The Extra's Rise-Chapter 133: First Mission (3)

Arkell was a White-ranker. By power standards, he wasn’t at Lucifer’s level of strength. Lucifer had a powerful Body aspect Gift and a Grade 6 art to his name, the kind of edge that made him a cut above. But Arkell wasn’t as strong as Lucifer. He didn’t need to be.

Arkell wasn’t raw power; Arkell was cunning, sharp like broken glass in your boot. His true weapon wasn’t his blade, wasn’t even his White-rank light mana—it was his mind. And that infernal Mind aspect Gift of his. The ability to read thoughts.

Which was precisely why Seraphina and I were currently losing. Quite badly.

We had the numbers, the coordination, the Mount Hua swordsmanship honed to a deadly edge. And yet, he danced around us with infuriating precision, countering every move before we even committed to it. Every plan we formed was torn apart before it could even take shape.

"How does he know?" Seraphina hissed, her breath sharp and misting in the cold air. She pressed her back to mine, both of us breathing hard, blades trembling at our sides.

"He’s reading us," I said, my voice grim. My mind was racing, trying to find the way out of a maze where the walls were Arkell’s smug smirk.

"Reading us?" Her eyes narrowed. "He’s—"

"Exactly," Arkell interrupted, his tone as smooth as polished steel. He paced before us like a predator circling its wounded prey, his glowing light blade humming faintly. "And my, what a delightfully frantic mess your thoughts are. You should be grateful, really. I’m taking the time to indulge in this little game, but I could just end you both with ease."

I gritted my teeth. That smugness, that confidence—it wasn’t arrogance. He knew. He knew. He’d planned this, played us, and now he was savoring the moment of the hunt. It burned, not just in my pride but in my chest where Lucent Harmony stirred, frustrated.

"Seraphina," I muttered under my breath, my voice low enough to keep from reaching Arkell’s ears—or so I hoped. "Buy me a moment. Just a moment."

She shot me a sharp glance but didn’t question it. She surged forward, blade flashing in a calculated sequence that bore the icy elegance of Mount Hua. Arkell smirked, sidestepping as though she were a novice swinging at shadows.

"I already know," he said, laughing as he parried her strike. "I knew before you even thought of it."

Which was exactly the point.

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Deep beneath the surface of my mind, hidden even from myself until now, I’d laid a trap of my own. A tangled web of false intentions, decoys, and dead ends. My real plan, my true movements, lay buried in the back of my mind like a coiled snake.

Arkell’s grin faltered. Just a fraction. But it was there.

"What…?" he muttered, his movements hesitating for the first time. "What are you—"

He didn’t finish the thought. I moved.

God Flash blazed in my hands, not as a light but as a storm of intent. The blade seemed to warp the air itself, bending the narrow confines of the warehouse into a space where time slowed. Lucent Harmony surged through my veins like liquid lightning, and for the first time, Arkell didn’t see it coming. He couldn’t see it coming.

"Gotcha," I muttered, my blade screaming toward him.

Arkell barely raised his own in time. Sparks of light mana collided with the eerie, balanced energy of my strike. Seraphina followed up instantly, her ice mana a sharp arc that carved into the space he stumbled toward.

"You—" he hissed, his voice tinged with something new. Not rage, not fear, but disbelief. Blood trickled down his arm from a shallow cut where Seraphina’s blade had grazed him.

"Surprised?" I said, my voice steady as I stepped forward, pressing the advantage. "You shouldn’t be. Maybe I’m not as dumb as I look."

His face twisted, frustration breaking through the polished veneer. "You tricked me."

"No," I said, meeting his furious gaze. "I just think deeper than you listen."

The three of us stood frozen for a moment, a deadly triangle of tension. Arkell’s light mana flared, casting long, sharp-edged shadows across the floor. He wasn’t beaten—not by a long shot—but his confidence had taken a hit.

Arkell straightened, his blade raised. The smirk was gone, replaced by a grim determination that sent a chill down my spine.

