Path of the Extra

The sound of a scream echoed through the darkness, growing louder with each passing second. Celestina and the others stood still, their lanterns casting flickering light into the abyss. The lanterns, infused with orbs of light from Celestina herself, had been given to them by Sir Henrik.

As the scream intensified, Henrik frowned. Without hesitation, he leapt down from the entrance of Floor -2, landing where the elevator should have been—if it had been capable of descending this far. His gaze snapped upward.

A few more seconds passed before Henrik's eyes widened in recognition.

"Wait... that voice! Is that Gavin!?" Sophia exclaimed, her tone filled with shock. She stepped forward, peering into the darkness above, but saw nothing.

Henrik didn't waste a moment. Dropping his lantern, he bent his knees and launched himself upward. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from sight.

Celestina quickly moved to the edge, conjuring multiple orbs of light to illuminate their surroundings while gripping her lantern tightly.

Then, a figure came into view. Henrik was falling—no, descending—with Gavin held securely in his arms. Gavin clung to Henrik's neck with a grip tight enough to strangle.

There was no sound when Henrik landed. It was as if, for a moment, he had simply floated down.

Celestina, Nova, and Sophia jumped down to meet them.

"Mister Gavin, you can let go now," Henrik said calmly.

"H-Huh? ...Oh."

Realizing he was no longer in freefall, Gavin's eyes widened. He exhaled sharply before shakily getting to his feet.

"I... I thought I was dead..."

Henrik's expression darkened.

"What happened? Where did the chain the prince created go?"

At those words, Gavin bit his lip, his face paling.

"I... I don't know what to say. He's been my friend for years, so I don't want to believe His Highness's words, but... he was the only one left who knew the passcode to unlock it from its cell."

Celestina's expression hardened.

"Explain properly. What just happened?"

"J-Just as I was about to go down, His Highness noticed something odd and asked me to open the elevator lift. That's when we saw... something. A void creature, not in its cell, standing at the end of the corridor. I barely saw it—just a glimpse of its silhouette—before His Highness ordered me to go down. He said Edge betrayed us and that he would meet us soon."

Gavin's hands trembled as he gripped his hair.

"Whatever it was... I couldn't breathe. It was incredibly strong. Horrifying. Gods... the prince is still up there because of me...!"

The group listened, their faces drawn with shock. Celestina turned to Henrik, her expression grim.

"Edge was the only one left who knew how to unlock the cells without triggering an alarm. For all we know, every void creature on that floor is free... We need to get back up there and save Azriel."

Henrik's face twisted in concern. He kept looking up.

"This just got extremely complicated... Betrayal and two demons above our heads."

Sophia shifted uneasily.

"We're going to save him... right?"

"Of course we are," Celestina said firmly.

"Sir Henrik, let's go—"

"Unfortunately, I can't allow any of you to do that."

Sir Henrik's voice cut through the air like a blade. He turned to face them, his expression unreadable.

Celestina's eyes narrowed, her voice dropping several degrees.

"What did you just say?"

Henrik clasped his hands behind his back and stood firm.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. But I can't allow you or anyone else to climb up and save the Crimson Prince."

Celestina stared at him for a moment before her grey eyes began to glow faintly.

"Sir Henrik, people like to call me a kind and merciful princess. I like to think I am as well. But do not, for any reason, mistake that for a weakness you can exploit."

The air turned heavy. No one dared to move, breathe, or even blink.

Then, Henrik suddenly bowed.

"Please forgive this foolish knight, Your Highness... I am simply prioritizing your safety above all else."

Celestina's irritation flared.

"What do you mean? Is there a reason why everyone is struggling to explain themselves properly today?"

Henrik hesitated, then finally spoke.

"Before we entered the elevator, when no one was paying attention, Prince Azriel approached me. He told me that there was a high chance something would go wrong with this mission. And if that happened... I was to prioritize your life above his. No hesitation. Either complete the mission or retreat with you."

Celestina's face twisted in confusion.

"Azriel said that...?"

Henrik nodded, his expression pained.

"He told me that we still don't know who sent that request for help to the Great Clans. It was suspicious. And under no circumstance was I to worry about him."

Help. That was the only word they had received. But what did it truly mean? It could have been a request to deal with a minor issue in the containment facility. Or it could have been something far more dire.

Azriel and Celestina had come here to investigate the meaning behind that plea for help.

But was the one who sent it already dead? Or was there something else?

Their best option was to investigate which void creature had killed the higher-ups... and eliminate it.

"...Does that mean he has a plan?" Celestina asked cautiously.

Henrik shook his head.

"None that he told me. But I do agree with his decision to prioritize your safety. I will always put you first. And..." He hesitated.

"Looking into His Highness's eyes, he seemed sure that he would be fine. So, as bold as this may be, I ask that you trust him and move forward without him."

Celestina clenched her teeth, her gaze snapping upward.

A complicated expression crossed her face before she exhaled sharply, frustration flickering in her eyes.

"Fine. We kill this thing fast and meet up with Azriel."

*****

A chill ran through Azriel's body as his vision was stolen from him. Another shiver followed, raising the hairs on his arms as the strong stench of decay filled his nostrils— the breath of the Black-Antlered King.

Azriel gritted his teeth. He didn't know if this thing could see in the dark.

And he prayed it couldn't.

Slowly, he moved his fingers within his gauntlet toward his storage ring, feeling lightheaded.

His stomach hurt. Even with [Soul's Crucible] and his soul armor, it hurt— a lot.

