The Return Of The Exiled Villain

”.....”

Silence.

Only the whisper of the wind cut through the forest as the three remaining students stared at the still body of their teammate.

The scent of blood spread faintly through the air.

Gray tilted his head, his eyes gleaming through the smeared paint on his face.

”Aww... don’t look at me like that. He was in the way.”

The tallest of the three, a spear-user, trembled before gritting his teeth.

”Y-you bastard...!”

He lunged forward, spear glinting with wind mana, but Gray simply stepped sideways, almost lazily, letting the attack cut through the air where his chest had been.

Then came a faint click, barely a whisper of metal tightening.

The spear-user froze.

His eyes widened as invisible threads wrapped around his arm and neck.

”You’re so tense, relax...” Gray smiled gently.

The man dropped his weapon, clawing at his throat as the threads lifted him slightly off the ground, strangling the words from his mouth.

”Shh~,” Gray whispered, putting a finger to his lips.

”You’ll wake the forest.”

The other two tried to run in instinct, but the threads snapped outward, catching one by the ankle.

fell hard, crying out as the unseen line dragged him backward across the dirt.

The girl with the staff spun around, trembling as sparks of lightning formed around her hands.

”S-stay back!” she screamed.

However, Gray ignored, stepping forward.

Crackle!

The girl tried to use lightning magic, and for a second, the light blinded everything.

When it faded, Gray was gone.

”Where is he?!” She turned in panic, eyes darting through the trees.

Just then, a cold breath brushed her ear.

”Boo.”

She shrieked and swung wildly, but there was no one there.

From the corner of her vision, something shimmered, a silver thread slicing through the air like a whip.

The mana sparks clashed against it, snapping, scattering into nothing.

Gray appeared again, crouched just inches away, eyes half-lidded and smile faint.

”You shouldn’t play with lightning if you can’t control it~”

She raised her staff again, hands shaking, but he caught it mid-swing, his fingers curling around the wood, stopping it effortlessly.

Her eyes widened as the threads around them started to vibrate faintly, humming with tension.

”Let me guess,” Gray said softly, still holding the staff. ”You thought that since this was a trip made by the academy, you wouldn’t be in danger, right? No killing, just a fun little game.”

The staff splintered in his hand.

”This is the real test.”

Behind her, the struggling spear-user collapsed to his knees, the threads vanishing like mist. Gray didn’t look back.

His focus was entirely on the trembling girl in front of him.

”Tell me...” He crouched again, looking straight into her eyes. ”Did you really think it would be like that?”

Her lips parted, but no words came out.

For a moment, there was no movement at all, just her frightened breathing and the faint hum of Gray’s threads slicing through the air.

Then, almost as if bored, he stood and turned away.

”Run.”

She blinked in confusion.

”I said run.”

She stumbled back a step, then bolted, sprinting through the forest. Leaves snapped under her feet, and branches whipped her face.

She didn’t look back at all... she didn’t dare.

But Gray’s voice followed her anyway, floating through the trees like a ghost.

”Faster, faster... maybe you’ll make it out alive...”

Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.

She didn’t realize until too late that the ground beneath her was changing, threads glinting faintly in the dim light, like spider silk woven into the forest floor.

Her foot caught.

Then everything went still.

Gray emerged from the shadows, walking at a slow pace. His expression was unreadable now, calm, almost empty.

”I told you not to run in my web,” he murmured.

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes, shaking her head.

”P-please... don’t—”

He sighed softly, almost disappointed.

”Don’t make me the villain, sweetheart. I just needed the crystals.”

He reached down, plucked two of the glowing stones from her bag, and smiled faintly.

”Thank you for your help.”

Her eyes widened.

”Y-you... you didn’t—”

But he was already walking away.

The threads dissolved, fading into the air like morning mist.

Behind him, the forest was silent again.

Then, as he reached the clearing, Gray stopped and looked down at the two crystals in his hand, the colors faintly shining in the dying sunlight filtering through the branches.

[...How come you only killed one of them?]

Jasmine muttered in his mind.

’To spread fear, of course...’

