The Extra's Rise

Seriously, those two were complete monsters.

Instead of relying on aura reinforcement like normal people, they were abusing their Gifts, applying the circle method directly to their bodies, amplifying their speed, strength, and reaction time in ways that shouldn't have been possible.

And Lucifer was still stronger than both of them.

That was the terrifying part.

I needed to reach a level far beyond this.

Not just high. Very, very high.

Because Gifts made or broke everything.

A normal person could train their entire life, refine their mana, perfect their techniques—and still lose horribly to someone born with an unfair advantage.

Cecilia's Witchcraft rewrote the rules of magic, twisting spells into something that barely followed conventional logic. Rachel's Saintess Gift turned her into a force of nature, her power not just overwhelming, but absolute.

And Lucifer—well. Lucifer was Lucifer.

The only way I stood a chance was with the Beast Will.

Without it, catching up to them—surviving in this world at all—would have remained a pipe dream.

Rachel and Cecilia finally landed in front of me, dust settling in their wake, the aftermath of their battle still crackling in the air.

Rachel folded her arms, eyes sharp. "Well then, don't trouble Arthur, Cecilia."

Cecilia, as expected, was completely unrepentant.

"I was just having some fun," she pouted, stretching lazily. "Not my fault I noticed he got stronger."

I stared at her, my grip tightening on my sword.

'She was having fun.'

That wasn't even wrong.

From the ease with which she had caught my God Flash, there had never been a scenario where I actually won that fight.

And that was the most frustrating part.

She had caught an attack that worked on a five-star beast.

With one hand.

With zero injuries.

At this point, wasn't this just cheating?

"Honestly though, that attack was impressive, Arthur," Cecilia said, flashing a lazy, satisfied smile. "It was insanely fast. But spells have trajectories, and those are so easy to calculate." She tapped a finger against her temple. "Which is why I reacted in time."

She made it sound effortless, which was the worst part.

"How many points do you two have?" I asked, partly out of curiosity, partly because I already knew I was behind.

"14,680~" Cecilia chimed, drawing out the numbers like they were just an afterthought.

"14,675." Rachel's voice was steady, her eyes flicking toward Cecilia, already expecting the inevitable smugness.

And there it was.

Cecilia grinned wider, tilting her head in mock pity. "Aw, you're losing to me."

Rachel narrowed her eyes, the air between them shifting subtly.

I sighed internally. Of course they were competing.

"I have 13,730," I said, watching their reactions.

Rachel's head turned toward me, her expression shifting to something that looked almost like approval. "Wow, that's impressive."

"You killed a five-star beast?"

"Yeah."

Cecilia had said nothing yet.

Which was worse.

I turned slightly and met her gaze, only to find her already staring.

Still smiling. Still perfectly composed.

Her crimson eyes gleamed, something cold and unreadable lurking beneath the surface.

The ground rumbled beneath us, a low, guttural tremor that sent vibrations crawling up my legs.

Then, from the heart of the jungle, a tree rose.

Not just any tree. A massive, ancient thing, its bark dark as obsidian, its twisted roots dragging up the earth as if it had clawed its way from the underworld itself.

I stared, barely processing what I was seeing.

"A… tree?"

But then the pressure hit.

It wasn't just a tree.

It was alive.

And it was angry.

"God dammit," Cecilia muttered, rolling her shoulders. "I don't have enough strength for this." Her crimson eyes narrowed, her voice edged with frustration as she glared at the towering monstrosity.

Rachel, beside me, was calm, twirling a lock of golden hair between her fingers, assessing the situation like she was solving a math problem rather than facing down something that could flatten a fortress.

"Elder Dark Treant."

She let the words settle, as if naming it made it any less terrifying.

"Six-star beast."

I swallowed. Six-star.

The five-star beast I killed had nearly pushed me past my limits. This thing was an entire rank higher.

"It just evolved," Rachel added, still analyzing, still impossibly composed. "An Elder Treant starts as a five-star, but if it devours enough dark mana beasts, it mutates into an Elder Dark Treant. Looks like that just happened."

Cecilia clicked her tongue. "Nerd."

"You're welcome."

I tore my gaze from the monster long enough to look at them. "So… we can win, right?"

Rachel finally stopped playing with her hair and nodded. "Of course."

Cecilia stretched her arms over her head with a lazy yawn, but there was tension in her stance, a rare flicker of seriousness in her gaze.

"Yeah," she agreed. "But we'll need your help."

I didn't get the chance to respond before Rachel stepped closer, placing a hand between my shoulder blades.

Then she whispered, "Wings of Seraphim."

Something ripped through me.

A golden wing unfurled from my right side, its mana burning hot and divine, flooding my body with a surge of raw power that sent sparks along my skin. My exhaustion vanished in an instant, replaced by something sharper, stronger, faster.

I inhaled sharply, barely able to comprehend the sheer overwhelming force now running through my veins.

"My body's already tired," Rachel murmured, stepping back, her breath just the slightest bit uneven. "So I gave it to you instead. I'll support you, but you need to land the finishing blow."

I flexed my fingers, feeling the mana thrumming beneath my skin, the light warping slightly around my right side.

Cecilia sighed dramatically. "My power can't be shared like that," she said with mock disappointment, then grinned, eyes glinting.

"But now? Now go."

I nodded and moved.

And then I nearly lost my footing.

The ground blurred beneath me, the jungle whipping past at a speed that should not have been possible. My body surged forward faster than I had ever moved before, each step covering impossible distances in a blink.

'What the—?'

Rachel moved like this all the time with her Gift?

It was ridiculous, a level of speed that felt less like running and more like being launched by sheer force alone. The air burned against my skin, my balance barely keeping up with the sheer momentum propelling me forward.

Then the ground shook, the Elder Dark Treant reacting, its massive roots tearing free from the earth, twisting toward me with unnatural speed.

I moved to counter, sword half-raised—

But before I could even swing, a wave of crimson fire erupted ahead of me, consuming the incoming attack in a burst of violent heat.

Cecilia.

I caught sight of her out of the corner of my eye, standing far too casually amidst the chaos, flames still dancing at her fingertips. She smirked, her crimson eyes gleaming with unrestrained amusement.

"Finishing blow," she called, winking as if this was all just another game.

I didn't hesitate.

I kicked off the ground, lightning surging around my blade as I shot upward, straight for the treant's core.