The Return Of The Exiled Villain

The next day, the entire class was gathered on the training grounds.

The cracked stone floor stretched wide, still scarred with burns, cuts, and dried blood from countless past battles.

Otto stood at the front, hands behind his back, his voice echoing through mana amplification.

”Today, we will begin group sparring matches. Each team will face another in front of the class. Victory and defeat will shape your rankings, as well as determine who’s considered an asset... or dead weight.”

His words hung heavy as no one dared to laugh.

”First,” Otto continued, his gaze sweeping the rows of students.

”Team Four versus Team Ten. Step forward.”

A hush fell as two groups moved into the arena.

Gray leaned on his rapier, watching with half-lidded eyes.

[I got it~]

He didn’t look interested at all, though Jasmine’s words suggested she was already analyzing every movement.

Raven, of course, couldn’t stay quiet for a damn second.

”Captain Gray! Look, look! They’re sloppy already. The tall guy swung too wide, and his teammate almost tripped trying to dodge. If we fought them, we’d crush them in seconds! Oh—what if I took notes? Should I take notes?”

Gray sighed. ”...If you talk any louder, I’ll test this rapier on your throat.”

Raven froze for half a second, then whispered, loudly anyway:

”...He’s so focused. What a leader. Amazing...”

”You’re even more annoying than before.” Lira flicked him a cold glance, adding sharply.

”Annoyingly reliable!” Raven grinned back, puffing his chest.

On the opposite side of Gray, two girls whispered to each other, their eyes fixed on him instead of the spar.

”...I didn’t think he’d have this side.”

”He looks so done with Raven’s noise. It’s... kind of cute.”

Gray’s eyebrow twitched.

”I can hear you.”

They only giggled, covering their mouths.

Meanwhile, in the arena, the clash of blades and spells filled the air.

A blast of wind magic sent one student tumbling, only for another to pin him down with a spear to his throat. The match was decided in seconds.

”Winner—Team Ten,” Otto declared.

His eyes shifted briefly to Gray’s group, unreadable.

”Next match... Team Six versus Team Two.”

”...This is going to drag,” Gray scoffed.

”Don’t worry, Captain,” Raven said, patting his shoulder with too much enthusiasm.

”We’ll make our match so dazzling the whole academy will remember it! The Ballad of Team One! It’ll be sung for centuries!”

Gray tilted his head toward him, dead-eyed.

”...You’re lucky murder is restricted during the group sparring.”

Slowly, the next match began.

And this time, Gray actually wanted to see the fight, after all, Team Six was the team that consisted of Cassandra, Maelis, and Selene.

”Begin!” Otto’s voice cracked through the field.

The fight exploded instantly.

Fwoosh!

Cassandra was the first to move, with her scythe spun in a wide arc, the sheer force of her swing tearing cracks across the stone floor.

”Dammit!”

”Magic Barrier!”

Two members of Team Two staggered back, barely raising their defenses in time.

Maelis didn’t even lift a hand.

”Pressure,” She only whispered, her eyes glowing faintly.

THRUUM!

Gravity bent, and immediately, the ground under Team Two’s feet pressed down like an invisible weight, pulling them to their knees.

”F-fuck!”

”This is simply impossible to deal with!”

Their movements slowed, sluggish, as if the air itself turned into lead around them.

Selene smiled faintly, slipping past Cassandra’s wide strikes.

With a flicker, she appeared at an opponent’s side, her dagger already pressing against his throat.

Her eyes gleamed unnaturally, and he froze, staring into her gaze like a deer caught in light.

Gray’s eyes narrowed as he watched.

’...A charm technique?’

[Exactly... she’s a mermaid, what did you expect?]

’...Isn’t the Serines the one who sing to seduce people?’

[There’s not much difference.]

’Oh...’ Gray nodded.

In less than thirty seconds, Team Two was broken.

One member was pinned to the ground by Cassandra’s scythe blade, another was choking under Maelis’s crushing pull of gravity, and the last was trembling with Selene’s dagger tracing his jaw.

The silence that followed was heavy.

”Winner—Team Six,” Otto declared, his voice clipped, almost bored, as though he had already known the outcome before it even started.

Jasmine hummed faintly in his head.

[That’s quite the combination indeed. Raw force, control of the battlefield, and mental manipulation... Not bad.]

[You probably won’t be able to deal with them...]

’That’s obvious,’ Gray rolled his eyes.

’Cassandra is enough to deal with us three,’ he added inwardly.

[Mhm...]

...

After several more matches, Otto’s voice cut across the grounds again.

”Next... Team One versus Team Twelve.”

Gray’s eyes opened just a little, the faintest flicker of annoyance crossing his face. He rose from where he had been leaning, his rapier sliding into his hand with a soft scrape.

Raven immediately bounced to his feet, puffing his chest out.

”Yes! Finally, our debut! Watch closely, everyone—Team One is about to carve our names into history!”

Gray gave him a sideways glance... he didn’t say anything, but Raven suddenly grinned wider as if he had read his mind.

Lira ignored both of them, quietly tightening the straps of her gloves. Her calmness gave the impression she’d been waiting for this moment since the morning.

The three of them stepped into the arena.

Across from them, Team Twelve appeared: four bulky-looking students, their builds heavy with muscle, all wielding blunt weapons—maces, hammers, and a single tower shield.

