The Return Of The Exiled Villain

They moved at the same time.

Sera still moved first.

Crackle!

Her twin blades carved through the air in bright arcs of lightning as she launched forward, the force of her movement compressing the space ahead of her into a low, rushing pressure that could be heard as much as felt.

”Mhm...”

Gray shifted to the right, only adjusting enough to let her first blade pass close to his shoulder.

Her second strike followed immediately, exactly where it needed to be to catch that movement, her body already turning through the motion with practiced precision.

He dropped under it.

The blade cut through empty air above him, and in the same motion, he drove his rapier upward toward her guard, the strike clean and direct.

She caught it.

Clang!

The impact rang out sharply, forcing her back half a step as the lightning running along her swords snapped outward from the point of contact, striking the ground in branching lines that left dark marks in the stone.

She recovered without hesitation.

Fwip!

But before she could press the advantage again, Dain closed in from the left.

His flying swords moved ahead of him, three blades spreading outward in a controlled formation that cut off the angles Sera had already forced Gray away from.

Each one was lined with that thin, compressed edge of sword qi that showed he had only recently reached this level, but was already learning how to apply it.

Gray’s eyes tracked all three before they reached him.

The first, he turned aside with a small motion, not stopping it, only changing its path enough to send it past him.

The second he stepped into, letting it pass behind his back at a distance that would have made most people uncomfortable.

The third, he left alone entirely, letting it skim past with a margin that was deliberate, measured, and just wide enough.

Dain saw it.

The way his expression changed made that clear.

He arrived behind his blades a moment later, his own sword already in motion, the edge lined with compressed qi as he swept it toward Gray’s center.

Swish!

Gray rotated his body just enough for the strike to pass close without touching, then flicked his rapier across Dain’s wrist as the motion carried through.

The contact was light, but precise.

Dain’s grip adjusted without his permission, and for a brief instant, the formation of his flying swords broke.

It was not long, but it was more than enough.

Fwish!

Asha reached them at that exact moment.

Her speed was different from Sera’s, not explosive but smooth, like movement without resistance, her wind affinity reducing the friction between intention and motion until she seemed to glide more than run.

The air around her twisted in a small, controlled current that shifted perception, enough to throw off anything relying on raw sensing.

Gray turned toward her before she expected it.

”W-what?” Her eyes widened slightly, only for a moment.

Clank!

Their blades met.

The impact carried a second force with it, the wind pushing outward to create distance regardless of how the strike landed.

Gray allowed it.

Instead of resisting, he moved with it, letting the force carry him back several meters, using her output instead of his own, and landing in a space between her and Sera with his stance already stable.

Dain’s voice came through.

”Switch.”

Gray moved at the same time.

”[✧Swap✧]”

His position shifted, the ground beneath him exchanged with another point nearby, and in an instant, he was no longer where they had been tracking him.

Dain found himself standing in that space instead, directly in the path of Sera’s next attack.

She stopped it at the last possible moment, the lightning breaking apart before it could hit him.

”Careful.”

”I’ve got it,” Dain replied, already adjusting his position.

Gray did not wait.

He moved toward Asha again, this time from an angle her wind reading handled less effectively, his strikes coming in quick succession, not fast enough to overwhelm her directly, but timed in a way that forced her to respond to the second rather than the first.

Clink, clang!

She blocked both, her form holding even under pressure, but the second strike shifted her arm across her center, and her footing changed to compensate.

He used that.

Not a sweep, not a forceful push, just a small adjustment, guiding the movement she had already started until her balance shifted for a brief instant.

He stepped past her.

She turned immediately.

He was already facing Sera.

This time, she did not rush the strike.

She had used the moment to build something larger, lightning gathering along both blades before releasing outward in a wide arc that covered too much space to avoid cleanly.

Gray moved again.

”[✧Swap✧]”

The position changed.

The attack struck nothing.

He was behind her.

She reacted on instinct, turning with both blades raised to guard her back, catching his strike as it came in.

CLAAANG!

The impact drove her arms inward slightly, disrupting her movement.

She exhaled, more in thought than frustration.

”...You’re behind me again...! What kind of skill is that?”

”Position exchange,” he said simply.

”With what?”

”The rocks on the ground.”

She stared at him for a brief moment, processing that, then let out a short breath that almost sounded like a laugh.

”...That’s damn irritating.”

Swish!

Behind them, Dain’s swords reformed and came down again, tighter this time, the gaps from before closed.

Gray moved through them, adjusting step by step, slipping inside their range where they could no longer correct their path in time, and drove his rapier toward Dain.

Dain caught it.

Barely.

The sound that followed was different from the others, carrying a resonance that lingered for a moment after the contact.

