The Extra Can't be A Hero

Chapter 256: Starfall (1)

Leon and the two Solaris Commanders felt their bodies tremble as waves of demonic mana rippled through the air, thick enough to make breathing difficult. They had raced to the Demon Cult's headquarters prepared for battle, but none of them had anticipated this.

The cult wasn't defending. It was accelerating the Calamity Spell.

[How sacriligeous! How dare they infect Hyades with such dastardly mana!]

Agios Solaris, the Solaris Saint, spat in pure disgust as she observed all of the demonic mana that filled the sky. As the person who had fought with more Demons than anyone in history, she could clearly understand what the Demon Cult was trying to do.

'Lord Agios, how much time do we have?'

[The spell has already been cast, but we can still prevent the full effects of it from raining down onto the capital.]

Agios explained grimly, while Leon frowned in half-despair.

From Yue's explanation, Starfall was a spell that called down a meteor shower capable of obliterating everything it touched. With sufficient mana, the caster could summon enough meteors to wipe out an entire world… though such power was believed impossible for any being short of the Goddess Hyades herself.

Yet the Demon Cult had changed that.

Through countless sacrifices, they had amassed enough mana to unleash Starfall upon the capital. There was, however, one weakness. The spell demanded absolute focus from its caster. If that focus were broken, if the caster were disturbed, the spell would spiral out of control, its power scattering before it could reach full force.

That sliver of instability was their only hope.

If Leon and his group could reach Kieran in time, there was still a chance to contain the destruction.

[Alas… It's easier said than done.]

As Leon and the two Solaris Commanders prepared to push deeper into the headquarters, three sinister presences emerged to block their path. The most imposing of them were the two brutes… monstrous figures that looked more demon than human.

Their eyes glowed a menacing crimson, and their skin bore grotesque patches of corrupted hue, as though tainted by the abyss itself. Both stood over two meters tall, their lean yet heavily muscled frames exuding raw, predatory power. They resembled gatekeepers of hell, one wielding a massive staff, the other gripping a spiked club, each weapon pulsing with demonic glyphs that clawed at the soul.

The sheer density of their mana was suffocating. Carmen and Gallahad instinctively covered their mouths, struggling to breathe under its oppressive weight.

Leon, however, remained composed. He had faced these two before. Narrowing his eyes, he studied them carefully… and what he saw made his heart tighten.

They had grown stronger. Much stronger.

"Dante and Damien… The Twin Apostles of Vengeance."

Leon scowled. His words served to inform the two commanders of the twins' identities and to prompt a response from the two Apostles.

"Is it arrogance or stupidity that made you come here?" Dante scoffed, clearly unamused by the young Hero's appearance.

"Brat, you signed your death warrant coming here!" On the other hand, Damien was beyond delighted. The defeat at Alverton still stung, and the Apostle wished to enact his vengeance.

"..."

Yet Leon's focus wasn't solely on the twin Apostles. His gaze drifted past them… to the man standing quietly behind. He was the smallest and least physically imposing of the three, a figure so unassuming that one might have dismissed him entirely at first glance.

But Leon's sharpened senses told a different story. From that frail-looking body radiated a dense, suffocating aura of demonic mana, twisting the air itself into a vortex of despair. If Dante and Damien had grown twice as powerful since their last encounter, then the man between them had grown tenfold. His ashen-grey hair and piercing green eyes glowed with a sickly light, and the blackened, demonised arm at his side exuded a presence that made even seasoned warriors hesitate.

Leon's expression hardened. His voice dripped with loathing as he spat the name that sent a chill through the air.

"Samael… Apostle of Chaos."

"Hi!~ It's an honour, Sir Hero!~"

Samael laughed, provoking the young hero.

"While I admire the effort, why don't you leave, and we can live our lives in peace? The capital is doomed anyway, so go enjoy your lives in Solfea and leave the rest to us."

"Damned demon slave… You talk too much!"

Carmen—never one for pleasantries or drawn-out exchanges—launched herself straight into the midst of the three Apostles. Her fist blazed forward with the full might of her Seven Suns.

The Fallen Stars, her legendary-grade gauntlets, howled through the air in a streak of pink light, their aura flaring with such intensity that the shockwave alone could have levelled a mountain. Pink flames danced across Carmen's body, feeding upon her mana until they became an unending inferno—one that no wind nor fire could extinguish.

Yet, at the moment of impact, her all-out strike met an unyielding grip. Samael's blackened, demonic arm had caught her punch mid-swing. The Apostle of Chaos regarded her with a flat, almost bored expression.

Then, with a flicker of disdain in his voice, he muttered, "Does the Solaris House teach no courtesy?"

Carmen wasn't shocked that her punch was stopped, though she did put on a slightly disturbed frown. Still, she flashed her pearly white teeth and roared:

"We don't need to show courtesy to maggots!"

