I AM EXTRA IN A SHONEN MANGA

Isen paced in front of the battered Eclipse Lord, hands behind his back like a teacher strolling through a classroom.

Each time he spoke, his boot pressed down once on Veymorr's wings, snapping the void-born bones; once on his claws, grinding them to ash; once on his chest, pinning him like an insect.

"Lesson one: Never fear what screams louder than you. Wrath makes noise—but noise can't kill resolve." Crunch. One wing shattered.

"Lesson two: Pride is their weapon. Strip that away, and they're just husks." Rip. A second wing tore free in black flames, dissolving in the dirt.

Veymorr's roars turned to choking cries, each one weaker than the last. He reached for voidfire only for Isen to flick a finger and smother it, the way one would snuff out a candle.

Kaen's fists shook as he watched. "…He's… he's making him look human."

Rael clenched his jaw. "No… less than that. He's making him look pathetic."

Ceyla's storm affinity sparked uncontrollably, her heart unable to keep pace with what her eyes were seeing. "(An Eclipse Lord… crying… stripped bare like some chick pulled apart for food…)"

Minutes dragged like eternity. By the end, Veymorr's wings lay in ruins, his body trembling, his once-terrifying voidform reduced to something fragile and broken.

The Eclipse Lord's head lolled forward, and in a voice that shook with defeat, he whispered:

"…Kill me…"

Silence washed over the battlefield. Even the survivors—bloodied Guardians, weary Priests, the shattered Orders froze at those words.

Isen crouched down slowly, face calm, almost kind. His hand rested lightly on Veymorr's head.

"Kill you?" His smile sharpened. "Don't worry…"

He pressed down, the earth groaning beneath them.

"…I intend to do that anyway."

Veymorr's broken body twitched in the dirt, his voidflame little more than dying embers. His wings were gone, his pride stripped, his roar reduced to a whimper.

Isen stood above him, hands loose at his side. His golden hair caught the fractured moonlight, his blue eyes calm and merciless.

He raised one hand. Just a single finger extended.

"Eclipse Art…" His voice cut through the silence, smooth and steady.

The world itself seemed to still Shinrei pulsed, air frozen, even the survivors held their breath.

"…Hollow Moon."

He tapped Veymorr's forehead with that lone finger.

A soundless ripple tore through the battlefield.

The void shrieked without voice, collapsing in on itself. Veymorr's body convulsed, his form unspooling into fragments of nothingness, his scream drowned in an impossible silence.

From the outside, it looked like his entire existence was sucked inward compressed into a single pale crescent of light before vanishing with a quiet pop.

The Eclipse Lord of Wrath was gone.

Isen exhaled as though he had done nothing more than blow out a candle. He dusted off his hands, expression light again, and turned back to the wide-eyed children.

"And that, class," he said with a grin, "is how you swat a mosquito."

His voice was warm. Too warm. Like an older brother joking after a spar. Like a teacher trying to lighten a lesson.

But that was what made it unbearable.

No one spoke. No one could.

Kaen was the first to move if "move" meant collapsing back onto his knees. His fists were clenched so tightly the nails drew blood, his body trembling from the Voidborn aftereffects and now this. His mind kept circling the same, impossible thought:

"He killed an Eclipse Lord. With one finger..."

He wanted to cheer. He wanted to scream in triumph. He wanted to vomit. Because everything he had bled for, everything he had broken himself for… looked like nothing in comparison.

Rael stared, teeth gritted so hard his jaw throbbed. His blade still hummed faintly in his hand, but his Echo Spirit was silent. He felt it watching Isen too, the same way he was like prey staring at the sun.

"(A Dragon Knight… Khael as his disciple… and this man…" His thoughts turned sour. "All this time I thought I can surpassed… the strongest man one day... But no—compared to that… compared to him we're all insects. Extras.)"

The word lodged in his throat like a curse.

He hated it.

He hated himself for thinking it.

Ceyla staggered, her eyes wide. Her Shinrei, normally an untamable tempest, had fallen utterly still. It was as if her very soul refused to spark in front of Isen. She hugged her arms to her chest, trembling.

"(He erased Wrath… like it was nothing. Like breathing. What kind of monster is he? No… not a monster. A god. He's a living god. And Khael—Khael is his disciple. What is he? Who is he?)"

Her sarcasm, her fire, her pride gone. All that remained was raw awe, fear laced with curiosity she couldn't silence.

Juno's fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. His face, usually composed in its severity, twisted with frustration. Sweat ran down his jawline.

"I trained. I bled. I gave everything to stand above. And yet… here I am. Watching a single man humiliate the greatest of our enemies. I thought strength was something you could reach… but that? That isn't strength. That's divinity. That's untouchable."

Lira, hands still pressed to Rael's side despite her exhaustion, whispered without realizing. Her voice trembled like the hands of a frightened child.

"…That wasn't a battle. It was an execution."

Serin, the youngest, could only stare. His lips parted, but no words came. His mind spun, clinging to the stories he had read in dusty tomes, the myths, the legends. Heroes slaying monsters, gods walking among men. Yet none of them compared to what he had seen tonight.

