The SSS Ranked Villain's Return

"..." Kael stared at Neraxis in shock, and soon, one of his classmates bumped into him.

"Kael, what the fuck, man? Move—" the student froze, his jaw seemingly dropping to the floor. "Ain't you the dead guy?"

"I'm back?" Neraxis said with a smile. "I've got some stuff to announce, so sit down."

At those words, the student walked to his seat in silence.

The same applied to all the students who came after him, until eventually, three people in particular, caught his eye.

Four girls walked side by side, chatting.

Yet as their gazes landed on Neraxis, all four of them froze, their eyes widening.

"Neraxis?" Aella called out, shocked.

"Oh shit, so you're not dead..." Eris remarked in disbelief.

And of course, there was Aurelia, whose tears began to stream down her face. "You're back..."

Lastly, Celina.

She merely stared at him, conflicted, unsure of how to react.

"Celina," Neraxis addressed her. "I'm glad you and the others are doing well... but please sit down for now. There's a change I want to announce."

The girls nodded absentmindedly, their feelings of relief, obsession, and guilt clear on their faces.

Then there was Kael, who was still staring at Neraxis as though he had seen a ghost.

"Kael, that applies to you too. Sit down."

"Let's spar," Kael said firmly. "I can't even feel your mana anymore. What did you do?"

Oh... old habit. Neraxis thought as he released {Aura of the Abyss}, which was passively masking his mana.

However, he held back, not revealing his full strength.

"B+ ranked? Here I thought you got too far ahead." Kael let out a sigh. "But still, want to spar later?"

"No, Kael." Neraxis shook his head. "Sit down."

"Fine..." Kael rolled his eyes and sat next to Soren, who, after everyone's advice, now actually looked half-decent.

If Neraxis was a supermodel, Soren was a below-average model.

[Well, it's only natural. No one can match your charm.] Evangeline said with a giggle.

I know. Neraxis replied confidently, and the moment everyone sat down, he moved aside, revealing the blackboard.

—Wait...

—Could he be...?

"It's a pleasure to see you all again. There are a few new faces, so I'll introduce myself," Neraxis stated. "My name is Neraxis Valen, and from this day forth, I will be your instructor."

—Huuuh!?

—Isn't he the same age as us!?

The murmurs were growing a bit too loud, so Neraxis merely extended his {Aura of the Abyss} outward, sending a frosty chill down everyone's spines.

Despite him and Seraphina not talking frequently, they got along pretty well, and she even taught him how to control Frost better.

But in exchange, there would be a favor he'd have to do for her later...

"I'm Ariella Scarlet. Some of you might remember me from when I destroyed your class a year ago. Nice to meet you. I'll also be your instructor."

—Her too!?

—But she's hot...

"Alright, everyone, I won't beat around the bush," Neraxis stated firmly, his gaze growing colder. "I don't give a shit whether or not you like this arrangement. It's happening. Ariella and I will act as your guardians, not actual instructors."

Kael raised his hand before speaking. "Guardians, huh? So you'll trail us around like dogs, you mean?"

Neraxis scoffed. "That's not a nice way of saying it, but yes. We will make sure nothing bad happens to you. And of course, if you have a problem, talk to either of us in personally."

"Neraxis, why didn't you text us?" Aella suddenly said, her brows furrowed. "If you were alive for an entire year, why did you let us think you were actually dead!?"

"This is not the time for that," Neraxis shot back with a sigh. "I'll explain everything later. For now, I need someone to explain how stuff works here."

As his words fell, Veronica, the girl who fought with Soren in the first round, stood up.

"Instructor, why don't you select a class president?"

"Hmm? I guess we can do that." Neraxis nodded before turning to the blackboard and wiping it clean.

Then, he picked up a document that detailed the names of all the students in class and began calling out.

"Andre Donovan? You're up first. Step up to the blackboard and write down the name of who you want the class president to be."

He looked around until, eventually, a scrawny kid with brown hair stood up and walked over to the blackboard.

Picking up the chalk, he wrote down a name, which, surprisingly, was Veronica's.

"One vote for Veronica Lemont. Next up is..."

***

Soon, the voting was finished, and surprisingly, it was a tie.

It was between Veronica Lemont and Celina Whiltfrow.

"Tie. Do you guys want to play rock-paper-scissors? Or do we just redo the vote?" Neraxis asked, tapping a pen on the new desk.

Ariella was sitting on top of it as well, swinging her legs leisurely.

However, as he was expecting a vote to begin, Veronica proposed a different idea.

"How about we also get a vice president? I volunteer."

Neraxis turned to Celina. "How is it? Do you want to be the class president?"

Instead of replying, she merely nodded a few times.

"Great then, problem solved. Figure out which one of you drafts up your lesson sheet. I want it done by the end of class," Neraxis said sternly, and immediately, Veronica began scribbling on a piece of paper, while Celina simply sat back down.

This is pretty fun. Neraxis thought with a smile.

[You look like you're having fun...] Evangeline trailed off. [Do you think you can put the past behind you now?]

What do you mean? he asked, feigning ignorance.

[You know what I mean, Eclipse,] Evangeline said. [You spent way too long doing dirty stuff, and I can read your memories. I can tell you're disturbed.]

I'm fine, Neraxis replied. I'll tell someone eventually, but my conscience isn't broken. I can assure you that much, Evangeline.

Mission after mission. Killing, massacres—everything he thought he could avoid.

And he did that hundreds of times over the course of the year.

He felt dirty.

But of course, the people he killed, deserved what was coming to them.

"Instructor?" Veronica called out, startling him out of his thoughts.

"Here." She handed over the piece of paper detailing their lesson plan.

To be honest, it was rather simple.

They scrapped regular lessons altogether.

However, what replaced them was something he didn't expect.

"Havenspire's Strike Team? What...?" He read it, puzzled.

"Yes, instructor... We all passed last year's Dreamspire trials with a lot of time to spare. The headmaster saw our potential and made us a strike team."

"So you're going out into monster zones now? Is he crazy?" Neraxis commented, eyes wide. "The strongest of you seems to be Kael, who's B+ ranked. The rest of you are midway through C rank. How is that possible?"

Veronica shrugged. "We didn't make the rules, instructor." She tapped on the lesson plan.

Today was Monday, and also the day they would go on an excursion into a monster zone.

"This is... we leave in an hour?" Neraxis read it before letting out a scoff. "I knew this position was a pain in the ass."

"Well, at least we won't need to study," Ariella remarked, still swinging her legs while sitting on the table. "Also, I'm hungry again, Neraxis."

Neraxis rolled his eyes as he stood up, gathering everyone's attention.

"Class dismissed. Prepare all the shit you need for the monster zone. Don't skimp out on food and extra clothes. See you in an hour."

With that, he nodded at the four girls in the back before grabbing Ariella's hand and walking out of the classroom.

Neraxis made his way to the academy's rooftop as he took out the fast food he brought earlier.

Soon, the girls arrived, their expressions a mix of emotions.

Neraxis leaned back, glancing at each of them before flashing a warm smile.

It's time to do some explaining.