The SSS Ranked Villain's Return

"Neraxis Valen... Rank 721,994,251. That's a new record for someone who has only cleared two floors," the guard announced.

"Mhm," Neraxis mused inwardly, though the glare of William could not be avoided as he finally spoke.

"We're having that talk now."

As William's words fell, Neraxis found his vision distorting, and soon, he was back in the same office he had been in earlier.

"You should really ease up on the teleportation. I'm going to vomit all over your floor next time," Neraxis said, looking at the unamused William.

"So, Veiled One, is it? I'm surprised you were even invited to that ragtag group of theirs. That woman, Amara, is as troublesome as always."

Neraxis raised his brow before replying, "I'm sure you know more about the group than I do. I'm still a pretty new member."

"Well, that's where you're wrong," William stated, grabbing a bottle of red wine, pouring himself a glass, and taking a sip.

"This 'Obscura' of yours—I can't find anything about it. The only reason I even stumbled upon the organization was that madwoman invited me."

"And yet you declined?" Neraxis commented, earning a nod from him in response.

But the answer was slightly different from what he was expecting.

"I declined but still ended up as a member—not officially, of course. I am what you'd refer to as the Veiled One, a person who is considered a part of the group but hasn't gone on a single mission yet," William explained with a scoff.

However, a few things did not add up.

He hasn't gone on a single mission? Someone like him? He's much stronger than me... then why..?

"Anyway..." William put the wine glass down before narrowing his eyes at Neraxis.

"What is your end goal? You willingly went on a mission and became an Official Veil. What are you now? The Fifth?"

"My end goal doesn't concern you," Neraxis replied coldly and added, "I see that organization as a means to an end—a way to grow stronger much quicker. I don't exactly care about the path necessary to reach my goals. If the end result is the same, so be it."

William stared at him for a moment and sighed before turning around to look out the window.

However, he soon raised a question. "Have you heard of the Delihman massacre?"

"Of course," Neraxis tilted his head. "That's the neighboring city that was razed to the ground four years ago."

"Mhm..." William hummed with a chuckle. "The Obscura made sure not to leave even a single person remaining, wiping the traces of civilization clean off the face of the earth."

Neraxis's eyes widened upon hearing that, but he wasn't exactly convinced.

"The Obscura wiped out an entire city? And for what exactly? I'm sure, since you so conveniently investigated them, you'd know."

And indeed, that seemed to be the case, as William soon replied in a low voice, barely a whisper.

"Project Z17. Whatever it is—and whatever the government is doing with it—seems to be a thorn in The Obscura's side. And for the last ten years, they've been hard at work ridding this nasty part of the government."

"I don't see how that's bad," Neraxis questioned before lowering his voice as well. "I take it Delihman was their base of operations? Is that why it was completely wiped out?"

"That's right." William nodded and affirmed. "Remember when I mentioned the rotten part was mainly culled? Ninety-five percent of Delihman was corrupted by that project."

Oh... I see now. Neraxis narrowed his eyes and spoke. "Your moral compass believes that the remaining five percent were all innocents, is that it?"

At his insensitive remark, William sent a fierce glare, and soon, the chair Neraxis was sitting in froze.

"Watch your mouth," he said in a cold tone before lowering his voice again. "Do you think this group really cares about the people—or anyone else, for that matter? They simply do this to reach their goals at all costs. If they really wanted to, they could have saved the remaining five percent."

However, Neraxis wasn't having any of it as he stood up from the icy chair, shattering its handrest.

"Headmaster, people die because sacrifices must be made. There is no perfect world."

He felt odd being the one to tell him this.

After all, in the past, William had told him these same exact words.

"You think an immature brat like you has the right to lecture me?" William suddenly appeared before him, sending him a cold glare.

However, Neraxis did not back down.

"If that's what it takes for your foggy mind to clear, then yes, I am going to lecture you."

William merely stared at him before eventually letting out a sigh.

"I expected you to have some semblance of a heart, yet you are the same as them."

This is getting tiring. Neraxis furrowed his brows, and just as he was about to call him out, the door swung open.

All of a sudden, Celina walked in, twirling her pair of daggers but halting upon seeing the two of them.

"Sorry... Am I interrupting something?" she questioned, and before Neraxis could answer, William pushed him aside.

"No, Celi, we just finished our talk. You're free to train here," he said in a warm tone, a stark difference from his earlier stubbornness.

"...Okay." Celina nodded in response with a hint of suspicion before taking a glance at Neraxis.

"You missed the second round of training... Why did you skip?"

Noticing a bit of concern in her voice, Neraxis prepared to answer but was once again interrupted by the annoyance known as William.

"Ah, he reached E- rank and finished the first floor."

Guess the second trial is a mystery for now. Neraxis smiled inwardly, noticing Celina's eyes widen.

"He's E- ranked already...? But just earlier..." She couldn't believe it—or simply chose not to.

"I'm going to take my leave, Headmaster," Neraxis said, flashing a warm smile toward Celina, and soon left the office.

That conversation was suffocating, but I did get some intel at the very least, he thought while walking down the hallways back to his class.

[Yeah... He did seem like an overly righteous person at first, but this confirmed it,] Evangeline remarked with a giggle before continuing. [I guess that's why he never went on a mission.]

Maybe, maybe not. There is still a lot I don't know, obviously, he replied and went back into the classroom.

Surprisingly, there was only one person left—Aella—and she was sitting in the back where she always had been.

It seemed like she had dozed off a little on the table, so Neraxis silently approached, feeling a tad bit bad.

He tapped on her shoulder, and she immediately shot up, glancing around with her hair slightly disheveled.

But upon noticing him, she calmed down, breathing out a sigh of relief.

"I left after the first part of the training. I thought you went to the classroom... so I followed you," Aella began, trying to explain herself, making a soft smile appear on his face.

"Sorry for making you wait," he expressed sincerely and took out his phone. "Could I get your phone number then?"

"O-Of course!" she stammered before picking up his phone and typing her number in, while at the same time, sending herself a text.

"Here..." Aella gave the phone back with slightly shaking hands that did not go unnoticed by Neraxis.

However, he did not want to come off as too playful with a girl he had not even gotten to know that much, so he did not point it out.

"I'll message you later," Aella said as she skipped across the classroom, stopping right at the door and glancing at him with a warm smile.

"You better reply to me."

As her words fell, she left, not even giving him time to reply.

But it did not matter, as he merely chuckled. Of course I will.

[What will you do now?] Evangeline chimed in, flying around in her sword form.

I'll look up the Dreamspire's first ten floors later, just in case something like earlier happens again, but for now, I want to do some training. Neraxis stated and proceeded to walk to the Special Class training facility, entering the battle simulation chamber.

Thankfully, he had the gold access card, meaning he could stay here for as long as he wanted.

And it was also about time he practiced his swordsmanship.