The Extra's Rise-Chapter 818: Rin Ashbluff (4)

Kill.

The word pulsed through Rin’s corrupted consciousness like a heartbeat made of pure malevolence, echoing through every fiber of her being with relentless, consuming intensity. It wasn’t a thought—it was existence itself, as fundamental as breathing and infinitely more urgent. Her dark eyes swept across the battlefield, categorizing everything she saw not as individuals or obstacles, but as targets requiring elimination.

She had to kill them all. Every last human. The compulsion was absolute.

Her smile was a work of art crafted from nightmares, devoid of any trace of humanity while maisma and dark mana crackled around her like twin hurricanes vying for supremacy. The miasma—true anathema to human magical development—coiled with hunger that transcended mortal understanding, while dark mana danced alongside it in perfect synchronization, amplifying her already overwhelming capabilities.

Together, they fed into the terrifying power of Duality, her Gift. Rin didn’t need the meticulous training that defined conventional mages or the careful spell construction that limited normal practitioners. Her magic wasn’t learned through study or practice—it was born from instinct, raw and immediate, the kind of power that made mockery of academic limitations.

A spell began forming without conscious direction, manifesting as a monstrous arrow of purple energy that vibrated with the destructive potential of nine-circle magic. It radiated pure malice, making the very air tremble under the pressure of its creation while reality bent slightly around its edges.

Without hesitation, Rin released the attack, watching with predatory satisfaction as the arrow of carnage tore through space toward Arthur.

Arthur’s response was a single, perfectly controlled movement.

Nyxthar swept in a precise arc, and the devastating spell simply ceased to exist. Not deflected or absorbed—unraveled at the conceptual level, its carefully woven structure dissolving into harmless energy that dissipated like morning mist.

"Kill," Rin muttered, her voice carrying harmonics that no human throat should have been able to produce. The word itself seemed to reshape reality around her, making the corrupted ground beneath her feet crack and split in response to her will.

But before she could launch another attack, something impossible happened.

Arthur’s hand rested gently on her shoulder.

Impossible. She was faster than this, stronger than this. Her enhanced perception should have tracked his movement, her reflexes should have intercepted any approach. Yet somehow he had simply... appeared beside her, his touch carrying warmth that made the miasma recoil instinctively.

Rin spun around with inhuman speed, her fist lashing out with enough force to shatter mountains. The strike was wreathed in astral energy forged from the twisted fusion of her dual nature, carrying power that could crack continental shelves.

Arthur sidestepped the devastating blow with fluid grace, his hand sliding from her shoulder to her back in a gesture that somehow managed to be comforting despite the circumstances. The grey wings that sprouted from his shoulders moved with lazy confidence, their impossible coloration speaking to authorities that transcended normal magical classification.

Rin’s eyes narrowed as new spells began forming around her—droplets of absolute darkness that materialized in the air like fragments of the void given physical form. Each point of light-consuming shadow carried enough destructive potential to level cities, while their combined effect promised annihilation on a scale that defied comprehension.

Arthur looked at the approaching devastation and simply smiled.

The expression wasn’t mocking or dismissive—it carried genuine warmth, as though he were watching a child struggle with a difficult but ultimately harmless task. That smile made Rin’s corruption rage with fury while something deeper within her consciousness stirred with emotions she had thought permanently buried.

She spread the spell wide, letting it blanket the entire battlefield in a tidal wave of absolute destruction. This wasn’t merely an attack—it was the weaponization of entropy itself, designed to unmake everything it touched on a fundamental level.

Arthur raised Nyxthar, and the blade’s tip touched the ground with surgical precision.

Fourth Movement of his Grade 6 art: Pond of Tranquility.

In an instant, every droplet of darkness was neutralized. The space around Arthur became perfect stillness, a sphere of absolute negation that dominated the immediate area while reality reasserted natural order within its boundaries. Rin’s ultimate attack simply stopped existing, its carefully constructed malevolence unraveling like thread pulled from a tapestry.

"Let it all out," Arthur said calmly, his voice carrying the kind of unshakeable confidence that came from facing impossible odds and emerging victorious. Space warped around him as he closed the distance between them in a single step, his hand returning to her head with gentle persistence. "I can take it."

"Kill!" Rin snarled through gritted teeth, miasma surging as she lashed out with another devastating punch. But Arthur warped space again, his movement so fluid and absolute that her fist met nothing but empty air.

