The SSS Ranked Villain's Return

"Fun...?" Ariella tilted her head. "I don't think I want to do anything too naughty right after waking up."

"It's not that." Neraxis shook his head. "There's a cool spot I found in the next city over. Do you want to come with me?"

"I guess I could," Ariella replied, gripping his hand tighter. "But Neraxis, you know showing me some amusement park or something won't get me to change my mind."

"I know it won't, but if you spend time with me instead, you might have a different perspective," Neraxis stated confidently. "I tend to have that effect on people."

"You're too cocky." Ariella giggled and tried standing up.

She managed to stand, but her wobbliness was obvious.

So, he gently grabbed her by the waist and led her outside.

Obviously, the city he would be going to was far away; however, there was one simple solution.

Pulling out his Obscura phone, he sent out a text.

<Neraxis: Need some taxi services, Lavandros, please.>

A few moments later, a reply came.

<Delta: I'm not your personal Uber, Fifth Veil.>

Despite her saying that, he soon spotted a blue portal forming in front of him.

"What the..." Ariella muttered, shocked.

But before she could fully process what was happening, Neraxis jumped straight through the portal, and in the very next moment, they appeared in the heart of the city of Lavandros.

It was where the Luminara Academy was situated, and by far, it was the most beautiful city he had seen.

But that wasn't because of the architecture—it was because of the hidden secrets beneath the city.

That was where he was planning to take the uninterested Ariella in the first place.

It's a bit sad how bad she has gotten in the last year... I remember her still being rather cheerful, but now, she's not even trying to hide it, Neraxis thought with furrowed brows.

Ariella looked around for a few moments before straightening her gaze. "It's a nice city."

"You haven't seen anything yet," Neraxis added before going to a particular part of the city.

It was the slums; however, there was a single well there that didn't quite make sense.

No one approached the well since they thought it was haunted, but the same couldn't be said for Neraxis.

"It smells bad, Neraxis," Ariella complained, pinching her nose. "This whole place... is just terrible."

He nodded at her before picking her up in a princess carry and suddenly leaning over the well, jumping inside.

She didn't scream out in surprise as he expected, but besides that, he kept falling.

Even after three minutes, he was still falling, though the temperature was growing a tad warmer.

"Where are we going, Neraxis?" Ariella asked, her arms tightly wrapped around his neck.

"You'll see in a few..." He trailed off as a beam of light suddenly shot upward, enveloping them.

In the next moment, the sensation of falling disappeared.

Instead, it now felt like they were floating in a vacuum.

And as Neraxis reopened his eyes, he saw Ariella staring at the sights around us in amazement.

It felt like they were in a completely different world—stars, planets, everything scattered around them.

All the while, they were merely floating around, almost as if they were in space.

He didn't know exactly what this place was, but one thing was certain.

Only Neraxis could access it.

"What do you think? Beautiful, isn't it?" Neraxis asked with a smile.

Ariella flinched. "...It's definitely impressive."

"I know this won't get you to change your mind, but if you do, I can take you to these kinds of places every now and then," Neraxis said plainly. "Of course, that's not all I can show you."

"...I see," Ariella replied with a slow nod. "I'm not sure... I don't even know what I'm looking for anymore..."

He gently placed his hand on her chin before lifting it up to meet his eyes.

"Like I said before. Live for me."

Ariella let out a sigh as she closed her eyes. "You're too bold for your own good... I'm going to extend the deadline by a few more days."

"I'm glad to hear that," Neraxis said, patting her head and gently stroking her long pink hair.

Caressing her like this felt nice, as he could feel her warm breath hitting his chest.

Nonetheless, he wouldn't take advantage of her while she was still out of it.

"Do you want to stay here a bit longer?" he asked.

However, she merely shook her head. "No, it's fine. I already memorized everything that's in here... Also, I'm hungry."

Right... I guess a few sandwiches wouldn't be enough to feed someone who hasn't eaten in a year... even if their body was frozen, Neraxis thought, pulling out his phone and sending another message.

<Neraxis: Need a taxi back home, please?>

Instead of replying, Delta summoned a portal where he was.

Neraxis chuckled before propelling himself with mana and going through.

Finally, they were back beside his home.

But he didn't want to go inside just yet; instead, there was some business he wanted to deal with in the academy.

"Ariella, do you like fast food?" Neraxis asked, yet as he did, he suddenly froze.

The ice cream card he promised to Eris...

He forgot.

She's definitely going to kill me now, whether I show up as Neraxis or Eclipse, he thought with a groan.

"Fast food? I guess it's fine," Ariella replied absentmindedly.

As she did, Neraxis noticed she could finally walk properly now, so he let go of her waist, only holding her by the hand.

He led her to a nearby fast-food joint and bought out the entire menu.

Thankfully, his assets weren't frozen, or else he'd look like an idiot.

Nonetheless, he ordered takeout and gave Ariella something to munch on while they made their way to the academy.

It was still morning, so if he wasn't wrong, the lessons should still be going on.

"Hey, Ariella, did you transfer to my academy?" Neraxis asked.

"I didn't. I was too busy messing with time to find you that it crossed my mind," Ariella replied with a shrug. "I couldn't find you, surprisingly. But I was able to see what happened the moment the nukes went off."

Feeling like this conversation was steering in a particular direction, Neraxis remained silent.

"What... No, who is the Eternal Sin? Is it you?" Ariella asked plainly, still munching on some French fries.

"It's not important, Ariella," Neraxis shot her down. "But don't mention that name in public again. I don't want you falling into danger."

"It's fine, I can protect myself. But you know what else is interesting?" Ariella said, a small smile tugging on her face. "I saw the messages you sent before the nukes hit, and correct me if I'm wrong, but you're Eclipse, aren't you?"

Neraxis halted, looking around before narrowing his eyes at her.

"Ariella... Please say stuff like that quietly."

"Sorry." Ariella let out a small giggle, the first one since she woke up. "I just didn't expect the most wanted person on the continent to be the person who I would be living for."

He shrugged before patting her head. "Stuff happened. I don't want to talk about it."

It was a rough year, definitely.

His kill count rose to tens of thousands, and of course, his morals weren't faring any better.

But despite that, Neraxis wanted something to occupy his time so he could forget what happened during the year.

Soon, they arrived at the academy, and unsurprisingly, William already stood there, waiting for him.

"I want to have a conversation with you in private," William stated, glancing directly at Neraxis.

However, Neraxis merely shook his head. "She's coming with me."

It wouldn't change much, considering she could just stop time, revert it, listen to their conversation, and then come back.

William furrowed his brows. "S-Class is already full to the brim, Neraxis."

"I'm sure you can make it work," Neraxis said with a chuckle and walked forward, now standing eye to eye with William. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Come with me," William instructed as he made all three of them appear inside his completely empty office.

Celina's training room, which was always tidy, was now in tatters, barely recognizable.

As for William's desk, it felt gloomy, abandoned.

Nonetheless, William sat down and let out an exhausted sigh.

"Neraxis. What do you think of becoming an instructor?"