Why is Background Character the Strongest Now?
Chapter 34: Calm before the fight.

Chapter 34: Calm before the fight.

Blackridge High No. 7 – Staff Dormitories

In a quiet corner of the teacher dorms, a young woman sat beneath the glow of a soft mana lamp, reviewing stacks of student exams. Her silver-white hair was pulled back loosely, violet eyes tired but focused.

The room was silent—until a soft knock echoed at the door.

She paused, her eyes flicking toward the sound. Cautiously, she stood and peered through the peephole. Her shoulders relaxed.

She opened the door.

"Eitan? It’s late—what are you doing here?"

"Hey, Leria," he replied, stepping inside. "We need to talk. It’s about Crimson Guild."

The woman, known publicly as Leria, gave a slight frown but gestured for him to come in. Behind the alias, she was Elia Seraphine, living in secret.

He entered and sat on the edge of her bed. His eyes were tired—he’d clearly come straight from the field.

"They found out," he said grimly.

Elia blinked. "Found out what?"

"About your holy power."

Her expression didn’t change, but something in the air stilled.

"How?" she asked.

Eitan hesitated. "Remember that girl you healed during the last outbreak? The one with Miasma Corrosion?"

Elia nodded slowly. "The one whose body was already breaking down? The doctors said she had only hours left..."

"Yeah. Her. Apparently, she had ties to someone in Crimson Guild. And now they know what you did."

"I told you," Elia said, her voice soft but firm. "I couldn’t ignore it. Her little brother’s only two years old. She was all he had."

Eitan let out a low sigh. "I get it. You did the right thing. But this kindness of yours, Elia—it’s going to be your downfall."

He stood and began pacing. "Crimson Guild doesn’t just ’let things go.’ And with the Dark Order becoming more active lately... if they find out you’re blessed with holy power, they’ll come for you. Both of them."

Elia turned toward the window, staring at the moonlit sky.

"I’m not afraid, Eitan. Even in a world like this... where corruption spreads like rot... the gods haven’t abandoned us. I’m proof of that."

She looked over her shoulder and smiled gently. "If I still exist, then so does hope."

He stopped pacing. That was always how she was—unshaken, even when the world frayed at the edges.

Holy Power—unlike normal healing magic—was rare and sacred. Normal healing could be taught, shaped with elemental affinity. But Holy Power came from beyond the elements. It was said to come from the heavens themselves. And Miasma Corrosion, a slow, lethal disease caused by prolonged exposure to corrupted mana, could only be cured by it.

That meant one thing: Elia had exposed herself. Again.

Eitan sat back down, eyes dark. "We can’t just ignore this. We need to figure out Crimson Guild’s motive. What if they’re tied to the Dark Order? If they confirm your powers, they’ll hunt you."

"I know," she said quietly. "That’s why we go to them."

He blinked. "You want to face them directly?"

"They have a small guild base in the east quarter. If we talk to their leader, maybe we can contain this before it spreads. He’s ranked like us, right?"

"Mid 6 Rank," Eitan confirmed. "Same level as us. But still dangerous."

"If he attacks," Elia said calmly, "we defend ourselves. But if he’s smart, he won’t start something."

Eitan stared at her for a long moment. Then nodded. "Alright. I’m with you."

She smiled small, but sincere.

________________________________

After stepping out of the magistrate’s office, Ezra took a breath and glanced at Dravis, who silently followed him down the steps. Without wasting time, he pulled out his mana phone and dialed.

Marcus picked up almost immediately. "Finally. You’re alive. Took you long enough to reply. So, which high school is she in?"

Ezra ignored the sarcasm. "We’ll visit her tomorrow. For now, let’s regroup and rest. I’ve booked two rooms at an inn."

"You still didn’t answer my question," Marcus muttered, irritated.

"I’ll send the location," Ezra said flatly—and cut the call before Marcus could complain further.

A soft chime sounded as the location pinged in their group chat.

Beside him, Dravis raised an eyebrow. "You really like keeping things to yourself, huh?"

Ezra slid his mana phone back into his coat pocket. "I prefer clarity over chaos. And right now, we don’t know enough."

Dravis gave a short hum. "What’s the deal with this Crimson Guild anyway? Why are they even after her?"

"That," Ezra said, opening the taxi door, "is what we’ll find out."

They climbed in, and Ezra told the driver, "Continental Inn, east district."

"Right away, sir," the driver said cheerfully, and the cab hummed forward, weaving through the narrow streets of Blackridge.

As the city lights blurred past the window, Ezra leaned back in his seat. His gaze was distant, eyes half-closed, lost in thought.

In the original story...

Xavier had been a turning point. A mid-tier villain. The spark behind the third semester’s blood-soaked practical exam. Dozens of students had died—and Dalen had grown stronger because of it.

But Ezra had already thrown a wrench into all of that.

He had saved Xavier.

And with that one act, the plot began to shift.

Maybe Xavier would still die later. Maybe fate would try to correct itself. But Ezra didn’t care about the "original story" anymore.

This wasn’t about fixing a narrative.

This was about reshaping it.

"Even if I can’t save him... the fact that I interfered means the story’s already changed."

"But if I do save him..."

