The Extra becomes the Villain's Bodyguard-Chapter 36: the substitute 2.

No. No no no—

Clara was beside him in an instant, her face pale. "Orion—?"

He couldn’t speak. His hands shook.

Because this wasn’t supposed to happen.

Not yet.

Not like this.

In their last life, the Substitute didn’t directly appear until years into the Integration, when humanity was already on its knees.

But now?

Now it was here on day one.

And it had just erased an entire city without effort.

Elizabeth grabbed his arm, her nails digging into his skin. "Why is it here now?!"

Orion had no answer.

Only a single, paralyzing thought:

it came too early... What’s wrong?

The being hovered above the world, its form flickering between human and something else.

"Survive if you can."

Then it vanished.

Clara had never seen Orion like this.

The man who had faced down monsters without flinching now sat slumped against the bunker wall, his hands clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned white. Elizabeth wasn’t much better—her usual haughtiness had dulled into something hollow, her fingers tapping restlessly against the grip of her pistol like she was counting down to execution.

The Substitute’s presence had shattered something in them.

Clara swallowed hard. "Okay, what the hell is going on?" she demanded, her voice sharper than she intended.

"Who... or what was that thing? And why do you two look like you’ve just seen the devil?"

Silence.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, Orion spoke. His voice was low, and rough, like each word was being dragged out of him.

"It calls itself God’s Substitute. Thinks it’s the next best thing to a deity." He let out a bitter laugh. "it isn’t a god. A demon is more accurate."

Clara’s stomach twisted. "What does that mean?"

Elizabeth answered this time, her tone eerily calm. "It’s the one running the show. Decides how many of us live. How many die."

Orion’s jaw tightened. "Last time, it didn’t show up until months into the Integration. And even then it was indirectly via the system. By then, humanity’s population had already dropped below two billion."

Clara’s breath caught. "Two billion in just months? From 8-2 billion? Seriously"

"And yet that was still too many for its liking," Orion continued, his voice dark. "So it ’adjusted the difficulty.’" His fist clenched as if reliving the memory. "By the time we reached Floor 3, there were only seven hundred million of us left. We assumed there were 5 floors at first..."

Clara felt the blood drain from her face. "Floor Five?"

Elizabeth’s lips curled into a humorless smile. "Oh, didn’t we mention? Earth’s just the starting zone. Somehow we keep elevating after certain conditions are met."

"The what—?"

"A series of Floors. Challenges. Each one worse than the last," Orion cut in. "And in our past life, humanity only made it to Floor Five before we were wiped out."

Clara’s mind reeled. "But—you said there are more?"

Orion nodded grimly. "We think it goes up to ten. But we never got that far." His voice dropped to a whisper. "I only died because, by Floor Five, there were less than ten million humans left. At that point, we were ’disqualified.’ Like we were just... removed from a game."

Clara’s hands trembled. This wasn’t just survival anymore. This was something far worse.

"So what you’re saying," she said slowly, "is that we’re not just fighting monsters. We’re being tested. And if too many of us die before reaching these Floors..."

Elizabeth met her gaze, her eyes dead. "We lose before we even get a chance to win."

The bunker felt colder than ever.

And outside, the world burned.

Orion Heart

Attribute:

Name: Orion Heart

Age: 24

Title: [Regressor]

Survived a previous timeline

Strength: 8

Mana: 0.9 (+0.0000001~)

Passive growth (random intervals)

Agility: 4

Intelligence: 4

Locked Skills:

[Hidden]

Requires Mana Unlock

Blessing:

[?????]

Unknown effect

Elizabeth Voss

Attribute:

Name: Elizabeth Voss

Age: 23

Title: [Regressor]

Survived a previous timeline

Strength: 4

Mana: 0.83

No passive growth

Agility: 5

Intelligence: 6

Locked Skills:

[Hidden]

Requires Mana Unlock

Blessing:

None

****************************************

Clara frowned at her own panel, then glanced at Orion and Elizabeth. "So... why do we even have these? What’s the point of the System showing us numbers if we don’t get ’level-ups’ or something?"

Orion, now calmer, crossed his arms. "Humans are impatient. We need tangible ways to measure progress. The System quantifies what we already have in the parameters of strength, speed, and intelligence, so we can see where we stand. It doesn’t give us power or level-ups. It just helps us adapt faster."

Elizabeth nodded. "Skills aren’t handed out. We earn them. But the System makes it easier to recognize growth."

Clara raised an eyebrow. "Wait, but earlier you said it aids in getting skills. Doesn’t that mean it does help us grow?"

Orion hesitated, then let out an awkward chuckle. "Okay, yeah, that’s a contradiction. The System doesn’t grant power, but it... streamlines the process. Like a semi-assist instead of a cheat code."

Elizabeth smirked. "Wow. You just got called out by a newbie."

Orion rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

Clara sighed, staring at her stats again. "So... I’m basically the weakest here."

Elizabeth shrugged. "For now. But stats can change. You just have to survive long enough to make them."

Orion’s expression darkened slightly. "And with the Substitute here earlier than expected... surviving just got a lot harder."

*******************************************************

The world had changed.

Maps were literally being changed.

The fissures were a thing of the past and were no longer the major threat. Now, new permanent gateways had appeared: swirling, emerald-green portals that hovered ominously above the ground, pulsing like living things. Unlike the fissures, these didn’t just spew out random monsters.

They facilitated them. Creatures marched through in organized waves as if directed by some force.

And America was bleeding because of it.

The U.S. military, still largely intact, had mobilized immediately. Fighter jets streaked across the skies, their payloads dropping onto the largest portals. Explosions rocked the landscape, sending plumes of fire and debris into the air.

It didn’t work.

The portals remained. The monsters kept coming.

In Nevada, a massive green portal had formed over the desert, dwarfing anything seen before. Recon drones sent back footage of creatures unlike anything encountered yet... hulking, armored beasts that moved in formations, flanked by smaller, faster predators.

Command made a decision.

They would nuke it.

Operation Silent Storm

The evacuation order went out hours before the strike. Helicopters buzzed over the desert, blaring warnings through loudspeakers.

"THIS IS A MANDATORY EVACUATION. ALL CIVILIANS MUST LEAVE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY."

A few stubborn holdouts... doomsday preppers, conspiracy theorists... refused to budge. The military didn’t have time to argue. They marked their locations and moved on.

At a safe distance, high-ranking officers monitored the operation from a mobile command center. Satellites locked onto the target. A single B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, loaded with a tactical nuclear warhead, soared toward the portal.

"Silent Storm is a go."

The bomb dropped.

For a brief moment, the desert was silent.

Then—light.

A searing white flash, followed by the iconic mushroom cloud, rising like a vengeful god. The shockwave rolled outward, flattening everything for miles. The monsters caught in the blast were vaporized instantly.

The military held its breath.

Did it work?

As the dust settled, the answer became clear.

The portal still hung in the sky, untouched.

A colonel slammed his fist onto the console. "Damn it!"

The nuke had killed thousands of monsters. But the portal remained. And now, more were coming through.

Across the country, the situation was the same:

Cities were holding—barely. The National Guard had set up fortified checkpoints, turning downtown areas into kill zones for any creatures that breached the perimeter.

Rural areas were hit hardest. Isolated towns were overrun, their populations either slaughtered or forced to flee.

The military was stretched thin. Ammo was being rationed. Fuel shortages were starting. But for now, they were still fighting.

And the monsters?

They were evolving.

The first waves had been mindless beasts. Now, some moved with purpose. Some even retreated when outgunned, regrouping before striking again.

It was as if something was directing them.

For now, conventional weapons still worked. Bullets killed the smaller monsters. Grenades shredded the mid-tier ones. Artillery and airstrikes handled the rest.

But everyone knew it wouldn’t last.

The portals weren’t closing. The creatures weren’t stopping.

And worst of all?

The System had hinted at worse things to come.

When explosives failed to close the portals, the military turned to chemical agents. VX nerve gas, chlorine, and experimental bio-toxins were deployed in contained strikes against monster hordes. The results were grimly effective—entire swarms of lesser creatures collapsed, their bodies convulsing as their nervous systems shut down.

But the larger beasts? Some merely staggered before adapting, their grotesque forms developing resistances at an alarming rate.

More bombs turned city blocks into infernos, incinerating hundreds at once. Railgun prototypes punched through armored hides, but ammunition was scarce. Drone swarms unleashed hellfire missiles in synchronized barrages, clearing streets—only for more monsters to pour through the unbreakable green portals.

[Warning: Integration Progress: 37%]