The Extra Can't be A Hero

Chapter 305: The New Pantheon (1)

The clash between Yue and Knodalon no longer felt like a mere battle… it was a final war, one that would decide the fate of the world itself.

Every collision of their powers sent shockwaves tearing through the land, driving beasts and spirits alike into frenzied chaos, as though the apocalypse was being forged in real time.

Under Knodalon's bestial dominion, the beast tide became a nightmare given form. His authority instilled them with an unnatural terror and fanaticism, granting the Beast Titan absolute control over their bodies and instincts. They fought without restraint or fear of death, hurling themselves forward even after losing limbs, organs, or sanity.

Wounds that should have ended their lives only fueled their madness. Worse still, Knodalon's unique trait amplified their bloodlines, awakening dormant ancestral power within each creature and pushing them far beyond their natural limits.

A single empowered beast was enough to raze an entire town unchallenged… and Knodalon commanded thousands of them.

Against this overwhelming horde, Yue stood with barely over a thousand spirits.

At first glance, the disparity in numbers suggested certain defeat. In truth, it was her greatest advantage. Where Knodalon's beasts surged forward like a mindless, ravenous flood, Yue's spirits advanced as a disciplined legion. Each movement was deliberate, each formation precise.

Monarch-tier spirits took the vanguard, their overwhelming presence shaping the battlefield itself, carving space and tempo for the lesser spirits to fall into perfect synchronisation behind them.

Every spirit knew its role, its position, and its purpose.

Vaelrix, the Infernal Kitsune, was among the first to strike. With a sweep of blazing tails, it transformed a swath of the beast horde into a smouldering sea of embers. The inferno did not burn aimlessly; it was calculated.

Fire spirits pouring forth from the Gate to the Spirit Realm fed on the flames, their power surging as they emerged, turning Vaelrix's devastation into a self-sustaining furnace of destruction.

On the opposite flank, Eirnaya, the Glacial Fenrir, unleashed a winter that swallowed the forest whole. Frost raced across the ground, climbing trees and freezing the air itself, crippling the frenzied beasts mid-charge. Snow and ice spirits thrived within the frozen domain, their strength magnified while the beasts' enhanced bloodlines were shackled by numbing cold.

It was not chaos—it was a symphony of war.

And Yue stood at its centre, the battlefield's ultimate conductor.

With the Gate to the Spirit Realm fully open, spiritual energy and mana poured into her without end. Exhaustion was an impossibility. Even when a spirit fell, its demise was fleeting; Yue could restructure its essence in moments, restoring it to fighting form and sending it back into the fray.

To Knodalon's eyes, it must have seemed as though her army was immortal, an unkillable legion that could not be worn down, no matter how savage the assault. In that moment, the battle ceased to be a contest of numbers or brute force.

It became a clash of command, control, and inevitability… and the world itself trembled under the weight of their war.

"This is… how a Titan fights?"

Leon remarked from within Amon's protection. Even the Sword Saint and Manon, two of the greatest warriors alive, were ashen-faced as they watched the whole ordeal.

The candidates for the new Pantheon had been mentally prepared to fight the Titans, and they knew that it was going to be a fight unlike anything they'd experienced before. But this was something outside their expectations.

"Yes, and the Beast Titan is probably the weakest one… or the very least, the most straightforward one to take down."

Compared to the other Titans, each of whom embodied a fundamental pillar of the world, the Beast Titan was never truly invincible.

The Infernal Titan could command every ember that burned upon the planet, while the Sky Titan could reshape the world's weather with nothing more than a passing thought.

In contrast, the Beast Titan's dominion was narrower, its authority bound to a single, living aspect of existence.

This did not mean it was weak. On the contrary, it was among the mightiest Titans to have ever existed. Its raw power, once unleashed, was enough to plunge civilizations into ruin.

That was precisely why it had been sealed within the Necropolis of the Gods—imprisoned not to destroy it outright, but to allow time itself to erode its divinity and diminish its influence, preserving the fragile balance of the world.

Yet in the end, there was a fundamental truth that no amount of power could change.

The world could endure without beasts.

Fire, sky, earth, and the elements were woven into the planet's very existence.

Remove them, and the world would collapse.

Beasts, however, were not a necessity… they were a consequence of life, not its foundation. Among the Titans, it was the least essential. And in a battle that would decide the world's fate, that made it the weakest of them all.

"T-That's weak?"

Ellahan murmured, echoing the others' thoughts.

"Yeah, and its divinity has been sealed. Otherwise, it could summon all of the beasts on the planet and order them to plunge into the depths of hell… and they would do so without hesitation."

In its prime, the Beast Titan was essentially the sovereign of all beasts. Just its bloodline suppression alone was enough to force every living creature to submit, let alone its overwhelming strength.

"S-Such a powerful creature."

