The Return Of The Exiled Villain

’I’ve seen enough...’ Gray smiled inwardly.

Step...

He calmly jumped out of his hiding spot, his lips curling up into a faint smile as he approached the battlefield.

Adrian’s last two phrases had almost made him laugh.

The irony was simply too much.

Everyone on the battlefield was surprised by his sudden appearance.

The Dragon Slaying students looked shocked, while the Gloria Academy group tensed up immediately.

They all knew it could happen, as Gray was just like that. He always appeared when least expected, and he always changed the flow of the battle.

Mariinne’s eyes lit up the moment she saw him.

”My prince!” she shouted happily, even though she was still bound by the curse chains.

Adrian’s expression darkened as he turned to face Gray.

”You finally showed up,” he stated coldly, his eyes narrowing sharply.

”I was wondering when you would stop hiding.”

Gray stopped a few meters away from the two groups, his hands in his pockets as he looked at the scene with that faint, cold smile.

”I wasn’t hiding,” he replied calmly.

”I was just watching... watching you guys doing a good job weakening each other for me.”

At those words, the Gloria Academy students glared at him, while the Dragon Slaying group looked at him with clear wariness in their eyes.

Even if Gray was Mariinne’s prince... he still was, in fact, an enemy from another academy.

Adrian pointed his sword at him, his eyes burning with determination.

”We may have lost against you before... but this time, we won’t lose!” he declared firmly, his aura erupting around his body in multiple colors: fire, lightning, wind, and water all swirling together in a majestic display of power.

Gray raised an eyebrow at him.

’...He’s finally using a Blessing, huh? It seems that he’ll take this seriously...’

At the same time, Selina suddenly closed her eyes, and a tornado of water suddenly covered her body.

Swoosh...!

From the tornado, the silhouette of a small water fairy appeared, glowing with pure blue light as it danced around her.

”A high water spirit?!” the onlookers exclaimed in shock at this.

Gray merely raised an eyebrow at this.

Ronan also didn’t hesitate.

His body transformed as two pairs of horns appeared on his head, and his skin turned scaled, just like that of a dragon.

His muscles bulged as a strong draconic energy radiated from him.

”T-that... does he have a Dragon’s bloodline?!” the people from the Dragon Slaying Academy exclaimed in shock.

Only now, they had noticed that the students from Gloria Academy weren’t taking this seriously...

But if that wasn’t enough, Lira, who had been using daggers... suddenly swapped them for a great sword that had fire symbols all splattered over it.

”Is that... the legendary Sun Sword? Is she the heir of the Sun Sword Art?! And she was using daggers as her weapon?”

If those surprises weren’t enough... there was even Lira, who had been hiding herself as an assassin, just for her in reality to be the successor of the Sun Sword Art...

They really weren’t fighting seriously against them...

But to a single student of their own age, they had all brought out their trump cards.

The Dragon Slaying group was completely stunned. Mariinne’s eyes widened as she looked at the transformed Gloria students.

”They were holding back this whole time?!” she muttered, her usual mischievous smile fading for a moment.

The tall black-haired boy from Dragon Slaying gripped his sword tighter.

”They really respect Gray that much... to show all their hidden powers just for him.”

The red-haired girl clenched her staff, her face serious.

”This is bad. They weren’t even using their full strength against us. But for Gray... they’re going all out.”

Adrian’s multi-colored aura flared even brighter as he pointed his sword at Gray.

”You’re the only one we need to take seriously. The rest of your academy is nothing compared to you.”

Selina’s water fairy danced around her as she raised her staff.

”We’ve been waiting for this moment,” she said quietly.

”Let’s end this.”

Ronan, now in his partial dragon form, roared loudly as he cracked his knuckles.

”I’ve always wanted to test my bloodline against you!”

Lira held the legendary Sun Sword with both hands, the fire symbols on the blade glowing brightly as she looked at Gray with cold eyes.

”...We’re not losing against you, Gray.”

