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The Return Of The Exiled Villain

Chapter 197: The Purpose Of Living · Oct 13, 2026

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Chapter List (460)

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151 Chapter 151: The End Of The Semester (IV) 2026-10-13
152 Chapter 152: The End Of The Semester (V) 2026-10-13
153 Chapter 153: The End Of The Semester (VI) 2026-10-13
154 Chapter 154: The End Of The Semester (VII) 2026-10-13
155 Chapter 155: The End Of The Semester (VIII) 2026-10-13
156 Chapter 156: The End Of The Semester (IX) 2026-10-13
157 Chapter 157: The End Of The Semester (X) 2026-10-13
158 Chapter 158: The End Of The Semester (XI) 2026-10-13
159 Chapter 159: The End Of The Semester (XII) 2026-10-13
160 Chapter 160: The End Of The Semester (XIII) 2026-10-13
161 Chapter 161: The End Of The Semester (XIV) 2026-10-13
162 Chapter 162: The End Of The Semester (XV) 2026-10-13
163 Chapter 163: The End Of The Semester (XVI) 2026-10-13
164 Chapter 164: The End Of The Semester (XVII) 2026-10-13
165 Chapter 165: The End Of The Semester (XVIII) 2026-10-13
166 Chapter 166: Seven Stars Ball (I) 2026-10-13
167 Chapter 167: Seven Stars Ball (II) 2026-10-13
168 Chapter 168: Seven Stars Ball (III) 2026-10-13
169 Chapter 169: Seven Stars Ball (IV) 2026-10-13
170 Chapter 170: Seven Stars Ball (V) 2026-10-13
171 Chapter 171: Seven Stars Ball (VI) 2026-10-13
172 Chapter 172: Seven Stars Ball (VII) 2026-10-13
173 Chapter 173: Seven Stars Ball (VIII) 2026-10-13
174 Chapter 174: Demon Converging Gourd 2026-10-13
175 Chapter 175: A Little Annoyance 2026-10-13
176 Chapter 176: A Date With Lyra (I) 2026-10-13
177 Chapter 177: A Date With Lyra (II) 2026-10-13
178 Chapter 178: A Date With Lyra (III) 2026-10-13
179 Chapter 179: A Date With Lyra (IV) 2026-10-13
180 Chapter 180: A Date With Lyra (V) 2026-10-13
181 Chapter 181: Before The Inter-Academy Exchange 2026-10-13
182 Chapter 182: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (I) 2026-10-13
183 Chapter 183: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (II) 2026-10-13
184 Chapter 184: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (III) 2026-10-13
185 Chapter 185: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (IV) 2026-10-13
186 Chapter 186: [Flashbacks] (I) 2026-10-13
187 Chapter 187: [Flashbacks] (II) 2026-10-13
188 Chapter 188: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (V) 2026-10-13
189 Chapter 189: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (VI) 2026-10-13
190 Chapter 190: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (VII) 2026-10-13
191 Chapter 191: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (VIII) 2026-10-13
192 Chapter 192: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (IX) 2026-10-13
193 Chapter 193: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (X) 2026-10-13
194 Chapter 194: One Last Date...? 2026-10-13
195 Chapter 195: Perhaps... A Last Goodbye? 2026-10-13
196 Chapter 196: Dante Vs Gray 2026-10-13
197 Chapter 197: The Purpose Of Living 2026-10-13
198 Chapter 198: A Flag That Was Finally Raised... 2026-10-13
199 Chapter 199: The Academy Of Sword & Magic 2026-10-13
200 Chapter 200: Meeting The Student Council 2026-10-13

”Unfortunately, you won’t be able to beat me, Dante.”

Gray muttered the words in a strange tone that was strangely seemed to be carrying a faint trace of something that almost sounded like sadness.

His dull eyes, which had been empty for so long, seemed to regain a small hint of brilliance, as if something deep inside had stirred for just a moment.

Dante gritted his teeth at his words.

He tightened his grip on the sword, and the white aura around his body surged forward, rushing toward Gray like a violent tide.

FWOOOSH!

But the moment it got close, the aura shook, twisted, and was forced back, recoiling on itself as if it had felt fear.

Pure fear.

Dante froze.

He could no longer deny it.

Gray was a being that never had the chance of being defeated.

”...How dumb am I?” Dante muttered to himself.

