The Extra Can't be A Hero

Chapter 371: The Age of Gods (3)

As the Demon King vanished from Heaven, only Amon and Yue remained within the endless sea of clouds and golden sands.

The two stood in silence.

This was what they had fought for all this time. To overthrow Hyades. To drive the Demon King from their homeland. To protect everyone they held dear.

And yet, as victory finally settled upon their shoulders, neither of them felt the joy they had imagined. Instead, they felt the weight of the road that still lay ahead.

"Hah..."

Yue collapsed onto the sand and stared up at the boundless sky.

"We finally did it, and now there's another enemy waiting for us? When do we finally get to rest?"

The thought of another war was enough to exhaust her. They had spent years struggling against Hyades and the Demon Empire. They had bled, suffered, and sacrificed more than either of them cared to remember.

Yet now they had learned that beyond their world stood Demon Kings whose power dwarfed anything they had faced before.

Sometimes it felt as though their journey would never truly end.

Amon smiled faintly.

"Don't worry." He gazed toward the horizon where the Demon King had disappeared. "Knowing him, he won't invade until we're strong enough to resist."

Yue raised an eyebrow.

"That sounds like a terrible thing to be reassured about."

Amon chuckled.

"For beings like Demon Kings, time means very little. They've existed for billions of years. Waiting another thousand years... a million years... is nothing to them."

To mortals, a thousand years was an eternity.

To immortals, it was merely the passing of a season.

"We'll have time," Amon continued. "Time to strengthen the Pantheon. Time to unite the world. And when the day comes..."

A dangerous glint flashed within his eyes.

"We'll make them regret ever setting their sights on our dimension."

"Alright." A radiant smile bloomed across Yue's face. For the first time since the battle ended, hope filled her heart.

"Then let's make sure we're ready."

Amon extended his hand.

"For now... let's take our seats."

"Yes."

Hand in hand, the two walked toward the centre of Heaven.

There, three divine thrones stood beneath the endless celestial sky.

The Throne of Harmony. The Throne of Records. And the Throne of Protection.

The first belonged to Amon. The second belonged to Yue. The third remained empty. Reserved for Leon.

At this very moment, Leon still stood within the mortal realm, leading humanity through the final remnants of the war. Truthfully, Amon could descend from Heaven right now and erase Kieran and every remaining dissident of the Demon Empire with a single thought.

But he chose not to.

Though he had become the strongest existence in the world, he had no intention of becoming its protector.

That role belonged to Leon.

The world needed its own beacon.

Its own hero.

And Leon needed the chance to become that symbol.

As for Amon... His place was elsewhere.

The moment he sat upon the Throne of Harmony, Heaven trembled.

A boundless wave of divine light swept across the celestial realm as the throne accepted its new master. Amon slowly closed his eyes. His consciousness descended into the throne. Into the deepest foundations of Heaven itself.

Countless concepts unfolded before him. Creation and destruction. Life and death. Order and chaos.

He witnessed Heaven's power to reduce worlds to ash with a single judgment. He witnessed Heaven's power to restore what had been lost, healing even the deepest scars left upon existence.

The Throne of Harmony embodied both extremes.

It could destroy all things, and… restore all things.

The authority to end existence and the authority to preserve it. No wonder it was regarded as the supreme throne among the three.

Beside him, Yue was experiencing something entirely different.

The moment she sat upon the Throne of Records, endless streams of light flooded her vision. She witnessed the birth of their dimension. The rise and fall of countless civilisations. The endless eras woven by the Mandate of Heaven.

She saw forgotten heroes. Extinct races. Collapsed timelines that had never come to pass. And futures that still lingered within the realm of possibility.

Past. Present. Future.

All flowed before her like pages within an endless book.

The Throne of Records granted her dominion over memory, fate, and time itself.

She would become Heaven's archivist. The keeper of all histories. The Governess of Fate.

As the souls of Amon and Yue gradually merged with Heaven, the celestial realm began to transform.

Ancient divine trees erupted from the earth, their branches stretching across the skies. Crystal rivers flowed through the clouds. Towering ethereal mountains rose from the horizon. Countless fountains of starlight burst into existence.

At the very centre of Heaven, a magnificent palace emerged.

Its golden gates stood open to all who were worthy enough to enter. Within its vast hall stood the three thrones. Above them floated countless spheres of light, each containing fragments of divine authority waiting to be claimed.

This was the foundation of the new Pantheon.

The first step toward a future beyond Hyades. A future beyond the Demon Empire. A future where the gods of their dimension would rise high enough to challenge even the mighty Demon Kings of the Demon Realm.

And one day... Perhaps even surpass them.

It was the start… of the Age of Gods.

❖❖❖

As Heaven underwent its final transformation, the war upon Earth was also entering its final chapter.

The oceans themselves churned as though the world was preparing for its last breath. At the centre of it all stood Kieran.

The last commander of the Demon Empire.

The Apostle of Domination.

Surrounded by countless soldiers, he had never felt more alone.

Once, he had been the administrator of the empire. The strategist who remained behind the scenes while others fought on the front lines. He was the mind that coordinated victories and orchestrated campaigns. Now, that luxury was gone.

