The Extra's Supremacy

The battlefield was a scene of chaos, with rubble strewn across the streets and fires raging where buildings once stood. The colossal black wyvern towered over the ruins, its abyssal eyes locked onto the lone figure weaving through the destruction below. Kain, the Reaper, moved like a shadow, his every step calculated as he evaded the creature's relentless assaults.

The wyvern roared, a guttural sound that reverberated across the city, shaking the very air. Its massive claws tore through the earth, leaving deep gouges in the stone streets as it pursued its elusive prey. Kain leapt onto a fallen pillar, using it as a springboard to propel himself onto the roof of a nearby building. The moment he landed, the wyvern's tail lashed out, obliterating the structure in a single, devastating strike.

Dust and debris clouded the air, but Kain emerged unscathed, his movements fluid and deliberate. His sword remained sheathed, the faint glow of wind energy around him a constant reminder of his focus. There was no point in fighting the wyvern directly—it was an unwinnable battle. Its scales were impervious, its strength unmatched. A head-on confrontation would only lead to his death.

"Can't kill it. Can't stop it," Kain muttered under his breath, his eyes darting to the wyvern's shifting movements. "All I can do is keep it busy."

The wyvern lunged again, its claws slicing through another building as Kain narrowly dodged to the side. The ground trembled with the impact, sending shockwaves through the city. Each of the beast's attacks left a trail of destruction in its wake—collapsed buildings, shattered streets, and plumes of smoke rising into the air. Kain's goal was clear: keep the wyvern's attention on him and away from the evacuation centers.

He darted through the streets, his cloak billowing behind him as he led the creature on a chase through the ruined city. It was a game of cat and mouse, with Kain as the mouse—quick, clever, and always one step ahead. The wyvern, despite its size, was frighteningly fast, its massive body moving with an agility that defied its bulk.

Kain slid under a collapsing archway, the wyvern's tail smashing through it a heartbeat later. He rolled to his feet and sprinted toward a narrow alley, using the tight space to limit the creature's movements. The wyvern growled in frustration, its claws scraping against the sides of the buildings as it tried to force its way through.

"You don't like tight spaces, do you?" Kain muttered, glancing over his shoulder. "Good. Stay mad."

He emerged on the other side of the alley just as the wyvern unleashed another earth-shattering roar. The sound alone was enough to make the remaining windows in the area shatter, glass raining down like jagged tears. Kain barely flinched, his focus unbroken.

Minutes felt like hours as the chase continued, the wyvern's attacks growing more ferocious with each failed strike. Kain could feel the strain in his muscles, the weight of exhaustion beginning to creep in. But he pushed it aside, his mind fixed on one thought: buy time.

The sovereigns would return soon. They were Kythera's best hope of surviving this nightmare. Until then, it was up to Kain to hold the line, no matter the cost. The plan was simple: keep the wyvern occupied until the three sovereigns returned to the city. With their combined power, there was hope of stopping this nightmare. All he had to do was hold out a little longer.

The wyvern suddenly shifted its focus, its abyssal eyes narrowing as it scanned the area. Kain immediately recognized the danger. The creature's primal instincts were telling it to ignore him.

"Oh, no, you don't," Kain growled, dashing forward. He launched a compressed blade of air toward the wyvern's face, the attack striking it squarely between the eyes. The blow was ineffective, leaving no visible damage, but it accomplished its purpose.

The wyvern turned its attention back to him, a low growl rumbling from its throat. It lunged, its massive jaws snapping shut where Kain had stood moments before. He leapt onto a pile of rubble, using the height to propel himself onto another rooftop. The creature followed, its claws tearing through the structure in its relentless pursuit.

"You really hate me, don't you?" Kain muttered, a faint smirk tugging at his lips despite the situation. "Good. Let's keep it that way."

As the wyvern roared again, its wings spread wide, Kain couldn't help but glance at the horizon. The faintest glimmer of hope flickered in his chest. The sovereigns had to be close. He just needed to hold out a little longer.

The wyvern's roars echoed through the ruins of Kythera, each sound a declaration of its dominance. Kain darted through the destruction, narrowly evading another devastating strike. He was reaching his limit, his muscles aching and his breath coming in quick, shallow gasps. Despite the relentless assault, he stayed focused.

But then he felt it—a sudden surge of energy that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. It was faint at first, like the hum of a distant storm, but it grew stronger, sharper, until it surrounded him from every direction.

"What now?" Kain muttered, his gaze darting around.

Ignoring the wyvern momentarily, he turned his attention to the source of the disturbance. What he saw made his heart sink. All around the city, the air shimmered with unnatural light. One by one, rifts began to appear—tears in the fabric of reality, glowing with a malevolent energy.

Not just one or two. Hundreds.

Kain's mind raced as he analyzed the situation. He knew these rifts well. spatial distortions that acted as gateways for monsters to pour into this world. Normally, a rift or two was manageable with a small team of trained Ascenders. But this? This was unprecedented.

Hundreds of rifts, scattered across the city, each pulsing with a sickly glow. And Kain knew what they would bring.

"Goddamn it," he muttered under his breath, his fists tightening around his sword.

From the energy radiating off the rifts, he could estimate the creatures inside. Each rift likely contained over more than 800 defiled-ranked monsters—twisted creatures that thrived on chaos and destruction. Worse still, he sensed the presence of corrupted-ranked creatures—more than ten in each rift. These monsters were far more dangerous, capable of wiping out entire squads of Ascenders.

And then there was the possibility that made his blood run cold: a terror-ranked creature.

If even one terror-ranked creature descended through these rifts, it would rival the power of a sovereign. The thought of such a beast entering an already-devastated Kythera was a nightmare he couldn't afford to face.

Kain's jaw tightened. His initial plan to stall the wyvern until the sovereigns arrived was now irrelevant. Even with their power, they couldn't handle this. Not with the sheer number of monsters pouring through the rifts. The city was already on the brink of collapse. This was the final nail in the coffin.

His instincts screamed at him to retreat. The best course of action was clear: find Elara and Lily, get them out of the city, and put as much distance as possible between them and the chaos.

But there was a problem.

The wyvern.

The massive beast still stalked him, its abyssal eyes locked onto his every movement. Its mere presence was enough to keep Kain on edge, and now, with the rifts opening, it had become an even greater obstacle.

Kain took a deep breath, steadying himself. He didn't have the luxury of panic. He needed a plan, and he needed it fast.

"Fine," he muttered, his gaze shifting between the wyvern and the rifts. "I will be your doom."