The Manaless Extra (A Progression Fantasy Story)

Volume 03, Chapter 119
Guzman vs Dominic [1]

A tense silence settles between them.

Dominic and Guzman lock eyes, neither moving, neither blinking. The air between them pulses with tension.

Guzman's body trembles slightly. Sweat trails down his brow beneath the cracked lenses of his mask. The Mana pressure radiating from Dominic is suffocating, heavy, and unrelenting.

'I cannot win this head-on,' Guzman thinks, his eyes twitching toward the lingering fog behind him. 'I need to retreat into the mist. Once he makes his move, I will vanish.'

But Dominic reads him like a book. He glances at the fog curling behind Guzman and narrows his gaze.

'He is planning to escape into the smoke… I need to cut off his exit.'

Dominic does not raise a hand. He does not chant. He does not breathe a word aloud.

'Umbra Dome,' he thinks.

In an instant, a pitch-black sphere of magic erupts around them. A solid dome of shadow engulfs the clearing, blotting out the sun, the wind, even sound. No light seeps through. It is pure darkness.

Guzman flinches, spinning around in alarm. His back slams against the obsidian surface of the dome.

'No…' he realizes. 'He trapped me.'

He immediately reaches for the crimson control crystal hanging around his neck.

'I will summon the demon now. This is too dangerous—'

Dominic's eyes snap to the movement. The glow from the gem triggers every instinct in him.

"Activate."

—Tick-tock.

The world slows.

Dominic vanishes in a blur of motion. "Shadow's Embrace."

A black mist surges over his body, coating him in a swirling aura of condensed shadow.

Dominic ignores the flashing holograms and closes the distance in the blink of an eye.

He grabs Guzman by the throat and drives him into the ground, cracking the stone beneath him.

The impact knocks the plague mask off Guzman's face, revealing wide, dark brown eyes and a startled, contorted expression.

"Deactivate."

—Chime!

Time snaps back to normal.

Guzman gags. Moments ago, he was standing. Now he is flat on the ground, pinned—Dominic's fingers crushing his windpipe.

'So fast…!' Guzman panics. 'I could not react at all!'

Dominic's grip tightens. "Tell me. Are you Guzman, or are you working for him?" he demands, his voice cold.

Guzman cannot answer. He cannot breathe.

Dominic's eyes narrow. Realizing his grip is too tight, he loosens his hold just slightly.

Guzman gasps, drawing in a ragged breath.

"Answer me," Dominic repeats. "Are you working for Guzman… or are you Guzman?"

No response. Just a flicker of fear in Guzman's eyes.

"Tell me."

The grip tightens again.

Dominic's instincts scream to kill this man, yet his mind demands answers. His heart is caught between justice and rage.

But Guzman only struggles, both hands clawing at Dominic's arm, his lips trembling with breathless resistance.

Dominic's patience snaps. "Then I will just kill you."

His fingers squeeze.

Guzman's face turns pale blue, saliva trailing from the corner of his mouth.

Unbeknownst to Dominic, a crimson glow begins to pulse beneath Guzman's collar.

—BOOM!

A thunderous crash echoes from above. The dome trembles.

Dominic glances upward, hand still around Guzman's neck. "…What just hit my dome?"

—BOOM!

A second impact. Louder and more violent.

A web of light cracks spreads across the ceiling of the Umbra Dome.

Dominic's gaze snaps downward. The red crystal around Guzman's neck is glowing intensely now.

Guzman manages a faint smirk.

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Dominic's teeth clench.

—BOOM!

—CRACK!

A massive claw, veined with lightning, shatters the dome from above. It comes crashing down toward Dominic.

His eyes widen.

The claw is inches from his face.

The claw strikes him hard.

Dominic is sent flying, crashing into the ground in a violent roll. Dust and debris erupt around him as the entire dome collapses into mist.

"Ngh…!" Dominic grunts, clutching his shoulder. He pushes himself upright.

"If it weren't for Shadow's Embrace and the Shielded Aura, that would have killed me," he mutters, panting.

He turns and sees it. Standing before him is a creature pulled straight from a nightmare.

A hulking beast, walking on four legs—part rotted flesh, part scorched bone—its form sparks with arcane lightning. Veins of energy pulse beneath what little meat still clings to its skeletal frame.

Its head is a monstrous, elongated skull lined with serrated fangs frozen in a permanent snarl. Empty eye sockets stare forward, but above its head floats a halo of rotating lightning, crackling faster with every second.

From its back sprout jagged obsidian wings, laced with electrical tendrils—more like blades than feathers. They pulse, ready to slice and tear.

Its tail coils like a serpent, ending in a double-bladed axe, forged from bone, hardened lightning, and corrupted magic.

"A… demon," Dominic breathes. "It's radiating enough Mana to be [A]-Rank…"

Behind the beast, Guzman stands once more. His breath is ragged, his robe coated in dust, but his smile remains calm.

He dusts off his robe and clears his throat.

"Allow me to properly introduce myself," he says, voice cold and amused. "Guzman de Venefique Moreau."

Dominic's expression hardens. His instincts have been screaming from the beginning, and now he knows why. "…Guzman. The man who destroyed infrastructures in Eñeforte territory under Belard's orders."

Guzman gives a mock bow. "That's correct. It seems our first meeting wasn't under the best of circumstances, was it?"

Dominic rises fully, shadows still swirling faintly around his body. "No, it wasn't."

Guzman does not respond to Dominic's glare. Instead, he raises a hand toward him and gives a simple, cold command.

"Attack him."

"RAHHH!"

