Transmigrating as an Extra, But the Heroine Has Regressed?!-Chapter 321: Encountering Dakin.

"...Why didn’t you let me handle everything? You could’ve died."

Kael shrugged. "Didn’t want you to fight alone."

He didn’t even realize what he said.

He spoke casually, like it was nothing.

But to her...

He said the exact opposite.

She looked away.

"You’re reckless," she muttered.

"You’re annoying." he replied.

They both exhaled at the same time.

She touched her sleeve.

The vial was still there.

She could poison him now.

(Why can’t I do it?)

But her heart whispered:

(He saved you too... many times.)

(He fights without hesitation.

He risked himself to protect you.) she thought.

She closed her eyes tightly.

Her plan failed again.

The Thief Returns

Then suddenly—

A small cough echoed from behind a crate.

Kael’s eyes sharpened instantly.

A small girl with ragged clothes, holding his pouch in shaking hands.

"I-I’m sorry..." she said. "I didn’t mean to lead you here. I didn’t know there were spirits. I... I just needed money for medicine..."

Kael stared quietly.

Elysia softened.

"Medicine? For who?" she asked gently.

"My little brother... he’s sick. The guilds won’t give us help. Please... I didn’t want to hurt anyone..."

She held out the pouch with trembling fingers.

Kael took it silently.

He opened it.

Most of the coins were still there.

He closed the pouch and tossed it back to her.

"W-What?"

"Keep it," he said.

Elysia’s eyes widened.

"You need it more."

The girl’s eyes filled with tears.

"Thank you... thank you so much...!"

She ran off into the night.

Elysia stared at Kael, struggling to understand him.

"You gave her everything?"

"They need it more."

(Kael Ashford...The killer of the future... was showing a kindness she hadn’t expected.

Again.

Why?"

Kael Starts Walking Away

"Well," Kael said, dusting off his hands.

"Ten minutes are over. I’m going back."

Elysia stepped forward automatically.

"Wait."

He paused.

"We... we should go back to the festival together. For safety."

"Safety from what?"

"Cursed spirits or demons whatever."

"We just defeated them."

"Still—"

Kael raised an eyebrow.

"...Are you trying to spend more time with me?"

Elysia turned scarlet.

"N-No! Of course not! I just— I mean—Well— Maybe— I— SHUT UP!"

Kael blinked.

Elysia covered her face with her hands.

(Why am I acting like this?!)

**Kael walked ahead.

Elysia followed behind.**

The alley had grown silent again, carrying nothing but the fading echo of wraiths and their own heavy breaths.

Kael pushed off the wall, testing his arm—the spot where the wraith scratched him still throbbed, cold and strange.

Elysia noticed his wince.

"You’re still hurting."

"It’s nothing," he muttered.

She didn’t argue. For once, her usual sharp tone was gone.

They stepped out of the alley as the noise of the Night Market returned—laughter, music, clinking glasses, the fragrant smell of grilled meat drifting through the air as if nothing had happened.

Elysia sheathed her sword.

"Well... are we going back?"

Kael blinked. "To the festival? After all that?"

"We came here for a reason," she said.

"If we return now, everyone will ask questions. Questions we can’t answer."

Kael sighed. She wasn’t wrong. He didn’t want attention.

"Fine."

They walked back into the bright, chaotic mess of the Night Market. Others were carefree—drinking, singing, cheering.

Their world hadn’t changed, but Kael and Elysia felt the weight of something heavier clinging to them.

"Kael," Elysia said suddenly, "don’t wander alone again."

He glanced at her.

"...Right," he said.

They moved through the crowd, pretending nothing happened.

But Kael still felt the cold burn beneath his skin.

Festival Drinks

"Try this!" someone shouted, handing out free samples of a glowing blue drink. "Moonfire Ale! Tonight only!"

Kael hesitated.

"It’s harmless," Elysia said.

"You sure? Last time someone said something was harmless, I got chased by a boar."

Kael smirked, took the drink—and instantly regretted it.

The ale was stronger than anything he’d tasted.

Warmth spread through him. His vision blurred slightly. His steps got lighter.

Elysia narrowed her eyes.

"...Kael, are you drunk?"

"No," he said, wobbling. "I’m just... relaxed."

"You’re drunk."

He raised a finger dramatically. "Elysiaaaa, listen carefully. I am perfectly—hic—fine."

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Great. You’re useless now."

"I’m amazing," Kael insisted.

A group of performers passed by—fire dancers swirling flames high into the night.

Kael stared at them in awe like a child seeing fireworks for the first time.

Elysia almost laughed.

She had thought killing him would be simple.

Laughing, smiling, pointing excitedly at grilled meat—It made her stomach twist in a way she hated.

She followed him, making sure he didn’t fall into a food stall or pick a fight with a vendor.

"You’re really watching me closely," Kael said drunkenly.

"Someone has to."

Kael leaned closer, eyes half-lidded.

"You’re... kinder than I thought."

She grabbed his shoulder, pushing him back—harder than necessary to hide the panic fluttering inside her chest.

"Walk. Straight," she ordered.

"Yes, ma’am..."

(how long should i act like this?) Elysia thought.

Midnight approached, and the festival took a different atmosphere.

Lanterns dimmed.

Music softened.

The crowd thinned but became rowdier.

Kael swayed with each step.

Elysia walked ahead slightly, keeping watch.

The night wind shifted, carrying a faint scent she couldn’t place.

Ash.

Demonic residue.

She stiffened.

"Kael," she whispered, "stay close."

Kael blinked slowly. "Why...?"

But he didn’t get to finish.

Because a voice cut through the midnight air.

"Well, well... if it isn’t my favorite little anomaly."

Elysia spun instantly, grabbing her sword.

Kael lifted his head groggily.

A figure leaned casually against a stone pillar, illuminated by the faint, flickering lanterns.

Dakin.

The same demon who appeared in the original novel as a harbinger of tragedy.

"You..." Elysia whispered, gripping her blade.

Kael’s drunken smile faded.

And even drunk, even dizzy—his body recognized the danger before his mind could.

The remaining crowd seemed oblivious, as if a veil of mana concealed Dakin’s presence.

Dakin stepped forward, eyes narrowing at Kael.

"You have grown... interesting," the demon said with a low chuckle. "Your fate twists. Shifts. Breaks in ways I did not foresee."

Kael clenched his fists.

"What do you want?" Elysia demanded.

Dakin’s gaze shifted to her.

"And we have met again. Welcome to my fight." Dakin said.

Elysia’s hand instantly dropped to the hilt of her sword.

Her gaze hardened, all traces of festival softness gone.

"Step away from us," she warned.

Dakin’s eyes shifted to her lazily.

"Well, well... the little hero who keeps ruining my fun."

He twirled a clawed finger, a ripple of shadow dripping from it like black ink dissolving into water.

"Kael," she whispered without turning, "stay behind me."

Kael, still hazy from the alcohol but sobering quickly at the sight of danger, tried to push himself up.

"I—I can fight..."

"Shut up."

Dakin chuckled. "Protecting him? Cute. Shame you don’t know the real monster standing beside you."

Elysia didn’t flinch. "I don’t need to know anything except this—you’re a threat."

"Oh?" Dakin grinned, revealing needle-like teeth.

"Then come show me your conviction."

The shadows beneath his feet surged violently.

"UMBRA FANG — FIRST FORM" Dakin roared.

The ground cracked.

Darkness exploded upward like a geyser, forming jagged fangs of condensed shadow that

lunged toward Elysia with deadly speed.

Elysia moved the instant they formed.

Her frost-coated blade slashed upward.

The shadow fangs collided with it, shattering the surface into frost particles.

But the attack didn’t stop.

The shadows curved around, ripping sideways toward her exposed flank.

"Elysia!" Kael shouted.

She pivoted, dragging her sword along the ground. Ice spiraled upward, forming a twisting shield of frost.

CRASH—!

The shadow and ice met, blasting shards across the riverbank.

Elysia skidded back several steps, boots carving lines into the dirt.

Her arms shook from the force, but she held her stance.

Dakin’s smile widened.

"Impressive. Most heroes would’ve died already."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Elysia growled. "I’m not like them."

Her breath fogged with cold. Mana surged through her blade.

A sharp crack echoed as frost spread across her boots, anchoring her stance.

She charged.

She vanished in a burst of cold mist—reappearing above Dakin.

Her blade descended in a blinding arc.

Dakin raised an arm, catching the blade between his claws.

Sparks and frost burst from the impact.

"You’re fast," he said mildly. "But speed alone won’t save you."

He pushed her back effortlessly.

Elysia flipped mid-air, landing in a ready stance.

Dakin’s Skill: Umbra Fang — Second Form

Dakin spread his arms, shadows swirling like a storm.

"UMBRA FANG — SECOND FORM!"

The air split.

A scythe-shaped slash of pure shadow erupted toward her—curved, precise, and lethally quiet.

Elysia’s pupils shrank.

This attack could kill her if she mistimed even a single breath.

She slid her foot back.

Mana condensed along her sword.

The cold wind roared.

She swung.

Her blade released a crescent wave of crystalline frost, meeting the shadow scythe in mid-air.

The collision was silent—

Then erupted in a violent blast of spiraling frost and shadow.

The impact hurled Elysia backward.

Her boots scraped across stone; frost cracked along her arms, the recoil vibrating through her bones.

She managed to stay standing.

Barely.

"Elysia!" Kael pushed himself up, staggering toward her.

She extended a hand behind her without looking.

"Stay back, Kael!"

Dakin’s laughter echoed through the night.

"You’re skilled, girl. But you’re burning through mana too quickly."

He tilted his head.

"Do you know what happens to a swordsman when they run out?"

Elysia lifted her blade again, shoulders trembling.

She pointed it directly at Dakin.

"They keep fighting."

Even if her arms shook.