They sneered, their confidence clear.

”This’ll be quick,” one of them muttered, slamming his hammer into the ground.

Otto’s gaze swept between the two groups. His lips twitched into the faintest of smirks as he raised a hand.

”Begin.”

The four charged instantly, their weapons raised, the ground trembling with every step.

Raven was the first to move, of course. He whipped out a longsword and charged straight at them, yelling:

”For gloryyyy!”

”Fucking idiot,” Gray sighed.

Clang!

The first hammer came swinging for Raven’s head, only for Gray’s rapier to flash in, deflecting the blow with a sharp clang before it could connect.

Raven blinked.

”Whoa—thanks, Captain! See, teamwork already—”

”Shut up and don’t die.”

Meanwhile, Lira slipped past them like water.

Her fist slammed into the shield-bearer’s stomach with a heavy thud, the impact so strong it forced him back a step despite his armor.

She didn’t even pause, her next strike cracking against his chin, sending his head whipping back.

Gray didn’t bother rushing.

He only stepped forward when the second hammer came for him, his body tilting lazily to the side.

BAAM!

The weapon smashed the ground where he’d stood, stone shards spraying.

Before the wielder could recover, Gray’s rapier slid in, pressing against the soft part of his neck, not giving him a chance to breathe.

The boy froze.

”Move, and I’ll open your throat,” Gray uttered coldly.

A chill ran across the arena.

Slit...

The hammer-wielder froze with Gray’s rapier pricking his throat. His two teammates behind him, unsure whether to press forward or retreat, hesitated just a second too long.

”Raven,” Gray muttered.

”Yes, Captain!” Raven answered instantly, already swinging his longsword in wild arcs.

Swing!

He charged the shield-bearer, yelling like a maniac, his strikes clanging harmlessly against the tower shield.

The other three from Team Twelve laughed.

”Pathetic.”

”Is that all you’ve got?”

”No wonder you are the 40th-ranked student, pfftt!”

The shield-bearer shoved Raven back with ease, his tower shield slamming into Raven’s chest. He staggered, coughing, but before the boy could finish him off...

CRACK!

Lira slid in from the side, her fist driving into the shield-bearer’s ribs with a brutal snap. The force made him grunt in pain, stumbling sideways.

Raven stumbled to his feet, wheezing.

”Ow... totally planned that. Go, Lira!”

Gray didn’t even look.

He leaned closer to the hammer-wielder still pinned at his throat.

”Your team’s already falling apart.”

The boy growled, trying to raise his hammer, but Gray twisted his wrist.

SHNK!

The rapier’s tip cut a thin line across his throat, just enough for blood to bead. The boy froze, sweat breaking out on his brow.

”Drop it,” Gray ordered.

Thud!

The hammer fell as soon as he uttered those words.

Meanwhile, the other two bruisers tried to flank Raven. One swung a mace downward, but Raven ducked clumsily, screaming the entire time.

”Captain, help me! I’m distracting them so well!”

Gray’s eye twitched in annoyance.

Still, it worked.

The mace-wielder’s back was completely exposed. Lira darted behind him, her elbow slamming into the base of his skull with bone-crunching force.

He went down instantly, sprawling across the stone.

”Two down,” Gray said softly.

The last bruiser roared, swinging a hammer straight for Gray’s head, but he didn’t move at all.

He smiled faintly.

”[✧Swap✧]”

WHOOSH!

Gray vanished, reappearing behind the man just as his hammer smashed harmlessly through the space where he’d been.

Before the bruiser could turn, Gray’s rapier carved a shallow cut across his calf.

”Argh! F-fuck!”

The boy cried out, stumbling to one knee.

”Raven,” Gray called again.

”Yes, Captain! My time to shine!”

Raven charged, swinging his longsword down in an overdramatic arc. It clanged uselessly against the bruiser’s shoulder armor.

The boy snarled, about to retaliate, but Gray was already there.

Thunk!

His rapier slid across the man’s wrist, making him drop his weapon in shock.

”Pathetic,” Gray muttered, kicking the boy flat on his back.

Now only the shield-bearer remained. He was breathing hard, bruised from Lira’s strikes, but still holding his ground.

He raised his shield desperately.

”Y-you can’t break through this!”

Gray tilted his head lazily.

”I don’t really need to.”

He glanced at Lira, and noticing his gaze, she nodded.

BAM!

She struck the shield dead-center with both fists, not to break it, but to lock it in place. The boy grunted, struggling against the weight of her force.

Gray stepped around him, calm as ever, and pressed his rapier tip gently against the gap between shield and armor, right above his ribs.

”Yield,” he said coldly.

The boy’s eyes darted, panic flashing.

”...I-I give up...”

Clink, thud...!

Then his shield clattered to the ground.

Silence filled the arena.

”Winner—Team Seven,” Otto declared, his voice carrying across the training grounds.

Gray flicked his rapier clean, barely sparing a glance at his defeated opponents.

Raven threw his arms up dramatically.

”Victoryyyy! Did you see that teamwork? Did you see how I lured them in with my heroic self-sacrifice?”

”...You were the bait.”

”Exactly! Bait of legend!”

”Idiot.” Lira shook her head, muttering under her breath.

But for a moment, her gaze flicked to Gray... he hadn’t even broken a sweat.

And that... was far scarier than their enemies lying on the ground.