I AM EXTRA IN A SHONEN MANGA

The air was thick not just with the reek of poisoned vines or the shimmering waves of healing resonance but with emotion.

Even now, as Saya's corrupted Bloom twisted in blind rage, it was Lira's gentleness that held the field.

Somewhere on the upper seats, Shigeo Motome forever slouched, forever unimpressed—watched the scene unfold with his usual tired gaze.

His fingers twitched, little arcs of static dancing on his knuckles.

He sighed.

"What a complicated world..."

People nearby barely noticed him mumble it.

But his eyes never left the fight.

Saya was screaming. Lira was glowing. It looked like chaos and healing clashing, but Shigeo knew better.

"(Is this what you want, Saya? To have another friend…?)"

He watched her lunge again, another scream, another burst of blight that barely reached Lira's barrier of warmth.

"(Welp. If you have her… maybe you won't come crashing through my window again just to bother me about juice boxes or stupid old books…)"

His brows lowered just slightly.

"(I guess… that's okay.)"

Static hummed faintly in the air around him, unnoticed by most.

Below, the clash reached its emotional peak.

Lira's petals swirled gently, disarming every twisted vine with grace, as she stepped forward again.

Saya fell to her knees.

Breathing heavy. Teeth clenched.

But something was different.

There was no attack. No venom in her voice now.

Only the flickering remnants of something else.

Lira offered a hand.

No power. No speech. Just… kindness.

And Saya… didn't swat it away.

Meanwhile—

On a nearby floating platform...

The Eclipse Vanguard stood like statues, watching.

The wind rustled Master Isen's black-and-silver robes as his golden hair caught the sun. Calm blue eyes studied the girls below.

A smirk tugged at his lips.

"Bloom's embrace…" he muttered.

"She truly inherited the old style."

Raiden Kurogami, arms crossed and half-asleep, peeked through one eye.

"Tch. Too peaceful. That kind of art makes me itchy."

But even he didn't look away.

Gorou Kanzaki offered a serene nod.

"She fights not to destroy, but to liberate. Buddha once said—"

"No one asked, rockhead," Amane Hoshigaki cut in, twirling a poisoned petal between

her fingers.

"But yeah... I like her. She's dangerous."

Yui Fushiguro remained silent. Eyes sharp, unreadable.

And Kurosawa Zeke? He grunted.

"Corruption unchecked leads to rot. But pruning… that's an art too."

Back below, the battle had ended.

But in the hearts of those who watched...

...something had just begun.

..

Meanwhile on Khael side

He tapped a finger on the metal bar.

"Well, that's an obvious result..." he muttered, watching as Lira helped Saya to her feet.

"Now those two will become friends. Just as I remembered."

His voice was flat. Not cold, not warm—just aware.

"The winner—Lira Valenne!"

Sensei Shun's voice echoed through the wind-imbued microphone, calm and commanding.

"Next match… Fighters, prepare!"

Cheers died down. Whispers surged.

Ceyla Nox — Affinity: Storm vs Baek Suwon — Affinity: Wave

"Finally."

Khael's eyes narrowed.

"The fight of Ceyla Nox..."

He leaned back, folding his arms.

His thoughts swirled like eddies.

"(Her opponent is Baek Suwon. A prodigy—and an arrogant one. He always acted like no one could touch him. But this fight? It broke him. Ceyla traumatized him so badly, he finally matured. He changed.)"

Below, Baek Suwon stepped into the arena, his royal-blue coat fluttering with every confident step. His short black hair was slicked back, and a polished wave crest pin clung to his collar like a badge of legacy.

"Tch. Another noble brat," someone whispered in the crowd.

Suwon's gaze scanned the field lazily until it landed on his opponent.

That's when his smirk faltered. Just a little.

Ceyla Nox was already standing on her side of the platform.

A girl with wolfcut black hair streaked with faint purple strands.

Just cold.

Heavy.

Burdened.

Her uniform was tailored, sharp. But the black shawl around her shoulders.

Whispers buzzed again.

"That's the Nox girl, right?"

"Didn't they cast her out?"

"She looks like a ghost…"

Khael didn't blink.

….

The crowd was still reeling from the aftermath of Lira's victory… and now, a new kind of tension rippled across the arena.

Sensei Shun raised his hand once more.

"Begin!"

The instant the word left his mouth—

KRAKOOOM.

A snap of thunder cracked through the sky but it wasn't natural.

It burst from the center of the arena, trailing behind the girl with wolfcut black hair, eyes colder than steel.

Ceyla Nox… vanished.

Not moved.

Not dashed.

Gone.

A moment later, the air shimmered behind Baek Suwon.

"Tch—!"

Baek barely spun in time, his foot stomping down as a translucent wave shield erupted around him, catching the jagged arc of a storm-forged blade that came from nowhere.

CLANG!!

The clash of storm and tide echoed across the arena sparks flying, mist billowing from the sheer force.

Baek smirked.

"Is that all? The Nox brat has speed, I'll give you that—" he mocked, water rippling at his heels like a tide waiting to crash. "—but you're just lightning without thunder."

Ceyla stood across from him now, her stance low, blade humming with unstable energy.

Her eyes were unreadable. Cold.

She stepped forward once.

Then vanished again.

