Extra's Descent

79  Curse [4]

"Sarah had that kind of past…"

Brandon was taken aback.

For someone that wasn't part of the main cast, Sarah's past was even more deeper than the others of the main cast.

Looking up, Oliver had a resigned expression.

Just like Brandon he didn't know what to say next.

Silence gripped the entire zone. And before they knew it, it had already started to dematerialize.

Slowly, the green flames around the area diminished.

The dark veil that wrapped the sky like a dome had gradually started cracking.

Cr… Crack.

At that, the Zone was lifted.

As Brandon looked around, it seemed like Sarah was nowhere to be seen.

He then turned to look at Oliver.

"So…

Meeting his gaze, Oliver's mouth parted open.

"David might still be inside there somewhere."

It was less likely. It had been six years since the incident.

Recalling Oliver's story, Brandon pinched his chin and pondered.

"Those missing person cases. They were the people that had entered the forest, weren't they?"

"Most likely…"

"And what happened to them?"

"...I'm not too sure."

How useless.

Just like he was in the past.

Oliver had never changed.

All of a sudden, Brandon's phone rang.

Reaching for his pocket, he then retrieved his phone.

[Raven Blackheart]

Ring… Ring… Click—

—Brandon, we have a situation!

"Talk."

—Rachel and Claire, they're nowhere to be seen.

Brandon's eyes widened in shock. Frowning, he clenched his phone tightly.

"Forest, now."

Click— Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The conversation was brief. But he knew Raven would understand.

At that, Brandon immediately rushed towards the hallway's exit.

Noticing Brandon's sudden urgency, Oliver called out to him.

"Where are you going—"

"Fast. Lead me to the forest."

Oliver was taken aback. But it seemed like the situation was dire. At that, he immediately rushed towards Brandon and led the advance.

Arriving at the Guild Hub's exit, a familiar figure stood by the exit.

"Sarah, no time to explain, come."

"W-haa."

He then grabbed Sarah's hand and continued the advance. Oliver was ahead of them. Brandon and Sarah followed him closely.

Rachel and Claire continued to stand still. Fixed in position, the threads gripped their body tightly.

Rachel could feel the threads slowly sapping away her strength and stamina.

Why?

'What kind of threads are the–'

Her thoughts were then broken as Claire's voice anxiously rang.

"Rachel…"

As Rachel looked ahead, figures started to emerge from the bushes.

"Hurrrrrr—"

A sudden growl echoed from the distance.

Rachel had a rough idea of what it was. She had read about them when she was studying on Wraiths with Brandon.

As her lips continued to tremble, she muttered out the words that not even Claire wanted to hear.

"...Wraith Beasts."

A calamity that is usually in the B to A rank category.

There were exceptions... However, those exceptions were one of myths.

A regular Wraith Beast was currently out of their league. Most first year students would be categorized in the F to E rank.

With the exception of Brandon and Raven, who would most likely belong to the D to C rank.

While the rest below the top ten to three, would most likely be in the E to D rank.

It was absurd.

But there was no use in comparing.

Brandon was unique, having five affinities. While Raven had a special affinity.

But recently, Rachel could feel like she was about to break through.

She could feel her mana core starting to progressively grow.

Just a bit more and her [Ice] affinity might evolve.

Turning towards Claire, Rachel opened her mouth.

"Claire, can you do something about these threads?"

"I've been trying, but it won't budge."

Frowning, Rachel started to channel her mana.

Cr…Crack.

All of a sudden, frostbolts had started to materialize behind Rachel.

With a slight movement of her hand, the frostbolts launched towards the man.

Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!

The man's figure blurred giving the illusion of him disappearing, dodging all the frostbolts in the process.

"Tsk."

Clicking her tongue, frostbolts continued to materialize and pierced through the air. But once again, it was to no avail.

Kracka...!

From beside her, purple lightning engulfed Claire and started crawling up to the threads.

However, the threads adjusted, and both Claire and Rachel instantly crashed onto the wall behind them.

Boom—!

Splinters scattered everywhere. A hole etched onto the cabin.

Slowly getting up, Rachel had realized that victory was impossible, as long as the threads still wrapped them around.

No, the man was completely out of their league regardless.

With such thoughts, Rachel decided to break the threads in any way she could.

'If I succeed… I'll make a run for it.'

It was cold logic.

How could she save Claire if she couldn't even save herself?

If both of them were to fall, then who would avenge the other?

Thus, Rachel started to channel her mana once more.

Ice started to crawl from her feet, to her legs, to her torso.

Slowly and slowly…

Until they started engulfing the threads.

"Hyaaaaa—"

The children's screams.

