The Extra Can't be A Hero

Amon's one-sided dominance continued for a full five minutes. No matter how many mermen spawned from the lake, Amon's blade would mercilessly vanquish them. It was a one-sided massacre and Amon wasn't showing any signs of tiring.

Watching Amon's lunar radiance was equally breathtaking and perplexing. Especially for Lucas, who had always seen Amon as a junior who had tremendous potential, but had some ways to develop before he reached the pinnacle of humanity.

But as he stood…

'Can I beat him? No, not possible…'

Lucas made the grim prediction. Even he, considered one of the most powerful Knights on the planet, would be helpless against Amon's onslaught. At best, he would be able to exchange three moves, perhaps only two with the young man.

Amon was already far beyond the Commander class; he was…

'Only father or the Sword Saint stands as his peer.'

A firm assessment, but undeniably the truth.

Meanwhile, Amon was wholly uninterested in the spectator's awe. His mind was entirely focused on the bubbling lake, which had quietened down for a hot minute.

'It's about time, huh?'

Aluria's prediction that Thalassa would take fifteen minutes to break free from the seal was an accurate estimate. However, what she didn't take into account was how domineering Amon would be on the battlefield, significantly increasing the drowned god's anxiety. Therefore, barely five minutes had passed before the seal showed the final signs of breaking.

Bit by bit, spiritual chains were being shattered. The lake, once still and serene, was now boiling like a witch's pot. Vast amounts of mana bonded with the atmosphere, turning the skies overcast as a torrential downpour filled with mana bathed the hidden reaches of the Veil.

And with it all… a shadow loomed from the bottom of the lake.

"Stand back! It's coming!"

Amon's voice carried a warning yet he himself did not move an inch. His glare alone was enough to hold the air taut with tension as the surface of the lake erupted.

From its depths, a colossal shadow surged forth, tearing free of the waters in a torrent of spray and malignant mana. It climbed higher and higher, blotting out the horizon until the sky itself seemed consumed by its vast silhouette. What emerged was no mere beast. Its presence radiated with the grandeur of a natural calamity, its sheer mass rivaling a mountain range.

Each shift of its gargantuan frame sent waves crashing against the shores, and the air grew thick with suffocating mana, pressing against lungs and hearts alike.

Even Leon and Lucas found their breath stolen, their spirits shaken, as they stood face-to-face with the being. It was not a monster.

It was a divine creature, a leviathan of power itself, declaring its existence to all who dared witness.

"A whale?"

"A Sky Whale…"

Thalassa's true form was laid bare for all to see. A massive whale that defied gravity, cruising in the atmosphere like it were its natural habitat. The skies would darken as it made its ascent and the seas would rise whenever it flew overhead.

It was the living embodiment of a moving disaster.

"Don't worry, without its divinity, it's a thousand times weaker. Other than its big size and mana pool, there's nothing to be afraid of."

"O-Other than that?"

Lucas scoffed with a face that said it was easier said than done. Just its size alone was enough to destroy a country, and now they had to contend with its mana, which was far greater than anything else on this planet.

"Leon… Sir Lucas… Protect those two while I deal with that thing."

"Yes!"

"H-Huh?"

Leon answered immediately while Lucas paused with apprehension. However, despite their contrasting reactions, they knew that Amon was about to do something big.

Ascending once more into the storm-laden sky, Amon came face-to-face with Thalassa. The leviathan's colossal eyes, vast as twin oceans, blinked slowly, recognition flickering within them. It knew him, the one who had shattered its dream of ascension.

From its cavernous maw poured wrath unrestrained, and the torrential rain twisted into countless spears of water, sharp enough to pierce through the finest armour of any Knight.

Yet Amon stood his ground, cloaked in the luminous protection of his silvery moon aura. He inhaled deeply, steadying himself, awakening fragments of power he had long thought buried. Lunar mana surged violently within him, pushing against its limit, until he felt his Seven Moons tremble at the threshold of transcendence.

Truth be told, he could have condensed his Eighth Moon long ago.

But he had refrained, striving to keep balance within his soul, for the lunar side threatened to eclipse the solar half of his being.

