The SSS Ranked Villain's Return

"This is so boring."

Ariella rolled her eyes at him. "Well, I'm the one doing all the work."

"I'm the one being used as a battery," Neraxis shot back, slumped on the ground.

For the last week, the only thing he had been doing was acting as some sort of rechargeable battery.

The moment he was full on mana, he had to use it all on Ariella so she could patch up the time anomalies.

It was a daunting task—for his patience.

"Is there really no way to speed this up?" he asked. "I mean, did you really do this for 129 years when you were younger?"

"This isn't supposed to be fun," she replied, not taking her eyes off a spectral remnant. "If it was fun, I'd be breaking time just to be here. But of course, that's not the case."

But you said it's going to take a few days... Neraxis sighed. "So what do you do in here? Aside from patching up the anomalies."

Ariella froze for a moment before sending him a glare. "It doesn't matter. Stop asking."

Neraxis tilted his head at that reaction. Did I say something wrong?

[What else would a woman who's been alone for thousands of years do other than play with herself?] Evangeline remarked plainly, causing him to become speechless.

Nonetheless, they were nearly done, and their conversations had been pretty brief across the entire week.

Ever since Neraxis told Ariella he wouldn't be killing her, she went all moody on him.

But aside from that, he realized that the only thing that reset in this weird space was his mana.

Sadly, his cooldowns didn't budge.

"Ariella, how is Chronos Academy? I mean, I heard you're pretty famous there as well." Neraxis decided to steer the topic in another direction.

"Academy? Hmm..." She paused in thought. "I guess I would say it's boring? I don't need to learn anything since I just cheat off others. As for clubs, I'm in the martial arts club—it's why I even go to the academy in the first place, if I'm being honest."

"Why don't you switch academies then?" Neraxis suggested. "Havenspire, for example—most of our lessons consist of practical training. Sometimes, we even go inside Rifts."

"Do you want me to transfer over to your academy?" Ariella asked, turning to him with a raised brow. "It almost sounds like you're inviting me over."

"And if I am?" Neraxis said with a chuckle. "How else would I change your mind about wanting death?"

She flinched. "I appreciate the gesture. But, Neraxis, I've lived through hundreds of your lifetimes. At some point, it becomes repetitive."

"Is this situation repetitive?" Neraxis asked. "Have you ever had someone to talk to while you're dealing with those anomalies? Have you ever fixed the anomalies without feeling pain?"

"That's..."

"The truth," Neraxis finished her words. "I told you—one year. If after a year you still want to die, then I'll kill you. It's a promise."

Ariella glanced at him with a conflicted look before turning her head away, avoiding eye contact.

Is that really all it took to make her flustered? Neraxis thought, tilting his head.

Nonetheless, he was full mana again, so he walked up to Ariella and grabbed her hand before infusing as much mana as he could into her.

The moment he did, her white clock-like eye repaired itself, and as it did, the pace at which she was fixing the anomalies finally sped up.

"Barrier is fixed. Now it's only the easy stuff left," she remarked with a relieved sigh.

"I hope so. Despite me not needing food right now, I'm hungry," Neraxis said and plopped down onto the ground again.

By the looks of things, her pace increased to the point where she would be done within hours. Therefore, he decided to take a little nap.

However, just as he was about to close his eyes, Ariella spoke up.

"You asked me about myself, but how about you? What do you do in the academy?"
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"Spar, train, sleep during class, and train even more. It's not as boring as it sounds, though," he replied with a chuckle.

"Looks like we're both bored," she added, giggling. "I don't really see the point anymore. I just hope it gets better."

"Think over my earlier suggestion," Neraxis said in a serious tone. "If you come to my academy, then I will make sure your life is not as monotone as before."

Ariella slowly turned around. "Are you asking me out?"

"I might consider it if you come over to my academy," Neraxis replied with a sly grin, and the moment he did, Ariella suddenly clutched the spectral remnant.

Immediately, the surroundings, which were previously distorted, began returning to normal.

The same went for those strange threads, which seemed to weave back into Ariella's body before finally disappearing.

After a couple more seconds, the Spectral Remnants vanished as well.

"I'm going to unfreeze time now," Ariella said, flicking her fingers.

Neraxis got off the ground just in time to maintain his dignity. However, he had this distinct feeling Ariella would not surrender peacefully.

Therefore, he saved some mana for himself and was ready to summon his sword at any moment.

However, nothing like that happened, as time began slowly resuming, with the spectators' cheers resounding.

—Yeaaah! Get his ass!

—Ariella! Ariella!

"So, Ariella, what now?" He asked as she glanced toward the stands, then back between her academy and Havenspire.

Ariella seemed conflicted, but since Neraxis knew what she was most likely pondering, he wouldn't interrupt her.

"I..." She began speaking hesitantly. "I forfeit."

—What!?

—Why would she...?

"There's an announcement I want to make." Ariella cut off the cheers with her stern voice. "After this tournament is over, I'll be transferring to Havenspire."

Instead of applause, she was met with complete silence.

But just as Neraxis thought it was all over, she flashed him a cheeky grin.

"There's a certain someone who will ask me out if I do." Ariella glanced at him clearly, making Neraxis flinch.

And of course, the spectators caught onto that too.

Yet before anyone could protest, the massive blue box began speaking.

—The first round of the tournament is over! Havenspire Academy proceeds forward, while the former 3rd place winners, Chronos Academy, get eliminated! There will be a brief break of a single hour—therefore, I suggest you get your bathroom breaks in!

As the last of its words fell, the people immediately began scattering, some academies included.

But not Neraxis, or Chronos Academy.

They were both in shock at what had just happened.

"You put me on the spot," Neraxis grumbled.

"Does that make you want to kill me~?" Ariella replied teasingly before turning around and walking back to her academy. "See you later, Neraxis."

He didn't reply, merely staring at her departing back as he took in the events of what had just happened.

It took them around eight days to fix everything, and even then, they didn't get much closer.

She was too focused most of the time, and he didn't want to be stuck there even longer.

Nonetheless, now that the first round was over and he had a little break, it was time to properly scout out the area.

After all, Lar was going to die in the next few hours.