The Extra's Dimensional Library

The massive orb of energy came crashing down toward the town. Raze, Gavin, Emily, and Ella looked up, watching it descend, unstoppable, unavoidable, certain death. There was no way to escape, no path to dodge, nothing any of them could do.

Then, suddenly, Raze pushed himself to his feet. Without a word, without hesitation, he thrust his hands into the air and roared,

"I'm not fucking dying here! Not when I have so much to live for! Not when I still have so much to do!"

His voice thundered through the ruined streets as he released a massive torrent of flames, channeling every drop of mana inside him. He reinforced his body with ki, planting himself firmly in place. His feet dug into the ground as his flames collided with the descending sphere of destruction.

At first, it didn't even look like he was affecting it.

But with another roar from the bottom of his stomach, Raze pushed harder. His flames twisted into a raging vortex, bright light flooding the entire town.

The flames and the massive orb met, clashing violently. The orb slowed, just barely.

The earth beneath Raze cracked like a spiderweb as his feet dug deeper into the ground. His veins bulged, his entire body trembling. His skin began to tear as blood sprayed out in thin jets, instantly evaporating in the heat. Still, he didn't stop.

He felt dizzy. His vision blurred. His body weakened.

But he refused to stop.

Before this life, he'd been nothing but a boy who buried his head in books. And the day he died, he realized he had lived for nothing. Now he had been reborn into this body—a body with the chance to live, to build something for himself, to create the sanctuary he dreamed of. He finally had something worth fighting for.

And he wasn't going to lose it here.

Raze didn't care what the original story had destined for Raze Grimhold. He would defy that fate. He would survive. He would not go down like the character he replaced.

The flames grew wilder. The orb pushed harder.

But Raze didn't relent.

His feet sank almost to his ankles in the cracked ground. The heat from his flames burned everything nearby, roofs catching fire, wooden beams igniting. His entire body was covered in bleeding cuts, his blood vaporizing instantly.

For a full half-minute, he fought, roaring, pushing, burning.

Then finally, Raze's flames swallowed the massive ball of energy.

And in the next moment, it shattered.

The dark orb dispersed into nothing as Raze's flames blew it apart.

Instantly, Raze's body gave out. He collapsed backward, the world spinning away as his consciousness faded. He hit the cold ground hard, unmoving, barely breathing.

But he had done it.

He had stopped Eliath's attack.

He had kept everyone alive.

His reasons might have been selfish—he wanted to live, he wanted his sanctuary, he wanted the future he dreamed of, but regardless of the reason…

He saved them all.

Gavin, Emily, and Ella screamed his name.

"Raze!!"

They sprinted toward where he fell, hearts racing, their voices drenched in panic. They had been stunned watching him unleash that monstrous torrent of flame—stunned, terrified… and completely unable to look away. And when they saw his body collapse, unmoving, the thought that he had pushed himself too far, that he might have actually killed himself, struck their hearts like a dagger.

They reached him quickly. Raze lay on his back, his body covered in burns, cuts, and blood that sizzled on the heated ground beneath him. His skin was pale. His eyes were shut.

But—

His heart was still beating.

Barely.

He was still breathing.

Barely.

But it was fading fast.

They needed to do something. Anything. But before any of them could even gather their scattered thoughts, a cold voice echoed above them.

"That kid…" Eliath growled, floating in the air with her charred body slowly healing. "I am sick and tired of that kid."

Her twisted smile returned.

"But now that he's gone, the rest of you will follow."

She pointed her sword down at them. The tip gleamed with wicked purple-black energy as it gathered.

The three looked up, weak, battered, drained.

Raze had spent everything to stop the orb. Ella had already burned every drop of mana she had. Gavin's ribs were shattered. Emily was barely standing.

They were all at their limit, if she launched that attack, they would die, Eliath raised her hand.

But before she could release an attack, a blade arc cut through the air—silent, invisible, yet powerful enough to tear stone apart.

Eliath sensed it at the very last moment, her wings flared wide, her sword came up.

BANG!!!

The arc collided with her like a meteor.

The impact blasted her backward, firing her through an entire row of houses. Stone shattered, dust exploded.

Eliath's body skidded across the street, tearing a long trench into the cobblestone.

Gavin, Emily, and Ella froze.

What just happened?

They slowly looked up, fear, hope, and disbelief mixing in their eyes, and then they saw him. Floating above the ruined street, long coat swelling with mana, expression cold and deadly…

Emily's brother, captain of one of the Ten Knight Chapters of Vermilion, Mark.

He stood on the back of his eagle with a grim expression, and his eyes burned with killing intent, toward Eliath and toward the hell she had unleashed on his sister.

"A filthy demonic beast dared to lay hands on my sister inside my kingdom. You demonic beasts have gone too far," he spoke, his voice cutting through the air as he stared at Eliath in the rubble.

Eliath groaned in pain. She struggled back to her feet. Her wings were broken and so was her body, but she immediately started healing.

Mark looked down to his sister. He saw Raze on the ground unconscious.

"Take him away from here now. I'll deal with her and come," he said, speaking in utter confidence, and that pissed Eliath off.