"They were once the overlords of the planet, after all."

Amon replied with a tone of foreboding. He then looked over his shoulder at the new Pantheon candidates before adding: "Sear this into your memory. They are going to be the most challenging opponents you will face so far. No, they're going to be the strongest too. Prepare yourselves mentally for the biggest fights of your lives."

"..."

"But if you succeed, well… you'll be rewarded with immortality and a new power beyond mortal comprehension."

That carrot stuck in the candidates' minds like glue. Particularly the Sword Saint, whose lifelong goal was to become immortal, even with his ageing body.

"E-Even so… Sister Yue is overpowering it."

Despite the Beast Titan's display of overwhelming might, Yue stood as its equal—and more.

The ethereal young maiden moved across the battlefield like a divine goddess of war, her presence serene yet absolute. With fingers dancing through the air like a master conductor, she orchestrated destruction with effortless precision, erasing half of the beast tide as though it were nothing more than background noise.

At the same time, she wove spell after spell without pause, reinforcing her undying legion as naturally as breathing.

Barriers flared, fallen spirits were reforged, formations adjusted in real time—every aspect of the battlefield bent to her will. From the first clash to the final exchange, the Beast Titan failed to land even a single blow upon her.

Even when it unleashed world-ending attacks, strikes heavy with the wrath of heaven itself, Yue did not retreat. She stood unmoved at the storm's centre, her figure untouched amid collapsing land and screaming skies.

It was not defiance—it was a declaration.

Like an usurper stepping onto a forsaken throne, Yue made her intent unmistakably clear.

This was her era.

The age of the Titans was over.

And that truth… did not sit well with the Beast Titan.

"You dare… YOU DARE!!!"

Knodalon roared, sending a surge of mana that made the world tremble. Just being in his presence became suffocating and Amon was forced to pour more divinity to protect the candidates. But, it seemed that his worry was unnecessary as Leon, Ellahan, Manon, and the Sword Saint all forcibly stood tall in defiance against the monster. They resisted the urge to run away and saw the Beast Titan as what it truly was… a relic of the past whose time had long passed it by. Eventually… they were the ones who would inherit the world and take over the Pantheon, therefore… they couldn't be intimidated by the old sovereigns.

Knodalon roared, and the surge of mana that followed made the world itself tremble.

The very air turned oppressive, as though existence were being crushed beneath an invisible weight. Simply standing in the Beast Titan's presence became suffocating, forcing Amon to pour even more divinity into his protection as he shielded the candidates.

Yet his concern proved unnecessary. Leon, Ellahan, Manon, and the Sword Saint stood their ground. Though fear clawed at their instincts, none of them retreated.

They resisted the primal urge to flee and instead looked upon the Beast Titan for what it truly was… a relic of a bygone age, a sovereign whose era had long since ended.

One day, they would inherit this world.

One day, they would ascend and take their place within the Pantheon itself.

And so, they could not be cowed by the old rulers of creation.

While the four experienced their silent revelations, Yue's gaze never wavered from Knodalon.

The Beast Titan was enraged beyond reason, yet it did not lose its clarity. If anything, its thoughts sharpened. For the first time, it no longer saw Yue as a mere upstart or anomaly. She was a genuine threat, one who stood on equal footing with the Titans themselves.

Just like the Dragon Sovereigns of old, arrogant enough to believe they could bring him down.

And Knodalon would not allow history to repeat itself. It opened its massive maw, and the world screamed. A monstrous vortex of suction formed, dragging everything toward it.

Beasts from across the battlefield, thousands of them, each capable of levelling a city on its own, were ripped from the ground and pulled helplessly into the Beast Titan's mouth. Knodalon devoured them without pause, gorging itself like a ravenous god, crushing flesh, bloodlines, and souls alike as it absorbed their essence wholesale.

Yue moved to intervene, but froze.

The suction was too powerful. To force her spirits forward now would risk losing them entirely, swallowed whole before she could reclaim their essence.

Calculating, measuring, she chose restraint and waited.

Seconds passed… Then minutes… and finally… silence.

Every beast within reach had been consumed. From the outside, nothing appeared different. Knodalon still bore its familiar, dishevelled brown fur, its unsettling yellow eyes unchanged.

Yet as Yue continued to observe him, an unfamiliar tension crept into her chest. Her heartbeat began to accelerate.

Something changed.

And before Yue could probe what exactly happened.

ROAARRRR!!!

The Beast Titan opened its jaw again, and this time, a tempest was sent in her direction. Trees were uprooted as boulders broke free from their mountain seals. In the end, half of Yue's weaker spirits weren't able to handle the hurricane-like beastial roar and returned from whence they came.

Only Yue stood fully unaffected as the Beast Titan glared her down with the eyes of an apex predator.

"You will… die!"