Now, however, balance was a luxury he could no longer afford.

Behind him, a phantom goddess descended, ethereal, radiant, the living embodiment of the moon. Her eyes shimmered with galaxies concealed within their depths, and when her lips parted, a haunting melody spilt forth.

To Amon, it was music divine, as though heaven itself had woven a song to guide him in battle. To Thalassa, it was something else entirely: the beat of war drums, heralding a legion of masters marching to war.

The air trembled as their mana collided, two vast forces meeting on equal ground.

Thalassa—ancient mount of the Titans, the former bearer of the Ocean's Divinity—was a being of unfathomable might. Amon, on the other hand, was a celestial visitor, a being from another planet sent to protect this planet. And more importantly, he had something hidden within him that Thalassa didn't have…

With a single swing of his blade, Amon unleashed a radiant arc of sword light that tore through the storm and hurtled toward Thalassa. The leviathan bellowed, conjuring a massive sphere of water that enveloped its body like an impregnable fortress.

The blade's brilliance struck, but within the sphere its path warped and fractured, refracted by the shifting currents. Instead of cleaving the beast in two, the attack veered, severing only Thalassa's colossal left fin.

The severed fin plummeted like a falling mountain, crashing down perilously close to Aluria and Yue, who remained locked in the delicate flow of divinity's transference.

Lucas and Leon reacted instantly, their bodies blurring as they threw themselves forward to shield the women. The fin struck the drained basin of the lake with cataclysmic force, the impact echoing like a meteor crashing upon the earth.

Waves of destructive energy surged outward, shattering stone and tearing the ground asunder. It took every ounce of Lucas's mana, every breath of his will, to forge a Solstice Sanctuary strong enough to shield his wife from the calamity.

All this devastation—born not of Thalassa's wrath, but from the aftermath of a single sword strike.

"Are we witnessing… a battle between gods?"

"..."

Leon was silent, but he was feeling much the same. His grip tightened around Ascalon as his mind zoned in on Amon's otherworldly demeanour. He'd seen how mighty the Solaris Founder was in his prime, and now, Leon was seeing traces of it in Amon.

'As expected… I have much to grow…'

After the events with the Clay Emperor, Leon believed that he'd closed the gap, even if it were just a little bit. But as he witnessed the full force of Amon's true might, Leon didn't feel discouraged, but motivated.

And funnily enough, he wasn't the only one in awe.

[Child… Who is that?]

'F-Founder? Is that you?'

Idrytis Solaris awakened once again, this time not to assist Leon, but to question him.

[Yes, it's me. I was triggered awake by the mana of a familiar foe, and thought you needed my assistance, but… what on earth is that?]

Just like how the Solaris Founder awakened to help Leon fight the Clay Emperor, the portion of his soul that was sealed within Ascalon was roused from its slumber to assist Leon against Thalassa. A monster that Leon wasn't ready to face.

But contrary to his expectations, there wasn't a need for him to step forth at all.

'That's Amon, he's my friend and mentor.'

[Amon, huh? Is he a Solaris?]

'Y-yes,' Leon stuttered.

Amon was unquestionably a Solaris Knight. He had the trademark black hair and golden eyes that every Solaris boasted. But even so, looking at how proficient he was with lunar mana, it was hard to describe him as a Solaris.

[I see… To think that a monster like that would be born in the same generation as my successor. Perhaps the prophecy will be fulfilled in this era.]

'F-Founder?'

[The world is heading towards a change.]

'A change? A change of what?'

Leon barely got to voice out his question before the Solaris Founder's voice echoed within his mind. At the same time, Amon was showing off his mastery over the lunar arts, easily pushing back the ancient figure into a corner. Through Leon's eyes, Idrytis got to see Amon's powers first-hand.

His martial arts were pushed to the utmost limits… His control over mana that no other human could match… And most importantly, the thing hidden deep within his soul.

His divinity.

[The era of humanity… will soon come to an end.]

Just as the Age of Titans and Age of Dragons came to their eventual end, it was time for the Age of Man to come to a close.

And for the Age of Gods to begin.