Extra's Rise: I Stole All The Women In The Hero's Party-Chapter 117: Testing The Party (III)

Zayn dropped onto the bench with a satisfied sigh, wiping sweat from his brow.

The wooden seat creaked under him, but he leaned back like a man who’d just finished his taxes early.

"Nice moves out there, swordsman," Bran said as he walked past, clapping a heavy hand on Zayn’s shoulder.

Zayn grinned and shook it. "Go easy on him, big guy. He’s still recovering from the emotional trauma I caused."

Bran snorted. "No promises."

As the axe-wielding giant made his way to the sparring field, Elisse nestled in beside Zayn, letting her head lean lightly on his shoulder.

Kara scooted in on his other side, her expression unreadable as usual, but her presence was close enough to tell Zayn she was watching too.

"I swear," he muttered, glancing between them, "I get into one swordfight and suddenly I’m furniture."

"Warm, comfy furniture," Elisse murmured, smiling up at him.

"Don’t move," Kara added. "You’re also a good armrest."

Zayn sighed theatrically but didn’t budge.

On the field, Tobias wiped the sweat from his forehead and adjusted his glasses.

He looked over at Zayn and called out, "You’ve got excellent control, no issues with form or timing. But you’re leaking more soul energy than you need to. Try minimizing your usage to only what you require — keep the edge without wasting stamina."

Zayn gave him a lazy salute. "Roger that, coach."

Then Bran rolled his shoulders and brought out the axe.

It wasn’t a normal one — nothing about Bran ever was.

The weapon glowed in a shimmer of soul energy, nearly as tall as him and twice as wide as a normal blade.

It gleamed in the late morning sun, wicked and battle-worn, with a dented head and a thick, blackened shaft that looked like it had been gripped by a bear for a decade.

Bran hefted it one-handed, pointed the head toward Tobias, and grinned. "Ready when you are, dancer."

Tobias didn’t respond. He just gripped both hilts tighter, body lowering into a stance far sharper than before.

His footwork shifted slightly, a sign Zayn immediately recognized — he was taking Bran seriously.

The moment Elisse gave a soft clap to start, Tobias vanished.

Bran blocked the first hit by instinct alone.

Tobias appeared above him, dual blades flashing down like falling stars, but Bran raised the flat of his axe with both hands and absorbed the blow.

A small shockwave rippled out from the impact.

Bran pushed up and back, sending Tobias skidding mid-air.

Tobias flipped mid-roll and landed gracefully, but Bran was already charging.

For a guy built like a boulder, Bran moved fast.

The axe came in heavy — diagonal swing with full upper body momentum.

Tobias jumped back, the blade missing him by inches and slamming into the stone floor with a loud KRACK.

Chips flew.

Zayn whistled. "That bench-killer strength. Damn."

Elisse winced. "I’m so glad he’s on our side."

Kara’s eyes didn’t leave the fight. "He still might lose."

On the field, Tobias darted in with two quick slashes — one to the shoulder, one to the knee. Bran twisted and blocked both with the shaft of his axe, then shoved forward like a bulldozer.

Tobias barely ducked out of the way.

The problem was clear.

Bran hit like a truck, but Tobias was faster.

Every time Bran swung, Tobias was already moving — dodging, sidestepping, countering with surgical precision.

But Bran didn’t stop. His attacks were relentless, like a war drum beating into the ground. Each swing caused tremors, each block sent sparks flying.

Tobias slashed low.

Bran didn’t dodge — he tanked it.

A shallow cut across his thigh, and in return, Bran swung upward with enough force to force Tobias into a backflip to avoid decapitation.

"Is it bad I’m kinda proud of that cut?" Tobias muttered mid-air.

"Only if you plan on surviving after bragging," Bran shot back.

Tobias came in again, blades swirling like a storm, going high-low-high in rapid succession.

Bran parried one, absorbed the second with his forearm guard, and headbutted Tobias mid-spin.

The hit landed.

Tobias crashed backward with a grunt, skidding across the stone.

Elisse gasped and half-rose. "Tobias — !"

"I’m good!" he called, spitting something metallic. "Ow. Is that how your skull feels, Bran?"

"Reinforced bone plates," Bran grunted. "Perk of being me."

Zayn leaned to Kara. "He actually reinforced his skull. That explains so much."

"Explains why he thought it was a good idea to challenge Tobias with a thirty-pound axe," Kara muttered back.

Back in the fight, Tobias’s aura began to rise — his soul energy coalescing into a violet sheen across his swords, humming with quiet violence.

He sprinted forward — his movements now boosted, blades moving faster than before.

The first three hits came in blinding succession. Bran blocked two. The third sliced through the edge of his shoulder armor.

Blood welled up. Bran didn’t flinch.

Instead, he caught Tobias’s arm on the fourth swing, grabbed his wrist, and slammed him into the ground.

Stone shattered.

Tobias coughed violently, blinking through the dust cloud.

Before Bran could capitalize, Tobias kicked upward with both legs, launching himself free.

He rebounded mid-air, twisting with unnatural grace, and sent a spinning blade wave of soul energy right at Bran’s chest.

The slash hit.

Bran stumbled back, coughing, chest armor cracked.

Zayn stood instinctively. "That one got through..."

But Bran straightened, rolling his shoulders.

"Still up," he growled.

The next few exchanges blurred. Bran’s movements slowed just a bit from the bruises, but he kept fighting like a man who didn’t understand the concept of stopping.

Tobias danced around him, tagging him with clean, shallow hits, but Bran refused to go down.

One final clash. Bran raised the axe high, roaring as he brought it down in a soul-fueled arc meant to end the match.

Tobias spun inside the swing, slashing upward in a last-second counter —

The axe hit the ground just as Tobias’s blade stopped a hair from Bran’s neck.

The air went still.

Then Bran dropped to one knee, breathing hard, axe buried in the stone like it had fought the entire battle alongside him.

"I yield," he said.

Tobias, panting and bleeding from a split lip, nodded. "Hell of a fight."

Zayn clapped slowly. "Bran. You absolute unit."

Bran gave a weary thumbs-up without looking up. "My everything hurts."

Elisse rushed forward while holding her long ass skirt. "Sit. Let me patch you — oh gods, your arm — "

"It’s mostly intact," Bran said cheerfully.

Kara blinked. "That’s not the comforting phrase you think it is."

Tobias dropped beside Bran and offered a hand. "I underestimated you."

Bran took it, grinning despite his bruises. "Most people do. They see the muscles and forget I actually fight back."

As Elisse worked on Bran, Zayn leaned back again and looked at Tobias. "So? Coach’s critique?"

Tobias chuckled. "He’s got the stamina of a beast and the precision of a drunk rhino, but yeah — Bran’s a brick wall with an axe."

"I take offense to the rhino part," Bran muttered.

"You earned it," Zayn said, tossing him a bottle of water. "And then some."