Transmigrating as an Extra, But the Heroine Has Regressed?!-Chapter 336: In the Serious Combat!

"…Spatial displacement," she said to herself. "No… severance."

Kael lifted his blade, pointing it directly at her.

"I am your opponent," he said.

Behind him, Yumi gasped weakly, her beast form shrinking slightly as she stared at his back.

"…Kael," she whispered. "Why—"

"Stay back," he said without turning. "You've done enough."

The Saber slowly lowered her sword, crimson eyes glowing brighter as she studied him fully as a warrior.

"That technique," she said quietly, "was not human."

Kael didn't answer.

Mana continued to surge around him, unstable and violent, dark essence and astral force grinding together inside his body like colliding stars.

The Saber took a step forward.

"So be it," she said. "If you wish to stand where she stood—"

Her sword lifted once more.

"—then you will fall in her place."

Kael tightened his grip, feet bracing against the cracked stone floor.

His heart thundered.

His body screamed.

But his gaze never wavered.

Kael did not wait for her to strike first.

The moment the Saber girl lifted her blade again, Kael stepped forward, grinding his boots into the fractured stone.

His breathing steadied—not because the pain vanished, but because he had long learned how to fight with pain rather than against it.

"All my years," he muttered under his breath. "All that training… this is where it goes."

Mana erupted from his core.

Dark, turbulent energy surged outward, mixed with the unstable astral residue still tearing at his veins. The pressure alone cracked the stone beneath his feet, sending thin fractures racing outward like spiderwebs.

The Saber girl narrowed her eyes.

"So you choose destruction," she said calmly. "Then show me."

Kael bent his knees.

His fist pulled back.

"Astral Punch."

The ground around them collapsed forward.

Kael's fist did not simply move—it ripped through air.

The air screamed as compressed astral energy detonated outward, forming a spiraling shockwave that tore straight toward the Saber girl like a cannon blast.

BOOOOOOM—

The impact slammed into her guard, forcing her back several meters as her boots carved deep trenches into the arena floor. Her armor screeched under the strain, crimson runes flaring wildly as they struggled to absorb the force.

But she did not fall.

She slid to a stop, sword still raised, armor cracked but intact.

"…Interesting," she said quietly. "That punch could shatter a fortress wall."

Kael did not reply.

He was already moving again.

He drew his sword fully.

The moment his hand wrapped around the hilt, the dungeon darkened.

Mana poured into the blade—not ordinary mana, but something heavier, denser. Shadows clung to the metal, crawling up the sword like living things.

"Sword Art—"

His voice echoed unnaturally, layered with something deeper.

"Dark Edge."

The shadows exploded.

Behind Kael, the darkness thickened, stretching upward, outward—forming a massive silhouette that towered over the battlefield. A colossal figure emerged, faceless and immense, holding a sword identical to Kael's but dozens of times larger.

Yumi's breath caught.

"…What… is that?"

The figure raised its blade in perfect synchronization with Kael.

The Saber girl's eyes widened—not in fear, but recognition.

"…A manifested will," she whispered. "You truly are abnormal."

Kael swung.

The massive shadow sword followed.

The slash tore across the arena, a wave of darkness and crushing force that devoured light itself. The stone disintegrated.

The air collapsed inward. The ground split open beneath the pressure.

The Saber girl crossed her sword in front of her—

And was blasted backward.

She slammed into the far wall with enough force to shatter pillars, stone erupting around her like an avalanche. Dust swallowed her form completely.

Kael dropped to one knee.

Blood poured freely now, dripping onto the ground beneath him.

His arms trembled violently.

"…Again," he whispered.

The dust shifted.

The Saber girl stepped out.

Her armor was fractured, deep cracks glowing red-hot. Blood ran from her forehead, dripping down her cheek—but her posture was still straight.

Still controlled.

Still lethal.

She wiped the blood from her face slowly.

"…Impressive," she said. "But that sword art—"

She raised her blade.

"—is unfinished."

She vanished.

Kael's instincts screamed.

He barely twisted—

CLANG.

The Saber's blade crashed into his, the impact sending a shockwave through his arms so violent his sword nearly flew from his grasp. He staggered back as she pressed forward relentlessly, her strikes precise and merciless.

Slash.

Thrust.

Cut.

Each blow landed with surgical accuracy, tearing through Kael's guard, carving wounds across his arms, shoulders, ribs.

His body screamed.

His vision blurred.

But he did not stop.

"Astral Punch!"

He drove his fist forward at point-blank range.

The explosion blasted both of them apart.

