Path of the Extra

To her right lay the dark tunnel Zoran had entered earlier. After he disappeared into it, both Celestina and Vergil had chosen to stay put instead of following.

Whoever—or whatever—might come out of there, they would wait.

Celestina wasn\'t about to leave empty-handed.

"If that man comes back, we might as well kill ourselves now."

Celestina frowned at Vergil\'s words, turning to him.

"He called you his brother... What did he mean by that? Do you know him?"

Vergil met her gaze, his lips tightening as he lightly knocked the back of his head against the wall.

"I\'ve never met that man before today. I don\'t know why he called me his little brother. He\'s a madman. The kind you should avoid at all costs."

\'He doesn\'t want to be here at all.\'

Celestina found it odd. From the time she\'d known Vergil, he\'d never been this cautious. But the moment Zoran came into play, Vergil had wanted to flee—yet he hadn\'t left her behind. He stayed.

\'He wants to run, but something keeps him here, too.\'

Celestina smirked.

"It\'s strange seeing you like this. You can leave if you want, Cadet Vergil, but I\'m staying until I see who comes out of that darkness."

Vergil\'s face soured, like he\'d bitten into something foul. Eventually, he let out a long sigh.

"There\'s no way I\'m leaving you here alone. Besides... I want to know who\'s coming, too."

Celestina allowed a faint smile to touch her lips. His concern was rare—especially considering their rocky start.

She rested her head against the wall, closing her eyes.

\'What a strange trip this has been.\'

The void dungeon had been nothing but abnormal, and now this.

Recklessness nagged at the back of her mind. They should leave. But something deep inside her recoiled at the thought, a disgust that refused to let her turn away now.

So she didn\'t.

Time passed in silence. Celestina didn\'t know how long they sat there, unmoving. No void creatures attacked, nothing happened.

The torch burned steadily, as if it would last forever, and their breaths were the only sounds in the oppressive quiet.

Until...

Both Celestina and Vergil\'s eyes widened at the sound of footsteps.

They leaped up, instinctively retreating from the entrance, eyes fixed on the darkness ahead.

\'Please don\'t be something worse...\'

The footsteps grew louder, echoing in the silence. Cold sweat dripped down Celestina\'s face as the sound of the steps seemed to drown out even her own heartbeat.

And then, a familiar figure limped out of the shadows.

"Huh...?"

"...."

\'Of course...\'

How could she have forgotten?

It had all started with him—the reason she had come here in the first place.

She had followed Instructor Benson, who was supposed to bring him back.

But Benson hadn\'t returned, leading them deeper into the dungeon... and in the chaos, she had completely forgotten about him.

Azriel.

The strange abandoned tunnel, the countless bird-like void creatures, Vergil, the dark passage, and then the mysterious Saint.

But now, her attention was locked on Azriel.

Both she and Vergil paled as they took in his condition.

Blood stained his face and clothes, his body battered, and his clothes torn to shreds.

He limped forward, his eyes dull.

Celestina\'s gaze scanned his injuries until it landed on his right hand—or where his right hand should have been.

"Ah..."

The sound escaped her lips, her hands trembling as they shot to her mouth in shock.

Azriel stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening as he finally noticed the two of them.

He blinked, parting his cracked lips slightly.

"...Why are you two here?"

He looked confused, his bloodied face expressionless as he struggled to stay upright, his body swaying.

Vergil quickly moved forward, wrapping his arm under Azriel\'s shoulder to steady him.

"Thanks..." Azriel mumbled, a weak smile breaking through the exhaustion.

"Yeah, no problem."

Vergil carefully guided him back to where they had been sitting and eased him down.

Celestina hurried over, her lips trembling.

"What... what happened?"

She crouched, examining Azriel\'s wounds. Most had already closed—he had clearly taken a lot of healing potions. Some wounds had even been packed with ice, his ice affinity at work.

Vergil spoke up next to her.

"Instructor Benson entered this place. We followed him, but we lost him and ended up here in front of that dark passage. Before we could do anything, an unknown Saint showed up."

Azriel glanced at them, his voice rasping.

"Instructor Kevin is dead. Killed by Benson and his men. I ran, made it here, and ended up in a dead-end cave. They cornered me. I won, but I lost my hand. As for the Saint...

Instructor Solomon\'s dealing with him. He showed up after I killed Benson\'s group."

A bitter laugh escaped his lips, followed by violent coughing.

Celestina processed his words in silence, stunned.

\'He defeated them? Alone?\'

It sounded impossible, but the state of his body was undeniable proof that he had fought for his life. Her eyes drifted to his missing hand.

"Do you... have your hand with you?"

Azriel nodded slowly.

"It\'s in my storage ring."

Celestina bit her lip and placed both hands on his chest. Azriel and Vergil exchanged confused glances.

"I can\'t reattach it. I\'m not skilled enough for that. But my light affinity should ease the pain."

A soft white glow emitted from her hands, and Azriel\'s eyes fluttered closed.

"...It\'s warm. That feels... good."

\'He said he won... Did he really kill them all?\'

No one but Azriel had returned. And if Solomon was dealing with the Saint...

\'But how did Solomon get past us without being noticed?\'

It wasn\'t impossible—Saints could easily outpace both her and Vergil. But Celestina found it hard to believe Solomon would ignore them entirely.

Vergil, strangely quiet, wore a look of relief on his face. Celestina dismissed her thoughts and focused on healing Azriel.

When she had done all she could, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and sighed. Azriel gazed at her, his expression unreadable, as always.

"Why did Instructor Benson and his men come after you?" she asked.

Azriel smiled faintly, pausing before speaking.

"Because I\'m the Apex. Benson and his people belong to an organization called Neo Genesis. Their mission was to kill me. Solomon showed up after Neo Genesis apparently attacked on the surface. The Saint you saw was one of their leaders."

Celestina froze, his words sinking in.

\'Neo Genesis... That Saint was one of their leaders? An attack happened on the surface?\'

It was happening right under her nose, and she had been completely oblivious.

"I\'m sorry you had to go through that..." she whispered.

Azriel chuckled weakly, glancing at Vergil before meeting her eyes again.

"You\'re too kind. What happened wasn\'t anyone\'s fault, except the ones who caused this mess in the first place."

Celestina nodded, Vergil remaining silent beside her.

\'Still... How did he survive Benson and all his men on his own?\'

It was still something she found hard to believe, even with Azriel\'s current state.

Instructor Benson was an advanced-ranked human.

And the other men?

She was sure they were no pushovers either.

Celestina glanced at Azriel, a single thought running through her mind.

\'...Just how strong are you, really?\'