Then Xavier wouldn’t just be alive. He would become Ezra’s weapon—his personal sword. Sharpened by failure. Tempered by pain. And bound by purpose.

A sword that would follow his will.

Not the author’s. Not the world’s.

His.

-------------------

The inn room wasn’t large, but it was enough for the six of them to gather.

A square table sat in the center, surrounded by worn chairs and a few scattered cushions. A crystal lamp hung above, its warm yellow glow flickering softly. Outside, the city of Blackridge had gone quiet, its streets dim under the fading twilight.

Ezra stood by the window, arms folded, his gaze scanning each face in the room. Dalen sat back with his arms crossed, Lyria sprawled over a cushion, half-distracted by her mana phone. Evelyne sipped her tea in calm silence, while Dravis leaned lazily against the wall. Marcus, as usual, looked like he’d rather be anywhere else—but he was still here.

Ezra cleared his throat.

"I confirmed it with the magistrate," he said. "Elia Seraphine is alive. She’s living under the alias Leria, working as a healing magic teacher at Blackridge High No. 7."

Everyone straightened at once.

"So we finally found her," Marcus muttered.

Ezra nodded. "But that’s not all. Someone’s after her."

"Who?" Lyria asked, frowning.

Ezra pulled up a hologram from his mana phone, flipping it around. "Crimson Guild."

Evelyne raised a brow. "They’re active around here. Maybe they just want to recruit her?"

Ezra shook his head. "That’s too simple. I’ve been looking into them. Crimson Guild’s been sketchy for years. There are reports of them exploiting lower-ranked awakeners, even covering up deaths during dungeon raids. Ever since their old leader died, things got... worse."

Marcus scoffed. "Still. They used to be called the Heroes of Blackridge, remember? They helped repel the monster wave four years ago."

"They’re not the same anymore," Ezra said.

Dravis, who had been quiet until now, spoke up.

"I know their current guildmaster," he said.

Everyone turned to him.

Dravis continued, "Halden Kairen. He used to serve as my personal bodyguard when I was in middle school."

Ezra looked curious. "What kind of person was he?"

"Quiet," Dravis said. "Didn’t talk much. But strong. Rank 6. I didn’t interact much with him, but he was respected. Still... people change."

"Especially when power gets involved," Dalen muttered.

"Exactly," Ezra agreed. "Crimson Guild might be trying to capture Elia quietly, without alerting the authorities or other guilds. Maybe for her power. Maybe for someone else."

"You think they’re tied to the Dark Order?" Evelyne asked.

Ezra gave a firm nod. "It fits their pattern. Use a known guild as a cover. Infiltrate. Isolate. Capture."

Dalen’s expression darkened. "Dark Order again... How deep have they dug into the Federation?"

Marcus clicked his tongue. "Or maybe it’s just our leadership being blind. This has been going on under their noses."

Ezra shook his head. "It’s not about governments. It’s about people. Humans are selfish. Power makes them worse."

Marcus smirked. "Sounds like someone’s been reading my diary."

Ezra gave a dry look. "Take Xavier for example. He wasn’t chasing power for fame—he just wanted to save his sister. And still, he almost got consumed by it."

There was a heavy silence.

Then Evelyne clapped her hands once. "Alright. Enough philosophy. We still have three days left. Let’s not waste energy. Eat. Rest. Tomorrow, we visit Elia."

Everyone nodded.

As they began cleaning up and moving toward their assigned rooms, a small chaos erupted.

"Wait—only two rooms?" Lyria asked.

Ezra blinked. "Yeah. One for girls. One for guys. What’s the problem?"

Lyria pointed a finger. "You couldn’t book three? What if someone snores? Or sleepwalks?"

"We’re on a mission, not a romantic getaway," Ezra replied flatly.

Marcus groaned. "He’s got a point. Besides, He is broke."

Lyria gave Ezra a death glare. "Next time, you’re sleeping on the floor."

Ezra held up his hands. "Gladly. I’m used to it."

They eventually settled in—girls in one room, boys in another.

Later that night...

In the dim light of the boys’ room, Dalen lay on the lower bunk bed, arms behind his head. The others had started drifting off, but Ezra remained awake, sitting by the window.

"Hey, Ezra?" Dalen’s voice was quiet.

"Hm?"

"How are you going to save her? Xavier’s sister, I mean. If the Order really took her... she might be locked up somewhere by now. Maybe worse."

Ezra didn’t turn. "That’s the fun part."

Dalen blinked. "Huh?"

"I already made arrangements," Ezra said with a slight grin. "Cassy’s handling it."

Marcus, half-asleep on the floor, raised his head. "Cassy? That rough girl with attitude?"

Ezra nodded. "You might not know, but she also works freelance—mercenary contracts. I gave her a hefty sum and a task: locate and extract Xavier’s sister."

Dravis sat up. "Wait, how did you even know where she was?"

Ezra shrugged. "Xavier gave me a rough description of the place during our talk. Enough for Cassy to track it down."

The boys relaxed, nodding.

But the truth was far from that.

Ezra hadn’t gotten the location from Xavier.

He had read it—in the original novel.

He knew exactly where the Order kept her, down to the region, the building, even the schedule of the guards.

And he had quietly passed that info to his master’s loyal subordinate, Cassy, under the guise of "discovery."

Now, all he had to do... was wait.