Extra is the Heir of Life and Death

The three figures behind Lillith stepped into view, and my day, which had been steadily declining, officially leapt off a cliff.

The first one to catch my eye was the girl standing closest to her.

Tall. Long black hair flowing like it had bribed physics to let it move like that. Red eyes sharp enough to cut glass. Her face was a perfect blank slate, no irritation, no malice, no joy, but her eyes?

Her eyes screamed one very clear, very friendly message:

Come within five meters and I'll stab you. Twice.

Page Dea.

Of course.

She gave me the tiniest nod, the kind an assassin uses to acknowledge a fellow living creature before deciding whether or not to murder them.

I nodded back, maintaining eye contact for exactly one respectful second.

Internally, I marked a mental red circle around her and wrote DO NOT ENTER STABBY RADIUS in bold letters.

The second person was standing right next to her, the poor, doomed soul.

Xavier.

Golden hair normally shining with unjustified confidence, now dulled as if fear itself had taken a sponge to it. His red eyes were wide, trembling, practically broadcasting SOS in Morse code.

The faint arrogance he usually carried like a perfume was gone, replaced by the expression of a man who had realized he was trapped between two dangerous, mildly unhinged women and now feared for both his life and his blood pressure.

When he noticed me looking, he immediately mouthed the words save me like he was begging for divine intervention.

I smiled politely.

Then I turned away.

I have limits. Saving his sanity from that duo was above my pay grade.

And then… the third one.

The final figure stepped slightly forward, just enough for me to see his face clearly, and my entire mood instantly soured like milk left out in the sun.

I didn't let it show, of course. My expression stayed perfectly neutral, perfectly composed, perfectly Sebastian. But deep down, way deep down in the quiet chamber of my soul where I store all my disappointed sighs—

Yeah.

Something inside me groaned.

Because out of everyone, Lillith could've dragged into her chaos brigade…

It had to be him.

As you've probably guessed, the final person was Liam Luceris.

The moment my eyes landed on him, my impulse to murder spiked so hard it probably triggered some dormant alarm in the heavens. If there were divine beings watching me, they were probably leaning over to each other like, "Uh-oh, he's doing the face again."

But I forced myself to push it down. I'm a civilized human being. A mature, reasonable man.…Most days.

I let myself stare at Liam for a long, dragging moment, long enough that even he started shifting like he wasn't sure whether to smile, wave, or run away. If I'd held eye contact any longer, I might've accidentally started a duel.

In the end, I settled on the most unnerving option available: I smiled just a little and gave him a friendly wave, the kind someone gives when they're secretly planning the other person's downfall. Then I turned away before my brain talked my body into committing a felony.

But inside? Inside my mind was whirring so fast I could practically hear gears grinding.

Everything was finally clicking into place the way Liam's mood had been suspiciously light when I last saw him in the café, his little upbeat swagger, the slightly smug aura radiating off him like he'd won the lottery.

I'd thought maybe he'd finally grown a personality.

Nope.

Turns out he'd just discovered an opportunity.

Because that bastard had a crush on Nora.

And not a cute, harmless, "oh she's pretty" crush.

No.

This was the type of crush that made men write dramatic diary entries, make questionable life choices, and practice confession speeches in the mirror.

The kind that had "future restraining order" potential. The kind that made me want to gently, and by gently, I mean aggressively, yeet him away from us.

Now that he'd heard about this whole group arrangement, he clearly realized he had the perfect excuse to shove himself back into Nora's proximity.

A once-in-a-lifetime window. A divine opening. A cosmic green light for him to be annoying, persistent, and tragically optimistic. Obviously he was going to try everything to exploit it.

And just as obviously, I was never going to let that happen.

Not in this life.

Not in any life.

Not even in an isekai spinoff.

Because in the original timeline, Nora died, murdered by the God of Darkness, all because she was trying to save this ugly bastard, another reason to kill him off later.

And I'm simply not built to watch that happen again.

God or mortal, I don't care who you are; if you threaten my friends, you're basically volunteering to become a corpse. It's nothing personal. Okay, actually, it's very personal, but still.

So no, Liam Luceris wasn't getting anywhere near her. Not while I'm breathing. Not while my heart is pumping blood. Not while I have even one functioning brain cell left to hinder him.

What about Nora?

Well, she has absolutely no idea this lunatic harbors any affection for her whatsoever.

None.

Zero.

Zilch.

She's blissfully unaware. Peacefully ignorant. Living her best life without knowing someone out there is composing sonnets about her behind closed doors.

And honestly?

What they don't know doesn't hurt them.

Especially when I've already taken it upon myself to make sure it never will. Am I not such a good person.

---

I slid my phone out of my pocket like a man preparing to file a complaint with God's HR department.

I opened my chat with Got rejected 67 times, because of course, that's what she was saved as, and started typing.

