The Return Of The Exiled Villain

The rest of the exam felt almost mechanical.

They walked, a monster showed up, Gray or the others killed it, then they used the scanner on the body.

After that, they moved again, repeating the same process over and over again.

Crack!

Gray’s strings cut through one beast’s leg before he kicked it in the jaw, snapping its head back.

Gurgle...

One of Lyra’s teammates drove his spear into another monster’s chest, pulling it free with a wet sound.

Beep!

The scanner flashed green, and then they were moving again.

After a while, Mira, Selina, and Claire naturally drifted closer to the boys from Lyra’s group.

They started talking, asking small things, about weapons, about how many monsters they had killed.

The chatter filled the air.

That left Gray and Lyra walking side by side, a small distance behind the others.

”...”

It was awkward. Painfully so.

Lyra kept sneaking glances at him, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve. Her lips parted a few times as if to speak, but she shut them right away.

She wanted him to say something...anything to break the awkward atmosphere between them.

But Gray didn’t. His eyes stayed forward, his face as blank as ever. The only time he reacted was when a monster lunged.

”Raaaghh!”

A creature burst from the shadows.

Fwip!

In an instant, Gray’s strings snapped out, coiling around its neck.

Crack!

With one sharp pull, he twisted until the sound of bones breaking filled the corridor. The beast dropped like a sack of meat, and Gray didn’t even flinch.

He let the body fall, released the strings, and kept walking as if nothing had happened.

Lyra bit her lip in frustration because even though Gray was right next to her, it felt like he was miles away.

She slowed her steps, gathering enough courage, and then finally called out softly.

”G-Gray...?”

His head turned only slightly, his black eyes sliding toward her.

”...Do you need something?”

The words came flat, his tone almost bored, but the fact that he spoke at all made her heart skip.

”Did... something happen?” she asked softly, her eyes searching his face.

”You’re not... teasing me, or saying the usual things you do.” Her voice slowly trailed off as she bit her lower lip.

”Did I... do something wrong?”

At those words, Gray instantly stopped in his tracks, looking directly at Lyra’s eyes.

A frown appeared on his face.

[...Are you going to tell that the only reason you’re not talking is because you’ve been playing chess with me?]

Jasmine teased him slighly.

’Tsk, shut it,’ Gray retorted inwardly.

Looking at the girl whose eyes were practically tearing apart because he didn’t talk to her, Gray sighed deeply.

”...Nothing happened. And no, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Gray said flatly, his hand lifting to pat her head once before he walked ahead.

Lyra’s face brightened at once, a soft hum leaving her lips as if his words were enough to calm her.

”But still... you feel different,” she said, taking two small steps closer to him, tilting her head as she stared deep into his black eyes.

He didn’t say anything, and she also couldn’t get anything out of his hypnotic eyes.

Lyra frowned.

”Did something bad happen before we came here?” she asked.

”....”

”Gray? Did you fight with someone?”

”....”

”Then... are you hiding something from me?” she pressed, her voice growing smaller but sharper.

Gray’s shoulders stiffened slightly, his lips tightening. He was seconds away from snapping at her when a loud voice broke through.

”Guys!” Selina shouted from up ahead.

”I think we found the Boss Room!” Mira added quickly, finishing Selina’s words.

Claire nodded right away, raising her hand to point toward the massive purple door. It looked old, rotten at the edges, and covered in strange glowing cracks that pulsed faintly.

”...Man, this doesn’t look like a normal dungeon at all,” one of the guys muttered, stepping back a little.

”Yeah, but at least we get to hang around with these beautiful ladies~” another one said, a smirk tugging at his lips as his eyes went straight to Selina.

Noticing his stare, Selina gave a light smile, tucking a strand of her hair neatly behind her ear.

”Mhm...” Gray stepped forward, ignoring them.

His hand lifted slowly, reaching out toward the surface of the door.

”Oy, wait!” The other guy grabbed his wrist tightly.

Gray stopped.

”Don’t do anything stupid,” the guy said, warning Gray coldly, ”Just because we’re strong, it doesn’t mean someone weak like you can act like you own the place.”

As soon as he heard those words, Gray’s eyes darkened at once.

Seeing that look, Lyra’s stomach sank.

Her eyes widened in panic.

”W-wait! Wait, wait, wait!” she rushed forward, slipping quickly between them, pressing both hands on Gray’s chest to push him back slightly.

