The Extra Can't be A Hero

"Dusk."

The Moonlight Sanctum answered Amon's call, and the six Moons ascended. Hanging above the stars, the Moons resonated with Amon's desire and sent innumerable starlight streams down. Malachi was stunned by the sudden change and forced to make evasive manoeuvres, side-stepping all descending attacks like falling shrapnel.

The celestial starlight rained like a meteor shower—both breathtaking and terrifying. Fortunately, Malachi's skill and experience allowed him to evade the deadly strikes with flawless precision, emerging unscathed. For the spectators, however, witnessing such a feat made them question whether they could hope to do the same.

"W-What's this?"

Johann Amaris, the world's foremost genius in the arcane arts, was bewitched by Amon's brilliant display. It was as if a whole world of possibilities were opened to him then. Turning to the only person who had some sort of clue of what was going on, the young magician asked:

"Princess Yue… What's going on? How is Amon using Lunar mana? And…"

Johann bit his tongue as he questioned whether he should continue the sentence. The amount of mana Amon was displaying far surpassed three Suns, his supposed power level that he revealed to the outside world. While it was common for younger talents to hide their full strength, it was never to this extent.

With the mana and skill that Amon displayed, he could easily rank among the top fifty combatants on the planet. No, judging by how he could use both Solar and Lunar mana, he could give anyone in the top thirty a run for their money.

It was hard to believe that all this power was hidden within a young Knight who wasn't even twenty.

Let alone Johann; even Leon could hardly believe what he was seeing.

Though Leon knew that Amon possessed Lunar mana, he had no idea that Amon had condensed six Suns and Moons. At that moment, many of his burning questions were resolved, but at the same time, new questions arose.

How did Amon accumulate his strength? How did he know about the Apostles? At what end did Amon's true strength lay?

Those questions irked Leon, but unfortunately, the person who could answer his questions was preoccupied.

"If you have time to ask questions, help me with the recording crystals. I must get as many angles as possible for Amon's Lunar Mystic Arts debut! Against an Apostle, no less!"

Yue heaved as she distributed the high-quality recording crystals, which cost a fortune each. Her whole attention was on Amon's brilliant display, and she had little interest in dealing with the spectators.

The audience was flabbergasted but didn't dare to raise their voices. They could only watch Yue's face flush utterly red in excitement as she made an unladylike face while recording Amon's battle.

On the other hand, Malachi wasn't feeling the same thrill. Amon's incessant display of power threw the man for a loop, and he was forced to defend himself from the constant barrage of starlight. The Apostle used an array of sword arts and demonic energy to completely deflect the meteor shower, all while keeping his eye on Amon's advancing body.

He had long abandoned the notion of underestimating the young and now faced Amon as an equal warrior. Malachi unleashed his full strength without hesitation, vanishing from sight only to reappear directly in front of his opponent instantly.

The descending sword strike moved at a speed beyond human reaction and sliced through Amon's body without any interference. The residue of demonic energy lingered in the air as if preluding to the fact that Malachi had executed Amon in cold blood. Yet, the swordsman wasn't pleased. Instead, he was confused.

'There's no flesh and blood… Was it a clone?'

Malachi had lost count of how many humans had fallen to his blade—he knew the precise sensation of cutting through flesh and bone. Yet, as he watched the 'Amon' before him dissolve like a fleeting shadow, a single question lingered in his mind.

'When did he create a clone?'

Malachi had been watching Amon like a hawk ever since he'd arrived. Every movement, every breath, every mana change… yet he'd never expected Amon to create a clone.

Naturally, Amon had the element of surprise on his side. No one knew that Amon had Lunar mana, let alone created his mystic arts. [Reflections], one of his most mysterious and arcane arts, used reflection on the ground to create a mirror dimension. Any time Amon felt like his life was in danger, he could swap places with his reflection, effectively making a clone of himself that would give him a second life.

It was an ability that used a vast amount of mana and something Amon didn't wish to use that easily. Alas, Malachi's quick movements forced him to play his hand.

And, of course, that was not the only use of [Reflection]...

Amon leapt into the starlit sky and swung Nyx through the river's currents. Charging up as much Lunar mana as possible, Amon launched an energy strike shaped like a crescent Moon. The moonlight energy beam forcibly sliced through the air and charged at Malachi, who had mentally prepared to dissipate it with one full swing.

But something unexpected occurred.

From the reflected ground, another crescent Moon emerged simultaneously and pincered Malachi. The two strikes were charged with enough energy to slice through the Apostle's body, and if left alone, Malachi would have been split in two.

'Trickery!!!'

Malachi spat as he used his superhuman senses and movement to oscillate his blade, destroying the two crescent Moons in a single swing. Although this was Amon's first time debuting the Lunar Mystic Arts, Malachi had lived on the battlefield for dozens of years. He'd seen many unique abilities, mystic arts, and magic spells. Eventually, if Amon gave the Apostle enough time, he would figure out everything about Amon's new skills and devise measures to counter them.

Hence, Amon couldn't give Malachi any room to breathe.

The [Moonlight Sanctum] heeded his call, and gravity vanished for the demonic swordsman. Floating in midair and without footing, Malachi was a sitting duck for Amon to hunt. And hunt he did.