@SebastianTheUnbothered:

WHY is that bastard here?

Lillith replied instantly, because she clearly had nothing better to do.

@LillithTheMenace:❓

@SebastianTheUnbothered:

Don't play dumb.

WHY. IS. LIAM. HERE.

Explain before I commit a felony.

@LillithTheMenace:

Felonies are banned inside the academy, Sebastian.

@SebastianTheUnbothered:

So are ugly outfits but half the class isn't in jail.

@LillithTheMenace:

Stop being violent and answer ME.

What's wrong with Liam joining???

@SebastianTheUnbothered:

Everything.

Spiritually.

Morally.

Emotionally.

And personally, I want him gone.

@LillithTheMenace:

He's strong😒

He's a good fighter😒

He follows orders😒

@SebastianTheUnbothered:

So does a broom.

Invite that next time.

@LillithTheMenace:

A broom cannot fight Hollowveil monsters.

@SebastianTheUnbothered:

Neither can Liam.

He can barely fight social anxiety.

@LillithTheMenace:

"..."

@LillithTheMenace:

"..."

@LillithTheMenace:

You're SO dramatic.

@SebastianTheUnbothered:

Keep him away from me during the test or… accidents might happen.

@LillithTheMenace:

Define "accidents."

@SebastianTheUnbothered:

Me walking.

Him falling.

Gravity participating.

Maybe a small explosion, who can say.

@LillithTheMenace:

Sebastian.

Last time "gravity participated," Xavier ended up in a tree.

@SebastianTheUnbothered:

He needed fresh air.

@LillithTheMenace:

HE GOT CONCUSSED.

@SebastianTheUnbothered:

And?

His brain wasn't being used anyway.

A Pause.

@LillithTheMenace:

You are testing my patience.

@SebastianTheUnbothered:

Good practice. You'll need it if you keep aiming for that FutureHusband(InProgress) goal.

@LillithTheMenace:

I SWEAR TO THE GODS

I WROTE THAT AS A JOKE

@SebastianTheUnbothered:

You kept me saved like that for a month.

@LillithTheMenace:…shut up

@SebastianTheUnbothered:

❤️

@LillithTheMenace:

DO NOT HEART ME

YOU INFURIATING ASS

@SebastianTheUnbothered:

Anyway.

Keep the worm away from me or I will turn him into forest mush.

@LillithTheMenace:

Fine but if you "accidentally" kill him I'm reporting you.

@SebastianTheUnbothered:

To who?

Belle? Guess what, I'm her student

@LillithTheMenace:

Oh My God

@SebastianTheUnbothered:

He can't help you

---

Perfect.

I slipped my phone back into my pocket, rubbing at the bridge of my nose like a man who had just survived verbal warfare with a succubus who refused to understand the meaning of boundaries.

Arguing with Lillith was like brawling with fog; one second, you think you've landed a hit, the next she's behind you whispering something inappropriate in your ear.

My pulse finally settled, and I let my eyes wander back to the group. Kent was muttering something into his hands. Nora was staring at Liam with the same expression she used when encountering particularly ugly insects.

And Annalise… well, Annalise looked like she was mentally preparing for a homicide she'd later deny with perfect legal precision.

Naturally, out of all of them, she was the one I needed to talk to.

I caught her eyes.

Most people communicate with words.

Normal people.

Functional people.

Not me.

Not Annalise.

The contract we'd signed had this stupid, overly mystical side effect that allowed us to talk through eye contact. No spells. No glowing marks. No dramatic hand gestures. Just… staring.

Honestly, if anyone ever caught us doing it, they'd think we were flirting.

Which is wild, considering last week Annalise said, with full sincerity, that she'd rather "gnaw her own arm off" than deal with feelings.

Our gazes locked for half a second.

And the mental line opened.

Smooth. Instant. Quiet.

You know what to do, right?

I projected the thought, trying not to look like a creep staring deeply into her soul.

Annalise didn't even flinch.

Her eyes narrowed a millimeter, which for her was the emotional equivalent of rolling across the floor laughing.

Her response slid into my mind with perfect clarity.

Of course.

Sharp. Steady. Dead serious.

Exactly the way she handled everything, contracts, enemies, and probably taxes.

A strange sense of satisfaction settled in my chest.

Things were shifting into place.

The board was set, the players chosen, and the upcoming excursion was looking less like a school field trip and more like the opening chapter of "Sebastian's Chaotic Forest Disaster."

I leaned back slightly, letting the mental link fade.

The storm was coming.

Hollowveil Forest wasn't ready.

Liam wasn't ready.

Xavier was definitely not ready.

And me?

I was very ready.

A/N: Wow, this was very hard to write, so do give me some power stones and Golden Tickets, yeah. Also, special thanks to my stupid mods, Mega_Cat_God and Sacred_Angle_, took inspiration from my chats with them.