The Extra is a Hero?-Chapter 268: THE UNVEILING
Chapter 263: The Unveiling
The roar of the coliseum was deafening. It was a physical weight, pressing down on the pristine white stone of the arena. Arcadia Academy led the Finals 2-1. One more win, just one, and the championship belonged to them.
Leon Lionheart was being carried off on a stretcher, his body battered, his golden aura fading, but his fist raised high in the air. The crowd chanted his name. Lionheart. Lionheart.
But on the bench, Michael Wilson stood up. He didn’t wave. He didn’t acknowledge the crowd. He simply adjusted his glasses, the light reflecting off the lenses obscuring his eyes.
"Michael," Arthur called out, his voice hoarse from his own battle. "Be careful. That kid... Renzo. He smells like a corpse that’s been left in the sun."
"I know," Michael said, his voice flat. "Stay behind the shield, Arthur. And keep Eric close."
"What?" Arthur frowned. "Why?"
"Because," Michael stepped away from the bench, "the game is about to end."
The VIP Royal Box
The mood in the Stoneforge section was electric. Prince Dorian was practically bouncing in his seat, his small wooden training hammer gripped tight in his chubby hands.
"Did you see Leon?!" Dorian squeaked, looking up at his father. "He turned gold! Like the legends! And now the Monarch is up! He’s going to win in one hit, right?"
King Thorgar Stoneforge III sat like a statue carved from granite. His massive, rune-etched armor creaked as he shifted his weight. His molten amber eyes were fixed not on Michael, but on the Dragonspire contestant walking toward the center.
"Something is foul," Thorgar rumbled, his voice low but carrying the weight of a landslide. His hand drifted toward Mjolnir, the divine hammer resting by his throne. Smoldering red cracks appeared in the stone floor where the weapon touched. "That boy... Renzo. He walks with no rhythm. Like a puppet with cut strings."
"He looks sickly," Queen Helmina Ironbloom noted, her emerald eyes narrowing. The metallic petals of her floral armor shifted, sensing her unease. She placed a hand on Princess Runa’s shoulder. "Runa, stay close to me."
"I... I feel cold, Mother," Runa whispered, clutching her verdant wand. "The plants in the arena... the decorative moss... it’s dying."
Crown Princess Freya Stoneforge leaned over the railing, her frost-blue eyes scanning the arena. She wore her crystal circlet today, marking her status. "Grandmaster Durak," she called out without looking back. "What do the sensors say?"
In the back of the box, Grandmaster Durak Hammerfall was frantically adjusting the dials on his mechanical golden arm. His monocle zoomed in and out, whirring.
"Readings are chaotic, Princess," Durak grunted, his gruff voice laced with panic. "I’m detecting unstable mana density. It’s not elemental. It’s... voids within the mana itself. And the structural integrity of the barrier system is fluctuating."
"Fluctuating?" Thorgar turned, his eyebrows knitting together. "The Arena of Gods has stood for a thousand years. It does not fluctuate."
The Arena
Michael stopped ten meters from the center.
Renzo was already there. Up close, the Dragonspire student looked even worse. His skin was pale and waxy, stretching too tight over his skull. Veins bulged on his neck, black and pulsing.
"Arcadia Academy," Renzo rasped. His voice sounded wet. "No. 1 Student. Michael Wilson."
"Cut the act, Renzo," Michael said, his hands in his pockets. "Or whatever is wearing Renzo’s skin."
Renzo giggled. It was a high, skittering sound. He reached into his robe. The crowd went silent, expecting a weapon.
Instead, he pulled out a stone.
It was the size of a fist, jagged and darker than black. It didn’t reflect light; it absorbed it. The air around the stone seemed to warp and twist.
[Skill Activated: Quantum Analysis Mind]
[Object Identified: Void Stone (High Grade)]
[Status: Unstable]
[Conclusion: Dimensional Breach Imminent]
"The General sends his regards," Renzo smiled. His mouth opened too wide, the corners of his lips tearing.
He shoved the stone into his mouth and crunched down.
The VIP Royal Box
"BY THE ANVIL!" Grandmaster Durak screamed, knocking his chair over. "That’s Nether Iron! That’s a catalyst!"
King Thorgar shot to his feet, his chair shattering behind him. "Stop the match! Lower the barrier! NOW!"
The King’s roar shook the glass of the VIP box. But it was too late.
The Arena
Renzo choked. He fell to his knees, clutching his throat.
CRACK. SNAP.
The sound of breaking bones echoed through the magical amplifiers. The crowd gasped in horror.
Renzo’s back arched unnaturally. His spine snapped outward, tearing through his uniform. Black sludge, thick and oily, erupted from his mouth, his eyes, and the tear in his back. It didn’t hit the ground; it floated, defying gravity.
"He... He ate it..." Prince Dorian whispered, terrified. Queen Helmina pulled him into her chest, covering his eyes.