"…The history books weren't exaggerating…" he whispered at last, voice tiny. "…He really is the strongest man in the world."

The Guardians who had survived clung to their weapons, but even they lowered their blades. Men who had fought all their lives felt their pride fracture, replaced by reverence or fear.

Isen, oblivious or perhaps simply unconcerned, turned and smiled at them all. The warmth of it was unbearable.

"Well then," he said, his tone casual, almost teasing. "Looks like class is dismissed."

No one laughed.

Kaen forced himself to raise his head, veins standing out on his neck. His voice cracked when it finally left his throat.

"Master Isen… why? Why do you smile like that after—after killing him so easily?!"

Isen blinked at him, tilting his head as though considering. Then, slowly, his smile softened into something that almost looked… human.

"Because if I don't smile, kid, then who will…."

The words struck harder than any fist. Kaen's breath hitched. Rael flinched. Even Ceyla's storm flickered.

Isen crouched down, placing a hand on Kaen's trembling shoulder. His touch was light, but the weight of it crushed every protest.

"Listen. You all fought well. You stood up when most would've run. You bled, you screamed, you lived. That matters. Don't let my strength erase yours. Your path is your own."

Kaen's vision blurred. His lips trembled.

"…But compared to you… we're nothing."

Isen chuckled softly, shaking his head.

"Compared to me? Kid, compared to me, everyone's nothing. That's not the point. The point is…someday, you'll stand where I do. And when that day comes, you'll be glad you didn't give up here."

Then his eyes shifted. Past Kaen. Past Rael. Toward a broken figure sprawled in the dirt.

Captain Kaedros.

His body was a ruin armor shattered, blood caked on every inch, his chest rising in shallow, ragged gasps. He looked more corpse than man, his pride ground into dust alongside his bones.

Isen tilted his head, a faint smile tugging his lips.

"This guy… he's still breathing."

The words carried no mockery. No judgment. Just a simple observation—yet it struck the survivors like thunder.

Isen walked toward him, each step measured, calm. He crouched beside the Captain and placed two fingers against his chest. Light bloomed instantly, pouring from his touch like liquid dawn.

The cracks in Kaedros' ribs sealed. The bruises faded. His lungs filled with air again, steady, strong. A man dragged back from the edge of death by a gesture so effortless it felt unreal.

Kaedros' eyes fluttered open. At first, unfocused. Then they sharpened—landing on the face above him. His lips parted, voice hoarse, trembling.

"…You…"

Isen's smile softened.

"You fought well, Captain. Stubborn men like you are the reason these kids are still alive."

Kaedros' breath caught. For a moment, the weight of humiliation, the memory of being cast aside, beaten, useless flashed across his mind. But the warmth in Isen's voice… it was not pity. It was recognition.

His hands shook as he whispered, barely audible.

"…I… failed…"

Isen shook his head lightly.

"You lived. That's more than most. And you'll fight again. Next time, make sure you don't waste the chance."

The Captain's eyes burned not from pain, but from something heavier. Gratitude. Pride. Shame. All tangled into a knot inside his chest. His lips trembled as he forced the words out, each syllable tasting of blood and humility.

"…Thank you… Master Isen…"

For the first time in years, Kaedros bowed his pride to another man.

Isen's smile was faint, almost playful, yet warm enough to ease the weight of the words.

"You're welcome."

The survivors exchanged glances. Even Kaen, still trembling, felt his chest tighten at the sound of that simple exchange, the strongest man alive treating their broken Captain like a comrade, not a failure.

Then another voice cut through the silence. Khael.

He stood there, bruised, weary, blood still on his lips, but his eyes burned with something different. His voice was steady despite the exhaustion that weighed down his frame.

"Master… thank you for saving us."

Every eye turned toward him. Even Kaedros' breath hitched at the word. Master.

Isen looked at Khael for a long moment, his grin widening just a little, the edges softening like sunlight through clouds.

"What can I do?" he said lightly, his tone warm yet absolute. "My beloved disciple asked for my help."

The battlefield froze. The words carried a weight that no Eclipse shadow could rival. Beloved disciple.

Kaen's heart skipped. Ceyla's breath caught. Rael's fists clenched harder. Even the Guardians, broken and bloodied, looked at Khael as though seeing him for the first time.

And Khael awkward, quiet Khael shifted his weight uneasily under the weight of their stares. His hand rubbed the back of his neck, his lips twitching into a half-smile that couldn't mask the storm inside.

"(Beloved…? Did he really have to say it like that…?)" he thought, heat rising in his face.

To be continue

Author's note:

Eclipse Art: Hollow Moon

User: Master Isen (Keiryuu)

Type: Eclipse Art (Highest Shinrei-level technique)

Form: A single finger tap to the target's forehead.

Effect: Creates a soundless ripple that collapses the target's existence inward, condensing all matter and essence into a crescent-shaped glimmer of light before erasing it completely.

Range: Single target, instant kill.

Energy Cost: To Isen, seemingly effortless. To others, attempting such a technique would tear body and soul apart.

Symbolism: The hollow moon represents finality, light that remains after shadows devour themselves. Where the Eclipse consumes light, Hollow Moon consumes the Eclipse itself.