The Return Of The Exiled Villain

For a single second, the massive arena was completely silent.

”WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST WATCH?!”

Until the crowd suddenly exploded.

A young nobleman in the front rows stood up so fast that his chair toppled over. His face was red with pure excitement as he pointed at the screen.

”He took down four 4th-year elites in under fifteen seconds! Kaels Iron Body is supposed to be nearly unbreakable! Lyria is the fastest student in Dragon Slaying Academy! And he just... walked through all of it!”

An older professor from a mid-tier academy shook his head in disbelief, rubbing his temples.

”That wasn’t a fight. That was a demonstration. He didn’t even use a named technique. He just... dealt with them. One by one. Like they were training dummies.”

In the student seating area, a group of 3rd-year students from a smaller academy were screaming at each other.

”Did you see how he ran up the stone spikes?! He treated Torren’s Mountain’s Wrath like a staircase!”

”And the way he caught Lyria’s real body out of seven afterimages?! That’s not normal reaction speed! That’s not human!”

”I thought Gray was strong after the first challenge... but this is something else entirely!”

In the VIP section, the atmosphere was even more intense.

The Emperor leaned forward in his seat, his eyes locked on the screen with rare seriousness.

”Four simultaneous high-level techniques from elite 4th-year students... and he dismantled them as if they were nothing. Gloria, Aurora... what exactly have you two been raising?”

Gloria’s face was pale.

Her golden eyes were fixed on the black crown floating above Gray’s head. Her hands were clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.

’He knows... he definitely knows about the barriers...’ she thought, her heart pounding. ’And even with them active, he’s still this strong. How...?’

Aurora, sitting not far from her, simply smiled. It was a proud, almost smug smile as she watched her student dominate the battlefield.

”I told you,” she said softly, just loud enough for Gloria to hear.

”You can underestimate anyone... but not Gray.”

The Northern Duchess, Evelyn, chuckled as she rested her chin on her hand.

”Interesting. Very interesting. That black crown... I’ve never seen anything like it. And the way he moves... it’s almost elegant.”

The Saintess Elara watched the screen with her luminous silver eyes, her gentle expression unchanging, yet there was a clear spark of deeper interest in her gaze.

”His presence has grown heavier,” she murmured to herself.

”The darkness inside him is no longer just a color... it is taking form.”

’...Could it be the abyss? No... It’s improbable...’ the Saintess mumbled inwardly.

Her interest in Gray had increased.

Around the VIP section, other high-ranking nobles and academy representatives were whispering frantically among themselves.

”Clementine’s Sword & Magic Academy is going to win this tournament at this rate.”

”No academy has ever had a single student force two rival academies to call all their 4th-years just to fight him.”

”If this continues, the final 1v1 might not even be necessary. Clementine already controls the main stronghold and multiple secondary ones.”

In the regular spectator stands, a middle-aged merchant was shouting at his friends.

”I bet fifty gold on Gloria Academy winning the whole thing! I’m ruined!”

A young woman next to him laughed hysterically.

”I bet on Clementine the moment Gray stopped that sword with two fingers earlier! I’m rich!”

A group of first-year students from various academies were practically bouncing in their seats.

”I want to be like him when I grow up!”

”Forget that, I want to marry him!”

”He just threw a 4th-year into a wall like it was nothing! Marry him? I want to learn from him!”

Even the referees and tournament officials watching from their elevated platforms looked shaken.

One of the senior referees muttered to his colleague.

”Should we... intervene? This is starting to look less like a student competition and more like a one-sided massacre.”

The other referee shook his head slowly.

”The rules still allow it. As long as he doesn’t permanently cripple anyone, we can’t stop it. But... this level of dominance is unprecedented in the history of the Inter-Academy Exchange.”

Back on the projection screens, the camera zoomed in on Gray’s calm face as he stood among the defeated 4th-year students.

’The Crown’s effects are much better than I thought. Especially the side effect of being able to control Abyssal Energy... It’s more potent than mana or even my Soul Chasing Qi.’

’...The only thing I wanted to test now was my affinity with other beings, but I suppose I cannot exactly show this on camera.’

The remaining conscious students from Gloria and Dragon Slaying Academy finally forced themselves to move.

Their faces were pale, but their eyes burned with desperation.

They had no choice left. If they continued to fight Gray one by one, they would only be dismantled the same way.

Adrian raised his sword high and shouted with everything he had left.