Dain felt it.

Shreeekkk!

He looked at the blade pressed against his own, then lifted his gaze.

”...Your technique,” he spoke in thoughtful tone, ”this isn’t something you pick up through normal training, is it?”

”...Mayhaps.”

Dain gave a small nod, not questioning further, only acknowledging what he had seen.

Asha came in again from the side, this time committing fully, her movement tighter, the wind around her condensed to increase the force of her strikes rather than her speed.

He turned to meet her, adjusting at the last moment, striking at an angle her current stance made harder to correct.

Clank!

Their blades met again, the impact pushing both of them off balance for a fraction of a second before they recovered.

Gray used that moment to deal with Dain’s returning blades, redirecting them one by one, even sending one back along its path, not to strike, but to show control.

Dain caught it, his expression unchanged, though his focus had shifted.

All three of them were adapting now.

The structure they had started with was gone, replaced by something more fluid, something built from reacting to each other rather than following a plan.

Asha watched his movement more carefully.

Dain watched the timing of his strikes.

Sera watched where he chose to appear.

They had not solved him.

But they were getting closer.

And then, without planning it, they moved together again.

Three attacks.

Three directions.

Asha low.

Dain Center.

Sera high.

Gray took in all three lines in the space of a heartbeat.

”[✧Swap✧]”

His position shifted again.

Cael Vorne, who had been standing at the edge of the field watching with quiet interest, suddenly found himself in the middle of all three attacks.

His eyes widened in genuine surprise.

He raised his guard just in time, taking all three impacts at once, his frame absorbing the force as he was driven back several steps.

He steadied himself, then looked down at his hands, flexing them slightly.

Then he looked at Gray, now standing where he had been.

”...You switched places with me,” Cael uttered in a low tone.

”That skill also allows you to change places with living beings, huh?” he then added in an amused tone.

Gray simply nodded at her words.

Asha exhaled, shaking her head slightly, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her mouth despite the situation.

”So he used you to take the hit,” she said, glancing at Cael.

”Yes,” Cael answered calmly.

”I noticed.”

Sera lowered her blades slightly, looking between them, then back at Gray.

”...That’s really not fair,” she said, though there was more admiration than complaint in her voice.

Dain spoke next, staring at Gray with deep interest in his eyes.

”That ability... there’s a limit to how far you can use it, isn’t there?”

”There is.”

”And you can’t do it repeatedly without pause.”

”No.”

Dain considered that, then gave a small nod.

”I’d like to fight you properly at some point,” he spoke directly, without any arrogance in his voice; if anything, there was pure admiration.

”Without interference from the others.”

Hearing his words, Gray smiled lightly, spinning his rapier in his hand.

”After this.”

Dain accepted that immediately.

Crackle...

Sera rolled her shoulders, lightning forming again along her blades, though her expression had softened slightly.

”...You’re quite fast,” she said, studying him more carefully now.

”You’re a little faster... If we measure in pure speed and straight movement.”

’After all, my speed comes from my movement technique. If I didn’t have it, I’d be much slower than you,’ Gray added inwardly.

She let out a quiet breath.

”...That’s the problem, isn’t it? You don’t move in straight lines.”

”No.”

She looked down at her blades, then back up at him.

”...You’re really difficult to deal with,” she admitted, not frustrated, but honest.

”I’ve heard that before.”

Asha smiled faintly.

”Not many people can keep up with the three of us at once, even second and third years,” she stated, ”And you’re not even struggling yet.”

Gray didn’t answer that.

Dain’s gaze remained fixed on him, more focused than before.

”Are you holding back your power? Based solely on the rumours from your childhood... at this point, you must have at least formed Sword Qi,” his eyes narrowed slighly in suspicion.

Gray chose to remain silent at those words.

Dain let out a quiet breath, something like approval in the sound.

”...Good! You’ll be an excellent training oponent then!”

Sera shifted her stance again, her grip tightening slightly on her swords.

”Alright,” she said, her voice settling back into focus.

”Let’s see how far you’ll be holding back your power!”

FWOOOOSHHH!

The three of the move towards Gray, but just at that moment, a sudden skull mark appeared right atop his head.

The three instantly stopped before looking at Katia, who was now grinning widely, her eyes practically going wide as a creepy green energy flowed from the skull to her hands.

”...He cannot use his unique ability!”

She started with a big smile, as she put on a fighting stance with her two daggers glowing with that same green energy.

”And... he’s also cursed with blindness. So, we can win now!”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

At those words, the three instantly released their full power, as they were simply testing Gray’s power, and then try to catch him by surprise when they use their full power.

The most surprising part was that the three of them got the same idea.