The Extra's Rise

Chapter 261: Reika Solienne (4)

Chapter 261: Reika Solienne (4)

His voice was smooth, hypnotic, but there was steel beneath it. A certainty that shouldn't have been possible for someone his age, someone who had walked the earth for such a brief time.

"Ouroboros will reach the absolute zenith of all guilds," he continued, each word falling like a hammer on an anvil, shaping something new, something dangerous. "The peak of the world itself. Give me your blood and sweat, and I will reward you with vengeance."

His expression darkened, shadows gathering around him like loyal servants, something dangerous flickering in his eyes—a glimpse of something vast and hungry that lived behind the human mask he wore.

"Because when I needed it," he murmured, his voice dropping to a whisper that somehow filled the entire room, "no one extended a hand to me."

Before I could respond, before I could even process the weight of his words, the sharp, metallic scent of blood hit my nostrils, stronger than before, overwhelming. It coated my tongue, filled my lungs, made me want to gag.

Arthur's expression darkened as he rose to his feet, the easy confidence in his posture never wavering, but something in his eyes changed—hardened, focused, like a blade being drawn.

My breath, however, hitched, caught on the edge of a silent scream.

I felt it.

Not just the presence, not just the mana—something deeper. A sensation that slithered through my body, clawing at the edges of my mind, digging up something I had long since buried beneath layers of denial and forced forgetfulness.

Fear.

Not the everyday fear of pain or failure. No, this was something older, something primal. The kind of fear that didn't just shake your hands or quicken your pulse, but unmade you, cell by cell, memory by memory, until there was nothing left but the animal need to escape, to run, to hide.

My nerves twisted, my muscles clenched, my very soul recoiled, trying to retreat from the physical confines of my body.

And I knew what it was.

Blood magic.

A foul, ancient power—vampiric in nature, honed to perfection over countless sacrifices. And it was coming from him, radiating outward in pulsing waves that seemed to distort the very air.