She twisted her own considerable power, her capabilities as a Radiant-rank mage allowing her to bend spatial dimensions according to her will. Yet no matter how she tried, she couldn’t detect the subtle shifts when Arthur moved. It wasn’t that he was faster—it was that he operated according to different rules entirely.

His Throne of Eternal Twilight dominated the very fabric of reality within its boundaries, creating a space where his authority was absolute. Rin’s immense power, corrupted though it was, couldn’t overcome the sheer inevitability of his Domain’s influence.

The battle continued as a dance of chaos and restraint. Arthur never raised his sword to harm her, never responded to her fury with matching violence. Instead, he embraced her with actions that defied the very nature of their surroundings—a gentle touch here, a patient presence there, an unshakeable calm that refused to yield under her desperation.

Rin poured everything she possessed into her attacks. Miasma fused with conventional energy to create spells of pure annihilation. Her fists struck with enough force to reshape landscapes. Raw, unbridled power flowed from her in waves that should have overwhelmed any opposition.

Yet despite her might, an absolute gap existed between them. Not born of strength alone, but of purpose and will refined through trials that had forged Arthur into something beyond conventional classification.

Nine circles of grey energy materialized around Arthur as he prepared to demonstrate the technique he had developed during his time in the demon realm. The magical method he had created after absorbing Bahamut’s Dragon Heart allowed him to weave multiple complex spell structures simultaneously, creating constructs that rivaled the greatest achievements of archmage-level practitioners.

But instead of using this overwhelming power to destroy, he channeled it into containment and redirection, turning Rin’s own attacks against themselves while never allowing permanent harm to reach her.

"Why?" Rin’s voice cracked as her rational mind began to peek through the layers of corruption, exhaustion making it harder for the miasma to maintain absolute control. "Why don’t you just kill me? It would be so much easier..."

"I want to save you," Arthur replied with simple honesty that cut through her despair like a blade of pure light.

"Why? Are you some kind of hero?" she spat, derision failing to mask the tremor of desperate hope beneath her words.

Arthur tilted his head slightly, his expression softening while his grey-crowned authority never wavered. "A hero sacrifices one person for the world," he said with quiet conviction. "I’m just a crazy bastard who’d sacrifice the world for one person."

Rin froze, her mind struggling to process words that redefined everything she thought she understood about strength and purpose.

"What?" she whispered, vulnerability bleeding through her corrupted facade.

Before she could react further, Arthur moved—not aggressively, but with the kind of deliberate care reserved for the most precious things. She lashed out instinctively, her fist arcing toward him with mountain-shattering force, but he deflected the blow with gentle precision before stepping into her space and wrapping his arms around her.

He hugged her.

The simple gesture carried more power than any spell, more authority than any Domain technique. In that moment, surrounded by the devastation of her own making, Rin felt something she had thought lost forever—unconditional acceptance.

"So I’ll save you, Rin Ashbluff," Arthur whispered, his voice low and steady with unshakeable promise. "And I’ll teach you how to love again."

Rin let out a sound that was half growl and half sob, miasma erupting from her in a final desperate surge that chipped away at Arthur’s protective aura. The sheer force of her anguish made his grey crown flicker while fragments of light fell like embers around them.

Arthur warped space instantly, retreating just far enough to avoid being consumed while maintaining the connection between them. His breathing had grown heavier, his Domain flickering ever so slightly as the sustained use of grey power pushed even his enhanced capabilities toward their limits.

"More?" he murmured, scratching his cheek with a gesture that belied the growing strain visible in his movements. "I can’t keep this up indefinitely."

He wasn’t lying to himself. The only reason he could maintain such overwhelming superiority was because of his Domain and the grey power it allowed him to access. But even that transcendent force had limitations when channeled through someone who hadn’t yet reached true Radiant-rank.

Still, he pressed on. This wasn’t a battle he could afford to lose—not for himself, but for the girl whose soul hung in the balance.

"Come on, Rin," Arthur called out, his voice carrying calm determination despite his obvious exhaustion. "Let it all out. Every last bit of pain and rage and despair. I’ll take it all."

Rin snarled, her miasma swirling around her like a living entity that sought to devour everything within reach. Yet beneath the storm of corruption, her gaze wavered for the briefest moment. Her attacks continued with relentless fury, but there was hesitation now—doubt creeping in where absolute certainty had once reigned.

Something fragile and precious was fighting against the all-consuming hunger that had defined her existence for so long.

Arthur smiled faintly, his grey aura burning brighter as he prepared for the final phase of their confrontation. "I’ll save you," he repeated, more to himself than to her. "Even if it costs me everything I have."