Extra's Revenge: Reincarnated As A Slave-Chapter 126: Annihilation (Part 1)

WHOOSH!

The Fanged Serpent leadership erupted into action the moment Rey finished speaking.

Kael drew a blade that hummed with Soul Art energy, while the leader to his right—a woman named Vessa—activated defensive Artifacts that created layered barriers around the group. The third leader, a hulking man called Gorath, crushed an Elixir vial between his teeth, mystical energy flooding his body as temporary enhancement flooded his system.

"Kill him!" Kael roared, launching forward with speed that suggested significant combat experience.

Rey didn’t move.

Instead, he withdrew a Scroll from his spatial storage with practiced efficiency—Spirit Art, Inferno Technique, Sequence #8: Ember Flow.

The Scroll activated with a pulse of Ether drawn from the stones embedded within it, and flames erupted around Rey in a controlled wave.

But these weren’t ordinary flames—they adapted as they spread, intensifying against Vessa’s barriers, flowing around physical obstacles, seeking the organic matter of their targets with intelligent precision.

Kael’s charge faltered as fire engulfed the space between them.

He tried to push through, Soul Art reinforcing his body against the heat, but the Ember Flow adjusted—temperature spiking precisely where his defenses were weakest, forcing him to retreat or risk severe burns.

"Spread out!" Vessa commanded, recognizing the danger of clustering together.

The Fanged Serpent leaders scattered, each one activating their own combat capabilities.

Vessa remained defensive, her barriers expanding to create safe zones.

Gorath charged from a different angle, his enhanced strength allowing him to smash through burning debris. Kael circled, looking for an opening while preparing his own Technique.

Rey tracked them all with enhanced perception, his analytical mind calculating trajectories and capabilities even as he reached for another Scroll.

Curse Art, Binding Technique, Sequence #7: Conditional Lock.

He spoke the words with precision, his voice carrying authority that made reality itself listen:

"Movement without contact with the ground is forbidden within this chamber."

The Curse took effect immediately.

Gorath, who had been preparing to leap toward Rey, found his body unable to execute the action. The mystical energy that would have propelled him upward simply failed; the restriction prevented any movement that didn’t involve his feet touching the floor.

"What—" Gorath started, confusion mixing with rage.

Kael tested the limitation immediately, trying to jump, finding the same restriction applied to him.

"He’s using Curse Art! Watch your wording, don’t let him layer more restrictions!"

But Rey was already moving to his next attack.

Soul Art, Marauder Technique, Sequence #8: Life Drain.

The Scroll activated, and Rey felt the technique reach out toward the nearest target—one of the secondary leaders who’d been hanging back.

The man gasped as his vitality began flowing out of him, draining into the mystical construct Rey had created through the Scroll’s power.

The victim tried to resist, activating his own Soul Art defenses, but the drain continued.

His skin paled, his movements slowed, and mystical energy that should have reinforced his body was instead being siphoned away to fuel Rey’s reserves.

Vessa recognized the threat immediately.

"Disruption!" she called out, activating an Artifact designed to interfere with sustained Techniques.

The disruption pulse rippled through the chamber, and Rey’s Life Drain flickered—but didn’t fail completely. The Scroll’s power was robust enough to resist casual interference, though the drain rate decreased.

’They’re coordinating better than expected,’ Rey thought, already adapting his strategy. ’Vessa’s the key—she’s providing support and interference. Remove her, and the others lose their defensive foundation.’

He withdrew two Scrolls simultaneously—an advanced technique requiring careful Ether management, but well within his capabilities.

Spirit Art, Tempest Technique, Sequence #7: Storm Guard, and Null Art, Nullification Technique, Sequence #8: Output Reduction.

The Storm Guard manifested around Rey as an autonomous defensive barrier—winds and lightning that reacted instantly to threats without requiring his conscious direction. At the same time, the Nullification Technique targeted Vessa’s Artifact disruption, reducing its effectiveness by more than half.