[But won’t people associate the clown with you? During the demon incident, you also used your Clown Attire.]

’I know, but only my Class saw it happening... besides, I made sure to change my eye color to golden, which I clearly don’t have,’ Gray shrugged it off.

He started heading toward the place where Lyra was, and along the way, he took a pack of cigarettes from his dimensional storage, pulled out a single cigarette, and made a small continuous circle of mana to light it up.

”Hiss...”

Gray took a slow drag from the cigarette, letting the smoke drift lazily into the air.

The faint orange glow lit up his face, and when he spotted Lyra in the distance, running her hands through her wet hair, visibly frustrated, his lips curled faintly.

”Fuuu...” he exhaled, the gray cloud trailing past his cheek before fading away.

Lyra instantly noticed him. Her head turned, relief flashing across her face.

”You’re finally back! Gosh, we need to be quick and find the other two gems!”

Without giving him time to speak, she rushed over and grabbed his arm, tugging him forward.

”Whoa, calm down. You’re acting like a jealous girlfriend dragging her boyfriend away from a bar fight.”

Lyra stopped mid-step and looked back at him with wide eyes.

”W–What are you even talking about?! Don’t joke like that!”

He tilted his head, smoke curling from the corner of his lips as he grinned.

”Why not? You looked cute when you panicked like that.”

”C–Cute?! You—!” Her face turned red, her grip loosening on his arm as she flailed a bit.

”You’re impossible! Do you ever take anything seriously?”

”Of course,” he said, his tone smooth and casual, ”but it’s just funny watching you get so worked up.”

Lyra’s cheeks puffed in irritation.

”You’re insufferable! If you don’t want to help, fine! I’ll find the last two gems myself!” She snorted and turned around, brushing her wet hair aside as she stomped toward the next area.

Gray took another drag before asking curiously:

”You sure about that?”

”Yeah! At least I’ll actually do something instead of standing there smoking like some lazy—”

”Look,” he said simply, pointing with two fingers.

”Eh?” Lyra turned around, brows furrowed in confusion.

Her words froze the moment she saw what he held.

In his left hand, glowing faintly under the fading sunlight, were two perfectly shaped crystals, the missing gems.

Their light refracted off the smoke swirling around him, scattering faint colors across his pale face.

Lyra blinked several times, her mouth opening but no sound coming out.

”...You—when—how did you—?!”

Gray just shrugged with that maddening grin.

”Told you to relax, didn’t I?”

”You—ugh!” she groaned, stomping a foot before crossing her arms.

”You could’ve told me!”

”I could’ve,” he admitted, taking one last drag before flicking the cigarette aside.

The ember hit the ground and hissed out.

”But then I wouldn’t get to see that cute pout of yours.”

Her face turned bright red again.

”Stop saying that!”

He chuckled softly, his eyes half-lidded and lazy.

”Fine, fine~.”

Then he leaned closer, lowering his voice.

”Though I wasn’t lying.”

”G–Gray!” she stammered, taking a step back.

”You’re—ugh, you’re impossible!”

He just smiled faintly, the expression neither mocking nor kind, just that same calm of his that made people feel uneasy, like he knew more than he let on.

”Relax, Lyra,” he said finally, placing the two glowing gems in her palm.

”We’ve got all of them now. That’s all that matters.”

Her irritation faltered for a moment as she looked at the gems in her hand, the reflection of their light in Gray’s black eyes.

”You... you really did it, huh...”

”Of course I did. Didn’t I say I’d get them?”

Lyra looked up at him for a moment longer, then sighed. ”Sometimes I really can’t tell if you’re being reliable or just terrifying.”

”Why not both?”

”Ugh... forget it. Let’s just go,” she muttered, walking ahead with the gems in hand.

Gray followed a few steps behind her with a small smike.

His hand slid into his pocket, brushing over the faint warmth of the remaining blood on his gloves, faint enough that Lyra didn’t notice.

The faint smile stayed on his lips as he looked at Lyra’s back.

He blew one last breath of smoke into the wind, muttering quietly under his breath so she wouldn’t hear.

”See? Told you I’d make it quick.”