The Extra Who Shouldn't Exist novel Chapter 329

Chapter 329: Chapter 329 : Choice

The moment the golems finished rising from the torn earth, Alden and Saria snapped into full alertness.

The ground around them was now crowded with hulking stone bodies. Obsidian‑like limbs ground against the soil as the golems straightened, their single red eyes flickering to life one after another.

The air filled with the sound of grinding rock and pulsing mana, like a hundred boulders learning how to breathe.

Alden didn’t wait.

Dark flames surged around him as he dashed forward, his body becoming a blur. Every swing of his blade cleaved through stone chests and crystal cores, black fire rushing into the cracks and detonating from within.

Golems shattered into chunks and dust, but as soon as they fell, the broken pieces twitched, crawled back together, and reformed.

Saria gave a sharp order, and elven arrows rained down, piercing joints and heads—yet even when their limbs were blown off, the golems reconstructed themselves, shards of stone snapping back into place as if time were rewinding.

"Tch, this is annoying!" Alden growled, cutting another one in half, only to watch it rebuild itself.

Then a calm voice echoed inside Alex’s head.

[ Host, they all have a single core inside their head. Destroy that, and they will stop regenerating. ]

’Head core, got it,’ Alex thought.

He raised his voice over the chaos.

"Alden! Saria! Aim for the head—there’s a core inside! Break that and they’ll stay dead!"

Alden didn’t question it for a second. His next slash curved upward, dark flames focusing along the edge of his sword. He leapt, bringing the blade down like a guillotine.

The strike split a golem’s head cleanly; a glowing core inside shattered with a sharp crack. That one didn’t get back up.

Saria caught on immediately.

"Archers! Change target—eyes and head!" she shouted.

Arrows shifted, now aimed higher. The next volley punched straight through stone skulls, exploding the cores hidden within. One by one, golems froze, their bodies crumbling like puppets with their strings cut.

Within moments, the tide turned.

But the enemy wasn’t done.

From the colossal tree above, dark shapes began descending—cultists leaping down from concealed platforms and branches, cloaks whipping in the wind.

Some landed among the elves, blades flashing; others hurled corrupted spells that twisted the air.

Alden blurred into motion again.

He moved like a streak of black fire, appearing in front of enemy after enemy. Each swing burned through robes and flesh alike, leaving nothing but scorched marks on the ground.

Cultists barely had time to scream before they were reduced to ash.

Yet more kept coming, pouring down the tree like a swarm.

Amidst the chaos, Alex didn’t move.

He stood near the rear line, eyes fixed on the towering tree’s uppermost branches, as if listening to something no one else could hear.

"Hey!" Alden shouted between strikes. "Help us here! What’s the point of you being strong if you’re not gonna fight at all, you bastard?!"

Alex’s mouth twitched.

"I’m reading some really powerful energy signatures from the top," he replied. "There are some seriously strong guys up there."

Alden cut down another cultist. "So what are you gonna do about it?!"

Alex looked at him flatly.

"Isn’t it obvious? You act like a side character and take care of these guys. I’ll act like the hero and go save the queen."

Saria, slashing a cultist’s throat with her twin blades, snapped, "And the princess!"

"Yeah, yeah," Alex said. "No need to yell. I didn’t forget her, okay."

Before either of them could answer, a familiar notification rang in his mind.

[ Shadow Step – Activated. ]

Black shadows coiled around Alex’s feet.

In the next heartbeat, his figure blurred—and vanished.

He reappeared on one of the highest branches of the massive tree, the air thin and cold around him. Without pausing, he continued using Shadow Step, flashing from branch to branch, climbing higher and higher in a series of silent, weightless leaps.

Leaves and twisted branches whipped past him until he broke through the upper canopy.

At the top, the base finally came into view.

Built into and around the crown of the tree was a massive fortress—jagged black metal fused with living wood, platforms suspended between colossal branches, towers rising like thorns. Glowing runes pulsed along the walls, forming a network of barriers and sigils. It was large enough to house an army, yet eerily quiet.

No guards. No patrols rushing him. No spells launching from the walls.

Too quiet.

Alex narrowed his eyes and let out a soft sigh.

"Yeah," he muttered, "that’s not a good sign at all. I’ve seen too many movies like this."

He took a step forward.

A voice slid out from the shadows ahead.

"So you’re the human that has the cult so afraid, huh."

Three figures stepped out of the darkness.

They looked humanoid at first glance, but the details betrayed their nature. Each of them had horns curling from their heads—different shapes and sizes—and long, dragon‑like tails swaying lazily behind them. Sleek scales traced parts of their skin, catching the light with a metallic sheen.

One man had brown hair, tousled and falling slightly over his golden eyes. Another had black hair, slicked back, his golden gaze cold and razor‑sharp. The third was a woman with long green hair that flowed down her back like a waterfall of emerald, her own golden eyes half‑lidded and predatory.

All three radiated power thick enough to make the air hum.

Alex looked at them and exhaled through his nose.

"I knew it," he said. "You guys were the energy signatures I sensed."

One of the men—black‑haired, with the sharpest eyes—clicked his tongue.

"Let’s finish him," he said. "Don’t waste time talking."

His body began to change.

Bones cracked and lengthened, muscles expanding as black and crimson scales spread across his skin. His horns grew longer, curving back like blades. Wings tore out from his back with a wet rip, unfurling wide enough to blot out part of the sky. In a matter of seconds, he completed his transformation into a massive dragon, eyes burning like molten gold.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify