The Cursed Extra: Bloodline of Sacrifice

Clang!

Wind screamed between them as a blur of steel intercepted his blade.

Caspian was pushed back a few feet as Oliver stood before him.

"You're not getting that easy win," Oliver said. "Zaxen's mine to protect."

Caspian's eyes narrowed, grip tightening. Damn it.

Too fast.

Just as he adjusted his footing to counter, another figure came flying from the side—

Lyrius.

"Where are you going, huh?" Lyrius muttered with a smirk, blade swinging in a sharp arc toward Oliver. "You're mine."

Oliver had no choice.

He clashed with Lyrius, sword meeting sword, wind colliding with lightning-infused steel.

The impact scattered dust across the arena floor.

Caspian didn't waste the opening.

He turned and found Zaxen struggling to get up, blood at the corner of his mouth.

The assassin had already taken one heavy slash from earlier, and the two capsules on his belt were gone—only one remained, barely attached to the lower edge of his cloak.

Now.

Without a word, Caspian charged, vaulting forward like a thunderbolt.

His sword arced in a clean, brutal slash—

Crack.

The third capsule burst into shards, smoke escaping from the impact point.

Zaxen froze. A faint vibration pulsed through the arena floor.

A moment later, a mechanical ding echoed.

> [Zaxen - Eliminated.]

Caspian didn't breathe a sigh of relief.

Because just ahead, Darian's aura was rising—fire curled like dragons from his shoulders.

And beside him, Kairos was staggering, still locked in a brutal clash with Kaidon.

...

[POV : Kairos]

Why… why do I feel slower?

His arms ached. His breath was uneven.

Kaidon was relentless—his spear strikes came like a rhythm of death, stabbing and sweeping with accuracy.

His opponent wasn't talking, wasn't taunting. Just focused, honed.

'Kaidon's stronger than I thought.'

One more strike came at his ribs. Kairos barely deflected it, but the force knocked him back.

His boots scraped against the stone floor.

Everyone…

He saw Calenthir casting nonstop from the edge, electric sparks flying.

Vera ducked under a flaming sword slash from Darian, outclassed but still moving.

Lyrius was shouting something, blades dancing.

And Caspian—Caspian had just eliminated Zaxen but was already back in motion!

'They're all giving everything. What about me?'

His thoughts went quiet for a moment.

And suddenly—

....

The warm scent of herbs.

His mother leaned down, brushing dust from his bruised knuckles after another sparring match.

"You don't need to be the best," she said, wrapping a bandage gently.

"But if you say you want to protect the people you love—then don't run away when it hurts, Kai."

He had nodded then, fists clenched. "I want to be the strongest."

-----

Kairos's vision cleared.

Everything slowed for just a moment.

The spear coming at him felt predictable.

The air shifted around him like a current.

"I'm not a shadow on someone else's stage.

"I'm not just someone Caspian needs to save.

"I'm here to win—because I promised I'd fight even when it hurts.

A flicker of blue light shimmered at his temple. His pupils pulsed faintly.

He shifted his stance, perfectly timed.

Clang!

He caught the spear between both palms and twisted, something primal in his movement.

The handle cracked slightly.

Kaidon's eyes widened for the first time.

And just like that, the rhythm began to change.

....

Kairos moved like a storm no one had predicted.

Kaidon's spear sliced the air—but met only shadows.

"Where did he—"

A blast of compressed wind struck from behind, knocking Kaidon off-balance.

The moment he turned, another gust spiraled from below, dragging his footing off the arena floor.

Kairos appeared midair, flipping once before slamming his foot into the spear-user's chest.

THUD!

Kaidon crashed into the ground, coughing.

He rose, furious. But the air around him didn't feel like air anymore—it felt like pressure, thick and unpredictable.

'Everyone sees air magic as just speed or defense,' Kairos thought, circling Kaidon with footsteps light as feathers. 'But that's only the surface.'

He slashed his palm through the air, and a sudden vacuum tugged Kaidon forward.

Kairos had shaped air like a tether—dragging his enemy into range.

Kaidon swung—but his spear met nothing but turbulence.

"What if I made the air heavier?"

A shimmer rippled through the battlefield.

Then, suddenly—gravity.

It wasn't actual gravity magic—but Kairos had compressed the surrounding air, stacking atmospheric pressure in a focused zone.

Kaidon's knees bent under the weight.

Then—

Boom!

Kairos blitzed through the dense air with a spiraling kick, using the artificial pressure zone to slingshot his own speed.

Kaidon was thrown backward, gasping.

> [Kaidon - Capsule 2 destroyed.]

---

[POV: Lyrius]

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Blades flashed like lightning.

Lyrius gritted his teeth.

Every time he swung, Oliver was already two steps ahead—parrying, dodging, countering.

His movements were beautiful. Cold, ruthless, and impossibly fast.

"Damn it… it's like I'm swinging with a blindfold."

Their swords locked.

Lyrius growled, twisted his grip, and broke the deadlock—only to have Oliver step aside and cut upward along his ribs.

Sparks flew.

Clink.

> [Lyrius - Capsule 1 cracked.]

He stumbled back, heart pounding.

His hand trembled. From frustration.

He looked around—Calenthir, caspian,vera even Kairos was still fighting on equal footing.

So why… why am I still this useless?!

He screamed and lunged again, this time mimicking Oliver's exact footwork. The slide. The sharp pivot. The flick of the wrist.

But—

Too slow.

Oliver sidestepped, catching Lyrius' arm and flipping him to the ground.

'Even when I copy him… I'm behind.'

He gritted his teeth against the stone floor. His blade had skidded out of reach.

His mind flashed back—to the entrance exam, when he had fight Oliver.

That black hole… it saved me. It saved him.

But… how did I do it?

He stared at his own trembling hands.

No glow. No shift in energy.

"I can't trigger it. I don't know how. I'm just swinging blindly."

He looked up at Oliver—calm, still not breathing heavy.

"He's what a genius looks like," Lyrius thought. "And I'm just a background extra trying to keep up."

Oliver raised his blade.

"This ends soon," he said quietly.

Lyrius rose —he refused to be left behind.

Because in that moment—he wasn't fighting for points.

He was fighting to remember who the hell he was but—

Clink!

Steel sang again.

Lyrius barely blocked the incoming strike, but Oliver's follow-up came instantly—an angled slash that curved across his side.

Crack!

His second capsule shattered. Pain flared down his ribs.

> [Lyrius — Capsule 2 destroyed.]

He staggered back, teeth clenched. His eyes blurred. His breath hitched in his throat.

"One left—damn it—just one…"

He couldn't hear anything clearly anymore. Only the sound of his heartbeat. His thoughts were a mess.

His stance—wobbling.

Oliver didn't press forward. He stood there, calmly assessing.

"Still standing?" Oliver asked, almost kindly. "You should yield."

Lyrius' sword drooped an inch.

Someone…

He hated the thought the second it crossed his mind.

Someone, please—come help—

But then—

A Crimson light formed at his eyes.

'Is this is who.... I am Really '