Extra's Guide to Surviving a Dark Fantasy World-Chapter 54: Letting Go

The demon roared in frustration, but Tess didn’t stop—she moved faster, her movements erratic and almost insane as she summoned more fire, more wind.

The wind cut like blades, scorching everything in its path, but Tess didn’t care. The pain, the anger—it was all feeding her power now. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

She spun again, her form blurring with speed, and another wave of fire erupted from her hands, this time intense enough to crack the ground beneath the demon’s feet.

The demon stumbled back, his eyes flashing with genuine surprise, but Tess didn’t give him the chance to recover. She closed the distance in a heartbeat and took out one of the arrows from her quiver, glowing with fire as she plunged it deep into the demon’s chest.

The world seemed to freeze as the demon’s face twisted in shock, his flame faltering for a split second before the arrow sank into his chest.

"AAARGH!!"

Tess let out a strangled cry as she forced the arrow deeper, her face contorted with rage.

The demon let out a deafening roar as well. But Tess stood her ground, merging her fire and wind into one final, explosive burst.

BOOOM!!!

A loud explosion rang out; Aria, still clutching her wounded torso, immediately cast an ice shield, protecting both of us from the explosion. As the dust settled, through the ice shield, we saw Tess taking a step back as the demon’s body collapsed to the ground.

I looked at the collapsed demon with wide eyes.

We have done it. I can’t believe we have done it.

Sensing their master’s demise, even the beasts began to retreat, running back into the city.

Tess, too, turned around with worried eyes and began running towards Aria, who had just gotten back on her feet.

When suddenly-

My eyes widened as I saw the figure of the demon standing up behind Tess.

"TESS," Aria shouted from beside me, but it was already too late.

Before she could even turn around, the demon lurched and grabbed Tess’s throat from behind, slowly lifting her in the air.

"Argh."

Tess tried to break free, but his grip tightened, a brutal snarl twisting his face before he erupted. Fire blasted from his mouth, a scorching inferno that flung Tess into the air, her body a ragdoll caught in the chaos. She slammed into the stone wall with a deafening crash—her body twitching.

My heart stuttered. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her collapsed form, horror locking me in place.

Besides me, Aria was still standing—barely. Her sword shook in her hand, the metal gleaming against the incoming swarm of jakaras, but it was clear. She was running on fumes.

The demon wasn’t finished either. He stood there amidst the chaos—battered, bleeding from his chest—but still towering. Almost regal, like a king standing in the middle of a battlefield. His hand shot up, a silent command that sent a chill through the air. The jakaras, even those who had just been preparing to run away, surged forward.

Pain surged through me. My muscles screamed, exhaustion curling its claws around my chest. There was no way—no way we could win this. The odds were impossible, stacked higher than any mountain.

It hit me all at once—the crushing weight of it all. The pain. The fear. The pure exhaustion. I wanted to scream, but something... something shifted inside me. It wasn’t the fear that took hold this time. No. It was something deeper.

A presence. It wasn’t just in my mind. It was inside my very soul, rising like an unstoppable tide. My breath slowed, my heart’s frantic thrum calming as that pull strengthened. It was almost like—no, it was—something that wasn’t quite mine, but it felt so familiar.

Khaldrin’s will was stirring inside me, begging to be let out.

Feeling its urge, I couldn’t help but let out a huge sigh.

What the hell? I was going to die either way.

Figuring so, I let go of the reins that had held the beast all this time. The will surged, becoming louder and louder until it finally took over me.

I couldn’t explain the feeling. My breathing instantly slowed. The previous frantic thrum of my heartbeat suddenly steadied. The pain? It increased, but for some reason, it didn’t bother me as much as it had before. My thoughts shifted, transforming into something that wasn’t mine but, at the same time, belonged to me.

I didn’t question them. I just... listened.

At the same time, intricate glowing runes—blue and black began appearing across my skin, faint at first, then bright, weaving around my arms then proceeding to coil around my chest.

At the same time, I saw a system message flash in front of my eyes.

--

Revenants- [2/3]

Revenants-[2/$%@]

--

"Come out," I whispered. I spoke with a voice as calm as a lake.

Suddenly, our surroundings shook. The beast carcasses lying around us began to shake, as swirls of dark energy began to rise out of their bodies, depleting my mana as they did so. One by one, the revenants of their souls began to rise up, crawling and digging out of their own corpses.

Feeling all the newfound connection from the small army, I didn’t feel any particular emotions. There was no excitement, exhilaration, or even fear. All of this felt like nothing but a task.

Silently gazing at the pack of beasts waiting for my command, I raised my hand and pointed it toward the shocked demon standing in the distance.

"Kill him for me," I commanded. As if they had been waiting for this order their entire lives, the undead jakaras lurched forward. At the same time I dove deep inside my mind, pulling on all these new connections, controlling them in a way that they tore into their own kind with an animalistic savagery.

As for the demon?

His face twisted into disbelief. His army—was tearing each other apart. And I saw it, that flicker, that brief moment of fear in his burning eyes.