An Extra’s Rise in an Eroge

Similar scenes were unfolding across the hunting grounds.

Night had fallen, blanketing the island in eerie silence, broken only by occasional screams and the crackle of dying fires. Exhausted and battered, most students had retreated into the designated safe zones scattered across the island—barriers infused with defensive mechanisms that were supposed to keep beasts out. Supposed to.

In one such zone, Kaela stood at the edge of a stone bench, her silver hair fluttering in the gentle night breeze. The moonlight shimmered on her strands, giving her an almost ethereal presence.

Cedric, who had just arrived, found himself momentarily entranced.

"Just how long are you gonna stare?" Kaela's calm voice cut through his daze.

"Cough… cough…" Cedric faked a cough, quickly trying to mask his embarrassment as he walked closer.

"If you knew, then why didn't you react?"

Kaela's lips twitched slightly. "Because I knew it was you."

"Khmm… I see." He scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"So, what are you doing here?"

"Just wanted some fresh air," she replied, her gaze never leaving the starry sky. "And you?"

Cedric hesitated. The truth—that he'd escaped to avoid Parth's endless rambling—would ruin the mood.

"I also wanted some fresh air."

He lowered himself onto the rock bench beside her, trying to appear casual.

"Anyone else come here at night?" Cedric asked.

"Not that I know of. No one's crazy enough to risk wandering out."

Cedric nodded, stealing a glance at her profile. From this close, the subtle glow of her features stirred an odd restlessness in his chest. His mouth moved before his mind could stop it.

"You know, my darling… you… look—"

Kaela's eyes widened, anticipation flashing in their depths as her lips curled faintly upward.

Cedric gathered his courage, heart pounding. But just before he could speak—

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

A bloodcurdling scream split the night. The serene atmosphere shattered in an instant.

Both Cedric and Kaela jerked their heads toward the sound. It was coming from within the safe zone itself.

"That's inside!" Cedric's voice was sharp.

They rushed back, boots thudding against stone. But when they reached the entrance, their breath caught.

The safe zone was a massacre.

The defensive barrier hadn't failed—it had been overrun. The entire area was drenched in blood. Students who should've been resting or healing lay scattered like broken dolls. Some twitched weakly, others were still, their faces pale with lifeless eyes staring at nothing. The air reeked of iron.

"These weren't ordinary students…" Cedric muttered, scanning the bodies. Many of the fallen were talented, skilled fighters, each with hidden cards to survive. And yet—

"How… how did this happen?" Kaela's face drained of color.

Her gaze shifted toward the flickering light of a broken lamp deeper inside the hall. There, amidst the pools of blood, shadows danced grotesquely. The moonlight streaming through the shattered glass ceiling outlined them.

Figures slowly emerged—men and women clad in dark, skin-tight suits, their faces concealed by featureless masks.

Kaela's hand instinctively tightened around her weapon. "Cedric…" she whispered, her voice trembling.

The masked figures didn't rush. They didn't need to. Their very presence radiated lethal confidence. One of them tilted their head, as if amused by the fear they inspired.

"Looks like the sheep wandered straight back into the slaughterhouse," a distorted voice echoed from behind the mask.

The masked figures emerged fully into the flickering lamplight, their black suits swallowing their outlines like shadows given flesh. Their presence pressed down on the air, suffocating, as though the night itself bent to their will.

Cedric narrowed his eyes, forcing calm into his tone. "Who are you?"

Silence answered him at first. The assassins exchanged brief glances, none willing to speak. Cedric's voice dropped lower, sharper. "How did you sneak into this island. Except academy students and faculties no one else is allowed. And you guys surely don't look like academy personals. Slaughtering students, and hide behind masks. If you're just bandits, say so. If not, then—"

One of the assassins suddenly let out a scoff. "Bandits? Tch. We are no mere cutthroats." His voice brimmed with arrogance, almost spitting his words. "We are the Liberators of this world! We, the Black Hand, will free the common people from the tyranny of you nobles who treat them like cattle."

