The Extra is a Hero?-Chapter 304: THE HUNT
Chapter 300: The Hunt
The weirwood spear, a weapon that had shattered the shields of A-Rank Knights and pierced the hide of drakes, stopped dead.
It didn’t hit a wall of mana. It didn’t hit an enchantment.
It hit a hand.
Selena’s hand.
Her fingers, tipped with three-inch crimson talons, were wrapped around the shaft of the spear inches from Leon’s face. The wood groaned under the pressure of her grip, splintering where her nails dug in.
The medical bay was silent, save for the howling wind entering through the torn roof and the heavy, wet breathing of the girl who should have been dead.
General Vargr stared at her. For the first time since he had boarded the train, the arrogance on his scarred face wavered. He tried to pull the spear back.
It didn’t move.
"You..." Vargr’s yellow eyes narrowed. "What are you?"
Selena didn’t look like an Elf anymore.
The Life Dew hadn’t just healed her; it had reverted her. The delicate features of the Leafwalker lineage were gone, replaced by something sharper, wilder. Her canines were elongated, protruding over her bottom lip. Her skin was flushed with a feverish heat, and the veins beneath were pulsing with a bioluminescent red light.
She lifted her head. Her eyes were no longer the soft green of the forest. They were the color of arterial spray.
"GET."
She twisted her wrist.
CRACK.
The sound was sickeningly loud. The shaft of the A-Rank spear—a weapon crafted from the heartwood of a corrupted Treant—snapped like a dry twig.
Vargr stumbled back, holding the broken half of his weapon. He looked at the splintered wood in his hand, then at the girl holding the spearhead.
"AWAY."
Selena dropped the spearhead. It clattered to the metal floor.
She stepped over Leon, placing herself between the Beastmaster and the Hero. The crimson vines that had erupted from the floor earlier began to move again. They didn’t act like plants. They writhed like entrails, slick and wet, coiling around her legs and arms, forming a living, biological armor.
"FROM."
She lowered into a crouch, her knuckles brushing the floor. A low, vibrating growl built in her chest, a sound that bypassed the ears and resonated directly in the predator-instinct part of the brain.
"MATE!"
ROAR.
Selena lunged.
She moved faster than my eyes could track. Even with [Quantum Analysis Mind] active, she was a blur of red and brown.
Vargr barely had time to raise his forearm to block.
SLASH.
Selena’s claws raked across Vargr’s bone-plate armor. The armor, which had withstood Leon’s hammer, was gouged deep. Four parallel lines appeared on the white bone, sparking as they hit the dark iron underneath.
"You little—!" Vargr roared, swinging his fist.
Selena didn’t dodge. She ducked under the swing, moving with a fluidity that was entirely non-human. She slammed her shoulder into Vargr’s midsection, driving the breath from his lungs, and then clamped her jaws onto his unarmored shoulder.
"GAAH!" Vargr howled, kicking her away.
Selena flipped backward, landing on her hands and feet, skidding across the frosted floor. She spat out a chunk of white wolf fur and blood.
She grinned. Her mouth was stained red.
"Tasty," she hissed.
I dragged myself backward, pulling my broken body toward the wall.
"System," I wheezed. "Analysis."
[Target: Selena Veylan]
[Status: Awakened (Primal Reversion)]
[Class Change: Blood Druid -> Apex Predator]
[Note: The Life Dew has activated the recessive ’Red Moon’ genes of the Northern Elves. She is currently operating on 90% Instinct, 10% Logic.]
"Blood Druid," I whispered. "The forbidden lineage."
In The Hero Of Light, the "Red Moon" elves were a piece of lore mentioned only in passing. They were the original inhabitants of the Northern Wilds, before the High Council civilized them. They didn’t use mana to grow flowers; they used blood to grow thorns. They were hunters. Carnivores.
And Selena was their queen.
Vargr touched his bleeding shoulder. He looked at the blood on his fingers, and his expression shifted from shock to pure, unadulterated rage.
"You bite?" Vargr laughed, a guttural, barking sound. "You want to fight like a beast? Good. I was getting tired of fighting humans."
He ripped the white wolf cloak from his shoulders, revealing a body covered in ritualistic scars and tattoos.
"BEAST FORM: LYCAN."
Vargr’s muscles swelled. His jaw elongated. Dark grey fur burst from his pores. In seconds, the General grew another foot in height, transforming into a hybrid of man and wolf.
He howled—a sound that shattered the remaining glass in the windows.
Outside the train, the army of three hundred wolves answered.
AWOOOOOOO!
The train shook as the pack began to slam against the sides, emboldened by their Alpha’s call. They were climbing the sides, trying to pour into the hole in the roof.
