Extra's POV: My Obsessive Villainous Fiancee Is The Game's Final Boss

The climb was brutal.

Hands slipped, fingers scraped, and rocks broke away under their boots.

Thorn's voice echoed across the cliff face as he reached towards a nearby handhold. "Are you sure this is the right way, Ren? Because I swear if it isn't, I'm going to find the guy who mapped this and throw him off it."

Ren glanced down from a few feet above, clinging to a jutting ledge. "Unless you want to spend two months roaming around the mountain just to get to Ur, then yes, this is the fastest path. And just for the record, I mapped this route myself."

"Great. I know who to toss down if it turns out to be a dud."

Lilith, a few feet below Thorn, let out a sudden gasp as her foot slipped. She slammed her palm against the stone, arresting her fall with brute strength. Pebbles scattered into the yawning drop below.

"I'm fine." She said quickly, eyes hard. Sweat trickled down her temple.

They'd been at it for hours and if any of them fell without powers to slow their fall, it would be an instant death, no matter how powerful they were.

At the start, they'd used Thorn's cloak to fly through the jagged terrain, but the effort had drained him of blood faster than expected.

The cloak, powered by Bloodbinding, needed blood to function, and Thorn had pushed it too hard.

Now they climbed the old fashioned way, hands and feet against jagged rock while the afternoon sun beat down on their backs.

It was slow going. Every meter felt like a mile.

Thorn muttered curses under his breath as he hauled himself over the next outcrop.

Ren didn't reply. He was too busy scouting for the route with the best handholds for the rest of the climb.

After what felt like hours, the group pulled themselves onto a narrow ledge nestled into the cliffside.

They collapsed there, panting and slick with sweat. The sun was mercilessly beating down on them.

Ren was the first to sit up and pull out a cloth wrapped bundle from his spatial pouch. He handed out sandwiches, made of soft bread, slices of salted meat, dried tomato, and set a canteen down in the middle.

"Eat up." He said. "We've been climbing for hours. We need the energy."

Thorn took his with a grunt, devouring it in seconds. Lilith was more measured, biting slowly while keeping her eyes on the slope above them. Her eyes never truly rested, roving around in watch.

They sat in silence for a while, chewing and catching their breath. The high mountain wind whistled past.

Ren eventually set his bowl down. "Once we scale this cliff, we'll hit the final stretch. Ur isn't far from there. Just one more pass."

Thorn leaned back, staring at the clouds. "And then what? We knock on the town gates and say, 'Hi, we're here to find a guide from you group of super powerful people'?"

Ren smirked. "Sort of."

"So," Thorn said, "Rank 4 and Rank 5. What's the actual difference? Because it's pretty disappointing to me."

Ren tapped his chest lightly. "Well, with Rank 5, I get an increase in strength and can manipulate soul energy much more efficiently. Heal myself with it. Project more of my energy outward."

"But honestly, most of that I already had when Lilith fused my soul to my body down at Steadfast when I was killed. Ascending to Rank 5 just made everything more natural."

"Showoff." Thorn muttered.

"Anyways," Ren chuckled, "With Rank 4, apart from the noticeable increase in general power, you only get the ability to lock any enchantment of your Bloodbinding to your bloodline."

"But…" He sighed. "It's all tied to the Blood Tree."

Thorn nodded. "Yeah. If I burn my connection to it and sever the link, I lose all the perks that come with it."

Ren grew quiet. "It's a trade. One we've already decided to make."

They sat in silence a while longer. Then Ren turned to Thorn again. "Recovered enough?"

Thorn shook his head. "Still low. Give me another hour."

Ren sighed and stood, stretching.

Then, a deep whistle cut through the air.

"MOVE!" Ren shouted.

A massive boulder, easily the size of a small wagon, barreled toward them from above.

They scattered, diving up the cliff face just in time. The boulder smashed the ledge where they'd been sitting, cracking the stone and sending debris flying in every direction.

"We're under attack!" Thorn barked.

From their new vantage points, they spotted it. An enormous cyclops halfway up the slope, hefting another boulder in its meaty hands. Its single eye glowed with fury.

Lilith growled and began scrambling upward with terrifying speed, fingers digging into rock, her body a blur of red hair and rage.

Thorn and Ren moved parallel, dodging more hurled stones as they searched for footholds.

Lilith was like a streak of darkness as she raced upwards, and in five minutes, she got there. The cyclops turned too late.

She launched herself forward, her shoulder slamming into its gut with a thunderous crack.

The creature staggered, bellowing in pain, but she didn't stop. She ducked under a wild swing, planted her foot, and drove a fist into the creature's jaw. Bone crunched. The cyclops reeled.

She slammed her palms against its chest, pushing it backward with brute force. It stumbled, and she leapt, driving both knees into its face. They crashed to the ground together.

Lilith straddled its chest and brought both fists down like hammers. Once. Twice. Three times.

The cyclops groaned.

Then, with a final roar, Lilith buried her fist into its skull. The impact echoed. Bone cracked. The cyclops went still.

Below, Thorn and Ren continued for more than thirty minutes before reaching the top, panting and wide eyed.

"Remind me never to get on her bad side." Thorn muttered.

Ren nodded. "Noted."

Thorn approached the body, peering down at the massive form. "You know... that's a lot of meat. Think it'd be cannibalism if we ate it?"

Ren raised an eyebrow. "It's humanoid."

"So are monkeys. We eat those."

"We don't eat those, Thorn." Ren sighed. "We've never ate monkeys before."

"Well, we could eat it."

Lilith stood, wiping blood from her knuckles. "It's gross."

Thorn sighed theatrically, a grin on his face. "Fine. Wasted opportunity if you ask me."

He then proceeded to look around at the flat stretch of rock on the mountain. "Where are we anyways?"

"One of the last good rest spots before we get to Ur." Ren answered. "Enough dillydallying. Let's go."

He turned, leading the way, following a winding path that flattened into a long ridge. The sky overhead darkened with approaching clouds.

Soon, they reached the mouth of a massive valley. Darkness pooled within it like a sleeping beast. The cliffs on either side were steep and tall.

Ren paused at the entrance.

"This is the crossroad." He said.

Thorn looked down into the shadows. "Doesn't look friendly."

"We have two options," Ren said. "We take the valley, straight through. Or..."

He pointed to the steep incline climbing the cliff beside them.

"...we climb."

Lilith looked at the slope. Then at the valley. "Which is safer?"

Ren gave a wry smile. "Neither. Just depends on what kind of trouble we want."