The Extra is a Hero?-Chapter 303: THE BEASTMASTER’S WRATH

Chapter 299: The Beastmaster’s Wrath

​The arrival of General Vargr wasn’t an entrance; it was a natural disaster compressed into the shape of a man.

​He landed on the floor of the medical bay with a weight that defied physics. The steel deck plates buckled under his boots, sending a ripple of distortion through the carriage. The air, already freezing from Maria’s awakening, instantly grew heavy with the metallic tang of bloodlust.

​He stood seven feet tall, a mountain of muscle wrapped in the pelt of a White Alpha Wolf. His skin was scarred and weathered, looking like cracked leather, and his eyes—yellow, slit-pupiled, and brimming with malice—swept over us like a searchlight.

​In his hand, the red weirwood spear pulsed with a heartbeat of its own.

​"Finally," Vargr rumbled. His voice was a grinding tectonic shift that vibrated in my teeth. "I was getting tired of knocking."

​He looked at Maria, who stood amidst the shattered remains of her stasis pod, encased in a faint aura of diamond dust. Then his gaze slid to Selena, crouching in the corner, her nails digging into the metal floor.

​"Two little birds," Vargr sneered, revealing teeth that had been filed to points. "Freshly hatched. Filled with golden juice."

​He took a step forward. The pressure of his aura—a suffocating, red mist—washed over us. It was heavy, hot, and reeked of wet fur.

​[System Alert: Enemy Rank Assessment]

[Target: General Vargr]

[Rank: A (Demon Warrior/Lord Variant)]

[Aura: Blood Frenzy (Active)]

[Danger Level: Fatal]

​"Don’t move," I whispered to Leon, though my own legs were trembling. "He’s A-Rank. The gap between B and A isn’t linear. It’s exponential."

​Leon didn’t listen. He couldn’t. He was the Shield of Arcadia.

​"Get back!" Leon roared.

​He stepped between the girls and the Beastmaster, raising his battered tower shield. He slammed the [Breaker’s Hammer] against the metal plating.

​"You want them? You go through me!"

​Vargr looked at Leon with mild amusement, like a wolf watching a puppy bark.

​"Brave," Vargr murmured. "Stupid. But brave."

​He moved.

​I didn’t see him move. My [Quantum Analysis Mind] was active, pushing my perception to the limit, but even then, Vargr was a blur. One second he was standing by the hole in the roof; the next, he was in front of Leon.

​He didn’t use his spear. He used his backhand.

​WHAM.

​It sounded like a cannon shot.

​Vargr’s fist connected with Leon’s shield. The enchanted alloy, which had survived dungeon acid and golem strikes, folded like wet cardboard.

​Leon was launched. He didn’t fly; he was deleted from his position. He smashed into the far wall of the carriage, denting the steel paneling inward by a foot. He slid to the floor, gasping, blood spraying from his mouth.

​"Leon!" I shouted, trying to raise my dagger.

​Vargr didn’t even look at me. He spun the spear in his hand, the red wood humming.

​"Weak," Vargr spat. "Is this the best the Human Kingdom has to offer? A tin can and a cripple?"

​He turned his attention to Maria.

​"Maybe the ice doll has more fight in her."

​Maria didn’t flinch. Her matte blue eyes tracked him with machine-like precision.

​"Hostile engagement imminent," Maria stated calmly. "Threat level: Maximum. Initiating [Absolute Zero] protocol."

​She raised her hand.

​The air around Vargr froze instantly. It wasn’t just ice; it was a vacuum of thermal energy. The moisture in the air crystallized into microscopic needles, converging on the Beastmaster to turn him into a statue.

​CRACK-SNAP.

​Ice formed over Vargr’s boots, climbing up his legs, thick and clear as diamond.

​Vargr looked down at the ice encasing his legs. He smirked.

​"Cute."

​He flexed his thighs.

​SHATTER.

​The diamond-ice exploded. It didn’t melt; it was physically shattered by the raw output of his aura. Shards of ice flew across the room like shrapnel, embedding themselves in the walls.

​Maria tilted her head slightly, a flicker of calculation—not fear—crossing her face.

​"Calculation error," she monotone. "Physical resistance exceeds projected parameters."

​"I’m not magic, little doll," Vargr laughed, stepping closer. "I’m muscle. And muscle breaks ice."

​He thrust his spear.

​It was a casual strike, meant to impale her shoulder, to pin her to the wall.

