The Extra is a Genius!?

The air reeked of ash and iron. The ground beneath the mansion shook with every impact, a steady rhythm of chaos that wouldn't stop.

Elyra pressed her hand to her temple, eyes darting between the lines of soldiers barely holding formation. The tide wasn't slowing — if anything, the monsters were pushing harder. Her jaw clenched. "We can't keep this pace," she muttered. Then louder: "Elena, Charlotte — come here. Now."

Elena finished sealing a soldier's wound with a burst of green light before running toward her. "What's the plan?"

"We regroup," Elyra said firmly, scanning the battlefield again. "If we keep spreading our mana like this, we'll collapse before dawn."

Charlotte stumbled slightly as she joined them, her face pale but still glowing faintly under the golden remnants of her prayer. Her breathing was uneven, but she forced a smile. "Sorry… didn't mean to worry you two."

"You nearly burned yourself out," Elena said softly, worry flickering through her tone.

Elyra didn't waste time arguing. "We need to change formation. Damon, Kael, and Sylvette can hold the front if we give them proper support. We'll act as the anchor behind them — coordinate the flow, heal, control the terrain."

Charlotte nodded faintly, wiping sweat from her brow. "Got it. I can still handle some blessings… just don't ask me to run again."

Elena managed a small smile. "No running. Just keep breathing."

Elyra looked at them both — two exhausted girls still standing in the middle of a battlefield — and then toward the front, where Sylvette fought alongside Kael and Damon.

"She's still pushing forward," she murmured, almost to herself. "Good. If we hold with her, we can turn this around."

She straightened, her grey eyes cold and focused. "Let's move before the next wave hits. Stay close — and no one acts alone."

Charlotte raised her hand weakly, light flickering between her fingers. "Fine by me," she said, her voice tired but steady. "Let's finish this before I drop."

The courtyard thundered with chaos again. The monsters had regrouped — thicker hides, faster movement, glowing eyes under the dark mist. Sylvette was already on the front line, her blade wreathed in flame, cutting through the horde with perfect control.

"Keep her covered!" Elyra shouted from the rear, her voice sharp but steady. Her hand traced glowing runes mid-air. "Mana Grid."

Golden lines spread across the ground like a lattice, linking each ally within range. The air steadied; spells became cleaner, sharper.

Elena moved first. She slammed her palm into the soil. "Root Snap!"

The ground cracked open beneath the monsters, roots twisting violently before exploding upward, hurling several off their feet. A flash of green light followed — "Vine Fang!" — a spear-shaped root burst forward, impaling one clean through the chest.

Charlotte darted past her, twin daggers flashing under the firelight. She moved like she was dancing, precise and fearless, slashing tendons and throats before retreating again. "You're not getting through us!" she yelled, her tone defiant, not divine.

"Flank left!" Elena called. "They're circling!"

"Already on it," Elyra answered, raising her staff. Dozens of luminous plates materialized around her. "Aegis Plate!"

The shields spun outward in formation, intercepting a volley of acidic projectiles. Each impact echoed like shattering glass, but the line held.

Sylvette's voice cut through the smoke — "Push now!"

Her sword carved a line of fire across the ground, forcing the creatures back. Damon and Kael reinforced the center immediately, blades locking into a rhythm with hers.

Elena followed up, her hair whipping in the heat. "Leaf Dancer!"

She dashed forward in a blur of green and wind, slicing through the stragglers. Every step left a trail of drifting leaves glowing faintly in the night.

Behind her, Charlotte's daggers glowed gold for a heartbeat — a pulse of energy spread from her chest outward, mending the shallow wounds of nearby soldiers. A silent blessing, born more from instinct than ritual.

"Nice timing," Elena muttered, exhaling.

Elyra stepped forward beside them, calm even in the roar of battle. "Keep your breathing steady," she said, eyes locked ahead. "Sylvette's holding fine — we just need to make sure she doesn't have to do it alone."

A shockwave rippled through the ground as Sylvette clashed with a massive beast twice her size. Flames burst, earth cracked, and for a second the sky looked alive with red and gold.

Elyra raised her hand again, voice steady and low. "Reinforce the front. Let's end this push together."

The night blazed red.

The heat from Sylvette's flames mixed with the stench of burned flesh, painting the battlefield in a sickening haze. She moved like a storm — every swing of her sword carved molten lines through the ground, forcing the monsters to recoil with shrieks that cut the air.

"Hold that line!" her voice rang out, firm but never panicked. She turned, just long enough to meet Damon's eyes. "You cover the right flank. Kael—left!"

They nodded and fell into motion, trusting her completely.

Elyra watched from a short distance, calculating. Her fingers twitched, already shaping glowing sigils into the air. "Reinforced Ground."

The cracks beneath Sylvette's feet sealed instantly, stabilizing the terrain before it collapsed under the sheer heat of her magic.

"Don't let her overextend," Elyra said quickly. "If the front gives out, we all go with it."

Elena moved forward, crouching low. "I'll keep them off her." She pressed her palm to the soil. "Briar Whip!"

A lash of living thorns ripped from the ground, sweeping across the field and tearing through a dozen creatures in one motion. Blood sprayed, sizzling as it touched the flames.

Charlotte darted through the smoke right behind her. Her twin daggers flashed gold for an instant before slicing into a creature's neck. She moved fast—too fast for someone that tired.

"Don't you ever get scared?" Elena called out as she covered her side.

Charlotte grinned, breathless. "Only when I stop moving."

A tremor shook the field.

From the forest edge, a hulking beast burst through the burning trees — its body plated in black stone, molten veins glowing across its chest. Sylvette's eyes narrowed. "That one's mine."

She charged before anyone could stop her.

Her sword ignited mid-swing, a wave of red mana bursting outward. The blade met the monster's claw with a sound like thunder, sparks scattering in all directions.

