The SSS Ranked Villain's Return

"Is this another one of your bullshit proposals to be someone, then not do anything?" Neraxis asked with a raised brow.

He was offered the position of captain for his class during the tournament; however, they didn't exactly seem cooperative.

"It's not a bullshit role, Neraxis," William said flatly, his eyes narrowing. "Magnus is dead."

Hearing that, Neraxis froze.

"...What?"

Magnus was strong, careful, and, lastly, not an idiot.

So for the person Neraxis had admired in the past to die just like that seemed simply unreal.

"Shortly after the nukes dropped, he attempted to find your body. However, he simply vanished off the face of the planet," William explained.

"...And his records from Dreamspire were deleted as well?" Neraxis asked for clarification.

"They were. His 294th position on the leaderboard was wiped, just like that. No one knew what happened... nor did this girl," William finished, pointing toward Ariella.

"You weren't able to see anything?" Neraxis asked with a tilt of his head.

"The time of his disappearance seems to be protected by a barrier. I can go around it—that's how I managed to see you. But no, I couldn't break past it no matter how much I tried," Ariella explained.

Fuck... Neraxis thought inwardly. Out of everyone, why did it have to be him?

Despite the short amount of time they had conversed, he had come to look up to Magnus as an irresponsible yet sometimes responsible mentor.

Now? He was dead.

"I'm pretty sure I got my point across," William said, standing up from his chair and walking over to Neraxis. "I need a new instructor who is capable in combat, and aside from the old coots over in the government, there's no one I can turn to at the moment but you."

"But why—?"

Neraxis's words were interrupted when William suddenly placed a palm over one half of his own face.

It resembled a half-mask, the exact same one the Obscura's members were given.

"I see..." Neraxis said with a sigh. "So you know about it too, then."

"Yes, and despite the many atrocities you've done, I believe you're the only person who can protect the students," William affirmed. "I plan to get you both on board, with Ariella acting as the assistant instructor."

"You sure have a lot of wants, but what do we get from this exactly?" Neraxis asked flatly. "Because if you assume we're going to become instructors who waste their time doing nothing all day without getting anything in return, then you're wrong."

"I'm aware," William nodded as he pulled out two notes from his pocket and handed them over to both of them.

"This is...?"

"It's information about the Evangelists, the Eternal Night, and, of course, the Syndicate. Everything you might've missed, Neraxis," William explained confidently before turning to Ariella. "That's the location where your mother is hiding."

It seemed like the value of the information they received was a bit different; however, from the shock on Ariella's face, he could tell that might not be the case after all.

"I know money won't do anything since you two are billionaires, and the artifacts we have in the academy aren't worth much to you, so this is the most I could do," William said and walked over to his seat.

"...It's good," Neraxis nodded. "If you can give me this type of information whenever something big comes up, then I'm willing to accept."

"Deal," William stated with a smile, turning to Ariella. "And you?"

"...Did you find my father?" she asked with a shaky voice.

"I apologize, but no. I looked everywhere, but there's not even a single trace to follow," William replied with a sigh.

"I see..." Ariella muttered, gloomy. "I accept... but only on the condition that Neraxis and I will be together."

"Naturally," William assured with a smile. "You two will be in charge of Neraxis's former class. They are currently on a rift assignment and will be back in roughly 10 minutes. How you wish to deal with it is completely up to you."

"Alright, well, I guess it's nice being employed? See you later," Neraxis said with a chuckle before turning around.

But just as he was prepared to head downstairs, William stopped him.

"Thank you for what you did with Celina... I heard what happened from her. If not for you, she'd be dead," William said gently. "I'll make sure to repay this debt someday."

Neraxis merely smiled, nodded, and finally left, with Ariella right behind him.

Since their class was on the first floor a year ago, he expected it to change.

However, from the looks of things, it seemed like S-class students didn't move classrooms. Therefore, he headed down and back into his old classroom.

Ariella still seemed gloomy from earlier, but he didn't want to bother her, as she still seemed to be processing William's information.

Looking around, he noticed a few extra seats, but aside from that, nothing much was different.

It was nostalgic, but at the same time, the feeling was dull.

Just as he was about to sulk, however, a voice resounded inside his mind.

[Hey hey, Evangeline is here!] she announced cheerfully. [What did I miss?]

I got employed, Neraxis replied with a sigh. Check my memories, though—the students are about to arrive.

[Woah... You became an instructor? What are you going to teach?] she asked.

However, he merely shrugged. I have no clue. The only thing William told me is that I can protect them. From whom I'm protecting them? No fucking clue.

There was also the fact that his sister would be attending the academy this year, so that meant if the past events were anything to go by, then he had to be alert.

But before doing so, he decided to glance into his status screen.

After all, it had been so long since he had last checked it.

+-----+

Status

Name: Neraxis Valen

Age: 17 → 18

Stigmata: [Fragment of Calamity {12.82%} (Seals Unlocked: 4)]

Affinity: [Eclipsed Abyss {SSS}]

Body Compatibility: 13%

—Perks:

[Aura of the Abyss] (Basic) → (Advanced)

[Unyielding Vitality] (Intermediate) → (Master)

[Cosmic Sight] (Intermediate) → (Master)

—Stats:

Rank: C+ → A+

Strength: C- → A+

Agility: C+ → A+

Stamina: C+ → S-

Intelligence: B+ → S-

Mana Capacity: C+ → A-

—Secondary Stats:

Luck: K+ → P-

Charm: S- → SS+

—Skills:

[Eve of Ruin {B}]

[Swordsmanship {E}] → [Ancient Moon Swordsmanship {A}]

[Stellar Dominion {A}]

[Minor Reflect {D}]

[Sword Dash {F}]

[Restorative Cut {E}]

[Vampiric Dominion {A}]

[Aegis of Eternity {C}]

[Crimson Sovereignty {S}]

[Body Manifestation {B}] → [Body Manifestation {A}]

[Phantom Step {E}] → [Phantom Step {B}]

[Aura {E}] → [Aura {B}]

(NEW) [Domain {A}]

(NEW) [Eyes of the Vampire {S}]

—Fragment of Calamity Skill Tree (4/???)

[Simple Horizontal Slash] → [Advanced Horizontal Slash]

[Simple Stab] → [Expert Stab]

[Universal Stab] → [Atomic Stab]

(NEW) [Illusion Slash]

+-----+

There were a bunch of upgrades, naturally, yet his main skill stagnated.

Eyes of the Vampire was a skill he got from Evangeline, which utilized his charm stat to hypnotize enemies.

Neat.

As for Domain and Illusion Slash, they came along randomly while he was simply training.

But despite that, Neraxis could now confidently say he was stronger than he was in the past.

Many times stronger.

Yet, in the midst of checking his stats, and with Ariella looking droopy, he finally heard footsteps in the distance.

They were heavy and definitely not belonging to just any second-years.

But they were anything but ordinary.

Neraxis straightened his posture and comically wrote his name down on the blackboard, while also doing the same for Ariella.

Soon, the door swung open, with a bored Kael walking in.

He had a large slash-like scar on his forehead.

However, the moment he noticed Neraxis, Kael froze, staring at him in shock.

A grin appeared on Neraxis's face as he did a small wave.

"Hey, how you been?"