The demon roars in response. The lightning pulsing across its grotesque frame flares violently. Then it vanishes in a streak of electric light, surging straight toward Dominic like a thunderbolt incarnate.

"Activate!" Dominic shouts.

—Tik-tock!

The world slows.

Time itself bends around him, each second dragging into slow-motion clarity. Sparks crackle midair like frozen stars. Dust drifts like snow.

But Dominic's body, guided by instinct, moves.

A clawed limb, cloaked in blinding lightning, is inches from his face.

He arches backward, barely avoiding the swipe, and launches into a fluid backflip. His feet dig into the gravel as he lands. [B]-Rank Mana intensity surges through him.

He extends his hand toward the demon, eyes locked.

"Dark Beam!"

—BOOM!

A colossal blast of shadow energy erupts from his palm, tearing through the air and slamming directly into the demon's chest.

"RAHHH!" the beast screams, its voice distorted by the slowed time as it is pushed back, claws scraping deep grooves into the earth.

Dominic's eyes dart past it, toward Guzman.

But the man is gone.

"…He ran," Dominic mutters. "Used the demon to cover his retreat back into the mist."

The demon hits the ground with a loud crash, limbs twitching as it recovers. Its jaw unhinges, letting out a snarl of rage.

But Dominic is not done.

He raises his hand again, gathering another surge of [B]-Rank Mana.

"Dark Beam!"

Another jet-black blast screams forward, striking the demon again, driving it back with raw force.

"RAHHHH!"

The demon howls, louder this time, struggling to regain balance.

Dominic raises his arm again.

Charge. Fire. Repeat.

"Dark Beam!"

—BOOM!

"Dark Beam!"

—BOOM!

"Dark Beam!"

—BOOM!

The shadows explode against the demon's body over and over, until the entire clearing is consumed in a towering column of smoke and dust. Flashes of lightning crack from within like a storm trapped inside a furnace.

Dominic lowers his arm, breathing steadily. Smoke rises from his palm. "…Don't tell me that was it."

For a moment, all is silent.

Until—

"GRRRRR…"

The ground rumbles.

From within the smoke, a blinding blue glow surges outward, flickering with electric sparks.

"RAHHHH!"

A furious roar tears through the fog, releasing a blast of wind that scatters the smoke in every direction.

Dominic shields his face, bracing against the gust. Even with blurred vision, he reaches out with his Mana Sense.

The creature is not just active—it is moving effortlessly now.

"…He's no longer slowed," Dominic mutters. "He's adapted to the Chrono Pendant's time effect."

The demon steps forward, no longer sluggish but crackling with raw power. Arcs of lightning spiral around its limbs, lashing out like whips. Then, with a violent surge of energy, it shoots into the sky, wings of obsidian unfolding with thunderous force.

The sky darkens instantly.

Thunder cracks. Bolts dance across the clouds.

"Of course," Dominic mutters, raising his hand and charging another blast. "Why wouldn't this escalate?"

He fires. "Dark Beam!"

A massive bolt of darkness launches toward the airborne demon.

But this time, it does not connect.

Something intercepts it.

A shield of lightning, formed midair, absorbs the blast before it can touch the demon. The impact disperses in crackling static, vanishing harmlessly.

Dominic narrows his eyes.

"RAHHHHHH!"

The demon roars once more, hovering in the storm.

As the roar echoes across the battlefield, Dominic's instincts flare like a siren.

He dives to the side just in time.

A massive fireball crashes into the ground where he had stood, exploding into a storm of flame and pressure. The land tears open into a smoldering crater, smoke rising thick and fast.

Dominic's boots skid across the ground as he turns toward the source.

Hovering in the air at fifteen feet tall, the second demon looms—a creature born from volcanic wrath. Its body is wrapped in scorched, obsidian-like armor, glowing red-hot beneath every crevice. Jagged, fire-forged horns crown its head, and three flaming eyes, stacked vertically, burn with feral intelligence and hatred.

Enormous skeletal wings, draped in writhing tendrils of fire, spread behind it, not for flight, but intimidation. Every flap sends blistering heat waves tearing across the battlefield.

In its hands, it grips a colossal greatsword, half-molten and hissing with embers. Volcanic vents across its back release bursts of ash and cinder with every movement, trailing smoke like a walking inferno.

Dominic narrows his eyes. "Another demon... It resists the Chrono Pendant's time-slow, too."

He focuses momentarily, reading the aura pulsing from the fire demon.

"…Its Mana output is lower than the lightning one's."

That does not comfort him.

"RAHHH!" the lightning demon roars above, unleashing a beam of pure lightning from its jaws.

Dominic launches backward, skimming above the cracked earth, but his instincts scream again.

He twists sharply.

"Umbra Wings!"

With a burst of swirling black shadow, wings erupt from his back and lift him into the air just in time to avoid a crushing slash from below. The fire demon has taken flight, its massive greatsword cleaving through the air where Dominic had just been.

"Two versus one…" Dominic hovers midair, eyes tracking the positioning of both enemies. "…Time to use my new skill."

The lightning demon screams again and fires another beam of electricity straight at him.

Dominic darts back, but another instinctive pull drags him sideways—he narrowly avoids the fire demon's greatsword, which whistles past his cheek mid-flight.

"Shadow Clone!"

Three bursts of thick black smoke erupt beside him.

The smoke clears. Now there are four Dominics, all identical, all floating midair with shadowy wings spread.

Each one bears the same calm, sharp gaze. Same bandages. Same resolve.

The original Dominic smirks.

"Heck yeah."

Now it is four against two and he is just getting started.