Extra's Descent

Chapter 52  The Abyss Stares Back [1]

The man's eyes.

As if he was staring deep into Brandon's soul.

The only way Brandon could describe it, was as if he was staring deep into the abyss.

Brandon's entire body shuddered.

He looked down.

His hands. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

They were both shaking.

But nonetheless, he had to reply.

"What do you mean?"

"The Primordials, you know about us don't you?"

Indeed he does.

'But how does the man know that?'

Brandon then concluded that the man was a member of the organization.

"Which seat are you?"

He had a faint idea.

Brandon knew each and every one of the Seated members.

All except one.

"The First."

The man confirmed his suspicions, and Brandon's eyes shot wide open.

In all of the chapters he had read from the novel, not once did the First Seat appear.

There were other extra characters Brandon didn't know about.

But this man…

He was a major antagonist.

And yet…

Brandon knew next to nothing about him.

Step—

He took a step back.

And as soon as he did, the man in front of him was long gone and he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down."

The man's voice.

Monotonous.

Yet it felt as if he was…

Amused.

Turning around, the man had long disappeared.

Brandon then returned his attention back to the throne.

Once again, the man was seated, as if he was sitting the entire time.

Even with [Mana Disruption] under his arsenal, he knew it was futile.

There were no subtle movements whenever the man would appear behind him.

He couldn't find the right timing to disrupt the mana accurately.

Nor did he know where to actually disrupt it.

Brandon clenched his fists.

He knew he was powerless before him.

And as he was lost in his thoughts, the man's voice reached him once more.

"Ah, that's right."

The man stood up from his throne.

"This is the face you're used to."

"...?"

The man lifted his hand and swiped his face.

Suddenly, the man's face instantly warped, as if his face glitched out. The same went for his hair, then his entire body.

"Recognize me?"

Brandon's eyes shot wide open.

His entire being shuddered, unable to comprehend the sight before him.

Sweat started to form in his palms, as cold sweat started beading from his forehead.

He couldn't believe it.

The man was indistinguishable from his former appearance.

But...

Blue hair… Blue eyes…

It was an appearance that Brandon was quite familiar with.

"A-Alpha?"

"The one you know. But, not exactly."

"...What do you mean?"

"Did you really think Leon bought your lie?"

Indeed, Brandon realized just how easy it was for Alpha to believe him.

He played with fire.

He was too arrogant just because he had read the novel.

He knew that.

But way too late.

"The moment you told him about being 'The First Seat', he immediately reported to Nella."

'Nella?'

"You know her as well, don't you?"

"Pulcinella."

In other words, the 12th Seat.

"Correct."

"..."

After the man uttered those words, he tossed a peculiar item in Brandon's way.

Brandon turned to scan the item on the ground.

He was familiar with it.

Alpha's burner phone.

"Is he… dead?"

"For quite a while."

"Since when have you been pretending?"

"Can you guess?"

Brandon pondered for a while.

But the mere thought of it happening on that day sent a chill down his spine.

Brandon pursed his lips.

"...Before the party."

"Correct."

The man immediately responded, as if he knew that Brandon would arrive at the right conclusion.

'So this entire time..'

Brandon knew.

'I should've killed Alpha right there and then.'

His plans.

What he knew was under his control…

Evelyn, Raven and the rest… The ones who were supposed to be dancing in his palms…

But he was horribly wrong.

The one pulling his strings the entire time was none other than the man in front of him.

But for what reason?

"What do you want from me?"

"The First Seat."

"..."

"You can take it."

The moment those words left the man's mouth, he appeared before Brandon.

Step–

Brandon instinctively stepped back.

The man appeared way too fast for him to react.

His voice reached Brandon's ears once again.

"Though you're still quite too weak."

The man then stepped back and turned around.

"I'll give you three years."

"..."

"By then you must be able to defeat the 11th Seat."

Brandon was flabbergasted.

There were 12 seats in total. So why should he start from the 11th?

Yet as if his thoughts were read, the man responded.

"That's because Nella is dead."

"..."

"I killed her. The other seats shouldn't know about you yet."

Brandon didn't know how to respond.

None of the man's words even registered to him.

It felt as if everything he knew was a lie. It was all too overwhelming for him at the moment.

The man turned around and met Brandon's gaze.

Staring deep into his ink black eyes made Brandon shuddered in fear.

His mind told him to run, to get far away from the man.

And yet his body wouldn't listen to him.

As if he was frozen in place.

He turned around to face Brandon.

"Though…"

The man's next words reached Brandon's ears.

"I'd like to see what your current level is at."

However…

The words came from behind him.

Instantly, Brandon turned around and blew a gust of wind to distance himself from the man.

But as soon as he did, the man had already appeared in front of him, as if the wind didn't faze him at all.

Booom–!

Brandon skidded back several meters.

Kracka!

Bolts of black lightning headed his way.

Brandon tried his best to avoid the attack, but before he knew it, the lightning had already struck him.

"Ukh!"

Brandon was sent hurling away, crashing on the ground.

With wind magic in his palms, Brandon abruptly got up.

But once again, the man appeared before him and struck him in the abdomen with a wind empowered fist.

Clearly, the man was a Deviant.

And just like Brandon he had more than two elements.

From what Brandon could conclude the man had shown [Lightning] [Wind] and [Space].

Yet it seemed like that wasn't all..

As Brandon skidded back, a portal materialized behind him and black ice crystals emerged, raining down on him.

Tszzz—

Brandon abruptly dodged, empowering himself with blue sparks of lightning.

Yet…

The man was directly following him, leaving trails of black sparks, as if he was copying what Brandon would do.

Brandon shifted his trajectory, and an ice sword materialized in his hand.

Clang—!

He swung it down, only for the man to parry with his own black ice sword.

But for some reason…

Cr..Crack…

Only Brandon's sword shattered.

The man's amused voice reached his ears.

"Fascinating, right?"

Brandon stood still, staring at the man.

The man tossed his sword up.

Then, with his palms, the man sent a torrent of black flames at the sword.

The sword should have melted if it was ice.

However, it didn't.

At that, Brandon realized, it wasn't a sword made of ice.

It was a sword made out of the [Crystal] affinity.