"Damn it," Elyra hissed under her breath. "She's drawing too much mana from the core again."

"I'll back her up," Elena said, slamming her foot down. "Verdant Slash!"

Energy surged along her arms, green light shaping into blades of wind and leaf. She leapt, slicing diagonally across the creature's leg. It roared, staggering under the dual impact.

Charlotte was already there. She jumped from a broken wall, landing beside Sylvette, daggers ready. "You didn't think I'd let you show off alone, right?"

Sylvette exhaled through a short laugh, never breaking focus. "Then keep up."

The beast swung wildly. Both dodged in unison, one leaving trails of fire, the other light.

For a moment, their movements matched perfectly — two halves of the same resolve.

Behind them, Elyra anchored the ground again and shouted over the noise, "Don't stop! It's weakening—just keep the formation tight!"

And they did.

Sylvette led the strike, Elena cut the openings, Charlotte followed with surgical precision, and Elyra kept the battlefield from collapsing beneath them.

For the first time that night, the Thorne line fought back.

The courtyard was unrecognizable — a sea of fire, broken stone, and scorched soil.

Sylvette's sword sliced through the air again, the flames clinging to it burning hotter than before. She didn't hesitate; she couldn't. Every motion was controlled fury, her strikes heavy enough to shatter the ground.

"Back up!" she yelled as molten rock sprayed from another impact. Damon and Kael fell in beside her, blades locking into rhythm, cutting down anything that got close.

Elena's voice cut through the roar. "Snare Bloom!"

Roots exploded upward near the front, tangling the legs of the creatures charging in from the side. She followed instantly with "Leaf Dancer!," her figure turning into a swirl of green and wind, slicing cleanly through the trapped beasts.

Elyra stood a few meters behind, her expression focused and calm despite the chaos. Her eyes tracked every movement. "Tethered Link!"

A faint blue thread shimmered in the air, connecting her with Sylvette for a few seconds. "Take it — extra mana," she murmured. Sylvette's sword blazed brighter as the transfer took hold.

Charlotte spun between the bodies, cutting down stragglers before darting back to cover Elena's side. "You're running low!" she shouted.

"I know!" Elena called back, gasping for breath but still grinning. "Try not to steal all the fun."

Charlotte scoffed. "Then move faster."

A deep growl erupted nearby. Another wave of monsters — smaller, faster — rushed from the right flank, jumping over the rubble. Elyra reacted first. "Containment Ring!"

Golden circles formed beneath their feet, snapping shut with a crack of mana. The trapped creatures howled, thrashing against the walls of light.

Sylvette took the opening instantly. "Now!"

Her blade traced an arc of molten fire through the air — a crescent that hit the imprisoned horde dead center. The explosion that followed shook the courtyard, light and ash rising like a storm.

For a moment, it looked like the entire sky burned.

When the smoke thinned, dozens of corpses lay scattered around her. Sylvette exhaled, lowering her sword slightly. Her armor was scorched, hair clinging to her face, but her eyes burned with the same steady resolve.

Elyra's hand trembled faintly as she released the spell. She steadied herself and spoke quietly, more to the others than to Sylvette: "That's her… that's the next head of Thorne."

Charlotte sheathed one dagger, resting the other on her shoulder, and gave a faint, proud smile. "No argument here."

Sylvette turned to them at last, catching her breath. "We're not done," she said simply, voice hoarse but steady. "Get ready. The next wave will hit harder."

Elena leaned against a fragment of broken wall, her breathing shallow. Her arms ached from overuse, green veins of mana still pulsing faintly beneath her skin. "That should've been the last of them," she murmured.

Charlotte crouched nearby, pressing a hand to her ribs, her daggers still glinting in the dim light. "You said that three times already," she said, forcing a small laugh. "You jinxed it every single one."

Elyra didn't look at either of them. She stood in silence, her eyes locked on the horizon where the forest burned. The flames flickered strangely — not retreating, not spreading. Waiting.

"They're not stopping," she whispered. "Something's keeping them here."

Sylvette stepped forward, her boots crunching against shards of glass and bone. She wiped soot from her cheek and tightened her grip on her sword. The firelight reflected in her eyes — not wild, not desperate, just… steady. "Then we don't stop either."

Elyra turned toward her. "Your mana's nearly spent. So is everyone else's. If we stay out here much longer—"

Sylvette cut her off with a glance. "If we fall back, the mansion falls. That's not an option."

Her tone wasn't commanding; it was simply certain.

Charlotte pushed herself to her feet, wincing slightly but nodding. "Then we hold. Like before."

Elena gave a tired smile, brushing dirt from her hair. "You sound like him," she said quietly, almost fondly.

Sylvette didn't reply. Her gaze lingered on the flames in the distance — where Noel was still fighting somewhere far beyond their reach.

Then she raised her sword again. "Form up. If another wave comes, we meet it head-on."

Elyra wiped the ash from her cheek, her eyes narrowing toward the flames. "You really don't know when to stop, do you?"

Sylvette gave a half-smile. "Wouldn't be much of a Thorne if I did."

Charlotte let out a short laugh, spinning one of her daggers between her fingers. "Fair point. Guess that makes the rest of us honorary Thornes, huh?"

Elena shook her head with a faint grin. "Honorary or not, we're still in this together."

For a heartbeat, the chaos seemed to fade. The smoke, the fire, the exhaustion — all of it quieted beneath that small, shared moment.

Sylvette looked at them — three girls standing their ground beside her, stubborn to the end — and the thought came naturally.

'Noel's really given me good sisters-in-law… I guess it's my turn to look after them now, huh?'

Her smile lingered, faint but genuine, as another distant roar broke through the night.

"Let's finish this," she murmured.