But at least the pain was dulled enough to keep him from passing out or becoming paralyzed.

A smooth, cool sensation went through his right gauntlet as he gripped something retrieved from his storage ring.

'I didn't think I'd have to use this so soon...'

But right now, he wasn't exactly in a position to be picky.

Holding the cube Freya had given him, Azriel crushed it in his hand.

What happened next was difficult to describe.

It felt as if he were weightless, floating in the dark— until he suddenly plummeted. His body crashed onto something cold and solid.

"Ugh...!"

The jagged bone lodged deep in his gut twisted, grinding against his insides. Every breath sent fresh agony rippling through his body.

Azriel rolled onto his side, gritting his teeth as his glare darkened, sweat mixing with the blood trickling down his chin.

"Fucking deer came straight out of a horror movie..."

He dismissed his Soul Armor to let it repair itself.

With a trembling grip, Azriel wrapped both hands around the grotesque shard of bone impaling him. The surface was slick with his own blood, making it hard to grasp.

Taking a sharp breath, he pulled.

"Argh...!"

The pain was unbearable. Blood gathered in his mouth, forcing him to cough.

After a minute of sheer torment, the bone was out. But now, there was a gaping hole in his stomach.

Tapping his storage ring again, Azriel pulled out an extremely expensive healing potion.

"Fucking... waste of money..."

Actually, it wasn't.

It would heal him.

But it was still a waste.

Yet, it wasn't.

Azriel gulped it all down in one go. Within moments, his wound began to close.

A long, exhausted breath left his lips.

"…Of all the things that could've happened, I had to get jumped by a demon-ranked deer… the deer king."

With a groan, Azriel pushed himself up and slowly stood— only to realize everything was still pitch black.

He sighed again, pressing a hand against his stomach.

"It's healed…"

Still surrounded by endless darkness, he decided to sit back down.

"Okay… this is a good thing. Just happened in a bad way."

Azriel had hoped, somehow, that he would get separated from the rest—especially on Floor -1.

The reason was simple. He was desperate.

Desperate to get stronger by any means necessary, now more than ever.

Sitting in his room and absorbing mana wasn't going to cut it. He had to go on missions, one way or another.

This mission was the perfect way to grow.

Being thrown into life-or-death situations sucked, but it was also the fastest way to get stronger.

An entire floor filled with void creatures, all for him to kill.

Of course, that didn't mean he planned to abandon Celestina and the others.

He just had his own goal to accomplish. A selfish mission he had to complete—quickly.

Azriel wasn't leaving this floor until he became an Advanced. That was for sure.

…Of course, getting ambushed out of nowhere by a demon-ranked Deer King—while also getting betrayed by Edge—wasn't exactly part of the plan.

Still, it gave him an excuse to take his time.

And if Sir Henrik actually listened to him, that meant no one was coming to help.

Well, in a way, Azriel considered himself lucky.

The cube Freya had given him… Azriel had plenty of resources to figure out what kind of void artifact it was.

And by resources, he meant a certain beautiful, overprotective maid of his—Amaya. She knew a lot about void artifacts.

What Freya had given him was a displacement cube.

Once shattered, it would displace the user to a random location nearby.

A valuable void artifact—perfect for escaping deadly situations like the one he'd just been in. The worst possible circumstances to fight a demon-ranked beast.

But Azriel didn't think he'd wasted it.

He wasn't the type to hold onto something like that until it was too late.

It was best to use things when they had the most value.

…And he was sure he would've died if he hadn't.

So, no waste.

Now, though, he had no clue where he was.

But the fact that he couldn't see anything at all meant he was probably still on Floor -1.

Unless the displacement cube had sent him 40 meters down to Floor -2…

Which he really, really hoped it hadn't.

After a moment of thought, Azriel took a deep breath, focusing as he tried to feel the mana around him.

He could feel it—small, misty waves brushing against his skin, soft and gentle.

Then, he felt that same sensation pulse from his body.

Azriel grew lightheaded again as he concentrated and willed his mana to respond.

He felt the mana around him—and the flow from his body—freeze.

In the next second, everything was pulled back inside him as Azriel concealed his entire aura.

He released a breath of relief, running a hand through his hair.

"At least now it'll be much harder for any void creature to find me."

What he'd done was simple: he'd hidden his presence. Now, no void creature that relied on mana to locate him would be able to do so.

Azriel stood up, stretching a bit, then tapped his storage ring and brought out the lantern Henrik had given him.

"I wonder how many of these he has stored in his ring..."

Opening the lid of the lantern, he saw a candle inside.

Azriel extended his left hand, rubbing his thumb and index finger together before slowly pulling them apart, making a single red lightning thread between them. He then brought his fingers toward the candle and lit it.

Closing the lid, Azriel finally had some light to see with as he brought the lantern forward, squinting his eyes.

Looking around, he found himself in a small room, covered in metal plates—barely enough for two people to stand next to each other and just enough space for six to stand in front of one another.

Azriel moved the lantern to his right, revealing a wall made of thick glass. Beneath the glass was a panel, filled with controls and buttons.

His eyes widened as he took a few steps back, his back hitting the cold wall. Without hesitation, he summoned Void Eater.

Behind the glass, in the darkness, something moved.

Releasing a shaky breath, Azriel sat back down, leaning against the wall. He placed the lantern beside him and tapped his storage ring, pulling out a bottle of water.

He drank the entire bottle in one go, then exhaled deeply, wiping his mouth.

A sinister gleam flashed in his eyes.

"It's time to hunt a Deer King..."