He had always believed in something simple.

Someone without emotions should have weak mental power.

After all, emotions were the source of will, of drive, of madness.

That was what he thought.

But he was wrong... completely wrong.

A person with no emotions was not empty because they had nothing.

They were empty because they had already lost everything.

They had seen through the world, seen through people, seen through hope and despair alike. They had felt pain again and again, so many times that pain itself lost its meaning.

When suffering never ends, it stops hurting.

It becomes normal.

It becomes silent.

An empty shell.

And yet... that shell does not break.

Because there is nothing left inside that can be shaken.

No fear to exploit.

No anger to provoke.

No love to threaten.

No despair to deepen.

The mind becomes still.

Unmoving.

Like a deep ocean with no waves.

And because nothing could reach it anymore, nothing could destroy it.

That was why his mental power had no end.

Not because it was filled with strength, but because it had nothing left to lose.

”Don’t worry... I’ll take care of your first love.”

Gray’s words reached Dante’s ears clearly.

Dante’s body stiffened.

His head lifted slowly, almost as if pulled by those words alone, and his eyes flashed with raw surprise as they locked onto Gray.

Gray... was smiling.

Not a cold, empty gesture.

...But an actual smile.

[Ding!]

[The host has destroyed the implanted Seed of Love!]

[The Shadowless Sword Art has been destroyed!]

[The Emotionless Sword Intent has been destroyed!]

[The user’s realm has dropped to the Early Master Realm!]

Drip...

A thick drop of blood fell to the ground.

And another...

Tears of blood slid down from Gray’s eyes, from his nose, from the corners of his mouth, staining his face as his body trembled under the backlash.

Yet he kept smiling.

A sincere smile, fragile and calm, as he stared straight at Dante.

”First... love?” Dante muttered, his voice hollow as he continued to stare at Gray.

Something stirred in his mind.

A memory he had buried.

A girl named... Lyra.

Not the Lyra from Gray’s world, but the Lyra from his world.

His real first love.

The one he had forgotten... yet never truly lost.

The feeling was still there, buried deep in his heart, strong enough that he had unknowingly recreated her existence through a character.

”I see...”

Dante let out a weak laugh.

”No wonder... I fell for her again, even without my memories,” he said, shaking his head slowly.

Then his gaze sharpened as he looked back at Gray.

”But... are you going to be able to return to normal?”

Gray lowered his eyes, watching the blood slide down his trembling hands.

”I will... because of you.”

He replied firmly; the original coldness seemed to have melted entirely from his face, containing a calmer expression instead of a cold one.

”Well...” Dante sighed softly.

”I knew I was going to die sooner or later.”

If he truly believed he would live, why had he unconsciously broken up with Lyra? Why had he made sure the other Gray would never have her?

”...However,” Dante continued, his tone shifting.

”I’m sorry to tell you this.”

His voice turned cold as a flood of notifications appeared before his eyes.

[An unknown soul form has been detected!]

[The world’s balance has been disrupted!]

[Demonic forces will become more active.]

[Your Author’s Privilege has been erased!]

”The Demon Forces are going to grow far more active than before,” Dante declared as he continued staring at the notifications.

[The world’s danger factor has increased by five times.]

”Demon Forces?” Gray’s eyes narrowed, regaining that same coldness from before.

”...The balance of this world broke because of your awakening,” Dante continued as his body began to blur.

”A monster with no emotions is frightening...”

His form slowly turned into drifting wisps of white light.

”...but a monster that has them...”

His voice faded.

”...is terrifying.”

Swish...

Dante vanished completely, breaking apart into countless white wisps that rushed forward and flowed into Gray’s body.

Gray closed his eyes.

He accepted them without resistance.

A violent surge of memories crashed into his mind.

[Congratulations!]

[Your soul has fused with Dante’s!]

[You have inherited the Soul Contract with Jasmine!]

[You have obtained the title: Vessel of Beauty & Destruction!]

[You have obtained the title: Incubus in Human Form!]

[You have obtained the unique talent: Nullification!]

[Ding!]

[The Clown Class has been forcefully erased by the Akashic Records!]

[All related skills have been erased from existence!]

[The Combat Intuition skill has been deleted due to the user possessing overwhelming combat experience.]

[The Emotion-Severing Technique has been completely removed from the user’s constitution.]