Kael crashed to the ground, rolling painfully before forcing himself upright again. The Saber slid back several steps, boots digging into the stone.

Her breathing was heavier now.

Not strained.

But no longer effortless.

"…You endure well," she said. "Most would have fallen by now."

Kael spat blood.

"…I don't have that luxury."

He raised his sword again.

The shadow figure behind him flickered—unstable, cracking at the edges.

"Sword Art—Dark Edge!"

He swung again.

The massive shadow blade descended—

And shattered.

The Saber's sword met it head-on.

The collision detonated like a collapsing star.

The shadow figure broke apart, fragments dissolving into smoke as Kael was hurled backward violently, slamming into the ground hard enough to crater the stone beneath him.

Yumi screamed.

"OYEEE!"

Kael lay there, coughing violently, blood pouring from his mouth, chest rising and falling erratically.

His sword lay several meters away.

The Saber girl walked toward him slowly.

Each step echoed.

"You have reached your limit," she said calmly. "Your will is strong. But strength without mastery—"

She raised her blade.

"—ends here."

Kael's fingers twitched.

His body refused to move.

Everything burned.

Everything screamed.

But then—

A warm sensation brushed against his back.

Yumi.

Her smaller, weakened form pressed against him as she forced herself upright beside him, bloodied but still standing.

"…You idiot," she whispered, tears streaking down her face. "Why do you always do this?"

Kael laughed weakly.

"…Someone has to."

Yumi's eyes hardened.

She stepped forward, claws extending again as dark mana flared weakly around her.

"I can still fight," she said. "One more time."

The Saber paused.

She looked at them.

Two broken figures.

Still standing.

"…Very well," she said quietly. "Come."

Kael forced himself to his feet.

He retrieved his sword.

His hands shook.

His mana was nearly gone.

But his eyes burned brighter than ever.

"One last time," he muttered.

He charged.

Yumi charged beside him.

The Saber met them head-on.

Steel clashed with claws.

Darkness collided with crimson light.

Kael poured everything he had left into one final swing, forcing his body beyond its limit, muscles tearing, bones screaming as he raised his sword overhead.

"DARK—EDGE!"

The shadow behind him reformed—smaller, cracked, unstable—but real.

Kael swung downward with everything he was.

The Saber moved to counter—

But she was a fraction of a second too slow.

The blade struck her chest.

CRACK.

Her armor shattered completely.

The force stopped her dead in place.

She froze.

Her sword slipped from her grasp, clattering onto the stone.

Time seemed to halt.

Kael collapsed to his knees.

Yumi roared and lunged forward, claws tearing through the shattered armor, slamming her full weight into the Saber girl's body.

Kael forced himself up one last time and drove his sword forward—

Together.

The impact echoed through the dungeon like a final verdict.

The Saber girl staggered backward, crimson light flickering violently as her body finally began to fall.

"Did we defeat her?" Yumi asked, her voice shaking as she leaned on Kael's shoulder, chest still heaving from the final clash.

Kael looked at the fallen Saber girl, then at the shattered armor scattered across the floor. He exhaled slowly, a tired smile forming on his bloodied face.

"Yes," he replied softly. "We did."

For a moment, the weight crushing his chest lifted.

Then he laughed.

A short, breathless laugh that turned into a weak chuckle.

"That was awesome," Kael said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Absolutely insane… but awesome."

Yumi stared at him as if he'd lost his mind, then—despite everything—she laughed too.

Before either of them could say more, the dungeon trembled.

From the above appeared.

[Rank A Saber defeated by Kael Ashford and Yumi]

Both of them froze.

"…Rank A?" Yumi whispered, slowly looking up.

Kael's smile stiffened.

"Wait… Rank A?"

Another message descended.

[Next Saber: Rank S — Challenge Accepted]

Silence.

The color drained from Yumi's face.

"…Kael," she said quietly. "That doesn't sound good."

Kael swallowed hard.

"…No," he admitted. "It really doesn't."

Just as they braced themselves—

BOOOOOMM.

A violent surge of energy erupted behind them.

They spun around instantly.

The fallen Saber girl moved.

Her body rose smoothly from the ground, far too controlled for someone defeated. The crimson glow vanished completely, replaced by a pure, blinding white light flooding her eyes.

The oppressive killing intent—

Disappeared.

She stepped forward.

Then, to their utter shock—

She knelt.

Both hands pressed against the stone floor, head lowered deeply in front of Kael.

Yumi gasped.

"…What?"

Kael's heart skipped.

The Saber girl spoke.

"Master," she said.