His fellow Apostles had fallen. The Prophet was gone. Even the Demon King had abandoned the battlefield.

Everything rested upon his shoulders.

His gaze swept across the war-torn world as he tightened his grip on his staff.

"Don't worry..."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"I'll avenge all of you."

At his command, countless puppets surged forward.

The Chaos Dolls.

The surviving Demon Nobles.

Every warrior whose mind had been conquered by the Apostle of Domination.

They charged without fear. Without hesitation. Without concern for their own lives.

Each of them had become nothing more than a weapon.

A disposable piece on Kieran's board.

And leading them all was the greatest monster in existence.

Abyssion.

The sea itself seemed insignificant beneath its shadow. The colossal serpent emerged from the oceans like an ancient calamity awakened from the dawn of creation. Its body stretched beyond the horizon, coiling around entire islands. Black scales covered its immense frame, each one larger than a fortress wall. Every breath it released became a hurricane.

Every movement created tidal waves capable of drowning kingdoms. When its tail struck the ocean, entire fleets disappeared beneath walls of water hundreds of meters tall. The mere sight of the beast filled countless soldiers with despair.

Fortunately... Humanity possessed a trump card of its own.

"Everyone, retreat from the ocean!"

Lucas's voice thundered across the battlefield.

"All naval forces fall back immediately!"

Knights and Magicians abandoned their ships without question.

Against Abyssion, fleets were meaningless.

Anything that remained on the water would simply become collateral damage.

For humanity's true weapon was finally entering the battlefield.

The oceans erupted. Towering pillars of water rose into the heavens.

At their centre stood Aluria. The Ocean Goddess. Her azure hair danced amid raging storms as divine authority poured from her. The seas answered her call.

Thousands of water spears descended simultaneously. Each carried enough force to pierce mountains. Each carried centuries of hatred toward the monster that had defiled her domain.

BOOM!

The ocean exploded.

Abyssion roared as countless pillars crashed into its body. The attack had barely landed before another followed.

Yeon raised her hand. An endless winter descended. Frost spread across the battlefield faster than lightning. The oceans froze. The storms froze. Even Abyssion's massive body began to crystallise beneath layers upon layers of divine ice.

Entire mountain ranges of frozen seawater erupted around the colossal serpent, restricting its movements. Yet humanity's assault had only begun.

The Alliance Army. The Solaris Army. The warriors of Eldorin.

Every remaining force on the continent launched its final offensive.

The sky darkened, not from clouds, but from magic.

Johann and Jex Amaris descended from the heavens like twin stars.

The two greatest magicians in the world stood side by side. Behind them floated countless stellar formations. Thousands upon thousands of glowing circles illuminated the sky.

Then they fired.

An endless rain of comets fell upon the battlefield. Each streak of starlight carried enough power to annihilate entire armies. The heavens themselves seemed to be collapsing onto Abyssion's body.

Far away, standing upon a mountain peak, Venya Vortessa calmly pulled back her bowstring. The God Archer narrowed her eyes. The world seemed to slow. Distance became meaningless. Wind became meaningless. Even space itself seemed to bend before her aim.

And then… he released her bow.

A single arrow crossed thousands of kilometres in an instant.

Then another. And another. Each one struck a vulnerable point.

An eye. A joint. A damaged scale. Black corroded blood erupted from Abyssion's wounds as the greatest sniper in existence relentlessly hunted the monster.

Yet Abyssion was not the only threat.

The Chaos Dolls and enslaved Demon Nobles had become frenzied.

Their bodies were breaking apart. Their souls were burning away. But none of them cared.

Kieran had stripped away everything except the desire to kill. They threw themselves into the allied armies like rabid beasts. Seeking only to drag as many enemies into death as possible.

"Hold the line!"

"Don't get drawn into their aggression!"

"Advance slowly!"

"Protect your comrades!"

The Solaris Knights stepped forward. Like an unbreakable wall, they met the enemy head-on.

Alrock Solaris led the vanguard. Carmen Solaris stood beside him. The greatest knights of the age carved through waves of enemies while maintaining perfect formations.

Above them, Yval spread her wings across the heavens. The Dragon Goddess illuminated the battlefield with divine light. Her bloodline blessing descended upon every allied soldier.

Their strength surged. Their speed increased. Their courage became unshakable.

And standing at the very centre of it all... Was Leon.

The God of Protection.

Golden radiance enveloped the battlefield. His divine authority spread across millions of soldiers simultaneously.

Aura flowed through their veins like an endless river. Fatigue disappeared. Wounds closed almost instantly. Broken bones healed. Exhausted warriors found themselves standing once more. And even before injuries could occur, layers of divine protection shielded them from harm.

Leon stood in the sky like an unmovable fortress.

A guardian protecting the entire world.

As Kieran watched the battlefield gradually tilt against him, his expression darkened. His fingers tightened around his staff.

Veins bulged across his forehead.

The armies he controlled were falling. Abyssion was being overwhelmed. And at the centre of it all stood the one man he hated most. Kieran slowly raised his head and glared at the golden figure hovering above the battlefield. His eyes burned with fury.

"...Leon."