Extra's Descent

"Kh…!"

He felt his knees weak.

Cursed flames.

They truly were cursed.

"Ahh…!"

He could hear the entire auction hall filled with screams.

The chamber was high above. And he was standing there, assisting himself as he held onto the railings.

But the screams.

As if they were all screaming right in his ears.

And the flames.

"Akh!"

It felt as if he was burning alive. He could feel the heat internally, eating him away from the inside.

At first it was unbearable.

But the more time passed, the more he had grown accustomed to it.

Pain.

He was used to pain.

He could take it.

"Khh!"

He bit his lip forcefully, blood dripping.

Squeezing his chest, he helped himself up.

The pain was still there. It felt really hot. His stomach churned, and he wanted to let it all out.

But still, he resisted the urge to do so.

Cold sweat beaded from his forehead as he glanced down.

Amethyst flames had spread all over the auction hall in a matter of seconds.

The screams.

They echoed in the back of his mind.

And they in fact were screaming as they participants ran out with amethyst flames engulfing them.

Cursed flames.

Not just his insides, but he felt it corroding his mind every time someone dropped dead on the ground.

Everyone's figures were gradually turning charcoal–black.

The glimmer of amethyst reflected in his eyes.

"Ha."

Unknowingly, a grin spread across his features.

Burn them all down to the ground.

Burn it all.

Let the world burn.

Until nothing was left.

Under the sheer force of his cursed flames, nothing would be left.

Such were his thoughts.

As if a voice was resounding in his head.

He looked ahead.

"....!"

The people that stood on the podium began moving. The emcee had already turned to ashes, but the ones who stood behind met his gaze.

Brandon knew exactly who they were.

"...."

The illegal immigrants that had sneaked in.

Clank—!

The door behind him abruptly opened and Brandon turned around, meeting their glare.

"You!"

"It was you who did this!"

Several figures emerged from the door and entered the room. About three people.

Brandon had to finish this fast before reinforcements came. His own reinforcements had yet to arrive.

For that reason, Brandon squeezed his chest and muttered.

"Dominion."

At that moment, meeting their gazes, he could see a hint of fear in their eyes.

This skill was truly amazing.

Just a single activation had always thrown his opponents off, refraining them from performing at full focus.

However, regardless, it didn't amount to much. Just a little debuff skill.

They quickly rushed towards Brandon.

But before they could arrive, Brandon went on to mutter.

"Phantasm."

In an instant, fog enveloped the entire chamber as sparks of magic flew towards him.

At that moment, Brandon saw the cursed pathways and he grabbed it.

Boom—!

In an instant, Brandon's figure blurred, narrowly dodging the attack as the railings were destroyed.

Appearing beside one of the assailants, Brandon unsheathed his sword.

Slash—!

Caught off guard, the assailant was able to dodge in time.

However….

"Ukh!"

Thump!

At the cost of his arm.

Yet Brandon was relentless as he kicked his feet off the ground and followed up with another attack.

Clank—!

However, the attack was met with a response. A magic circle appeared and blocked his attack.

Barrier magic.

And it came from another assailant as Brandon's head flicked to the side. There, he could see a man who had his arm raised forward.

Kracka! Kracka!

A flurry of lightning bolts headed his way and Brandon grabbed another pathway, disappearing and dodging the attack.

However, he was sort of handicapped due to the flames eating away at the audience.

He squeezed his chest and braced for impact, and in the next instant, he staggered and crashed onto the wall.

"Kh…!"

It was manageable.

He was prepared for this scenario.

He raised his head only to find magic attacks heading towards him, and once again, he grabbed the pathways and his figure blurred.

Appearing in a corner of the room, Brandon clenched his hand and threads revealed themselves.

Threads loomed from all sides and tried to wrap themselves around the assailants.

But it was to no avail as barrier magic covered their bodies at the exact moment. The threads died down and Brandon clicked his tongue.

"Tsk."

Swoosh—!

Appearing before the assailant who had lost his arm, Brandon thrusted his sword forward.

Spurt!

His attack successfully landed as his sword pierced through the assailant's chest. Blood seeped from his mouth and the assailant's figure fell on the ground.

Sensing magic coming from behind him, Brandon grabbed a pathway.

Swoosh—!

Gritting his teeth, he squeezed his chest and stumbled down.

"....Fuck."

He cursed under his breath.

Clap—! Clapping his hand, chains protruded from the ground, snaking around the entire chamber room.

The chains blocked the oncoming magic attacks, giving Brandon time to catch his breath as he helped himself up with his hand.

Brandon's breath was ragged, every inhale as if stabbing him.

The air was thick with ash and heat, each sound drowned out in the chaos.

All sorts of magic flew towards him, but he would narrowly dodge in each exchange.

Kracka! Kracka!

And in each passing second, he felt the flames burning him from the inside.

There were no such flames, but he had felt them anyway as if he was experiencing the audience's agony for himself.

Brandon lunged his sword forward, clashing against a barrier. He pressed harder, watching cracks form under the strain.

The other assailant began weaving a spell as a magic circle formed. Brandon had to act fast.

"Phantasm."

Fog enveloped the room once more, blurring the vicinity. Brandon disappeared before the attack struck him.

Then, he appeared before the assailant. Caught off guard, and had just brandished his spell, his eyes widened.

He was defenseless.

Swoosh——!

Brandon seized the opportunity and in a quick slash, the man jumped back. A wide deep cut appeared in his chest.

"Ughk!"

Brandon swung and blood splattered from his sword. Giving the man no time to recover, Brandon kicked the ground once more for one more decisive strike.

He felt mana coming from behind him but Brandon paid no heed to it as he lunged his sword forward.

A barrier magic circle seemed to form in front of him, but Brandon was quick before the magic circle fully formed, immediately, the circle shattered and his sword pierced right through the man's chest.

One more.

Kracka!

But it was at that exact moment when lightning struck Brandon from the back and he was hurled away.

Clank—!

As he crashed onto the wall, the door abruptly opened and several more figures emerged.

Reinforcements had arrived.

And they were not on his side.

"Shit."

He cursed under his breath.