"Hurrrrrrr—"

The Wraith Beast's growl.

Step—

The man slowly walked towards them.

All of a sudden, his hands started moving and the threads started tightening.

Whatever Rachel was trying to do, it was to no avail.

Cr…Crack.

The ice had wrapped the threads, only for it to shatter. No matter what she did, the threads wouldn't break.

In the first place, Rachel didn't know what kind of affinity the threads belonged to.

But…

She had to keep trying.

Drip. Drip…!

The threads were tightening and blood started to drip, leaving a slit on Rachel's torso.

Turning beside her, Claire's complexions start to pale.

Unlike Rachel, who was slowing down the blood loss with ice, Claire couldn't do such a thing.

The man waved his hand around, as if he was a puppeteer. All of a sudden, Rachel's body was lifted up.

Drip. Drip…!

As the threads got even tighter, blood kept dripping.

What was the man's goal? Was he trying to torture them?

What were the dolls even for? Why do they sound like children?

And…

Just what kind of creature is the man?

No, Rachel knew it already. But she didn't want to admit it.

The sheer fact that if her speculation was proven true made her entire body shudder.

"Hurrrr—"

And before she knew it, three Wraith Beasts had already encircled them.

"Ah."

They were being fed to the beasts.

After all, just like Mana Beasts, Wraith Beasts would empower their strength by feasting on mana.

In that case…

Cr… Crack.

Rachel completely encapsulated herself in a thick shell of ice. Then, extending the radius of her mana, the ice slowly crawled to her side.

Crack!

All of a sudden, Claire was inside the thick layer of ice as well.

A large ice shell in the shape of a gem had now encapsulated the two.

Crack... Crack!

The Wraith Beasts had started biting into the ice.

Cracks had started to form. But as Rachel continued supplying it with mana, the shell would instantly fix itself.

She could feel her mana starting to drain, but she had to persist.

If they were gone for far too long, the Professors would notice.

Brandon would notice.

Would they be able to find them in time?

Rachel didn't know.

But it was worth a try.

'Better than letting ourselves become Wraith food.'

***

"Raven?"

"Brandon?"

The two had finally caught up, just in time, as they were about to enter the forest.

"Amy."

Amy was there as well, surprised by Brandon's sudden appearance, along with several others.

Noticing Oliver, Raven turned to meet his gaze.

"Professor…"

"Raven."

The only exchange the two had.

It was quite awkward.

Then, Raven noticed the girl behind Brandon.

"Is this… Sarah?"

"Yeah."

Brandon responded as he glanced at Sarah from behind him.

Noticing his gaze, Sarah awkwardly introduced herself.

"Uh. I'm Sarah Aurae."

She gave a light bow.

Raven nodded and squinted his eyes as he turned to look at Oliver.

It seemed like he was wary of the Professor.

Which is why Brandon had recounted everything Oliver had told him in detail. Sarah wasn't an exception and she had finally learned the truth about her Father's disappearance.

Her eyes shot wide open as she silently listened to everything Brandon was saying.

She couldn't find the right words to say. Grasping her hands, her hands were trembling.

But seeing her expression, Brandon gave her a look of understanding.

It was all too much for her at the moment, that much was certain.

"So… My Father… Is still alive?"

"...There's a chan—"

"No."

Before Oliver could spout more bullshit, Brandon cut him off.

"Shut up, Oliver. Don't give her false hope."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The others were immediately taken aback.

But in the end, Brandon was right.

With a conflicted expression, Sarah lifted her head to meet Brandon's gaze.

"...My Sister, is she—"

Before Sarah could finish, Brandon approached her and extended his arms to her shoulders.

Locking gaze with Sarah, he pursed his lips.

"I'll do my best to find her. But there are no guarantees."

"..."

Sarah couldn't respond.

Of course she couldn't.

Brandon was beating around the bush. Even he had doubts whether Emma was still alive or not.

And in all honesty,

Sarah had started to doubt it as well.

It was the cold hard truth.

Truth be told, Sarah didn't know how to feel after finding out the truth.

She was a logical person, even if Oliver had stayed and fought the Wraith, he would've died in the process.

But...

"..."

She secretly gritted her teeth.

"Oy! You don't have to say it like tha–"

Oliver stopped as soon as Brandon turned his head to glare at him.

His eyes spoke enough to say that Oliver should stop butting in.

In the end, Oliver could only stay silent.

Suddenly…

"Hurrrrr—"

A strange growl echoed from the bushes.

As Amy traced the source of the sound, she anxiously spoke up.

"...What was that?"

Walking ahead of everyone, Oliver braced himself.

"Wraith Beasts."