The Return Of The Exiled Villain

”Admit defeat.”

Gray took one more step and stared down at Ovrin, not showing a single ounce of emotions on his eyes, causing the already trembling man to almost pee himself.

Ovrin felt his throat tighten as he looked up.

His black eyes were like the abyss, and the more you stared into them, the more you would lose yourself.

His legs trembled as cold sweat ran down his spine.

”I... gulp! I-I forfeit!”

Ovrin barely managed to get the words out.

For a second after the words left Ovrin’s mouth, no one reacted. It was as if the entire arena had forgotten how to breathe.

”HE FORFEITED?!”

”Ovrin... forfeited?!”

”That’s the successor of a Divine Being!”

”He used the second move of a Heavenly inheritance and still lost?!”

The noise exploded all at once, louder than any cheer from earlier in the fight. Students shot up from their seats.

Some grabbed the person next to them and shook them violently. Others simply stared at the arena with their mouths hanging open.

”No way... no way...”

”I thought Gray was dead when that strike fell!”

”He didn’t even use a big technique!”

”That’s the worst part! He didn’t!”

”Fuuuuck... I knew that he was strong, but not that damn strong!” Ronan let out a long groan he hadn’t realized he was holding and ran a hand through his hair.

Lyra’s eyes were shining, half in shock, half in excitement.

”That was insane...!”

Not far from them, several fifth-years exchanged looks.

”That wasn’t normal.”

”...Do you think he’s one of the so-called Children of Heaven?”

One of them narrowed his eyes.

”No... the luck contained on his body is... average... completely average.”

The fifth-year exchanged looks after hearing the man’s words, and because of that aspect, they only grew uneasy at Gray’s presence.

Further away from them, Seraph stood still, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. There was no smile this time or satisfaction like when Ovrin had been getting beaten earlier.

Only realization.

”So this is your level...” she murmured quietly.

She had fought him before and actually thought that she understood his limits... she was wrong, entirely fucking wrong.

Above the arena, Aurora began to laugh softly, her eyes full of delight.

Her scarlet eyes never left Gray.

”Perfect,” she whispered.

There was no confusion in her gaze... only a pure, unfiltered hunger of possession.

While the audience shouted and argued, while instructors whispered to each other in tense voices, while Ovrin stood there shaking in humiliation...

Gray simply stood in the center of the ruined arena.

As if forcing a peak King Realm genius to kneel and admit defeat had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

And slowly, very slowly, the cheers began to rise.

”GRAY!”

”GRAY!”

”GRAY!”

The chant started from one side of the arena, then spread like wildfire until hundreds of voices were shouting his name in complete awe.

[...Are you alright? Losing that amount of Soul Energy usually makes someone dizzy, or even makes them pass out directly.]

’I can hold on for a while, so I’ll head to the dormitory and meditate in the dreamworld,’ he answered inwardly, though the faint heaviness behind his eyes warned him.

[Mhm...]

He walked toward the exit gates with the same calm pace he had used when crushing Ovrin’s spirit, ignoring the cheers, ignoring the way students leaned forward from the stands as if trying to catch one more glimpse of him before he disappeared.

”Gray!”

The moment he stepped outside the arena, Lyra’s voice cut through the noise, instantly breaking him out of his thoughts.

She stood a few steps away, her hands clenched near her chest, her eyes shining in a way that made it clear she had not blinked once during the entire match.

”MY MAAAN!!!”

She barely managed two words before Ronan shoved past her with reckless enthusiasm, his boots scraping against the stone as he lunged straight at Gray with both arms wide open.

”[✧Swap✧]”

”H-huh?! You damn fu—!”

Thud!

In the blink of an eye, Ronan’s body vanished from in front of Gray and reappeared a step ahead, momentum completely unadjusted, sending him crashing face-first into the unforgiving ground.

The impact echoed sharply as his nose met stone, and a pained groan followed a second later.

”Pfft...”

Gray stood where Ronan had been, his hands still resting casually in his pockets without changing his expression.

Lyra stared between the two of them, her mouth slightly open, before her excitement surged back twice as strong.

She hurried closer, barely sparing Ronan a glance as he rolled onto his back and muttered curses at the sky.

”What was that?!” she demanded, her eyes sparkling as she circled Gray like she was examining some rare treasure.

”You didn’t chant anything, you didn’t even move your hands! And yet... that killing move disappeared!!! Since when can you do something like that?”

Gray looked at her for a quiet moment without saying anything at all, his eyes closing for a slighly moment.

The faint exhaustion behind them was there, but he kept his posture straight and shoulders relaxed, giving away nothing.