ZAAAP—!

CRASH!!

This time she struck from above her blade aimed downward like a thunderbolt. Baek raised his hands just in time, water spiraling into a sphere to block the impact.

But the moment it made contact—

BOOM!

He was sent sliding across the stone floor, boots grinding, wet skid marks painting the arena beneath him.

Khael Corzedar didn't blink.

He watched it all from the stands, arms crossed.

"(She's not angry… she's surviving.)"

Baek gritted his teeth, standing back up with a snarl.

"You little storm-rat—do you think you can humiliate me? I'm Baek Suwon. The prodigy of the Wave Sect. The one who'll become the next Vanguard!"

Ceyla tilted her head, lifting her sword like a question mark.

"…Is that so?"

Her voice was dry. Deadpan.

"…Then if I beat you up, does that mean the so-called prodigy… is shit?"

Gasps rippled through the audience. Even Sensei Shun's brow twitched slightly.

Baek's face flushed red with fury.

"YOU—!"

Water surged. He stomped hard and from beneath him, a hydro spear erupted, twirling with momentum as he hurled it forward like a tidal harpoon.

SWOOSH—!!

Ceyla didn't dodge.

She bent her knees, leaned into the wind and spun.

Stormlight wrapped around her body, forming a cyclone as she became the eye in her own storm.

She slid through the spear, brushing past the current as if she were a phantom of the wind.

Then she struck.

ZRRRRK!!

The tip of her stormblade nicked Baek's shoulder—his defense lagging just half a beat too slow.

"Agh—!" he winced, staggering back.

She was on him again.

A blur.

Lightning and shadow.

One step.

Two slashes.

A sweep kick followed by a reverse grip stab aimed at his ribs.

Baek summoned a dome of water, barely holding it with both hands.

"Stay back!!"

BWAOOM—!!

The dome shattered.

She didn't care.

She kept pressing, again and again, like a wolf picking apart a prey that had already bled.

And then—

Baek gasped.

Because she wasn't aiming to kill him.

She was dissecting him.

Taking his balance.

Taking his pride.

Breaking him apart without saying a word.

The clash of stormlight and tide echoed through the arena like a drumline of chaos. Baek Suwon's water-formed armor glistened under the sun, glinting like tempered glass but it cracked under pressure.

"Drown in this!!" Baek roared, his voice seething with pride.

He twisted forward, water swirling around his limbs as if dragged from the sea itself. His final move Tidal Fang was a spinning punch sheathed in layered blades of current, a technique that once crushed training dummies into wet dust.

The arena gasped as he launched it.

But—

Ceyla did not move.

She stepped into the strike, ducking under the crashing blow. Her feet slid across the stone like a storm rider catching wind. Her storm currents gathered at her back, rising like wings made of wrath.

In a blink—

Her blade stopped.

An inch from his throat.

Baek froze.

His mouth parted but no sound came out.

The crowd murmured.

Ceyla didn't smile. Her black wolfcut hair swayed in the breeze like wild brambles, untamed and fierce. Her eyes were stormclouds with no horizon.

Then she spoke.

"Now tell me…"

Her voice was a whisper. A blade sliding into the ribs.

"What did you say back then…? A prodigy?" Her lip curled.

"Don't make me laugh."

"You're just a weakling—

—a piece of shit."

She slammed the hilt of her blade into Baek's ribs. A crack echoed. Baek coughed, blood flicking from his lips.

Another strike.

And another.

Baek fell to his knees, eyes glassy, breath shuddering.

"Tell me again."

Her boot pressed into his chest.

"Are you a prodigy?"

Baek whimpered.

Ceyla laughed.

It wasn't joy. It was venom cold and hollow.

From the stands, members of Vanguard Eclipse began to rise. Their faces contorted with alarm.

"Hey! She's gonna kill him!"

"Someone stop that psycho!"

But they didn't get far.

A hand raised.

Master Isen, sitting with arms crossed.

"Hoh…" he murmured.

"Someone's already stopping her."

The arena air shifted.

A wind blew not natural.

It was charged. Focused. Deliberate.

And from the edge of the ring, a boy stepped forward.

Not Kaen.

But Khael Corzedar.

His black hair flickered in the breeze. His eyes, sharp and calculating, locked onto Ceyla without a hint of fear.

He didn't shout.

He didn't panic.

He simply walked across the stone platform, each footstep crisp.

And then he stood between them.

Baek wheezed beneath him.

Ceyla raised a brow. Her blade hovered still ready to carve.

"Move," she said flatly.

Khael's gaze didn't leave hers.

"Stop this," he said.

"Right now."

The silence was sudden.

Even the crowd held their breath.

Ceyla's storm didn't vanish but it hesitated. Something flickered behind her eyes.

"You…Tch. So now you play savior?" she muttered, stepping back.

She turned her back without another word.

Baek collapsed fully, unmoving.

Khael glanced at him briefly, then looked back toward Ceyla's retreating figure.

"(You're not the villain yet… but I know what's coming.)"

He clenched his fists.

"(I won't let you walk that path)

Author's Note:

Originally, this scene was supposed to be Kaen's moment to shine—but Khael moved first. The pieces of the story have begun to shift. What was once certain… is no longer.

To be continue