[The user is the first being to destroy an innate blessing!]

[Calculating rewards...]

Gray slowly opened his eyes and found himself back in the inn room.

He stared at the endless wall of notifications in front of him, and yet, he showed no surprise at all, like he had expected something like this to happen.

”...Ugh.”

His hand surprisingly reached out to his chest as he actually felt his heart rate increasing with each passing second.

”Is this what it feels... to be sad?” he muttered to himself.

He truly was feeling sad because this room remembered the moment where Dante, no... himself broke up with Lyra, someone he truly loved.

”Jasmine... you truly did as you promised.”

[...Is it over?]

”Yes.”

[How do you feel? Have you regained your emotions...?]

”Very strange. But yes, I did regain my emotions... and I apparently inherited his as well,” Gray sighed with a faint smile.

Honestly, Gray’s deal with Jasmine wasn’t for her to betray Dante, but for her not to interfere during their fight.

She always thought Gray would probably be the one to win, but she was a bit doubtful about how Gray was going to regain his emotions.

After all, when they made the deal, Jasmine asked why he suddenly wanted to get his body back, and Gray replied...

”I think I found a purpose to live.”

At that time, Jasmine had asked what it was, but Gray refused to reply.

’...Now I just need to make up with Lyra. But I’m quite curious about the rewards the Akashic Records are creating for me.’

’However... there are more important things to do right now.’

Gray closed his eyes and extended his spiritual awareness. Unfortunately, since his realm had fallen to the Early Master Realm, his spiritual awareness was not as vast as before.

Even so, it was still strong enough to sense Lyra’s mana traces.

”Found her.”

He opened the window leading to the balcony and jumped out, landing softly on the ground.

Then he rushed directly toward the source of Lyra’s mana traces and soon found himself approaching a small green field, where a fountain stood beside a marble pathway that led to a seating area.

”Sniff... w-why? W-why would h-he do this to me? Sniff...”

A crying voice reached his ears... no, it was more precisely to say that it reached his heart, since it directly created a faint pain in his chest.

The sound of her crying pulled him forward without giving him time to think.

Gray slowed his steps the moment he saw her.

Lyra was sitting on the edge of the fountain, her shoulders shaking as she tried, and failed, to hold back her sobs.

Her hands were pressed against her face, fingers clenched tight, as if she was afraid that if she let go, everything inside her would spill out.

Gray stopped a few steps behind her.

For the first time in a very, but very long time, he hesitated.

His chest felt tight.

He opened his mouth, and nothing came out.

The silence stretched, and Lyra slowly sensed something behind her. She stiffened, then turned her head slightly.

Her eyes met his.

For a second, she froze, and then her expression twisted.

Her eyes reddened even more, and she stood up so fast that water splashed from the fountain.

”Y-you...” Her voice cracked.

”Why are you here?”

Gray’s throat moved as he swallowed.

”I...” He paused, then forced the words out.

”I was looking for you.”

Lyra laughed at his words.

”Oh? After what you said?” she snapped, tears spilling freely now. ”After you told me you c-cheated on me?!”

Her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

”Do you know how stupid I felt?” she continued, her voice trembling as her body shook slighly.

”How small? I kept thinking I did something wrong. I kept replaying everything in my head, wondering when I stopped being enough for you.”

Gray hesitated once again.

Two times in a row.

But then... he realized something that caused his whole demeanour to change instantly. After all... he was acting based on his emotions, but if he didn’t...

The whole result would be different.

[Phew... I almost thought you would turn into a love idiot, but thankfully, you didn’t.]

Jasmine sighed in relief the instant his demeanour changed, almost causing Gray to laugh, but he didn’t; after all, he was facing the girlfriend he broke up with today.

And so...

His lips parted slighly, as a faint smile appeared on his lips.

[The Blessing of Beauty has been activated to the maximum!]

[The Authority of 『Beauty』is taking effect...]

”Lyra,” he called softly, her name leaving his lips just before he dropped to one knee.

The familiar posture made Lyra’s eyes widen, her breath hitching as she struggled to guess what Gray was about to do.

It was then that she realized the hypnotic rings she had once loved, and now hated, had completely vanished from Gray’s eyes.

All that remained were his black irises, which, for the first time since she had known him, looked truly empty.

But now...

They held a warm brilliance that made her face flush the moment she met his gaze.

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