"He’s using multiple Arts!" one of the leaders shouted in disbelief. "How does an old merchant have access to this many different Techniques?"

Kael’s expression darkened with understanding. "He’s using Scrolls. Art Bypass Scrolls powered by Ether Stones. He doesn’t need natural affinities—he’s just burning through resources!"

"Then we exhaust him!" Gorath bellowed, activating his own Technique—Spirit Art, Construction Technique, Sequence #9: Stone Call.

The floor beneath Rey erupted upward, stone and metal reshaping into attacking tendrils that sought to impale or restrain him. The Storm Guard reacted automatically, lightning arcing out to shatter the constructions, but more kept coming.

Simultaneously, Kael launched his own attack—Soul Art, Dominion Technique, Sequence #9: Thought Nudge, attempting to create hesitation or confusion in Rey’s decision-making.

The mental influence touched Rey’s consciousness, and for a fraction of a second, he felt the foreign pressure trying to alter his thoughts.

Then his enhanced willpower crushed it.

’Amateur application,’ Rey assessed coldly. ’He’s using Low Sequence Soul Art without a proper foundation. It might work on untrained minds, but I’ve endured far worse.’

Rey retaliated with calculated precision.

Soul Art, Enslavement Technique, Sequence #6: Autonomy Fracture, targeting the leader who’d been drained earlier—the one already weakened by Life Drain.

The Scroll was activated, and the victim’s independent decision-making capacity was shattered. His body remained functional, his consciousness aware, but his ability to choose actions independently collapsed under the Technique’s assault.

"Kill your allies," Rey commanded simply.

The enslaved leader turned toward his companions, drawing a weapon with mechanical precision. His face showed horror—he was fully aware of what he was doing—but his body obeyed Rey’s command without hesitation.

"No!" Vessa screamed, reinforcing her barriers to protect against the unexpected betrayal.

But the distraction was exactly what Rey needed.

Null Art, Erasure Technique, Sequence #7: Function Loss, targeting Vessa’s primary defensive Artifact.

The Artifact continued to exist physically—a crystalline pendant around her neck—but its ability to generate barriers simply ceased. The function was erased, leaving only a beautiful but useless ornament.

Vessa’s protective layers collapsed immediately.

Rey struck while she was exposed, launching Spirit Art, Inferno Technique, Sequence #6: Ashfall Descent.

The ceiling above the headquarters erupted with burning particles that fell like rain, each one carrying intense heat that accumulated rather than dispersing. The area around Vessa became an inferno of continuous burning fallout, forcing her to retreat or be consumed.

She chose retreat, activating a secondary defensive Artifact—this one creating a heat-resistant barrier rather than the multi-layered defenses her primary item had provided.

But it was too slow.

The Ashfall caught her before she could fully activate the protection. Burns spread across her arms and shoulders, and she screamed in pain, desperately consuming a healing Elixir even as she ran.

Gorath roared in fury, his enhanced strength allowing him to smash through the falling ash as he charged toward Rey. "You’re just using Scrolls! Once you run out, you’re dead!"

Rey smiled beneath his disguise.

"Then let’s see if you survive long enough for that to matter."

Curse Art, Counter Technique, Sequence #6: Existence Opposition.

"That which strengthens you shall weaken you," Rey declared, the words carrying Curse authority.

Gorath’s enhancement Elixir—which had been flooding his body with power—suddenly inverted its effect. The mystical energy that should have reinforced his muscles, bones, and organs instead began breaking them down. His enhanced strength became a crushing weakness as his own power turned against him.

He collapsed mid-charge, his body unable to support its own weight as the enhancement became debilitated.

"What did you—" Gorath gasped, trying to understand what had happened.

"I opposed your nature," Rey replied calmly. "Everything that makes you strong now makes you weak. The more you try to enhance yourself, the more you’ll suffer."