The SSS Ranked Villain's Return

Neraxis leisurely strolled around the girls' campsite, and after roughly 10 minutes had passed, he realized they were definitely not coming out.

In the distance, he could hear the sound of splashing, which likely meant Evangeline had goaded them into all washing together.

Women were strange creatures, definitely.

[What, are you jealous?] Evangeline giggled inside his mind. [If you want, you can come in~]

No thanks. The last thing I want to be called right now is a pervert, Neraxis replied with a shrug. But I really hope you're not telling them something stupid.

[Not at all,] Evangeline said dismissively. [I'm just trying to figure out how they feel about you. Also, you're way too stiff and formal with them now. You used to be more relaxed, so I'll fix that too.]

Neraxis raised a brow. And how exactly are you going to do that?

After a moment of silence, Evangeline replied. [By having a talk with them. Gotta go now, don't wait for us, we're going to be busy for a while.]

Neraxis sighed, and without even wasting a moment, he took a little detour.

He had a few things on his agenda. Eliminating the Eternal Night and the Evangelists. Buying a mansion. And of course, getting revenge on the former heroes.

Since Neraxis had already put in a few open door requests regarding the mansions, he was only left with the other two options.

And in his current capacity, dealing with the heroes seemed like the right thing to do.

Therefore, with a single thought, Neraxis vanished, reappearing in front of a certain facility.

The Skryder Academy.

It was pretty empty on the outside, so Neraxis walked up to the single guard and nodded at him.

"Wait just a moment, aren't you—"

<Eyes of the Vampire has charmed the target!>

"Can I go through?" Neraxis asked politely.

And soon, he received a hollow response. "Yes."

With that, Neraxis continued forward, entered through the academy's front door, and glanced toward the receptionist.

"You're not supposed to be here, young man," the receptionist stated, and like before, Neraxis merely charmed them.

<Eyes of the Vampire has charmed the target!>

"Just let me stay here for a while, and don't call anyone," Neraxis said plainly. "I'll be going to the cafeteria."

The receptionist nodded blankly, and Neraxis swiftly proceeded to the cafeteria and got some food.

Unlike the front desk and the guards, the cooks didn't exactly have any funny thoughts and weren't trying to report him for being here in the first place.

But of course, greed was evident in their eyes. They all knew who he was, and the promise of immortality was definitely something that would interest anyone alive.

Nonetheless, he bought himself some food and ate, until eventually, the bell rang.

Soon, students began storming the cafeteria, most of them using skills to get here faster.

Most of them didn't even realize he was present, so they swiftly got their food and sat down.

Yet as the number of students increased, so did the number of people who were whispering about him.

—That's the guy with a bounty?

—He looks so scrawny... but the government offered a lot of money to catch him.

—I think I might try...

They were stupid, obviously, since most of the students present were between D and B rank.

There were even some freshmen that had reached A- rank, but it was a rarity.

However, after a few more minutes of senseless muttering, silence finally descended.

And of course, the people behind the sudden silence soon emerged.

Lar and Alice.

The two seemed to have barely changed in the year he hadn't seen them; however, Lar now had a massive circular scar on his cheek.

Neraxis chuckled and gestured for them to come closer. Soon, they did and sat down in front of him.

"Someone fucked you up big time, eh?" Neraxis remarked, glancing at the scar on Lar's cheek. "A gun?"

"A slap," Alice added absentmindedly. "He tried to ask me out on a date, so I put him in his place."

"Pfft... so he can't even speak for himself now?" Neraxis asked teasingly.

And to his surprise, Alice simply nodded. "I've cut his vocal cords since he ran his mouth way too much. Now he's nothing but my pet. What do you think, wanna join him?"

"Hmm... I can't say I do," Neraxis replied as he picked up his fork and hurled it toward Lar's forehead.

Before it could pierce him, Alice extended her hand and caught the fork out of the air.

Yet instead of throwing it back, she began eating her food with it, almost as if she wasn't sitting beside the person she had betrayed in the past.

"I take it you remember everything now?" Neraxis asked patiently.

And Alice simply shrugged. "I remember everything up to my death. So did Lar. However, I took the liberty of making him my gift to you."

Neraxis furrowed his brows. "Gift?"

"Of course." Alice smirked. "What better way to undermine revenge than to incapacitate the one behind it? You see, Lar was the one who initially suggested it, and now, he can't even piss without my permission."

Upon hearing that, Neraxis immediately sent out his Sun Threads and wrapped them around Lar and Alice's necks.

Without even giving them a chance to react, he tightened his grip on their necks, cleanly severing them.

A few seconds passed, and despite the panic of the students, he merely sat there, staring at their dead bodies.

But despite his hopes, footsteps resounded behind him. As he turned toward them, he saw Alice calmly walking to him and around the table.

She simply pushed her own corpse aside and then cleared her throat.

"So, Neraxis. How does it feel to kill Lar? Does it feel liberating?" Alice asked, obsessive curiosity tinged in her eyes. "It must feel satisfying, I bet... after all, you've been wanting this for so long, haven't you?"

All the while, Neraxis was staring at her speechlessly.

Lar died. The one who was at the forefront of the betrayal. And yet, he didn't put up a fight. Heck, his eyes were unfocused, almost as if his brain had long turned to mush.

And yet, here she was, simply staring at him with her psychotic gaze, fully knowing what she had done.

As unsatisfying as the kill was, Neraxis decided to do one simple thing.

"I might not be able to kill you as a human, however..." he stood up, walking toward the puzzled Alice and placing his finger over her lips.

"But how about as a vampire?"