​Maria tried to dodge. She moved with the fluid grace of an elemental, her body turning into mist for a split second.

​But Vargr twisted the spear mid-thrust. The red aura flared, disrupting her elemental form.

​THWACK.

​The shaft of the spear caught her in the chest.

​Maria was thrown backward, crashing into the remains of the medical console. Sparks flew as equipment shattered. She slumped to the floor, clutching her chest, a spiderweb of cracks appearing on her skin like broken porcelain.

​"Maria!" I lunged forward.

​I knew it was suicide. I had no mana. My ribs were broken. I had a silver dagger against a monster who shrugged off diamond ice.

​But I couldn’t stand there and watch.

​"Hey! Ugly!" I screamed, feinting left and slashing at his exposed neck.

​Vargr caught my wrist.

​He didn’t look. He just reached out and grabbed my hand mid-air. His grip was like a hydraulic press. I felt the bones in my wrist grind together.

​"And you," Vargr said, looking down at me. "The Tactician. The Carrier."

​He lifted me off the ground by my wrist. I dangled there, kicking uselessly, the pain blinding me.

​"I smelled the Void on you earlier," Vargr mused, sniffing me. "A dangerous scent. But now? You smell like nothing. Empty. Spent."

​He squeezed.

​"ARGH!" I cried out, the dagger dropping from my numb fingers.

​"The Master wants you alive," Vargr said, bringing his scarred face close to mine. "But he didn’t say you needed all your limbs."

​He raised his spear, aiming the butt end at my knee. He was going to shatter my leg.

​"Let... him... go."

​The voice came from the pile of scrap metal against the wall.

​Leon pushed himself up. His helmet was gone. His face was a mask of blood. One of his eyes was swollen shut. But he was standing.

​He gripped the handle of the [Breaker’s Hammer].

​"I said..." Leon wheezed, blood bubbling past his lips. "Let him go."

​Vargr paused. He looked at Leon, genuinely surprised.

​"You’re still standing?" Vargr laughed. "A cockroach indeed."

​He threw me aside. I hit the floor and rolled, gasping for air, clutching my crushed wrist.

​Vargr turned fully toward Leon.

​"Fine," the Beastmaster growled. "I’ll finish the Knight first. Then I’ll peel the girls."

​He walked toward Leon.

​Leon raised the hammer. His legs were shaking. He had nothing left. No mana. No stamina. Just sheer, stubborn refusal to die.

​Vargr raised his spear for a killing blow.

​"Goodbye, Hero."

​The spear came down.

​But before it connected, a shadow moved in the corner of the room.

​It wasn’t Maria. It wasn’t me.

​It was the one Vargr had ignored.

​SCREEEEEE!

​A sound tore through the carriage—not a human scream, but the shriek of a wild animal.

​Selena Leafwalker, who had been crouching in the shadows, launched herself across the room.

​She didn’t use magic. She didn’t use a weapon.

​She moved on all fours, faster than a wolf.

​She intercepted Vargr.

​She didn’t block the spear. She caught the shaft with her bare hands.

​Her fingernails, now three-inch crimson talons, dug into the weirwood. Her muscles, rippling under her skin, bulged as she stopped the A-Rank attack dead in its tracks.

​Vargr’s eyes widened. "What—?"

​Selena looked up.

​Her eyes were gone. In their place were two pools of glowing, crimson light. Her teeth had elongated into fangs. The veins on her face were pulsing red.

​She wasn’t the shy, half-elf girl anymore. She was a vessel of Primal Vitality.

​"GET."

​She wrenched the spear to the side, throwing Vargr off balance.

​"AWAY."

​She slammed her other hand into Vargr’s chest plate.

​"FROM."

​The impact cracked the bone armor. Vargr stumbled back.

​"MATE!"

​Selena roared.

​From the floor beneath her, the crimson roots exploded upward again. But this time, they didn’t form a shield. They formed a silhouette behind her.

​A massive, spectral avatar of a wolf made of blood and vines rose behind Selena, its jaws opening wide.

​[System Alert: Target [Selena Veylan] - Awakening.]

[Ability: Blood Moon Avatar.]

[Status: Berserk.]

​Vargr looked at the avatar. For the first time, the Beastmaster took a step back.

​"A Spirit Avatar?" Vargr hissed. "Here? In the Silence?"

​Selena didn’t answer. She lunged.

​The Hunt had begun.

(To be Continued)