”Everyone still able to fight, form up! Combined assault! All techniques at once!”

Vaelor, still bleeding from the earlier impact, gritted his teeth and forced his greatsword up again.

”We end this now, or we lose everything!”

The surviving 4th-years and the remaining core students of both academies gathered their mana.

Multiple auras flared at the same time, including fire, lightning, wind, earth, gravity, solar flames, dragon energy, shadow, and pure physical power.

The air itself trembled under the combined pressure of so many high-level techniques being prepared simultaneously.

Gray watched them calmly, the black crown floating silently above his head.

Just as the joint attack was about to be released....

A new glowing announcement exploded across the sky of the floating island.

CLEMENTINE’S SWORD & MAGIC ACADEMY HAS CONQUERED ANOTHER STRONGHOLD!

ADDITIONAL MAJOR BUFFS GRANTED TO ALL CLEMENTINE STUDENTS!

Gray’s eyes narrowed slightly as a new wave of power rushed into his body. T

he recovery rate, the strength enhancement, the mana regeneration... all of it increased once more.

The difference was immediate and clear.

Even with the tournament barriers still active, the accumulated stronghold buffs were stacking on top of the Crown of the Abyss, pushing his current power even higher.

The Gloria and Dragon Slaying students froze mid-preparation.

Their faces turned even paler.

Adrian’s hands trembled around his sword.

”Another one...? They’re still taking strongholds while we’re stuck here fighting him?!”

Maelis’s expression twisted with frustration.

”We played right into his hands again... Calling all the 4th-years here gave his team free rein over the rest of the island!”

Mariinne bit her lower lip hard, her usual playful demeanor completely gone.

”My prince... you really are too cunning...”

The joint attack they had been preparing lost a lot of its momentum as panic and realization spread through their ranks.

They finally understood the full extent of the trap they had walked into.

While they were throwing everything at Gray, the rest of Clementine’s students were systematically conquering the remaining strongholds, feeding more and more power into their leader.

But before the despair could fully settle...

Two more announcements appeared in the sky almost at the same time.

GLORIA ACADEMY HAS CONQUERED A STRONGHOLD!

DRAGON SLAYING ACADEMY HAS CONQUERED A STRONGHOLD!

The messages glowed brightly for several seconds.

Now, every major stronghold on the floating island was occupied.

The three remaining academies each held territory.

The battlefield had entered its final, most dangerous phase.

Gray’s faint smile returned as he looked at the two announcements.

’So they managed to take one each... Not bad. But it doesn’t change anything.’

The remaining students of Gloria and Dragon Slaying Academy looked at each other, then back at Gray.

The temporary boost from their newly acquired strongholds gave them a small spark of hope, but the fear in their eyes had not disappeared.

They still had to face the student who had just dismantled four elite 4th-years in under fifteen seconds... while their own power was only now starting to recover.

Adrian raised his sword high, his multi-element aura exploding outward with everything he had left.

”This is our last chance! All of you! Put everything into this attack!”

Vaelor roared as crimson dragon energy erupted from his body, his greatsword glowing like a miniature sun of pure destructive force.

”Dragon’s Final Descent!”

Maelis slammed both hands into the ground, creating the densest gravity field she had ever formed.

Absolute Zero Domain!”

Selene’s cyan sword aura blazed to its absolute limit as she activated her strongest technique.

”Cyan Sword Art: River of the End!”

Lira poured every drop of her remaining mana into the Sun Sword.

”Sun Sword Art: Solar Cataclysm!”

Ronan’s dragon form expanded further, scales hardening as he charged with pure physical power.

”Dragon King’s Fist: World Breaker!”

Mariinne dissolved into pure shadow and reappeared above Gray with both daggers aimed at his heart.

”Instant Annihilation!”

The remaining conscious 4th-years from both academies joined in at the same time.

Fire, lightning, wind, earth, ice, pure mana beams, sealing arrays, and physical strikes all converged on Gray’s position from every possible direction.

The sky above the main stronghold turned into a chaotic storm of overlapping techniques.

The ground cracked and heaved.

The air itself screamed under the combined pressure of so many high-level attacks being released at once.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

A massive explosion of multi-colored energy engulfed the entire area in front of the stronghold, completely swallowing Gray’s figure in a blinding pillar of destruction.

The shockwave was so powerful that even the distant spectators felt the vibration through the projection screens.