At this scene, the audience in the grand hall was completely stunned as they watched the Gloria Academy students reveal their trump cards one after another.

The projection screens showed the epic scene in clear detail: Adrian’s multi-element aura, Selina’s high-water spirit, Ronan’s dragon transformation, and Lira’s legendary Sun Sword!

The crowd erupted in loud gasps and discussions.

”Did you see that?! Gloria was hiding so many talented students this whole time!”

”They weren’t even using their full power against Dragon Slaying Academy! They were saving it all for Gray!”

One noble stood up in shock.

”Headmistress Gloria has been hiding monsters in her academy! That level of talent... it’s unbelievable!”

The Emperor himself nodded with clear approval as he watched the screens. His voice carried across the VIP section as he spoke.

”Gloria, your teaching is truly impressive. To have so many students with such hidden potential... you have raised a generation of powerhouses. I commend you.”

The Saintess Elara smiled gently as she looked at the projection.

”Indeed. Your students have excellent talent and strong foundations. It is rare to see an academy with so many hidden gems. You have done well, Headmistress Gloria.”

Gloria’s expression remained cold, but there was a faint hint of pride in her eyes as she received the praise.

She turned to Aurora with a mocking smile.

”Your favorite student is going to have a problem now, Aurora. My students are finally showing their true power. Gray might be strong, but he can’t handle all of them at once. This is the difference between our academies.”

Aurora simply smiled confidently as she looked at Gloria. Her voice was calm and filled with absolute certainty as she replied.

”Gloria... I’ll tell you this since we’ve been enemies for actual decades. But... Gray is the most talented person that I’ve ever met in my entire life, even compared to his eldest sister... Gray’s talent... is leagues above hers. It’s like comparing a god to a mortal... the gap between the two of them is just that big.”

She paused for a moment, her red eyes shining with pride as she continued.

”And anything else... you can underestimate anyone, but not Gray...”

The VIP section fell into a brief silence as Aurora’s words sank in.

The Emperor raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued by her confidence. The Northern Duchess, Evelyn, smiled with interest as she looked at Gray on the screen.

Gloria’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t reply immediately. She simply turned her gaze back to the projection screens, her fists clenched tightly as she watched the battle.

The crowd in the hall was still buzzing with excitement and shock.

”Headmistress Aurora really believes in Gray that much? Even calling his talent god-like?”

”She’s not wrong though... Gray has been dominating everything he touches. He stopped a sword from a strong 4th-year student with two fingers earlier!”

Back to the projection...

”Pfftt...”

Gray sneered at them as he stood calmly in the middle of the battlefield, his hands still in his pockets as he looked at the Gloria Academy group with cold, mocking eyes.

”It seems that you guys haven’t learned anything useful even when I left that academy... I guess the only people I can praise for being smart are my dear little sister, Maelis... Cassandra, Selene, and also Claire, as they haven’t shown signs of wanting to fight me.”

His cold yet calm words made the Gloria Academy students who had been preparing to attack freeze for a moment, their expressions changing as they processed what he said.

He was indeed telling the truth, or what he believed to be true.

But as the students looked at the people he had spoken of, they had noticed that their expressions were clearly hesitant.

It was as if... as if they had given up fighting him, knowing that it was going to be a clear loss.

Adrian’s face darkened as he noticed everyone’s reaction; he gripped his sword tighter.

”You’re too arrogant, Gray,” he said coldly.

”Even if some of us hesitate, the rest of us won’t hold back.”

Ronan, still in his partial dragon form, roared loudly as he charged forward with the gauntlets glowing.

”I’m not hesitating! Let’s fight!”

Lira held her Sun Sword firmly, her eyes cold as she prepared to attack.

It seemed that a few of those students still had their backbone, as when Adrian pointed his sword forward, they also strolled forward, ready to follow his orders.

The only problem was that...

They clearly were underestimating the extent of Gray’s power. If anything, Gray was seriously considering Adrian’s intelligence.

The being inside of him must have warned him about himself, but he still wanted to fight him.

”Truly a moron...”