The Return Of The Exiled Villain

A few days had passed since Gray’s fight with Dexter.

From that moment on, no one dared to challenge him again. After all, he had destroyed the fifth-ranked student in the academy.

His strength wasn’t in question anymore.

No one doubted him now.

’...Mhm~’

[Was it really a good decision to kill Dexter?]

Jasmine asked curiously.

’I’m not sure. His brother is probably going to be a pain in the ass later,’ Gray sighed inwardly.

After all, Frederic, Dexter’s old brother, was the first person the other ’Gray’ told him to be wary of.

Gray had also mentioned that he was the first one to block his unique sword art, which, from his words, shouldn’t be possible to block unless you’re above the Master realm.

’But what’s done, it’s done, no use dwelling on it.’

[Mhmn... sure.]

Jasmine nodded slightly, but as he did so, both her and Gray’s attention focused on the professor as he addressed the whole classroom.

”Since more than thirty-two students have been killed since the first day of classes, we’ll be receiving new students into this class,” Otto said, his sharp eyes sweeping the room.

”Fortunately, in this class, only two students have died so far,” he added with a faint smile. ”I hope this continues until the next semester.”

A chill spread through the classroom. Some students stiffened, but most just shrugged it off, as if death had already become part of daily life.

’Wow... so scary,’ Gray muttered dryly.

[Aren’t you at least a little curious about your new classmates?]

’Why would I be? Just more bodies waiting to die. Oh, how thrilling.’

[...Fucking sociopath.]

”You may come in,” Otto called.

Creackk...

The door opened.

A blond-haired guy walked in first, cheerful as ever, followed by a black-haired girl with a long ponytail, wearing a cold expression.

Quite the strange duo...

”Firstly, we have Raven V. Dravelholt, who will take the 40th rank,” Otto announced. ”And next... Lira Starlight, who will become the new 5th-ranked student.”

Gray’s half-lidded eyes snapped wide open.

”...Wait. What the fuck?” he muttered, slowly lifting his head as he had recognized the names.

And there, Raven stood, grinning like an idiot while waving straight at him, while Lira’s calm, cold gaze locked on him with quiet familiarity.

”Oh... my fucking god,” Gray cursed.

[Oh my... it seems that they really missed you.]

Jasmine couldn’t help but take the opportunity to tease him.

”You two know Gray?” Otto raised an eyebrow in surprise.

”Of course! We’re best friends! We even took the Knight Assessment together!” Raven’s lips stretched wider, smiling brightly.

Otto chuckled at the obvious annoyance twisting Gray’s face.

”In that case, the two of you may sit beside him.”

Gray’s fist trembled under the desk.

’This fucking professor...’

Raven wasted no time.

The moment Otto told him to sit next to Gray, he darted forward, plopping down into the chair beside him with the energy of a child who had just found candy.

”GRAY! You bastard, you didn’t even send me a letter! Do you know how boring it was without you?” Raven said, slapping him on the back hard enough to rattle the desk.

Gray’s eye twitched.

”...Get your filthy hand off me.”

But Raven only laughed, leaning in closer, grinning ear to ear.

Meanwhile, Lira took her seat on Gray’s other side, her movements quiet and precise. She didn’t say anything at first, just glanced at him with her usual calm, unreadable expression.

That silence was worse than Raven’s noise.

”...Why are you both here?” Gray muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

”Why? Because fate loves me, and obviously wants us to be together,” Raven grinned, leaning an elbow on Gray’s desk.

”Besides, you didn’t think you could run away from us, did you?”

[Oh, this is delightful.]

Jasmine chuckled inside Gray’s mind.

[You look so miserable, Gray. Truly, this is better than any comedy, ahaha~]

’Shut it, Jasmine.’

”You’ve gotten stronger.” Lira finally spoke, looking directly into his eyes.

Gray froze for a moment, then scowled.

”...Don’t state the obvious.”

”Ha! He’s acting all cool again! Gods, I missed this.” Raven immediately burst into laughter.

The surrounding students watched in confusion.

To them, Gray was a monster, feared, cold as death, but still a big playboy who only hangs around with girls.

Yet here was this loud idiot clinging to him like an old friend, and a sharp-eyed girl looking at him with quiet familiarity.

Whispers spread across the room.

”...Gray has friends?”

”No way. Look at him. He looks like he wants to murder them both.”

Gray’s fist clenched tighter.

’Do they treat the girls I hang out with as flings?!’

[Pfft...]

”Ehem—”

Otto clapped his hands once, silencing the whispers.

”Alright, enough introductions. Since we have new students, we’ll be shifting into group sparring next week. You’ll be training in teams of three.”

Gray’s stomach dropped.

[Oh no~]

Jasmine purred in his mind.

[I already know where this is going.]

”Let’s see...” Otto tapped his chin, eyes scanning the class before landing exactly where Gray sat. His lips twisted into a smile.

”Perfect. Gray, you’ll be partnered with our two new arrivals—Raven and Lira.”

The classroom went silent.

BAM!

Gray’s fist slammed down again, the desk creaking under the pressure.

”This gotta be a fucking joke.”

”Do I look like I’m joking?” Otto raised an eyebrow, clearly enjoying himself.

After all, it was strange having things that annoyed Gray. From the first class he taught, he had only seen how arrogant Gray was, nothing other than that.

[Ahaha... M-man, I can’t stop laughing, pfft...!!!]