Starlight and moonlight converged, forming a celestial torrent powerful enough to cripple any knight who dared defy Amon's authority. But while Malachi had lost control of his gravity, Amon had not. Instead, he bent it to his will, accelerating his movements until he became one with the cascading energy, merging his assault with the radiant downpour to overwhelm the Apostle.

But Malachi was called one of the strongest Apostles for a reason.

"Futile!"

Malachi roared angrily, creating a torrent of demonic mana that forcibly destroyed the invincible celestial stream. At the same time, he countered Amon's approach with his own swing, creating some distance between the two of them.

Unlike anything Amon had ever experienced, immense pressure pounded his body onto the ground, causing his control over the [Moonlight Sanctum] to waver. Gravity returned to Malachi at that moment, and he took full advantage of that to gather his wits. Swinging his sword, he tore through the faux dimension that Amon had created, effectively ending [Moonlight Sanctum] and [Reflections] in a single swing.

"Son, no… I should call you a Sir. You're deserving of that much. You've done well to push me this far. I will ask one last time: what's your name?"

"... Amon Solaris."

"Amon… Sir Amon. I will remember that name."

At this point, Amon did not need to hide himself any longer. After this battle, the Demon Cult would unquestionably hear of him and his feats, so… it didn't matter if he tried to hide his identity.

"To live by the sword, you must accept that one day… you will die by the sword. It's unfortunate, but Sir Amon… today will be that day."

Malachi unleashed every muscle he had to charge right at Amon. His strength would be at the pinnacle of the world, the most brutal physical strike known to humankind. It was something that Amon couldn't take head-on, and hence… he relied on his bag of tricks once more.

'I will only have one chance at this…'

Amon inhaled deeply and prepared Nyx for his next signature move. As he swung it gently, lunar mana gathered within the black blade, anticipating Malachi's oncoming strike. And sure enough…

CLINK!!!

Metal hit metal, white against black.

Malachi's white sword possessed vastly more power, speed and technique, making it a no contest for who would win out in a full-on strike. But surprisingly enough, Amon's Nyx stood firm. Moving in an arc of a gibbous Moon, the black blade parried Malachi's swing excellently and reflected the force at the Apostle.

With his arm in the air, Malachi's eyes widened in confusion, unsure of what had just happened. On the other hand, Amon was perfectly calm.

[Lunar Mystic Arts: Waning Gibbous Moon Parry].

A technique developed by Amon that used Lunar mana to reflect any physical damage back at his opponent. It was a powerful ability, particularly against stronger Knights like Malachi. But it was a one-off ability. Once the opponent knows the technique, they could do multiple things to mitigate its effects. Luckily for Amon, he wouldn't give Malachi the chance to do so.

Gathering what remained of his Lunar mana, he held Nyx with both arms and pointed its tip skywards. Celestial starlight and moonlight converged into one single luminous Moon and with all of his power, Amon launched his most destructive Lunar Mystic Art.

[Full Moon's Descent].

All of Amon's Lunar mana was being unleashed at that very moment. Malachi was still shocked by the previous parry that he was late to react to the descending Moon. He could only coat his body with Aura and pray for the best.

Amon's strike further levelled the already shattered mountain, reducing it to little more than scattered debris. Rocks froze solid in the aftermath, while the distorted gravity created a surreal spectacle—fragments of stone and earth remained suspended in midair, refusing to fall even after being blasted away from the epicentre.

Caught in the full force of the strike, Yue and the audience could only brace themselves as Lunar mana overwhelmed the atmosphere. Many couldn't believe their eyes, and Johann unwittingly muttered:

"What kind of magical dimension have we entered into?"

Even as a future Archmage, Johann had never witnessed such absurdity. Everything that had just transpired defied logic and common sense—yet the one responsible for this miraculous display wasn't a magician, but a Knight.

Amon stood firm above the rubble, his silver eyes gradually returning to their original golden state. Void of any Lunar mana, he was utterly spent. He'd used everything he had in that final blow, a perfect strike that would have eliminated almost any Knight on the planet.

Unfortunately, his opponent was part of the elite few who were excluded from that list.

"... I'm appalled. How can such a young man like you possess such immense power?"

Malachi stood just a few metres away from him and couldn't help but mention. At first glance, the Apostle seemed unscathed, but that was far from the truth. Half his attire had been torn away, and a deep cut ran from his shoulder to his waist. Yet, despite the damage, the Apostle had survived.

"But… you've fallen short, Sir Amon. You may have slain me if you were just a bit stronger."

"Haha…"

"You find that amusing?"

"No… what makes you think I aimed to kill you?"

Amon wasn't a fool. He knew he stood no chance against Malachi, even if he used everything in his arsenal. So, this entire time, Amon used every technique in the book for one reason and one reason only.

To buy time.

"Can't you feel it? The air is scorching."

"... you, wait!!!"

With Amon's words, Malachi finally realised what was amiss. He'd been so preoccupied with Amon that he failed to recognise the oriole that stalked the mantis. And by the time he'd realised it, it was too late.

A black greatsword slammed onto the ground, creating a crevice that separated Malachi from Amon. At the same time, water vapour disappeared from the air, making it unbearable for the average human. Streams of golden light descended as a flaming palace manifested itself over their heads. And within the palace stood a robust old man whose eyes were now seething with rage.

"Malachi… What do you think you're doing with my disciple?!"

"Alrock…"