Lyra leaned closer, lowering her voice as if she were trying to coax a secret out of him.

”Was it some high-tier technique? Or something you’ve been hiding all along? You can tell your cute girlfriend, right?”

Instead of answering, Gray lifted his hand slowly and brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

The simple gesture made her freeze in place.

He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against her forehead, lingering for a second longer than necessary, before moving just slightly and touching his lips to the tip of her nose.

Lyra’s entire body went stiff.

Her cheeks flushed instantly, and her earlier barrage of questions died in her throat.

”I’m going to take a nap,” Gray murmured quietly, straightening up as a yawn slipped past his lips, his eyes narrowing slightly as the fatigue finally began to show on them.

”I’m tired.”

The yawn made the statement feel more honest than any explanation would have.

He turned and started walking again toward the dormitories.

Behind him, Lyra stood frozen for two seconds before clutching her face with both hands, barely containing the squeal threatening to escape her, while Ronan pushed himself up from the ground and groaned.

”...I risked my life charging at him for that,” Ronan muttered, wiping dust from his face, only to glance at Lyra’s smitten expression and click his tongue.

”Unbelievable.”

He couldn’t understand why Lyra was so smitten... he had seen Gray kissing her on the lips before, and yet, she didn’t have this kind of reaction.

”Women truly are strange creatures...” he muttered under his breath.

Gray did not look back once.

Once he got into his dormitory, he directly opened his status window to check his current soul energy.

[———✵ Unique Talent: Nullification [538/1110 (1290)] ✵———]

After taking a deep look, Gray closed the translucent window with a slow swipe of his fingers, then walked toward the edge of his bed and sat down, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees while his gaze remained fixed on the floor.

”I can’t keep burning Soul Energy like this every time I want to crush someone,” he muttered thoughtfully.

He then remembered the number next to his current limit and nodded lightly.

”I only lost 180 permanent Soul Points to copy those two skills for now, but that amount is going to increase in the future, so I shouldn’t focus only on meditation.”

[Perhaps... but today, you indeed pushed Nullification further than usual.]

”I know.”

[Then what are you planning to do? What’s exactly step one?]

”...Aurora.”

There was no hesitation in his voice.

[You plan to ask her for help?]

”I plan to collect what she owes me,” he corrected. ”I dominated that spar publicly. And made it clear that she would teach me her own sword art.”

[And you want her sword art that much... is her sword art something incredible?]

”Yes.”

Gray stood and walked toward the window, staring out at the academy grounds below.

”My close combat is extremely efficient, but not refined in the traditional sense. Aurora’s sword art is structured and precise, as it doesn’t waste anything, not even an ounce of sword energy. If I integrate her foundation into my own sword abilities, I won’t need Nullification to dismantle higher-grade techniques. I’ll break them properly.”

[You think she will agree?]

”She won’t refuse as her pride won’t allow it.”

[You are confident.]

”She’s been watching over me since I was a kid... like I belong to her since the day she set her eyes on me. Teaching me gives her an excuse for her to stay close to me.”

Jasmine hummed faintly.

[So you gain technique and she gains proximity.]

”Exactly.”

He turned back toward the room.

”Step two is increasing my Soul capacity without burning my current limit.”

[That will not be simple.]

”Indeed.”

He began pacing slowly.

”There are relics. Artifacts designed to stabilize or expand soul energy. Gloria Academy holds a few of them, but most of them circulate through underground markets and high-tier missions.”

[You are planning to obtain one.]

”Yes.”

[Buy? Steal? Earn?]

”That depends on the opportunity,” he said evenly.

”If I find one tied to a mission, I’ll earn it. If it’s locked behind politics, I’ll maneuver. If someone unworthy holds it... I’ll simply take it by force.”

[You sound disturbingly calm.]

He stopped walking.

”I won’t keep sacrificing permanent Soul Points every time I erase something. If I expand my capacity or find an artifact that reduces the permanent drain, Nullification becomes sustainable.”

[And until then?]

”I restrict usage to decisive moments only. No theatrics.”

Jasmine paused before speaking again.

[You thought all this out in under a minute?]

”Yes.”

Gray’s gaze sharpened slightly.

”I always like to think ahead.”

A faint smile curved his lips.

”I refuse to become dependent on a single ability. If someone stronger than me forces me into a corner where Nullification is my only option, that means I failed long before the fight began.”

[You hate failing.]

”I despise inefficiency more.”

Silence settled for a few seconds.

[And Aurora?]

Gray’s eyes darkened slightly.

”I’ll visit her tomorrow.”

[To train?]

”...Mayhaps.”