Reborn as an Extra with the SSS-Divine Debt System and my Past Skills

Everyone outside faced a storm of shadow familiars, endless shapes with fanged maws and claws sharp enough to pierce stone.

Luna's daggers whirled through the air, cutting them down by the dozens, but for every shadow slain, two more slipped out of the darkness.

Mira hurled streaks of lightning that split the sky, but the familiars reformed from smoke and ash. Their numbers refused to dwindle.

Berry darted across the battlefield with unshakable focus, carrying the wounded on his broad back or over his shoulders, rushing them to the makeshift infirmary within the settlement's walls.

His strength was unmatched, but even he was starting to slow under the constant strain.

Verus was a blur among them, his blade flashing like a streak of silver light. He cut down wave after wave, his breathing steady even as blood ran down his cheek. He was fast, impossibly fast, and took on the bulk of the burden.

Still, the sheer number of opponents pressed him harder with each passing minute, making it seem as though they were fighting a battle they could never win.

Mira let out a growl as she fried another group of familiars.

"How long is this going to take? This is endless!"

"Patience! We'll push them back!"

Berry shouted as he set another injured villager down near the healers.

Patience was hard to find when the battlefield itself seemed to stretch forever.

The shadows swirled and roared like a tide, and every time someone staggered or faltered, more claws reached for them.

Then the temperature dropped. The air turned cold enough to bite at their lungs.

Mira spun, her eyes narrowing as she saw a hulking shape forming among the shadows.

Shards of frost burst from the ground, coalescing into something massive—an ice beast, its body like a fortress of frozen blades. Its roar echoed across the battlefield, shaking the ground beneath their feet.

"You've got to be kidding me! Now I have to take care of this thing too?"

Mira groaned.

Luna darted forward, her eyes glowing faintly as she slammed her palm against the ground. Cracks of fire and molten earth split the ground beneath the monster, staggering it.

But the beast roared, forcing its way out of the fissure with brutal strength.

Its steps thundered like falling boulders as it advanced toward the group, leaving trails of ice with every step.

The soldiers on the wall shouted in panic. If that monster reached the settlement, the injuries would multiply tenfold—if not worse.

Before it could, a flare of fire blazed across the battlefield.

A figure landed between the monster and the defenders, her red hair flickering like embers in the wind. The ground itself seemed to ignite around her feet.

"Jamie…"

Someone whispered in awe.

The sight of her brought gasps across the defenders.

She raised her hand, fire coiling around her fingers before she slammed it forward, sending a torrent of flame that scorched the ice beast's armored hide.

Berry's face twisted with alarm.

"Jamie! You need to rest—you'll collapse again!"

Jamie didn't even look at him. Her eyes were locked on the ice beast, her face set in determination.

"I'll be fine. Don't underestimate me. I'm not weak enough to be taken down by something this pathetic."

The heat of her flames clashed against the beast's frigid aura, filling the battlefield with a haze of steam.

Soldiers regained their courage, watching the inferno tear into the monster's shell.

The battle raged on, each moment heavier than the last.

______

From the other side of the battlefield, Merci stood cloaked in shadow, her hand pressed tightly to her bleeding side.

Her body ached from her earlier clash with Jamie, but her gaze never left the woman who now blazed like a flame on the battlefield.

The pain of her wound was nothing compared to the storm in her chest.

She could detonate the bomb now. End it all. The device was hidden deep within the Dawn Settlement, pulsing with mana, waiting only for her command.

One word, one thought, and the entire place would vanish in fire.

That had been her plan. That was her mission.

And yet—her pride twisted the knife inside her.

She had run from Jamie before. Chosen to retreat rather than crush her beneath her claws. The thought gnawed at her.

She could win glory with the bomb, yes, but would she not also be remembered as a coward? A demon who struck from the shadows but never dared face her prey head-on?

Merci's claws flexed at her side. The shadows whispered to her, urging her to finish it.

The bomb would erase everything—Lucius, the settlement, the soldiers, even Jamie. Nothing would remain but ashes.

But her pride refused to be silenced.

A part of her screamed that her true test wasn't in a faceless detonation. It was standing before Jamie and breaking her flame with her own hands.

The two instincts tore her apart. Her loyalty to her king demanded obedience. Her devotion to her mission urged her to press forward and finish what she had started. But her pride—her pride howled for blood.

She clenched her teeth, feeling her wound pulse as her breath grew heavier. The decision clawed at her chest until it was hard to breathe.

Merci's gaze shifted back to Jamie. The woman's flames burned brighter than before, each strike of fire forcing the monster back step by step.

Every soldier who witnessed it cried out in renewed hope, their despair lessening beneath the blaze of her will.

The sight twisted Merci's stomach. She wanted to crush that hope. She wanted to snuff it out with her claws.

Her hand hovered in the air, torn between activating the bomb… and stepping onto the battlefield to finish what pride demanded.

Merci's breath came ragged, her claws trembling as her decision loomed. The bomb's trigger pulsed faintly against her mind, so easy to unleash.

Yet Jamie's fire roared brighter, daring her pride to answer.

Merci bared her fangs, caught between loyalty and vengeance, knowing that whichever choice she made would define everything.