"They’re swarming!" Leon yelled, struggling to his feet. He picked up his hammer, though he could barely hold it. "Michael! We’re overrun!"
"No," a cold voice spoke from the corner.
Maria Frostheart stepped forward.
She didn’t look at Vargr. She didn’t look at Selena. She looked up at the hole in the roof where the first frost wolf was poking its head through.
"Unauthorized entry," Maria stated. "Temperature regulation required."
She snapped her fingers.
FLASH.
A pulse of absolute cold expanded from her body. It didn’t freeze the room this time. It shot upward, out of the hole in the roof, and expanded into the sky.
The moisture in the air above the train froze instantly into thousands of jagged ice spears.
"Fall," Maria commanded.
The ice spears dropped.
THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD.
The wolves climbing the roof yelped as they were impaled and knocked off the train. The immediate breach was cleared.
"Roof secured," Maria said, turning her matte blue eyes to Vargr. "Engaging primary target."
But Selena didn’t wait for backup.
The Beastmaster charged, a juggernaut of claws and muscle.
Selena stood her ground. She took a deep breath, inhaling the mana-saturated air of the broken medical bay.
The crimson vines on the floor exploded outward. They didn’t attack Vargr. They wove together behind Selena, rising up, twisting, and pulsing.
They formed a shape.
A massive head. A snout. Two ears.
A spectral avatar of a wolf, twenty feet tall, made entirely of blood-red vines and mana, manifested behind her. It crashed through the ceiling of the carriage, towering over the train.
[Skill: Blood Moon Avatar]
[Effect: Area of Effect Fear. Suppresses all Beast-type enemies of lower rank.]
The Avatar opened its jaws and roared.
It wasn’t a sound. It was a psychic blast.
Outside, the army of three hundred wolves went silent.
The scratching stopped. The howling died.
The Frost Wolves, who had been tearing at the hull seconds ago, dropped to their bellies. They whined, tucking their tails between their legs. Even the massive Armored Ursas backed away, shaking their heads in confusion.
They were loyal to Vargr. But Vargr was an Alpha by conquest.
The Avatar behind Selena was an Alpha by nature. It was the spirit of the apex predator, the god of the hunt.
Vargr froze mid-charge. His yellow eyes locked onto the massive red wolf towering over him. For a second, the beast inside him hesitated.
"A Spirit Totem?" Vargr hissed, foaming at the mouth. "You... you dare challenge my pack?"
Selena smiled. It was a terrifying sight.
"Not your pack," she whispered.
She raised her hand, and the massive Avatar raised its claw.
"My food."
She brought her hand down.
The Avatar struck. A massive construct of red mana slammed into Vargr, driving him into the floor. The metal of the train groaned and buckled downward, forming a crater in the center of the medical bay.
Dust and snow billowed up.
"Did she get him?" Leon asked, shielding his eyes.
"No," I said, gripping my side as I felt the train lurch. "She just made him angry."
From the crater, a hand shot out. A massive, hairy, clawed hand. It grabbed the vines of the Avatar and ripped.
Vargr climbed out of the hole. He was bleeding from a dozen wounds, his armor shattered, one eye swollen shut. But he was smiling.
"Finally," Vargr growled, spitting out a tooth. "A hunt worth dying for."
He looked at the four of us.
Me, the broken Tactician.
Leon, the exhausted Hero.
Maria, the ice-cold machine.
And Selena, the feral queen.
"Come then!" Vargr roared, spreading his arms. "Let us see whose blood is hotter!"
I forced myself to stand, using the wall for support. My mana was gone, but my mind was clear.
"Leon," I said sharply. "Can you hold the hammer?"
Leon looked at me. He was battered, bruised, and poisoned. But he nodded. "I can hold it."
"Maria," I looked at the ice mage. "Can you lock him down?"
"Target mobility is high," Maria assessed. "Lockdown probability: 40%. With distraction: 90%."
"Selena is the distraction," I said. "Leon is the anvil."
"And you?" Leon asked.
I looked at the silver dagger in my hand. It was a pathetic weapon against a monster like that. But I had one thing left.
The [Void Cut] skill was stabilized. It had a cooldown, and a mana cost I couldn’t pay without burning my own life force.
But I had one shot.
"I’m the executioner," I said.
I looked at the raid boss.
"Formation B," I ordered. "The Hammer and Anvil."
Leon grinned, a bloody, reckless smile. "I hate Formation B."
"Go!"
Leon charged.
"For Arcadia!"
Selena roared and leaped from the left. Maria raised her hands, the air turning white around her.
And Vargr laughed, diving into the fray.
The final round of the Siege had begun.
(To be Continued)
