The SSS Ranked Villain's Return

Safe to say, Neraxis didn't have a very fun time.

Evangeline had shared his baby pictures with the rest of the girls, and it was just a little embarrassing.

After all, he was a pretty ugly baby.

...A very ugly baby.

[Hey now, look on the bright side. You grew out of it!] Evangeline teased. [On another note, did you bring all the furniture?]

Neraxis sighed. Yeah. I bought out four furniture stores, so it should be enough.

[Great, wanna help us decorate?] Evangeline asked as she slowly approached him from a distance.

"Or are you going to leave for some business again?" she finished.

"Business. I'll be trying something," Neraxis replied plainly. "Don't wait up for me. I'll likely only be back by Aella's birthday, and... our special day."

"Hmm... I see." Evangeline nodded slowly as she leaned in and took off his dimensional ring.

"Then I'll be bringing this back to the other girls. Don't overexert yourself," Evangeline added.

Neraxis's brow twitched. "As much as I'd love to not exert myself, I will have to. Otherwise, the Eternal Sin is going to take over eventually."

"So that's what you'll be doing..." Evangeline trailed off, her tone laced with worry. "I didn't read your mind since I didn't want to pry, but wow... You're really going to do it?"

"Mhm..." he nodded. "I'll be going over to Delta and Amara. I sent them a message a few hours ago while I was out shopping, so I'm sure they're ready by now."

"But are you ready?" Evangeline asked as she put on the ring and then embraced him. "4% power of a Primordial... maybe even higher. That's a big deal."

"If it means I can become my own person, then I'll gladly try my luck," Neraxis replied with a smirk and leaned in, planting a kiss on her soft lips.

She reciprocated the kiss—even indulged in it.

And after what felt like several minutes, they finally separated.

"T-That was my first kiss..." Evangeline muttered shyly.

Neraxis chuckled. "The innocent girl act doesn't really work when you do it, sorry."

"Tsk." Evangeline clicked her tongue, a smile tugging at her lips. "Good luck. I'll make sure to set up everything by the time you're back."

He would've said another goodbye, but he felt that if he did, he might never leave.

After all, her embrace and those soft lips of hers were more than enough reason to stay.

But being here endangered them. In fact, the unpredictability factor that the Eternal Sin brought up had made Neraxis doubt himself for a long time.

Therefore, he took a few steps back, waved at Evangeline, and with a single thought, he vanished.

He reappeared high up above the city, and the only reason he didn't directly appear in Obscura's headquarters was simply because Delta didn't want to risk his energy being traced.

So he did it like a normal person and waited for a while. Eventually, a crack appeared in the air, and Neraxis walked through it.

Immediately, he reappeared in front of the casual throne he was used to seeing.

Just this time, Delta sat on it, and Amara was merely staring at him from the side.

Both of them wore frowns, and the atmosphere itself was incredibly dreary.

"You two seem pretty lively," Neraxis commented, yet the silence was still deafening.

However, it was soon broken by Delta, who stood from her throne and walked toward him, gently placing a finger on his forehead.

Just as he was about to ask what she was doing, his vision suddenly turned dark.

At the same time, he lost full control of his mana—and even better, his physical body.

He just felt like some kind of soul floating through the air. But of course, he couldn't actually feel himself float.

This is trippy... Neraxis thought, trying his hardest to cling to some type of feeling.

Yet no matter how much he tried, there was nothing—simply blank space since he had nothing to connect to.

Just as he thought this was going to be some giant dilemma, Delta's voice rang out.

—I'm sure you're a bit confused. However, I believe you need to reinforce your mind. For that, I ask you to stay in this place and retain your sanity. I will not give you a set timeframe since that's a little meaningless. I will only pull you out once I feel like you're ready.

What is this bullshit...? Mind torture to steel my mind? I can kind of understand it, but this is a bit...

—Oh, and don't even think about escaping early. Escape isn't possible. And if I see you're a lost cause, I won't hesitate to leave your mind trapped for eternity. Good luck, Neraxis. I'll see you soon.

Silence once again descended—just this time, he had a little bit more clarity on the situation.

And that clarity told him he was fucked.

No timeframe, and she'll only pull me out when I'm ready? How long is that going to fucking take... Neraxis thought as he scrambled through his mind.

There was no way out since he couldn't realistically lock on to anything. Even if he focused on some sun he remembered, he couldn't teleport since his body was elsewhere.

Safe to say, he was trapped—and knowing Delta, he was going to spend years in this place.

But he didn't start sulking just yet. Instead, Neraxis focused on his mind, trying to latch onto something that would make his time here easier.

And of course, the first things that came to mind were his family, the girls, and obviously, Evangeline.

She stood out the most, like a ray of sunshine.

Therefore, he calmed his mind and simply thought of them.

All of them were like an anchor, and after what felt like hours, he didn't feel even a single bit different.

Am I supposed to let them go or something...? What exactly do I do here? Neraxis pondered.

And, almost as if he imagined it, he felt a tap on his nonexistent shoulder.

Immediately, his blood turned cold as he imagined himself turning around.

In the darkness, he could surprisingly see a single figure sitting on a throne, looking identical to Neraxis.

And soon, the figure spoke.