Reincarnated As An Extra With The 10x Link System-Chapter 55: A Smart One

A plan had been hastily formed, and the four of them were moving quickly to see it through. Based on what Kuran had said, it was the best they could come up with, really... And even if it proved more difficult than they had originally believed, they could always prepare contingencies.

’But at what cost?’

That thought gnawed at Megumi every step of the way because, in truth, there was too little known about the enemy. All things considered, they would be going in blind, moving into enemy territory unsure of what the demon’s true capabilities were.

About two dozen meters away from the cave, Kuran glanced over the towering peaks and back at his teammates.

"Is everyone ready?"

Each of them nodded, smiling to hide the tense look on their faces. They had all faced a demon once and knew how terrifying one could be inside its natural habitat—especially one that would be very difficult to see.

Kuran shifted his gaze to the cave in the distance, which looked like nothing but a stark pool of darkness from his angle. The entrance seemed too small to be a cave as well, but that was only because it was man-made... demon-made? And that vile creature had intentionally constructed it so.

It was exactly the kind of thing a fool would be attracted to. Too bad he wasn’t fooled.

At his signal, his shadow split in two and quickly glided away, heading toward the cave. It reached the entrance and swiftly moved inside, providing Kuran with a quick view of the place and the demon’s location.

As quickly as he could, Silver placed his hands and concentrated on using his ability. At such a distance, it was going to put a great strain on him and drain even more energy, but he managed to pull it off regardless.

By using his ability to manipulate earth, he weakened the lip of the cave entrance and then dissolved into his shadow, appearing right next to it. But this time, he was on the other side, in the embrace of the steep darkness.

The sound of flesh tearing echoed in the hollow space, but he tried his best to ignore it, quickly seeing to it that his mission was accomplished. A second later, the walls of the cave trembled and then crumbled, drowning it in shadows even further.

Hime appeared right next to him and, without wasting a single moment, sent her chains forward. They wrapped around the demon as it lay crouched in the distance. It was a dangerous gamble—she couldn’t see, so all she could rely on was her hearing.

The earth around its feet softened and then hardened just as quickly, trapping it in place.

Now that the demon was subdued, only one variable remained: Megumi. He was the team’s best finisher, and he wasted no time in playing his part, appearing right next to the appalling creature with his sword and body already aflame.

The crimson flames burned with furious intensity. With momentum on his side, he stepped forward and swung his blade. A mundane weapon wouldn’t affect the demon, but the flames were another matter entirely.

The blaze flared and wrapped around the demon’s body, prompting a loud screech. Then something dropped. Megumi felt it—his sword had severed something as it fell.

’...That can’t be.’

Kuran had heard it too, and, just as close to the demon, he saw it. The fiend’s head was rolling on the floor of the cave, now illuminated by Megumi’s flames.

’But how...’

Kuran seemed to share the same thought, a bewildered expression finding its way to his face. What they were seeing made no sense—whatever their battle orientation, an Awakened demon was still an Awakened demon. Not even mundane bullets could harm one.

He placed his hand on Megumi’s shoulder and slightly narrowed his gaze at the other two in the distance.

"Don’t let your guard down no matter what."

His mind wandered as he peered into the distance where light could not reach:

Can it also use shadows?

His spine went cold at the thought. If it could, they had to act fast. Light—they had to illuminate as much of the space as possible, and only one person came to mind.

’That’s right...’

But he wasn’t prepared to ask the fellow heir directly, not after the refusal to use his ability.

He walked forward with an intense gaze and yelled:

"Now would be a great time to use any luminous you have!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Silver gritted his teeth and stepped closer to Megumi’s light. Hime was next to him, doing the same, but unlike him, her hand was held out, a whirlwind of golden sparks appearing atop her palm.

She was summoning one of the many equipment-type Soul Bound Relics she possessed, and soon, Silver began to do the same. Megumi was content using his flaming sword as a torch, and Kuran wasn’t too concerned with the darkness.

Their eyes remained fixed on the unsightly body before them. The demon was gaunt and lanky, its front limbs extending into short, jagged blades. Its legs were bent, its skin a ghastly sight of dark scales and ridges.

Shadows pooled around the dead body, flickering under the gaze of their light—and then, they surged. The shadows rose, becoming tangible as they wrapped around the creature’s body.

Before any of them could act, it was pulled into their embrace. Its body and severed head disappeared from sight.

"Damnit."

Megumi cursed, quickly turning to see where the demon could have gone—but he couldn’t see anything. He knew for certain that the creature was still alive somewhere, because he would have heard the system if it had truly been killed.

Two minutes passed in dreadful silence, but nothing happened. It seemed the demon had truly vanished. However, such theatrics wouldn’t work on them—they each knew how cunning demons could be.

At this point, the eerie silence didn’t feel as dramatic. The demon had indeed disappeared, and from the looks of it, wouldn’t be returning anytime soon.

Kuran began preparing to transport them out of the cave, mumbling a few words.

"This one is more intelligent, it seems."

Who would have thought that statement would turn out to be so true.

First, Hime was transported away, and then Silver. Before Megumi could leave, he glanced at Kuran with a question:

"Do you suggest we come back for the demon?"

The heir of Kitsuboma shook his head.

"No. What I would suggest is that we avoid any dark places from now on—from this point on, the demon will be hunting us, and it won’t rest until we’re all dead."

He heaved a sigh.

"And besides, it wouldn’t be stupid enough to come back here, but it will be watching."

Megumi frowned at the boy’s words, unsure what to say. They already had their hands full with the critter that had tried to burrow underground, and now there was a fiend of shadows on their tails as well. He shivered at the thought of what might happen should those demons band together.

Eventually, he was transported out of the dark cave, appearing next to Hime and Silver, who were looking at the now-blocked entrance with bleak expressions. Megumi also noticed that there weren’t any places for shadows to dwell around them.

In that instant, Kuran ascended from the shadows with his usual reassuring smile—but Megumi only caught a glimpse. His eyes remained fixed on their feet, particularly their shadows.

Were his eyes fooling him, or had his own shadow just grown darker? It was subtle but strange, as if his shadow suddenly stopped belonging to him.

His heart began beating faster as he took a tentative step backward—but before his feet could touch the ground, his eyes widened. A wet tearing sound resounded as blood spilled over his companions, and a second later, he slumped to the ground.