I AM EXTRA IN A SHONEN MANGA

Rael's eyes glinted under his silver-white bangs.

"Seraphis."

He murmured it like a prayer.

From the faint shimmer behind him, a figure appeared—tall, ethereal, cloaked in divine armor.

Seraphis, Rael's Echo Spirit, stepped forward, eyes glowing with lightning lines like circuits of judgment.

It nodded once.

Juno's charge neared.

The arena trembled.

…

…

As the fierce battle between Juno and Rael unfolded below, the wind howled and lightning crackled—every strike echoing like a drumbeat of destiny.

Standing at the edge of the viewing platform, his body still faintly smoldering from his own fight against Ban, Kaen stared down in silence.

His flames had settled, but his heart hadn't.

His eyes locked onto Rael—that calm, calculating presence whose every move seemed planned five steps ahead. Rael stood there like a conductor, orchestrating chaos with his Echo Spirit, Seraphis, now floating behind him like a divine sentinel.

Kaen clenched his fist tightly.

His knuckles cracked beneath the pressure.

His gaze didn't blink.

"(To think… this is our difference.)"

..

Back to Arena

The air split with tension.

Dust swirled in spirals around Juno, whose foot remained buried in the cracked arena floor. Muscles flared beneath his uniform as he forced his way out of Rael's trap, his breathing heavy—controlled. His aura pulsed violently as the fifth Vein Gate, the Iron Nerve Gate, unleashed a surge of inner force through his limbs.

But above them…

The sky dimmed.

A silver glow descended behind Rael—a radiant, angelic being hovering silently.

Seraphis.

His Echo Spirit.

Two pairs of spectral wings slowly unfurled. Its form was neither fully human nor divine—but its presence was overwhelming.

Its eyes did not blink.

Its aura made the Vanguards lean forward.

Rael murmured, "Initiate: Light Resonance."

A ring of glowing runes spread outward from Seraphis. They weren't for show.

Juno charged, fury in his eyes, breaking free from the wind trap with raw brute force.

"RAAAHHH!!" he roared, lightning crackling across his arms as he launched a powerful punch.

But the moment he moved—

"Echo Art: Mirror Shift."

Rael blinked out of sight.

Juno's punch hit air.

The crowd gasped.

Rael reappeared behind him—

Graceful. Composed. Untouchable.

"Echo Art: Pulse Chain."

Five golden chains of light surged out of Seraphis, spiraling toward Juno like serpents. Juno spun and struck two away—but the other three coiled around his torso and arms, tightening with shocking precision.

Juno's body shuddered—his nerves screamed under the pressure.

"Nnghh—dammit!!" he spat, his knees nearly buckling.

Rael approached slowly, his palm glowing.

"You've done well, Juno. But you burn like a meteor."

"And I—"

"—I burn like a star that never dies."

With a thrust, Rael pressed his palm against Juno's chest.

"Final Echo: Judgment Spark."

A silent blast of pure light erupted from Rael's hand, engulfing Juno in a blinding pillar of silver and white.

For a moment, no one breathed.

When the light faded, Juno lay on one knee, panting—scorched, but alive. His body trembled. But his eyes, those fierce fighter's eyes, never dimmed.

Rael stood over him still composed.

"Yield."

"Tch... this is the power of affinity?!" Juno thought bitterly, teeth grinding.

His breathing grew ragged. His body screamed for rest.

But his soul—

Burned.

"I don't have a choice..."

He rose, slowly, glaring up at Rael with fierce defiance.

"I DON'T HAVE A CHOICE BUT TO USE THAT."

Rael's eyes narrowed.

"What?"

"GATE SIX!!"

"PULSE GATE—OPEN!!"

A shockwave burst outward from Juno's body. The chains binding him shattered like glass under an unseen force.

Then—

The world slowed.

Rael's pupils dilated for a fraction of a second. The silver runes around him flared in warning.

But Juno was already gone.

Zzzzzzzhh!

In a blur of motion, Juno vanished—and reappeared inches from Rael, fist cocked back with blinding momentum.

"TOO LATE!"

His punch landed.

BOOOOM!!

Rael flew back, crashing across the arena like a ragdoll, flipping midair before landing on his feet, skidding back with a shocked grunt. Seraphis's wings folded defensively in front of him, absorbing some of the blow.

But Juno wasn't done.

He moved again faster than sight. In an instant, he was beside Rael once more, fists and knees coming from impossible angles.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Rael blocked two strikes, redirected another but took a roundhouse kick to the ribs that cracked the air. He grunted, pain flickering through his eyes for the first time.

Amane Hoshigaki, watching from above, leaned forward.

"Seems like Juno's got the upper hand this time."

Kaito Yagami, arms crossed beside her, simply said—

"Again, does he?"

Back in the arena—

Juno blurred around Rael again.

"I'LL END IT IN ONE BLOW!!"

His entire frame surged with light-speed pulses. He twisted into a spinning punch aimed straight for Rael's temple.

But—

Rael caught it.

One hand.

His feet scraped backward—but he held firm.

"Enough."

Rael's voice dropped, calm yet resonant.

Behind him, Seraphis opened its eyes fully. The air trembled.

"Authorization… 80%."

"Initiate—Phase Bloom."

Seraphis's form expanded—the wings growing larger, six now in total. Its divine aura became unbearable, the weight of divinity pressing down like a mountain.

Juno's eyes widened as the pressure hit him. The Pulse Gate flickered. His speed waned.

Rael lifted his other hand and whispered—

"Judicator Form."

A radiant sigil burned into his palm.

He moved.

This time, it was Rael who vanished.

CRACK!

A palm struck Juno's back.

THOOM!

A knee into his gut.

FLASH!

A beam of divine energy surged from Seraphis, slamming Juno midair and crashing him back to the ground.

