The Extra Who Shouldn't Exist novel Chapter 324

Chapter 324: Chapter 324 : The sword emperor marcus reed

Inside the royal palace, devastation shook the corridors.

Explosions of mana echoed in the distance, walls cracked, and the sound of clashing steel and shouts carried faintly through the halls.

Inside the room of Elaria Moonshade Lareth’Thalas, chaos had already passed.

Elaria was on her knees.

Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth, sliding down her chin and staining the floor beneath her. Her breathing was rough, shoulders trembling, mana exhausted. Her bow lay a short distance away, its string frayed from overuse.

Standing in front of her was a gray-haired man who looked to be in his fifties, but whose eyes held a cold, hardened cruelty that had nothing to do with age.

Marcus Reed.

All around him stood masked figures in dark uniforms—his subordinates. Their faces were hidden, their auras sharp and murderous, forming a tight circle around Elaria’s room, cutting off every escape route.

Marcus watched Elaria kneeling before him, a twisted, unhinged smile slowly curling his lips.

"Looks like the intel was correct," he said, voice laced with amusement. "That monstrous child isn’t in the palace right now."

He spread his arms slightly, as though admiring the scene.

"Which gave us the perfect opportunity to strike."

He glanced around the room then—eyes narrowing slightly.

"But... it’s strange," he murmured. "It was too easy to get here. No real resistance. Almost as if someone wanted us to walk right in."

A smirk tugged the corner of his mouth.

"That scheming bastard..." he chuckled. "He set this up, didn’t he."

He looked back at Elaria.

In one slow motion, he crouched down and reached out, lightly touching her cheek with the back of his fingers as if she were some fragile ornament on display.

"I almost feel sorry for you, elf girl," he said. "Looks like that boyfriend of yours has already betrayed you. Used you as bait, thinking he could track me that way."

Elaria’s eyes flashed.

She violently jerked her head away, flicking his hand off her face. In the same motion, she snatched up her bow, drew an arrow from her quiver with a trembling hand, and nocked it with practiced speed.

Mana surged around her.

A sharp, bright aura wrapped around the arrowhead, wind and nature mana gathering in a swirling vortex. Her entire body screamed in pain, but she forced herself to draw the bowstring back to its limit.

"He. Is. Not. My. Boyfriend," she shouted.

BAM.

The arrow was released.

It shot forward with the speed of lightning—leaving a green trail in the air as it tore through space toward Marcus’s face with killing intent.

But something unbelievable happened.

Marcus didn’t even draw the sword at his waist.

He simply raised his hand.

The arrow reached him.

His fingers snapped closed around it.

The lethal projectile that could punch through steel stopped dead in his grip. The wind burst around his arm, tearing his sleeve, but his skin remained completely unscathed.

Elaria stared, stunned.

Marcus looked at the arrow now clutched in his hand, then casually snapped it in two. The shattered halves fell to the floor with a dull clatter.

Even in her battered state, Elaria couldn’t believe what she’d just seen. That arrow had been a full-power shot. And he’d stopped it with one hand.

Marcus chuckled. "That was an effort worthy of praise," he said. "You’ve got unbelievable talent with the bow, girl."

His gaze softened for just a fraction of a second.

"Just like my wife," he added quietly. "She was a bow user too. Her name was Aisha."

He smiled faintly, but there was no warmth in it—only warped nostalgia. "To me, she was the most beautiful woman in the world."

Elaria said nothing.

Marcus began to circle her slowly, hands behind his back.

"We met in Zenith Academy," he said. "Back when I was still a decent man. We married soon after. Life was... good. Too good, maybe." He chuckled darkly. "As they say, all good things end eventually."

He began listing names, each one heavy with history. "Me, Edward, Alyssa, Alina, Aisha, Reynard, and others... we were all good friends once."

He sighed. "And my Aisha... she had one problem. She was too kind. Too soft. She didn’t know how to say no. No matter what anyone asked of her."

His eyes darkened.

"Then it appeared. The first SS-rank dungeon. No one could clear it. Hunters died like dogs, one after another, throwing their lives away for fame and glory."

His voice grew harsher. "That’s when it happened. That bitch Alina asked Aisha to help her conquer that dungeon. And as kind as Aisha was... of course, she agreed."

Elaria coughed, blood on her lips. "Not to interrupt... but aren’t you afraid Alex might come back?"

Marcus clicked his tongue. "How rude of you to interrupt someone’s story."

He leaned down slightly, looking her in the eye. "But to answer your question: like I said, that guy has already abandoned you. He thinks he’s clever. I can see his plan clearly."

"He wants to save both your mother and your father’s precious reputation. He thinks he can have it all."

At the mention of her mother, Elaria’s eyes widened, panic overriding her pain. "Where is my mother?"

Marcus shrugged. "Don’t worry. She’s safe. For now. How long she stays that way depends entirely on your dear father."

The color drained from Elaria’s face.

"So like I said," Marcus continued calmly, "no one is coming to save you."

He straightened.

"Now... where were we?"

He tapped his chin theatrically. "Right. That bitch Alina asking Aisha to go with her. And Aisha accepting."

"At that time," he went on, "the dungeon was on the verge of a break. Edward was scrambling to give the expedition all the support he could. Potions, artifacts, elite forces—all thrown at it."

Marcus’s expression twisted. "I wasn’t there to stop her. I was on another expedition. So she went in with Alina."

He paused for a moment.

"You can guess what happened next," he said quietly. "A massacre."

His voice dropped. "Out of seven hundred people sent... only four came back."

He looked at his hand as if seeing the number there.

"Four."

"Aisha was not among them."

He laughed once, bitterly. "Only that bitch Alina and her closest guildmates walked out alive. Everyone else died."

"When I returned and heard the news, I..." His jaw clenched. "It felt like my mind cracked. My whole world shattered."

"I tried to find Alina, but she hid from me like a rat. And Edward..."

Marcus’s eyes flashed with rage.

"Edward banned anyone from entering that dungeon. Said it was too unstable, that it could break at any moment. I begged him to let me go in. Begged."

His voice turned mocking. "Do you know what that bastard said? He said he had to go to the borders to stop an invasion from some tiny kingdom whose name I don’t even remember. And that my Aisha was already dead. That I should accept it."

Suddenly, Marcus snapped.

"Who the hell was he to declare my wife dead?!" he yelled. "Without even trying to help me?!"

Elaria flinched as his aura flared.

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