"Freya! Get back!" Thorgar commanded, stepping in front of his daughter.
Down in the arena, the black sludge expanded. It swirled around Renzo’s screaming form, consuming him. The flesh melted away, replaced by hardened shadows.
A roar tore through the stadium—not a human scream, but a sound that grated against the soul.
From the black sphere of sludge, three heads emerged. Reptilian, eyeless, and dripping with void energy.
[Entity Identified: Void Hydra]
[Rank: B (Mutated)]
The crowd began to scream. Panic rippled through the stands like a wave.
"Lower the barrier!" the Head Judge screamed into his comms. "Emergency Protocol Alpha!"
"We can’t!" a technician yelled back, his screen flashing red. "The system is jammed! The mana signature from the beast is overwriting the control runes!"
A deep, purple hum resonated around the ring. The transparent barrier that protected the audience didn’t lower. It turned a dark, angry crimson.
[Barrier Mode: LOCKDOWN]
Michael Wilson was trapped inside.
Inside the Barrier
The Void Hydra fully materialized. It was massive, easily twenty feet tall. Its three heads hissed, sensing the mana in the air. The ground beneath it turned grey and crumbled into dust.
Michael looked up at the beast. The stench was unbearable—like rotting ozone and old blood. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
The crowd was in a frenzy. People were trampling each other to get to the exits. The Royal Guards were trying to maintain order, but fear is a powerful contagian.
"Michael!" Arthur hammered his fists against the crimson barrier from the outside. "MICHAEL! GET OUT OF THERE!"
Inside, Michael sighed.
He took his hands out of his pockets. He adjusted his collar.
"So dramatic," Michael muttered to himself.
The Hydra lunged. The center head snapped forward with blinding speed, jaws wide enough to swallow a car.
Michael didn’t run. He side-stepped.
WOOSH.
The beast’s teeth clamped down on empty air, inches from Michael’s face. The wind pressure ruffled his hair.
Michael glanced at the VIP box. He saw King Thorgar raising Mjolnir, preparing to smash the barrier himself.
No, Michael thought. If Thorgar hits this barrier with a Divine Weapon while the Void energy is active, the feedback loop will kill half the audience.
Michael raised his right hand.
"I guess the vacation is officially over."
[Skill Activated: Aura Holder]
[Releasing Suppressed Mana: 5%... 10%...]
The air in the stadium suddenly grew heavy. It wasn’t the heat of fire or the pressure of gravity. It was the weight of presence.
A black-gold aura erupted from Michael’s body. It shot into the sky like a pillar, piercing the clouds. The crimson barrier shook violently.
The Void Hydra recoiled, all three heads hissing in confusion. It was a predator, but for the first time, it felt like prey.
From the void of his spatial inventory, Michael drew a sword.
It wasn’t a training sword. It was Draken.
The blade was pitch black, darker than the Void Beast itself, with a single line of gold running down the center.
The VIP Royal Box
King Thorgar froze, Mjolnir held halfway in the air. His molten eyes went wide.
"That aura..." Thorgar whispered. "That is not the mana of a student."
Grandmaster Durak was staring at his tablet, which was now smoking. "His mana output... it just surpassed the barrier’s maximum load. He’s... he’s suppressing the beast with sheer pressure."
Princess Freya stared down, her heart pounding against her ribs. She saw Michael standing in the shadow of the monster, his coat billowing in the aura storm. He looked small, yet he seemed to fill the entire world.
"Who are you, Michael Wilson?" Freya breathed.
The End
Michael held Draken to the side. The Hydra shrieked, sensing death. It attacked with all three heads, spewing bolts of void energy that disintegrated matter.
Michael vanished.
He didn’t use speed magic. He didn’t use teleportation. He simply moved faster than the world could process.
[Siekie Ryoku Arts: Heroic Art – Heaven Splitter]
A single line of black lightning bisected the world.
It cut through the void blasts.
It cut through the three necks of the Hydra.
It cut through the mutated body of Renzo.
And then, the shockwave hit.
BOOM.
The sound arrived a second later, a thunderclap that knocked people in the front row off their feet. The jammed crimson barrier shattered like glass, millions of shards raining down and dissolving into mana before they hit the ground.
Silence.
Absolute, ringing silence.
In the center of the ruined arena, the Void Hydra disintegrated into ash. Michael Wilson stood there, sheathing his sword with a sharp click.
He turned to the VIP box, looked directly at the pale, sweating judges, and spoke into the silence.
"Match four," Michael said calmly. "Arcadia wins."
King Thorgar slowly sat back down, his knuckles white as he gripped the armrests of his shattered chair. He looked at the boy standing amidst the destruction.
"The No. 1 Student..." Thorgar grumbled, a mix of fear and respect in his voice. "We have been calling him a prodigy. We were wrong."
Queen Helmina gripped his hand. "Then what is he?"
Thorgar watched Michael walk away.
"He is a Monster."
(End of Chapter 263)