"This," Arkell said, his voice cold and measured, "has just become interesting."

The air was taut, heavy with the energy of two Silver-rankers facing off against a White-ranker. The flickering glow of Arkell’s light-blade bathed the room in a harsh, unforgiving glare. I could feel the weight of his mana pressing against me like a rising tide, relentless and suffocating.

’You’re crazy enough to pull something like this off, but I wonder if you’ll survive it,’ Luna whispered in the back of my mind, her voice a teasing hum laced with genuine concern.

’You’re asking the wrong question,’ I shot back, tightening my grip on my sword.

’What?’ she asked, her tone sharp.

’I need to beat him,’ I replied simply.

Desperation was the greatest fuel. Desperation, amplified by the desire to succeed, to push past the boundaries of strength and fear and find something greater. And right now, desperation coursed through me like molten fire.

"Let me take the lead," I told Seraphina, my voice steady. My feet moved before she could respond, carrying me forward to face Arkell. His grin returned, sharper now, as if he relished the challenge.

He struck first.

The beam of his light-blade carved through the air like a falling star, impossibly fast. I raised my sword to block, but the sheer force of the strike rattled my bones. The impact sent me skidding backward, my heels digging into the floor in a desperate attempt to hold my ground.

"Too slow," Arkell said, his tone almost mocking. He closed the distance in an instant, his blade slicing toward my side. I twisted, the blade grazing past me, its light leaving a faint burn on my jacket.

I struck back, unleashing a flurry of blows with all the precision my training had drilled into me. But Arkell parried each strike with ease, his movements fluid and confident. His light mana flared, blinding me for a split second, and in that moment, he lashed out. His blade struck my shoulder, a searing pain spreading through my arm as I staggered back.

"You’re trying," he said, his voice dripping with condescension. "I’ll give you that."

My breathing was ragged, my heart pounding in my ears. The gap between us wasn’t just in rank—it was in everything. Speed, strength, experience. He was playing with me, and he knew it.

But something shifted. The fear, the flight instinct clawing at the edges of my mind, began to fade. The desperation burned brighter, sharper, and with it came clarity. My senses, honed through countless battles and hours of training, began to sharpen even further. I could feel the flow of mana in the air, the subtle shifts in Arkell’s stance, the faint flicker in his gaze before each strike.

I adjusted.

Each clash of our blades was less overwhelming. Each near miss gave me more insight. My movements grew smoother, more precise. I began to anticipate his strikes—not perfectly, but enough to hold my ground.

Arkell’s grin faltered. "Adapting, are we?" he said, his voice laced with amusement. "Let’s see how far that gets you."

He lunged, his blade a blur of light. I dodged, twisting just enough to avoid the fatal edge. My counterstrike was swift, aiming for his exposed flank. It connected—but only barely, a shallow cut that barely drew blood.

"Not bad," he admitted, his eyes narrowing. "But not enough."

I pressed on, pushing myself harder, faster. Every step, every swing, was a gamble. And then I saw it—an opening. A flaw in his stance, a hesitation in his movement. My instincts screamed at me to strike.

I lunged, pouring everything into the attack. My blade aimed true, cutting through the air toward his chest. But just as I moved, I saw the trap. His grin widened, his blade already sweeping upward to meet mine.

For a split second, time seemed to slow. I could feel the heat of his blade, the inevitability of his strike. My instincts screamed at me to retreat, to back away, to save myself.

But I ignored them.

I stepped forward instead, Lucent Harmony surging through me like a tidal wave. The God Flash ignited in my hands, warping the air around me. My body moved with a speed and precision that defied logic, narrowly dodging Arkell’s strike by the width of a hair.

And then my blade struck home.

The impact reverberated through my arms as my sword bit into his side. Arkell staggered, his light mana flaring wildly as blood sprayed across the ground. His expression twisted, a mix of shock and fury as he stumbled back.