Kaela's eyes flashed, but she said nothing. Cedric leaned forward slightly, feigning curiosity. "Black Hand, huh? That explains the butchery, then. Those who have sold their humanity to the demons just for little bit of strength are talking about liberation now? You guys are nothing more than sewer rats who couldn't overcome their inferiority complex. Trying to build revolution on pools of blood. Lunatics."

The assassin stepped closer, emboldened. "Blood is the price of freedom. And soon, the empire will burn!—"

"Shut your mouth."

The command came from behind him, calm and cold. A taller figure, clearly the leader, stepped forward. His mask was different—etched with crimson streaks across its surface like veins. His posture oozed authority as he cut through the boasting assassin's words.

"Enough chatter. Go and catch him." The leader's gloved finger lifted, pointing directly at Cedric. "That is Cedric Raven, heir of Raven County. The richest noble line in the empire. He's delivered himself right into our hands. We can't afford to miss this prize."

Cedric stiffened, but only faintly. He didn't bother denying it—there was no point.

At once, the masked men spread out, encircling both him and Kaela. Blades slid out with quiet hisses, the ring of steel gleaming in the dim light. Their steps were measured, their breathing steady.

"Be careful," the leader added from behind, watching leisurely. "He's a noble's son. Even if he's not strong, he'll have some kind of life-saving treasure hidden. Don't get careless."

That warning worked too well. The assassins slowed their advance, circling like cautious predators, eyes darting for signs of hidden artifacts or traps. Their formation tightened, every movement calculated.

And that… was their fatal mistake.

Because Cedric Raven was not the one they should've feared.

The assassins' blades gleamed as they closed in, but Kaela stood motionless, her head lowered, lips twitching upward. At first glance, it looked like fear. But then Cedric noticed the curl of her mouth, the glimmer of sharp anticipation in her eyes.

A grin. An evil, hungry grin.

Her lips curled upward, not in fear, but in delight. For the first time in weeks, the chains around her strength were breaking. No more restraint. No more pretending to be the "helpless noble girl." Tonight, she could finally go wild.

A tremor rippled through the air. It wasn't sound, not fully—it was pressure, primal and suffocating, like the heartbeat of some colossal predator stirring awake. The assassins felt it in their bones, the instinct that had kept their ancestors alive in the wild: Run.

Her fists clenched. The air seemed to vibrate, rippling with a force that didn't belong to a girl's frame. A low sound rolled through the safe zone—like a growl rumbling from the depths of a cavern.

Every hair on Cedric's body stood on end. The assassins froze instinctively, their instincts screaming danger.

"Kaela…" Cedric muttered, half in warning, half in awe.

She didn't look at him. Her crimson eyes shone like burning embers as the grin widened. For so long, she'd been forced to hold back, her new strength shackled by fear of killing. But now? Surrounded by killers who wanted her and Cedric dead? Tonight, the leash came off.

Sparks of scarlet energy flickered across her body, licking her skin like wildfire. Her hair elongated, silver strands flowing like a mane. Her ears lengthened, sharpening into lupine points that twitched at the faintest sound.

Then her hands—her nails grew, stretching into long, jagged claws blackened at the tips, gleaming with a metallic sheen. The skin along her arms rippled, veins glowing faintly crimson as her muscles thickened.

Her jaw tightened. With a low snarl, her canine teeth pushed outward, morphing into gleaming fangs that glistened in the dim light. Her breathing deepened, harsher, until each exhale came out like a predator's huff.

She dropped lower, onto all fours, her posture no longer human but primal—an apex beast ready to spring. The stony ground beneath her palms cracked under the sudden weight of her power.

This was the beastification technique—the ultimate gift of beastkin blood. A transformation that stripped away restraint, channeling their heritage into raw, devastating power.

The assassins faltered. For the first time, uncertainty rippled through their ranks. The confident formation that had seemed airtight only seconds ago now quivered with hesitation.

The leader's voice cut through the rising tension, a growl beneath his mask. "Don't panic! She's just one girl—"

Kaela's head snapped toward him, her glowing eyes locking on his. Her lips curled back, baring her fangs in a wicked, feral smile.

"One girl?" Her voice came out warped, layered with a low, guttural echo. "You'll regret underestimating this 'girl'…"

The ground beneath her exploded as she launched forward.

******

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