The Commander of the Black Dragon Order held nothing back. Summoning her divine might, Carmen's body shimmered with radiant heat as scales of obsidian and crimson spread across her skin, her half-dragonoid form unleashed.

With a roar that shook the chamber, she hurled herself at the Apostle of Chaos, each strike faster and heavier than the last, her blows splitting the air with explosive force. Beside her, Lord Gallahad of the Gold Dragon Order raised the Divine Severance, its golden edge gleaming with holy light.

Calling upon Solstice Sanctuary, he enveloped his allies in a radiant barrier, amplifying their strength and speed. The twin Apostles, Dante and Damien, seized the opening with brutal precision. Wreathed in demonic mana, they moved like beasts unleashed… two gatekeepers of hell, barring the path to Kieran.

Their attacks were savage and unrelenting, relying not on technique but overwhelming physical might and sheer aura. Gallahad braced against their onslaught, his blade ringing with every clash. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes remained sharp, unyielding.

It was clear now… both Apostles had ascended to the level of Commanders.

Allowing Leon to face them, especially while his mind was torn between battle and saving his lover, would be reckless. With a grim resolve, Gallahad shouted over the roar of combat,

"Leave them to us, Leon! Go! Save the Saintess!"

His words didn't go unnoticed. Damien cracked a nefarious grin as he leapt away from the Golden Order Commander and swung his club with all his might at Leon.

"Kehehe, you'll turn to paste before you get past us!"

"..."

Leon felt the air tremble, the faintest vibration revealing the trajectory of Damien's incoming strike. In that instant, the world seemed to slow. Though Damien dwarfed him in both physical strength and mana, Leon's perception and technique were on an entirely different plane.

Years of mastery had honed his senses to near divinity, and within his Holy Blade resided the echoes of two legendary mentors of the Solaris arts, guiding his every motion.

Then, something within him shifted.

His Stellar Waltz, the pinnacle movement art of the Solaris Mystic Arts, transcended its limits. Leon's body shimmered, his form blurring into radiance. For a heartbeat, it was as though he had become the very light born from the sun.

Damien's eyes widened in disbelief as Leon vanished from sight. Even Carmen, Gallahad, and Samael, beings of tremendous power, were momentarily struck with awe.

In that moment, Leon moved beyond mortal speed.

He was light itself.

[Not bad, child. You've improved since the last time I taught you.]

'It's nothing much.'

Leon didn't smile at the Solaris Saint's praise, but her words lightened his mood nonetheless. His time away from battle hadn't been spent in idleness. Since the Saint replaced the Founder, Leon had trained under her guidance, learning directly from the one hailed as the strongest human in history.

The first lesson she imparted was her most fundamental… her movement art.

It was said that at its peak, the technique allowed one to transcend matter itself, transforming into pure light and crossing continents in the blink of an eye. Leon hadn't reached that divine state, but his progress was undeniable. His mastery of movement had already surpassed that of most Knights alive.

Perhaps even Amon would struggle to keep up with him now.

"No, you don't!!!"

Damien lunged forward, determined to stop the Hero from descending any further, but Gallahad was faster.

Divine Severance howled through the air, its golden edge carving an arc that erupted into a tsunami of golden fire. The flames surged and coalesced into a radiant bastion, forming an impregnable wall between Leon and his pursuers.

At the exact moment, Carmen leapt back and unleashed the full might of her Solaris bloodline. Golden dragon wings burst from her back, each beat rippling the air as her mana flared to inhuman levels, shaking the ground beneath her feet.

And so, the battlefield twisted into a strange, poetic irony—where the former gatekeepers now found themselves clashing against the intruders who stood guard over the very door they once vowed to protect.

"Go! We'll handle this!"

Gallahad barked again, and this time, Leon didn't waste a single second. Now that Starfall had been cast, each moment was precious, and he couldn't let the Demon Cult succeed.

As Leon sped deeper into the headquarters, Carmen and Gallahad stood before three unamused Apostles. Even Samael, the Apostle of Chaos, felt like he had eaten a sour grape. They were meant to stop the Hero from saving the Saintess, and yet… they allowed him to slip through their fingers.

"Never thought I would get to see the day that we'll fight together, old man."

"Yes… I'd always believed that we were destined to fight each other, not together."

There was never a clear ranking between the Solaris Commanders. In theory, the most acclaimed Golden Order should have the strongest Commander. Yet, the Black Order's Commander was a super-inheritor and was widely considered to be the next Solaris Lord once Alrock retires.

No one knew for sure who was better.

So, as they stood side-by-side to protect Leon… They decided to showcase all of their cards.

"Try to keep up! Don't let your fragile bones slow you down!"

"Heh, don't let your youthful vigour explode in your face!"