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

"How powerful is Dario?" Thorn suddenly asked, his voice low. His eyes were fixed on the man in question, who walked ahead of them, whistling happily.

"Why do you ask?" Ren raised a brow.

He'd been observing Nero and Contessa, who had been standing before them, between their group and Dario.

Of course, there was a healthy amount of space between each group.

"First, how safe would you say the journey to the Seventh peak has been so far?" Thorn asked.

"Pretty safe." Ren finally glanced at him.

It had taken some time, but they'd made it out of the Landscapers' area of influence hours ago without any incident.

"Exactly." Thorn nodded once. "The journey so far has been generally pretty safe, but we cannot assume that this is how it always is on Dario's journeys."

"I mean, if we look at it, his job is knowing the safe routes. That means going to places that are unexplored. That means encountering more danger than those who follow the safe paths. You can't be weak and be doing that." Thorn frowned.

"Which means he has to be very powerful, right?"

"Yes." Ren nodded, his mind going to the memories of him playing Eternal Souls. "He's almost on par with Luna."

It had been more than eight years since he'd arrived in this world. His memories of Eternal Souls were starting to fade, but that was okay.

Because there were things that he could not forget even if he tried to. The seven minor Calamities and the Three Major Calamities. As now, the Three and Yggdrasil.

He'd turned 18 a few days prior, and while it had been less difficult than he'd imagined, he'd managed to convince Lilith to push their wedding date till they were on the Seventh peak.

She'd agreed, but Ren knew Nero and Contessa's presence was a factor in her agreement. She was uneasy with them being near.

When everything was over, and they'd taken care of the two, they'd get married.

"So, he's a Rank 7 Knight too?" Thorn asked, dragging Ren's attention back to his question.

"I don't know." Ren answered honestly.

"So, he's not that important?"

"It's been a long time since I got here, Thorn. Everything has changed. The important can become irrelevant and the irrelevant can become important. Who knows?"

Thorn whistled in acknowledgement. "I think he's strong enough to defeat us by himself."

Ren shrugged. "Maybe."

"What if..." Thorn trailed off.

"What if?" Ren glanced at him, raising a brow in expectation.

"What if we get him on our side?" Thorn asked. "Use him to help us take care of Nero and Contessa. With your smooth talking, I'm sure you'd be able to make that work."

Lilith scoffed beside them, showing that she was listening in on their conversation.

Thorn paid her no mind, his attention on Ren.

"That wouldn't work." Ren shook his head.

"Why not?"

"First, because we have nothing that would make Dario work with us. This is not something done on a whim or something easy to take care of. Nero and Contessa won't go down without a fight."

"On Arondale, we can't pay in cash. And I'm sure we wouldn't be able to afford whatever Dario's price is."

"I see." Thorn nodded. "What's the second reason?"

"Dario wouldn't disobey Luna's order. He'll take us to the Seventh Peak and return, no more, no less. Whatever she's paying, we can't surpass it. Trust me."

"And finally," he turned to look at Thorn as they walked, "I'm not a smooth talker. Or at least, I don't consider myself as one. All I do is use information I already know to infer what people want, and adjust my words to match it and convince them."

"That's literally what being a smooth talker means." Lilith said flatly, not taking her eyes from the ex-Chosen duo ahead of them.

"She's right." Thorn grinned. "You're totally a smooth talker."

Ren sighed to himself. There was nonuse trying to convince them otherwise. They wouldn't admit to being wrong even if he managed to convince them. They wouldn't pass up a chance to tease him, especially when he didn't want to be teased.

He sighed, focusing back on the journey.

The treacherous terrain was slowly evening out. Where before they had to pass through narrow ledges that could kill anyone that has a fear of heights and climb over rocky cliffs with stones sharp enough to tear skin, the landscape had levelled out.

He frowned, looking around. Who knew the mountain range had flat places like this? If not for the peaks in the distance encircling the flat plains around them, he'd have thought they were back on flat ground.

"I know what you're all wondering." Dario spoke up from where he stood. "Why does it look like we're on flat ground and outside the mountain range?"

He glanced behind him to grin at the two groups he was guiding. "It means we're here. At the Echo Flats."

"It'll take some time before we 'officially' enter, but there are some rules you need to know before we enter." He said, turning to face the front as he continued walking.

"What's the Echo Flats?" Thorn asked from their position at the back of the group.

"I was getting to that, smarty pants." Dario chuckled. "The Echo Flats is not really dangerous. Well, relatively. The only problem with the Flats is that you cannot hide. Not from anything."

"Because it's flat?" Thorn piped up again, looking around. "I can see why."

Dario shook his head. "Surprisingly, that's not the actual reason why you can't hide in the Flats. The answer is in the name. Echo Flats."

"Every little noise you make, no matter how small, echoes around the flats. And if you make any loud noise, the echo is even louder. Even if you try to tiptoe through it, you cannot completely muffle your sound."

"No one knows what makes the sound. Is it the rock or the air? No one has tried lingering around to find out."

"But there are exceptions to who can muffle the sound, of course. Those whose power can muffle sound but the rest of us have to walk through while making sound."

"Now, the dangerous part is that some animals come here to hunt. After all, the prey cannot hide. So, as we walk, pray to whichever god you serve that there should be no predator at the hunting ground."

"Or you might not live to see tomorrow."

"Shit." Thorn shook his head. "Why's everything about the mountain range unnecessarily dangerous?"

"No risk, no reward." Ren chuckled.

He didn't need to explain himself. There was no better terrain for the Search to take place in. The Primordial Flame couldn't have chosen a better hiding place than the most dangerous mountain range in the world, where even the air could kill.

They all walked, following behind Dario, and it didn't take long for them to find themselves inside the Echo Flats.

The change had been subtle. They couldn't tell where the effect began and where it ended. All that had happened was a slow, unnoticeable increase in the noise they made as they walked.

Now, their footsteps echoed unnaturally loud around them. It felt as if trying to walk in a way that muffled the sound made it even louder.

No one said anything. Dario's earlier words were on their minds. They were hoping that there were no predators present in the Echo Flats.

Ren had his eyes on Dario. He was sure that if there was any danger, the man would be able to spot it faster than they could. And he was right.

He saw Dario stiffen subtly, the action almost unnoticeable. He followed the man's gaze and almost stumbled.

Standing in the distance, staring straight at them was a ten foot tall praying mantis that looked like it had been blessed by evil.

Its eyes were a dark, fiery red, and its body seemed like it was made of jagged edges. Its green skin stood out against the white snow dusting the ground of the Flats.

By this time, everyone in the group had noticed the mantis. They continued their walk, hoping it would stay where it was.

"It doesn't want to disturb any predator, just like us." Dario breathed softly under his breath. Of course, his voice was loud as if he was talking at a slightly higher than normal volume. "Hopefully, it leaves us alone."

The mantis kept its eyes on them as they walked, and they tried their best to ignore it.

Then, a soft sound reached them. The mantis had moved.

Their eyes snapped upwards at the giant insect.

"Don't make any sudden moves." Dario breathed. "Just keep walking at the normal pace."

They followed his instructions, walking and keeping their eyes on the mantis.

It stood still as if debating whether to come after them or not, its neck moving as they walked.

Then, as if coming to a conclusion, it took its second step forward.

"Fuck."