The SSS Ranked Villain's Return

"Hmm..." Neraxis stared at the figure in front of him.

There was no delay, and he was merely thrust into this new floor, which just so happened to be a complete replica of the location he died in originally.

And of course, the person holding a massive red scythe ahead was none other than himself—his previous self.

He knew the limits of his own strength back then, and from his current estimations, Neraxis could win.

Therefore, he pulled out his sword and entered a fighting stance before attempting to {Sword Dash} onto the copy of his past self.

However, midway through the dash, the copy brought down his scythe and, by using the current Neraxis's momentum, slashed him in half.

It happened so fast that Neraxis was not even able to react in time or stop himself.

But simply because of that speed, his death was completely painless.

Soon, he respawned where he first arrived, with the copy lingering in the same position as earlier.

[Well... That was a bit too fast.] Evangeline remarked. [Your specialty seems to be dealing with extremely fast opponents, from what I can see.]

It is. Neraxis affirmed, taking a few rough breaths.

Even though the death was nearly instant, he still felt the scythe cutting through his skin, which felt eerily unpleasant.

I usually fought on the front lines, so if I was slow, I'd be killed. Alice was there as a backup most of the time, since I rarely got injured. He further explained and explored his options.

Attacking head-on clearly did not work, and if Neraxis were to fight from long range, then his copy would simply close the gap and kill him.

Ugh... Why did I have to be such a troublesome fighter back then? Neraxis grumbled inwardly.

That was when a single notification appeared in front of him, as if taunting him.

[Death Counter: 1]

Seriously? Does the tower think I will die that many tim—

His words were cut off when, all of a sudden, the copy dashed forward before slamming the hilt of the scythe downward on his head, crushing it on impact.

And in the next instant, the scenario reset.

[Death Counter: 2]

Fuck. Neraxis exclaimed. This death felt more vivid than the last.

Nonetheless, he had one thing his copy lacked: {Aura of the Abyss}.

He waited patiently, focusing his {Cosmic Sight} and analyzing every single one of his copy's moves.

The muscles were exactly as he remembered, and if that was the case, then Neraxis knew exactly where the weaknesses lay.

My jaw, my right elbow. Neraxis narrowed his eyes, a shiver going down his spine. And of course, the balls.

[Ouch...] Evangeline giggled.

However, as stupid as the weakness's location was, it was more effective than the rest, as the others would merely stagger the copy, whereas if he were to go for the balls, then...

"This is traumatizing." Neraxis let out a sigh and positioned himself in a defensive stance.

He began slowly walking forward, his sword dragging across the ground.

In the meantime, the copy stared at him with curiosity. The wide scar on its face, spanning from the left eyebrow down to the jaw, looked menacing as well.

But it only reminded Neraxis of what he had gone through to get here in the first place.

"I don't suppose you can talk?" he asked.

"..."

No response came, and with that, Neraxis proceeded to up his pace until, finally, he was right in front of his copy.

But just like before, as he was about to attack, the copy swung down the scythe at an incredibly fast speed and sliced Neraxis's head off.

[Death Counter: 3]

Was I always this strong? Neraxis wondered.

He had barely managed to kill S-ranked monsters back then, yet this copy felt even stronger than the Skeleton King.

Nonetheless, he would continue targeting that weak spot until he saw results.

However, even after trying and trying again, the only thing he was met with was despair.

[Death Counter: 149]

I can't land a single hit on the copy. Neraxis thought with furrowed brows. Evangeline, any ideas?

[You just need to block a single attack—or survive one, actually.] Evangeline trailed off, falling in thought. [Your {Unyielding Vitality} can block a vital hit once, right? It should be off cooldown soon.]

Cooldown? I guess from what I estimated, it's around 12 hours... Has it already been 12 hours? His eyes widened. Stay updated through My Virtual Library Empire

[Yes, in exactly 10 seconds.] She added, and he immediately focused up.

Dying 149 times wasn't fun, and dying for the 150th time wouldn't be any better either.

Therefore, he wanted to end this here and now.

Neraxis took a deep breath and counted down from 10 inside his mind.

Once the count was up, he decided to use every single one of his cards.

{Eve of Ruin: Mark of Destruction}, followed by an immediate cast of {Stellar Dominion: Cosmic Cascade}.

Immediately after, Neraxis used {Sword Dash}, and from a distance, he activated {Aura}, {Vampiric Dominion: Blood Rend}, and {Simple Horizontal Slash} simultaneously.

Of course, his copy reacted in nearly an instant and attempted to slash away both the incoming stellar aurora as well as the incoming sword strikes.

Finally, Neraxis was able to react to a single attack when the copy suddenly pulled back the scythe before slashing at him.

Just before it made contact, however, Neraxis used {Crimson Sovereignty: Shadow Mantle}, neatly dodging the scythe.

But of course, he only managed to dodge the physical side of it, and the flames of hell still scorched his body.

That did not matter, however, as he finally managed to get within striking range, and as he brought down his sword skills, a massive gust of both black fire and ice emerged, enveloping his copy from head to toe.

Despite that, Neraxis did not feel like it was over. So, he continued attacking—hit after hit—until eventually, the silver orb from his mark glowed brightly.

Immediately, Neraxis backed off and detonated the mark, expecting the battle to end then and there.

However, instead of that happening, his copy simply stretched out its hand and dispersed every bit of mana Neraxis had just unleashed, including the detonated mark.

The entire attack was reflected back at hit him. However, {Unyielding Vitality} restored his body instantly.

[Note: Due to the severity of the injury, the time you have left alive is limited!]

[Duration: 10 Seconds]

That's enough. Neraxis thought before slashing down his sword.

His copy tried matching it and blocking it with the scythe's hilt.

It was stronger and faster. However, in the face of Neraxis's persistence, he finally managed to land a hit straight at its neck, cleanly severing an artery.

Blood began gushing out, yet the expression on the copy's face remained unchanged.

If that was truly the copy of me in the past, I would have died way earlier... It seems like the copy held back, almost like it was testing me. Neraxis pondered. Despite him constantly attacking the copy now, the only thing it did was block.

Its attacks visibly slowed down until, eventually, Neraxis delivered the finishing blow, severing its head.

No killing notification came, which made him uneasy. However, that unease disappeared the moment the system messages fell and all of his injuries were healed.

[Dreamspire - 10th Floor Hard Mode: Shadow of the Past - Complete]

[Climber: Neraxis Valen]

[10th Floor Rating Generating...]

[Rating Generated: SSS-]

[Position: 21,002,119 → 15,557,332]

[Current Progress: 10/? Floors]

[Congratulations! You've successfully completed all the tutorial floors!]

[Main Scenario Difficulty Adjusted - SSS]

[Dreamspire - 11th Floor: Team Battle Royale - Available]

[Do you wish to enter?]

[Yes/No]

After quickly skimming through it, Neraxis pressed the 'No' button.

These trials had taken a lot out of him, and frankly, the only thing he wanted to do currently was go to bed.

Yet, as he appeared outside of Dreamspire, he was met with quite the peculiar sight.

—Quick! He's out!

—Take a picture you jackass!

—Mister Neraxis Valen, would you like to come on our show!?

[I think you're famous.] Evangeline remarked with a giggle.

However, he merely sighed.

I feel a headache coming.