”Gray, calm down! Don’t forget that we’re teaming up right now!”

Her voice trembled.

Then she spun to face the guy holding Gray, her hands balled into fists.

”You!” she snapped.

”Say sorry to him, right now!”

The guy scoffed, his grip loosening, but no apology came. His jaw tightened as he looked at Gray with open disdain.

Gray’s lips curved into a cold smirk.

”...Wrong answer.”

Bam!

He suddenly pulled his wrist free and slammed a punch hard into the guy’s cheek. The sound cracked in the air, the man’s head snapping to the side as spit flew out.

”Ghhk—!” the guy stumbled back, his boots scraping loudly against the stone floor.

”GRAY!” Lyra screamed, grabbing his arm in shock.

The guy wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his eyes burning.

”You damned bastard!” With a sharp growl, he lunged forward, swinging a fist straight toward Gray’s head.

Whoosh!

Gray tilted his head just enough, the punch missing by inches.

His smirk widened.

”Slow.”

Thud!

His knee shot forward, ramming into the man’s stomach. The man coughed violently, stumbling back a second time, clutching his gut.

Lyra clung to Gray’s arm, her whole body trembling.

”S-stop it! Please!”

Gray’s black eyes shifted down at her before directly pushing her off.

”Get away,” he said coldly.

She stumbled two steps back, her eyes wide, but he didn’t look at her again.

[Control your emotions.]

Jasmine warned Gray, who seemed to have gotten back his anger issues.

”Tsk...” Gray gritted his teeth, taking a deep breath.

Without a word to the group behind him, he stepped forward and pressed both hands on the huge double door.

CRACK!

CREAAAAK!

The sound of old metal and stone grinding echoed loudly as the doors slowly opened. A rush of stale air hit him, carrying the smell of smoke and burnt stone.

”...Oh, there are more students than I thought...” he muttered.

More than twenty students were locked in battle, their shouts and spells bouncing off the walls. All of them fought desperately against one single creature.

The boss.

It floated above the ground like a glowing nightmare. A slender, almost human-like figure with pale blue skin that cracked with sparks of golden lightning.

Its wings were long and sharp, made of spiked arcs of electricity that hummed and snapped loudly.

Its hair glowed like threads of lightning itself, whipping in every direction, and its eyes shone a blinding white as bolts leapt from its body, striking the stone floor and leaving black scars.

A lightning fairy.

Every time it raised its hand, thunder cracked, and another student screamed as lightning tore through the air.

However, just in the middle of the chaos, Gray narrowed his eyes as he saw someone familiar.

Cassandra.

She leaned lazily against her double-edged scythe, her weight resting on it as if she were bored. Her hair brushed over her shoulder, her gaze locked on the monster, but filled with nothing but dull indifference.

She wasn’t even moving to fight.

But not far from her, Gray’s eyes caught another familiar figure.

Selene.

Unlike Cassandra, she was moving fast, her boots sliding against the floor as she weaved between five lightning wolves that snapped and lunged at her with glowing fangs.

Sparks flew with every clash as her blade cut across one’s side.

ZZZT!

CRACK!

The wolf exploded into static before reforming again, forcing her to jump back with a hiss of breath.

Sweat rolled down her cheek, her breathing heavy, her grip tight on her sword as the wolves circled, their bodies flickering with arcs of electricity.

Seeing this, Gray shifted his stance, ready to dash forward and cut down one of the wolves chasing Selene.

His foot had barely moved when he felt three small tugs on his sleeve, causing him to stop.

He glanced down.

”Oh?” his lips curved into a crooked grin.

”What a nice triplet surprise.”

The ones holding him back were none other than the triplets who always hung around Jess.

However, Gray soon frowned as he noticed their darkened expression.

”G-Gray...” Mira, usually the most lively of the three, lowered her head until her forehead pressed against his shoulder.

Her voice cracked as she stammered his name.

Her words made Gray stiffen, turning toward her.

The other two didn’t speak either; they just clung to him, their arms wrapping tightly around his sides.

Their small bodies shook against his.

”...Did something happen?”

They didn’t answer.

Instead, the three of them pulled him closer, burying themselves into him like they didn’t want to let go.

That only gave Gray a bad feeling...

Until at last, Keira added the words that Elira and Mira couldn’t.

”Jess... is dead.”

Gray froze instantly.