”HAH!” Raven threw his arms around Gray’s shoulders before he could shrug him off.

”Did you hear that, Gray? We’re teammates again! Just like the old days!”

”Get. Off.” Gray gritted his teeth.

But Raven only tightened his grip, smiling wider.

”Never.”

On his other side, Lira nodded before leaning slightly closer.

”It’s not a bad arrangement, as we are familiar with each other.”

Gray turned his head, meeting her calm, steady gaze. He saw no teasing there—only certainty in her red eyes.

”Fuck...”

The students sitting nearby exchanged nervous looks.

Otto’s eyes lingered on Gray’s group a moment longer, clearly amused by his suffering, before he turned to the rest of the class.

”As for the rest of you, listen carefully. Teams of three, chosen by me. Complaining will not save you.” His tone was sharp and final.

It took him exactly five minutes to decide the whole team, but because there were forty students, two groups had an extra student.

And well...

There was a very insane group amongst all sixteen.

Cassandra, Selene, and Maelis.

’What the fuck did the professor have in mind while creating this group?!’ Gray sighed inwardly.

’But stranger than that... how come Raven is here?! I don’t doubt Lira’s capabilities since she has shown quite a high combat sense...’

[Raven... he’s a peak advanced realm user.]

’...You’re kidding, right?’

[No, and he’s not a Vessel or anything special.]

’...God fucking dammit.’

However, even with that insanely strong group formed, the class was watching his group the most.

[Oh, can you feel their gazes?]

Jasmine whispered slyly.

[Every eye is on you, Gray. They’re all wondering how you have actual friends.]

’They should be wondering how fast I’ll kill Raven if he doesn’t shut up.’

”HEY!” Raven’s voice suddenly rang out, far too loud for the quiet classroom. ”Professor! Can we name our team? I vote for Gray’s Angels!”

The room burst into muffled laughter.

Even Otto chuckled under his breath before shaking his head.

”You’ll stick with Team One, Dravelholt. Don’t test me.”

Gray slowly turned his head toward Raven, his eyes flat and cold as stone.

”...I’ll kill you in your sleep.”

”That’s the spirit!” Raven just grinned wider.

”I don’t care about the name. All that matters is results.” Lira, seated calmly on Gray’s other side, finally spoke again.

Her calm, sharp words silenced the laughter in the room almost instantly.

Otto gave a small nod of approval.

”Good. Then it’s settled. Tomorrow, you’ll begin group sparring. We’ll see which team truly deserves to rise... and which will be sent back to the dirt.”

The classroom fell quiet again.

Fear, tension, and excitement all mixed in the air.

Gray gritted his teeth in annoyance.

Tomorrow was already promising to be a headache.

...

Snap!

Otto finally snapped the book shut in his hand, the sound echoing across the classroom.

”And that’s everything for today. Groups are final. You will not change them. Training begins tomorrow at sunrise. If you’re late, don’t bother showing up at all.”

He gave them all one last cold glance before waving dismissively.

”Class dismissed.”

The second he said it, Raven shot up from his chair like he’d been waiting all his life for this moment.

”Finally! Freedom!” He stretched his arms, groaning dramatically, then leaned across Gray’s desk.

”So, partner—no, wait—captain! Captain Gray! Do we get matching uniforms? Should we make a team chant? Lira could handle the serious part, you could glare menacingly, and I’ll throw in the personality!”

Gray didn’t even blink.

”...Shut up.”

But Raven didn’t hear it.

He was already pacing, talking faster with every word.

”We should brainstorm! Like, what if we combine our skills? Imagine this—Lira locks someone down, you thread them up like a puppet, and I—BOOM—hit them with a flashy finisher! We’ll look unstoppable! Unbeatable! The professors will worship us, the other teams will cower, and the girls will—”

”I will strangle you with your own tongue,” Gray’s chair creaked as he leaned his cheek against his palm, staring out the window with dead eyes.

Raven clutched his chest dramatically.

”So cold! So cruel! That’s exactly why you’re the edgy silent leader archetype! You don’t even realize how much of a main character you are. Lira, back me up here—”

Lira didn’t say anything; she simply gathered her things, ignoring him completely, as if Raven didn’t exist... she was probably used to this already.

Across the room, a few of the girls were whispering among themselves, giggling behind their hands.

”Did you see that? He’s just... sitting there, deadpan, letting Raven yap like a dog.”

”I thought he was scary as hell before, but this side of him—”

”—is kind of cute, right?”

”Exactly! Like, he doesn’t even have to do anything. Just watching him tolerate Raven’s nonsense is funny.”

One girl leaned forward on her desk, her eyes sparkling.

”It’s so rare to see a guy that dangerous look so... normal.”

”Right? No wonder those girls hang around him even if he has the worst reputation ever... not to mention... that handsome face... mhm!~”

Their whispers carried enough that Gray caught a bit of it. He glanced their way, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Instantly, they straightened in their seats, cheeks red, pretending to look anywhere but at him.

Raven didn’t notice, of course.

He was still going.

”Team Seven! Gray at the helm, Lira the ice queen, and me, the handsome hero! Oh, we’re going to make history! Don’t worry, I’ll handle all the press after we win, Gray—you don’t even have to smile!”

Gray slowly dragged his hand down his face.

’...Jasmine, kill me now.’

[Unfortunately, I would die if I did so~, so nah.]

’Fucking hell...’