hair disheveled, his eyes wild. He grabbed Selena from Eric’s arms.

​"My star," Elandor wept, clutching his daughter. "I have you. I have you."

​"Elandor! Get inside!" Scark Stromfang barked, shoving the Elven King into the car. The Wolf Lord turned, his claws extended, scanning the tunnel behind the students. "We’re leaving! Now!"

​The Rearguard

​The students scrambled onto the train. The engine roared to life, the mana-furnace spinning up with a high-pitched whine.

​"All aboard!" Grandmaster Durak shouted from the conductor’s cabin. "We are launching in ten seconds!"

​Michael stood at the platform edge. He looked at the train, then back at the tunnel entrance.

​The blast door he had sealed was glowing red hot. Something was melting through it.

​"Michael!" Leon called from the open door of the train. "Come on!"

​Michael didn’t move.

​"The tunnel integrity is failing," Michael said, his voice calm amidst the chaos. "If the ceiling collapses after the train leaves, you’re safe. If it collapses on the train, everyone dies."

​He turned to look at Leon.

​"Someone has to make sure the ceiling falls in the right place."

​Leon’s eyes widened. "No. No way. You’re not doing the self-sacrifice thing. That’s my job!"

​Leon jumped off the train.

​"Leon!" Arthur shouted, reaching out.

​Leon landed next to Michael. He drew his broken, battered sword. The white flame flickered, weak but defiant.

​"We do this together," Leon said, his jaw set. "You and me. The Hero and the... whatever you are."

​Michael looked at him. He sighed.

​"You’re an idiot, Leon."

​"Yeah," Leon grinned, blood staining his teeth. "But I’m your idiot."

​BOOM.

​The blast door exploded inward.

​A tide of demons poured through. Not hundreds. Thousands. Led by a massive, armored General wielding a scythe.

​"THEY ARE ESCAPING!" the Demon General roared. "KILL THE HEIRS!"

​The Iron-Horse began to move. Chug... Chug...

​"Michael! Leon!" Princess Freya screamed from the window of the first car. She was pounding on the glass. "Get on!"

​"Go!" Michael shouted over his shoulder.

​He turned back to the horde. He raised Draken.

​"Leon," Michael said. "Do you have enough mana for one big blast?"

​"I have enough to blow this whole mountain," Leon replied, his aura flaring one last time.

​"Good," Michael adjusted his glasses. "Aim for the support pillars. Top left and top right."

​"And you?"

​Michael smiled. It was a terrifying smile.

​"I’ll hold the door."

​The Collapse

​The demons charged.

​Leon screamed, channeling every scrap of his life force into his blade.

​[Lionheart Style: Final Form – King’s Roar!]

​A massive beam of golden light shot from his sword. It didn’t hit the demons. It hit the ceiling supports of the massive cavern.

​CRACK-BOOM!

​The rock groaned. Millions of tons of mountain began to fall.

​But the demons were fast. The front line—the Hell-Stalkers—were faster than the falling rocks. They leaped through the air, aiming for Leon’s throat.

​Michael stepped in front of him.

​[Skill: Aura Holder – Abyssal Release]

​He didn’t use a sword technique. He used pure, unadulterated gravity.

​He slammed his hand onto the ground.

​[Gravity Magic: Event Horizon]

​A black sphere expanded from Michael. It caught the leaping demons, the debris, the very air itself, and crushed it all into the floor. The gravity was so intense that the demons didn’t just stop; they were flattened into paste.

​"NOW, LEON!" Michael grabbed Leon’s collar.

​The ceiling came down.

​A wall of rock crashed between them and the horde, sealing the demons behind a tomb of granite.

​But the collapse was spreading. It was chasing them down the platform.

​The Iron-Horse was picking up speed, already fifty meters away.

​"Run!" Michael shouted.

​They sprinted. The ground was shaking, tiles popping up, debris raining down.

​"We can’t catch it!" Leon yelled, his legs pumping.

​"Yes, we can!" Michael reached into his inventory. He pulled out a grappling gun—something he had bought from the goblin merchant weeks ago.

​He fired.

​The hook shot out, catching the railing of the rear observation deck of the train.

​The cable went taut.

​YANK.

​Michael and Leon were jerked off their feet, flying through the air.

​They slammed into the metal grating of the rear deck. Michael groaned, the impact knocking the wind out of him. Leon scrambled to grab the railing so they wouldn’t slide off.

​The tunnel behind them collapsed completely. A cloud of dust and darkness swallowed the platform where they had just stood.

​The Long Ride Home

​They lay there on the metal deck for a long time, watching the darkness recede as the train sped into the safety of the deep-earth tunnels.

​Leon rolled onto his back, laughing hysterically. Tears streamed down his soot-stained face.

​"We lived," Leon wheezed. "Holy crap, Mike. We lived."

​Michael sat up slowly. He adjusted his glasses, which were cracked down the middle.

​"We survived," Michael corrected. "There’s a difference."

​He stood up and looked through the glass door into the train car.

​Inside, it was a scene of devastation.

​Students were slumped in seats, bleeding and weeping. Healers were rushing back and forth.

​In the center of the car, King Elandor and Deiman Frostheart were kneeling beside two stasis pods. Inside the pods, floating in blue liquid, were Maria and Selena.

​They looked peaceful. But Michael knew the truth.

​The curse was eating them.

​Michael opened the door and walked in. Leon followed, stumbling.

​The car went silent as they entered.

​Crown Princess Freya, her arm in a sling, stood up. She walked over to Leon. She didn’t say a word. She just hugged him, burying her face in his chest.

​"You idiot," Freya sobbed. "You absolute idiot."

​Leon hugged her back, wincing. "I know. I’m sorry."

​Michael walked past them. He stopped in front of the stasis pods.

​Deiman Frostheart looked up. The Lord of Ice looked aged, his face grey.

​"Wilson," Deiman rasped. "You... you saved her."

​"I brought her body back," Michael said coldly. "Her soul is still trapped."

​"We will fix it," King Elandor said, placing a hand on the glass of Selena’s pod. His voice was trembling. "The Royal Healers... the High Priests... they will fix this."

​Michael didn’t answer. He looked at the two girls. He knew the lore. He knew the curse. The Endless Sleep wasn’t something a priest could fix. It required a descent into the Abyss.

​It required a war.

​The train rattled on, carrying the broken remnants of the Twelve Academies away from the burning capital.

​Michael turned and looked out the window at the passing tunnel lights.

​The Tournament Arc was over. The game was over.

​Now, the real story began.

​(End of Chapter 269)