I AM EXTRA IN A SHONEN MANGA

Kaen squared his shoulders.

"Okay—my turn."

A flame flickered in his eyes. "Flame Echo Art: Fire Fist!"

He moved forward, feet brushing the earth with Echo-charged rhythm. The air between them crackled.

Raiden watched coolly. "Hoh…"

Kaen lunged. His fist, aflame and furious, cleaved the space toward Raiden at impossible speed.

But Raiden wasn't caught off guard. With a flash, he blinked aside then delivered a swift kick.

Kaen staggered backward, hurt and surprised.

"Ouch…"

He barked under his breath and surged again. Raiden met him mid-strike, planting a heavy kick into Kaen's chest. Kaen was unbalanced—thrown across the training yard like debris.

Meanwhile, Rael Eluron observed coldly from the sideline:

(I could call Seraphis, my Echo Spirit..)

He watched Raiden swirl thunder arcing in subtle waves that masked threat.

As Kaen landed roughly, chest heaving, flame sputtering.

He glared at Raiden, pain flickering through his expression.

(Broken? Maybe. But my fire doesn't stop.)

Raiden extended a hand, thunder curling around his wrist.

"That was your speed test. Not bad."

His tone flat but not uninterested. "Your turn fails if you can't take this from me."

He held up the paper an ordinary slip, unreadable from here.

"Next."

Lira stepped forward, hands raised not in defense, but in diplomacy.

"Guys, look—we need to group together. Fight together. That's the whole point of this test!"

Rael didn't even glance at her.

His gaze remained on Kaen, cold as frost.

"With that guy? I'd rather die."

"Hmph. Me too," Kaen snapped, rising to his feet and brushing ash off his shoulder.

The tension crackled more than Raiden's thunder.

Then, Rael's eyes narrowed. A flick of his fingers.

A gleam of light surged behind him—

And then—

"Seraphis. Let's go."

From thin air, she emerged.

A luminous presence, robed in radiant veils of green-gold, wings unfurled like leaves in bloom and lightning entwined. Her form was angelic, ethereal yet terrifyingly still.

Seraphis, the Verdant Mirror.

A Shinrei Spirit bound to the Eluron lineage. An amplifier of thought. An extension of Rael's genius.

Some whispered she made his Lumen Blade sentient, that the sword chose its strikes, not just followed them.

Rael's voice echoed calm and clear.

"Judicator Form."

Golden runes surged across his blade as Seraphis fused into his Shinrei circuit. A translucent halo formed behind him—sharp-edged like a crown. His uniform shimmered faintly as wind gathered around him.

He became a commander born of storm and judgment.

Raiden watched with raised brows.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Hoh... to think you can use it to this extent. As expected of you, Rael Eluron—the prodigy of three affinities."

Kaen clenched his fist.

(Tch. That smug bastard... pulling out all the stops just to show off. I'm not gonna get left behind.)

Lira stepped between them again.

"Enough! You're acting like we're enemies. We won't pass this unless we move as a team!"

Rael didn't listen.

His boots kicked off the stone floor with precision his body like a blade unsheathed.

Wind surged behind him, lightning sparking at his heels. The air split as he charged straight toward Raiden, ignoring Lira's protests entirely.

"Echo Art: Spiral Lance!"

Seraphis flared behind him, her spectral wings igniting with green-laced wind and violet static.

Lira's voice cracked through the arena.

"Rael, STOP!"

But it was too late.

Rael Eluron had made his move.

Straight into the storm.

Raiden sighed.

"Tch... And here I was enjoying the peaceful vibe."

His fingers twitched once.

The world froze.

BOOOOM.

Lightning cracked like a god's whip.

Rael's Spiral Lance stopped inches before contact.

But not because he pulled back.

Because Raiden wasn't there.

He was already behind him.

Rael's eyes widened.

"Wha—"

CRACK.

A single, clean thunder chop struck the back of Rael's neck. It wasn't brutal, it didn't even knock him out.

But it was enough.

Rael's knees buckled. His blade vanished. Seraphis flickered, then dimmed.

The world snapped back into motion.

Kaen blinked.

"Huh!?"

Raiden stood casually in Rael's shadow, one hand still raised from the strike, his coat billowing from the residual shockwave.

His voice was calm, almost tired.

"Lesson one."

"Don't flash your blade unless you're ready to lose it."

Rael fell to one knee, gritting his teeth.

(He moved... like nothing. I didn't even—)

Raiden turned, looking at all three now.

"Teamwork isn't optional. It's survival. If one of you fails, you all do."

He raised the paper again, still perfectly intact.

"Again"

Rael clenched his fists.

(Damnit... my plan didn't work.)

(As expected of an Eclipse Vanguard...)

His breathing tightened.

(This is the gap... the massive difference.)

His mind spiraled not from pain, but from the gnawing weight behind his vengeance.

(If I can't even touch him... how the hell will I kill that bastard who took my mother's life?)

His knuckles whitened.

Raiden's gaze swept over him.

He didn't speak. But his eyes said everything.

(You still have a long way, young man.)

Kaen, lounging with a cocky smirk, laughed.

"Ahahaha! In the end, even you couldn't beat him, Rael."

That grin that tone hit like salt on an open wound.

Rael's head snapped toward him, fury sparking.

"Losers always have the loudest mouths."

Kaen's grin sharpened.

"What did you just say?"

The tension cracked like ice.

But before either could ignite—

"Enough!!"

Lira's voice cut through them like a bloom breaking through ash.

She stood between them, lavender eyes glowing faintly with her Shinrei.

Her silver-pink hair drifted slightly with the air, and her voice gentle, but firm left no room for argument.

"We're not here to play rivalry games. We either beat him together… or we stay stuck here while other teams move ahead."

"And if you both want to keep letting your egos speak louder than your Echo Arts, then maybe I'll take that paper myself."

Raiden raised a brow, his arms crossed loosely.

(Hoh... This one's interesting.)

Rael looked away, jaw tight. Kaen clicked his tongue, folding his arms but saying nothing.

Lira stepped forward and took a breath.

"Here's what we do…"

She began sketching out a quick plan, her Shinrei pulsing faintly as her Bloom Affinity amplified coordination and clarity between minds.

Raiden's lips curled into a faint smile.

(Finally… Now you're thinking like a team.)

To be continue