Juno hit the arena hard, gasping. His body twitched.

His mind spun.

"I can't... keep up... He adapted that fast...?!"

Rael landed gently, stepping toward him once more.

He raised his hand, golden runes swirling around his fingers.

"This is the final warning."

"Surrender or you die"

Juno trembled on the ground, blood dripping from his lip.

But his fist...

Still clenched.

His knees...

Still trying to lift him.

Rael stared down at him not with contempt.

But with quiet respect.

"Impressive."

"Even when crushed… you rise."

..

Meanwhile Master Isen, the Keiryuu, stood like a monolith of calm amid divine storms. His golden hair fluttered slightly, despite the still air, and his calm blue eyes never blinked.

He spoke softly, yet clearly enough for the others to hear:

"Hoh… this is getting intense, right, Kaito?"

The man beside him didn't shift much.

Kaito Yagami, arms folded, leaned further into the railing. His sea-glass eyes reflected the twin blurs of Juno and Rael, locked in a dance of blinding speed and precise annihilation.

"He's fast… but Rael is faster where it matters," Kaito murmured.

"In reading."

Amane Hoshigaki, the Bloom user, smiled—delicate fingers to her chin like she was sipping tea.

"Ah, young love. The thrill of trying to kill your friend just to prove a point."

She giggled. No one dared laugh with her.

Gorou Kanzaki, the giant with Buddhist scripture glowing faintly on his skin, slowly opened one eye. His voice rumbled like a temple bell:

"Amitabha, That boy… Juno. He is opening the Sixth Gate, Without full mastery."

He turned slightly to Master Isen.

"Shall I intervene if his heart bursts?"

Isen shook his head gently.

"No. Let the Pulse Gate speak for him."

Raiden Kurogami, lightning flickering at his fingers like an impatient storm, raised a brow at the silver glow around Rael.

"Rael hasn't even broken 80%."

"And still, he toys with him. Typical."

Kurosawa Zeke, magma veins pulsing beneath his heavy coat, simply stared—unblinking, unmoving.

The collar of his coat hissed with steam as his temperature rose slightly.

"heh, the gap is clear."

Yui Fushiguro said nothing. But her eyes… shifted to Kaen.

…..

Kaen, thought bitterly

"(To think... this is how far apart we are now...)"

"(Juno's pushing him, but Rael... Rael's evolving mid-fight.)"

He swallowed hard.

"(If that were me down there—I wouldn't last two moves.)"

….

Master Isen, sensing the weight of every emotion around him, closed his eyes for a brief moment.

"This new generation…"

"…They burn fast."

He opened his eyes again.

"But will they burn long?"

The other Vanguards said nothing.

Down below, the light of the Pulse Gate burst forth.

And Rael, for the first time—

Smiled.

…

BACK TO THE ARENA

The arena shook as the force of Juno's punch cracked the stone tiles beneath them. His body glowed faintly—veins surging, muscles trembling, breath ragged.

But he didn't stop.

Juno roared, a defiant cry that echoed across the sky:

"ARGHHH!!!"

His fist drove forward, blazing with nothing but sheer willpower.

Across from him, untouched, calm, radiant—

Rael stood with a silver gleam around him, his spirit Seraphis floating gently behind, wings folded, expression impassive.

Rael didn't block. He didn't even brace.

He simply tilted his head with that familiar, condescending smile and spoke with quiet cruelty:

"I commend you… affinityless Juno."

"But that's just your faith."

He stepped aside slightly as Juno's fist scraped air.

"You can never beat those who were born with Affinity."

And with that, Rael's palm glowed—not with force, but with elegance.

A gentle wave of spiritual pressure blasted Juno backward like a leaf in a storm.

From the crowd, someone gasped.

"He didn't even try to hurt him..."

But Juno even as he skidded, bleeding, and broken—his arms hung limp, his breathing ragged. One eye swollen shut, his knees trembling with every second.

And yet…

He still stood.

Rael narrowed his eyes, the faint smirk on his lips beginning to waver.

"You're still standing, huh?"

"Tch. Persistent."

He took a step forward, aura crackling—ready to end it cleanly.

But then—

A blur.

A flicker of movement too fast for most eyes.

A gust of displaced air.

BOOM.

Suddenly standing between Juno and Rael was a man, tall and broad-shouldered, wearing a faded cloak bearing the Taishin insignia.

His mullet hair shifted gently in the wind as he placed a hand on Juno's chest.

"He's already unconscious."

The voice was deep, calm but carried weight, the kind that silences even thunder.

Master Vince, one of the elite few who walked the Taishin Path, the ancient road of body, spirit, and raw martial will stood before them.

A ripple of shock coursed through the spectators.

"W-What? That's… that's the Taishin master!" Even the elite on the crescent podium stirred.

Kurosawa Zeke squinted.

Gorou Kanzaki placed a fist to his chin in silent respect.

Amane Hoshigaki's smile widened slightly.

Rael, for the first time, stepped back.

And then gasps echoed once more.

Because they all now saw it.

Though Juno's eyes were closed, and his consciousness was gone…

His body was still standing.

Unyielding.

As if held up by sheer will

even in unconsciousness.

"His body doesn't know how to give up," Vince said, eyes narrowed with something between pride and fury.

"So I'll make the call for him."

He gently tapped Juno's shoulder.

The boy collapsed.

And the crowd erupted not in mockery, not in cheers for Rael but in awe for the boy who refused to fall until his body gave out.

Master Isen, at the topmost platform, folded his hands.

"Now that," he murmured to Kaito, "is what it means to fight without Affinity."

And somewhere in the crowd, a few students including Saya and Shigeo sat in stunned silence.

Because now, they knew the name Juno and they would not forget it.

To be continue