Reborn As An Extra In My Own Novel-Chapter 60: Deerheart’s Attack [2]

(Back In The Crumbling Dungeon: Matthew’s POV)

Boom!

As the sharp crack of lightning crashing against the now liquefied ice echoed through the dungeon, I evaded another strike from Cordelia, who had been relentlessly launching assaults at me.

Even though she was now corrupted and had no control over her actions, I couldn’t help but admire her combat style.

I dodged another bolt of lightning she summoned with her newly awakened talent that apparently only required her voice.

A grin spread across my face as I saw her prepare another attack.

When I was a child, my relatives, friends, and everyone around me thought I was insane.

Why? Because I didn’t dwell too much on the topic: good and evil.

For me, if you weren’t slaughtering people without cause or doing things that were inhumane just because you could, then I had no reason to despise you.

If that wasn’t odd enough, my hobby wasn’t playing with dolls, gaming, or attending fancy noble banquets, not like I could even afford to, I was an illegitimate son afterall.

My hobby was fighting. Facing powerful foes, clever adversaries, whether good or evil.

There was something about that sensation. The rush of mana and adrenaline, the thrill of victory and defeat, that was the true essence of euphoria.

Well, that was until my mother passed away after suffering under my stepmother, the current queen of England.

From that moment on, I realized there was indeed real good and evil in this world.

People would hate simply because they felt like it, or because they had the power to do so.

"Chosen one"—haah, that was just a term people used to place others on a pedestal, making them easier to manipulate.

But why did I accept it all? Because no matter how much I despised evil or cherished righteousness, I always craved the exhilaration that came from fighting.

In this world, there was no absolute good or evil. There were no saints or devils.

Only ideologies existed, and the powerful dictated which beliefs and rules the world had to follow.

And even if I had no right to enforce my ideology on others—

I would still fight. Battle every formidable opponent while safeguarding my vision of justice.

Maybe then, I could reshape the world.

My grin widened. "While having fun, of course."

I pushed myself up, using Bland Vales, my blade, as support.

Casting a glance at Anica who was also recovering, I turned to Cordelia, whose sky-blue hair—almost white, danced slightly with the breeze.

’She oddly resembles Kai.’ I sighed, then raised my voice so Anica could hear. "Go ahead! I’ll handle this!"

She didn’t respond right away, and waited for me to continue.

"You sensed it too, right? The academy is in danger, so... go help Kai."

Without hesitation, Anica soared into the air, escaping through one of the ruptures created by Deerheart’s order.

I turned to Amy, who gave me a nod, and then faced Cordelia. I raised my sword to my chest, stretching my legs into the stance of my sword technique: Waver Sword Dance.

As lightning struck again, I vanished. Amy, too, had disappeared and now hovered above Hari’s position.

She manifested a large crimson hammer using her talent—a weapon capable of smashing a building if we were at the academy.

The whooshing sound was deafening as it descended on the stunned Cordelia.

As soon as she hit the ground, buried in the damp earth from the melted ice, I dashed toward her as my system chimed in my mind.

Blessing System was the true name of my talent. Unlike regular mage systems that simply tracked progress and counted vestiges, mine allowed me to borrow blessings from the gods.

That was also why I used to be so devout to the path of righteousness. But like I said, good and evil only exist in the eyes of humans and entities like angels.

The gods don’t care how we behave or what horrors befall us. They just grant power to whoever they feel like, then twist the world with chaos and sprinkle in a bit of danger. And I already knew why—

I slashed my sword downward as Hari created an ice barrier.

... It was for their amusement.

Even when I prayed, they didn’t respond. But I found solace in the talent they gave me, which let me channel their powers freely. I could even transfer injuries using my system.

Eventually, I understood why they stayed silent, when I truly sinned. When my mother died, and grief consumed me, I tried to kill my stepmother.

She found out and tried to have me killed, but when the royal priest insisted on checking whether I still had my holy talent, I thought it was over, but there it was. My system still glowing, as though nothing had happened.

That’s when it dawned on me, after living my life by human-made rules pretending to be divine—the gods didn’t care. They actually enjoyed our sin and suffering. freēnovelkiss.com

So if that’s how they wanted to play, I’d get stronger, fight powerful beings.

And then those gods will see who they were messing with.

And to reach that point...

I stepped back from the barrier that covered the crater Cordelia was in.

... I had to face tougher opponents, grow stronger, defeat demons, and find a way to break free from the chains of my talent.

I resumed my original stance. "Ready for round two."

Cordelia smirked. "Copy what I see. Hammer!"

At her command, the same hammer Amy had used materialized in her grip. She swung it side to side as if savoring its weight, then lunged at me, the weapon raised high.

The hammer came crashing down with immense force, but I paried it to the left. ’Strong! It feels like my arms will split apart.’

Her eyes twitched in frustration as I blocked her blow.

She increased the hammer’s weight and swung it at my side. I quickly shifted my blade to my left rib and blocked the hit, but the impact was overwhelming.

The sound of wind roared in my ears as I activated my combat suit and smashed into a nearby tree.

Splinters and debris whirled through the air as I struggled to regain my footing.

Cordelia charged again, the hammer swaying with each stride. My eyes widened... I couldn’t block this one, not yet.

The sound of a loud impact reached me just in time, as Amy appeared in view.

She had conjured ten mana blades, and behind her stood a colossal military tank crafted from her red mana.

With a mental command and a flick of her finger, the blades shot toward Cordelia.

Cordelia deflected one after another with the hammer, but each blade that was blocked redirected and returned, compounding her disadvantage with such a large weapon—Amy was taking control of the fight.

Grinding her teeth, Cordelia dismissed the hammer, and with a single word, a massive magic circle formed above her.

But as if Amy had anticipated it, she muttered, "You really are nothing but a beast now."

She raised her finger and the tank’s cannon lifted. The moment her finger dropped, a gigantic shell launched like a bomb. The air grew thick as wind blasted in all directions, scattering the debris from battle.

Blood dripped from Cordelia’s lips, her eyes flaring with unbridled fury. She slammed her foot into the ground, cracking it and causing Amy to stumble.

"Storm!" Lightning sparked in the heavens, arching menacingly as it began to descend.

I channeled mana to my legs, activating a talent I had recently requested: Sprint.

My feet moved like the wind. And I grabbed Amy by the waist just before the lightning struck.

I exhaled through my gas mask and pointed to my face, signaling Amy to put on her suit.

She did just that and slowly rose, standing beside me and forming a pairs of daggers.

She was from the Reinhardt family, so I was certain she had a rough idea of my talent.

I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. ’But to think she instantly switched to daggers just to match my style.’ I smiled. ’Mom, I might’ve found my first female partner.’