The SSS Ranked Villain's Return-Chapter 191: Attending Your Own Memorial

"This is wrong," Evangeline said, her lips pressing against his.

Obviously, she wasn't referring to what the two were doing, instead, it was his swordsmanship.

Over the course of the year, his swordsmanship evolved from a simple, makeshift style to something more refined.

[Ancient Moon Swordsmanship {A}]

[Skill Description: Enhances accuracy and critical hit impact significantly when wielding any kind of sword. Attack speed is enhanced depending on which vital the user is aiming at. Defensive maneuvers and footwork are seamlessly integrated, allowing for effortless counters and evasions. The user gains a significant power increase during the night.]

It sounded simple, but it was anything but simple.

He could kill S- ranked monsters with a single stab, and if he fought during nighttime, then killing an SS- ranked monster was not off the table either.

But for now, he put that aside, and with one more kiss on Evangeline's soft lips, he gently placed her on the bed and stood up.

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Today was the day he would be coming back to the world—not as Eclipse, but as Neraxis.

Eclipse was someone who killed ruthlessly, becoming a myth in the underworld.

And Neraxis? A simple former Havenspire student.

Nonetheless, Evangeline stood up and intertwined their fingers before they finally made their way into the throne room.

Delta was already sitting there, looking bored as usual.

"Fifth Veil." She nodded at him. "I suppose you've had your fun?"

"We did," Evangeline replied with a giggle.

Neraxis rolled his eyes at them. "What's the announcement? And what is my role going to be?"

"Straight to the point. Good." Delta stood up, walking over to him. "Today marks one year since your disappearance, and there will be a ceremony."

"So what do you want me to do? Appear inside a coffin?" he asked, raising a brow. "I don't see how this opportunity is any different from me simply reappearing yesterday or something."

"You see..." Delta grew taller, her eyes now perfectly level with his. "The government has some kind of body in place of yours, and they will convince the public it's you. Now if you reappear while that is happening, their reputation will take a hit."

"Oh, so while they are branded as liars, you can exploit their vulnerability," Neraxis finished. "It's not bad, but I doubt it was worth the years' wait."

Delta chuckled. "492 missions, Fifth Veil. 492 successful missions. With that, your strength has grown to a proportion where your usefulness to this organization is on par with the other members."

"So, are you going to start giving me high-value missions?" Neraxis asked.

Delta merely nodded with a warm smile. "That's correct. Each of your missions will be off-world, and most of them will consist of conquest."

"World conquering does sound fun," Neraxis said, when all of a sudden, Delta's head flicked to the side.

The next moment, she turned back toward him and nodded. "It's starting. Enter however you want, just make sure you are seen."

"Yep." Neraxis nodded, before turning to Evangeline and planting a kiss on her cheek. "See you soon."

"See you, don't get hurt," Evangeline replied softly, and with that, Delta sent Neraxis back to his world.

Immediately, he found himself in a crowd of people, but due to him wearing a hoodie and baggy clothes, no one was able to recognize him.

Neraxis paced around until he heard a loud voice.

—Welcome everyone to this sad and mournful commemoration. A total of 42,119 people died on that terrible day, while over 152,435 were injured.

Neraxis listened along, while also getting closer to where the voice was coming from.

Finally, he reached some sort of elevated platform, and on it, he saw a single coffin.

Using {Cosmic Sight}, he was able to see directly through it, and just as he thought, it was some porcelain replica of how he used to look.

But why am I the only one here?

Not even a moment later, he found out why.

—Neraxis Valen, everyone, a hero who managed to reduce the casualties to mere thousands. He fought back the assailants from the Eternal Night and, of course, the Evangelists.

A lot of praise for stuff he didn't even do for them.

If not for Celina acting out, he would've never gone there in the first place.

But of course, he stood silently and waited as the person began listing all of his achievements, most of which included the Dreamspire floor clearing and, of course, the Academy.

Though I wonder how they didn't come to the conclusion that I'm not dead. After all, only the people who are alive show up on the Dreamspire leaderboard, Neraxis thought with furrowed brows as the announcer began opening the coffin and revealing the person inside.

It was a copy of him, literally.

But of course, Neraxis was standing right here, a few meters away from his supposed dead body.

—We've managed to find his body after a long and arduous year. And this will be the last time we show it. After all, respect is in order.

Neraxis scoffed as the people began cheering.

Attending your own memorial felt strange.

But nonetheless, he pushed a few people aside and suddenly jumped up on the platform, to the surprise of many.

"Guards!" The announcer shouted, but before anyone could approach, Neraxis kicked his own dead body.

Broke into two, with the clear cracking sound of porcelain resounding.

That seemed to be enough to make the cheers stop, as he finally turned toward the people and took off his hood.

"Nice to see you everyone, as you can see, I'm alive and well," Neraxis said awkwardly, before flashing a glance toward the announcer. "As for whatever this was... you found my body? Really? The government doesn't seem to care much about the people if they lie out in the open like this."

"I-I need to call my supervisor," the announcer said before scurrying off the platform, leaving only Neraxis and a few guards standing by.

Nonetheless, he decided to milk this opportunity for what it was worth.

"The leader of the Evangelists is Raines Hale. He should be 38 by now, so the media can do with him as they please." Neraxis said with a smile, as gasps began resounding.

But of course, public slandering works best when people were behind you.

Since he was technically a hero now, there were a few things he wanted to say.

"The government is running a secret operation, Project Z17. They drug you during childbirth and take your children, while labeling it as miscarriages. Those children are later turned into chimeras who are sent into monster zones as test subjects."

With this piece of information, instead of gasps, there was only silence as thousands of cameras flashed, nearly blinding him.

This, however, was the perfect way to kick off his return.

After all, his strength was enough to handle the bounty he had just put on his own head.

Ahh... This year is going to be fun, Neraxis thought with a grin as he waved at the ground. "I have some reunions to attend to. Thank you for coming everyone."

With that, he dashed through the crowd at a speed that no one could track. Eventually, he made it to the top of a random building.

It reminded him of the first time he came out of Dreamspire, but the number of people this time was not even close.

Nonetheless, he glanced in a particular direction, right where his home was.

But Neraxis felt uneasy. Frankly, he didn't even know how to explain himself.

He was gone for a year, while his family thought he had died—the same went for his friends and all the other people that knew him.

However, whining about it wouldn't do him any good, as he jumped across the rooftops and arrived in front of his home, which seemed unusually empty.

Inside, he could feel three people—his mother, father, and of course, his sister, Elara.

He grabbed hold of the door handle and took a deep breath.

Yet before he could open it himself, the door swung open, and his mother's fierce glare met his sight, making him audibly gulp.

Why do I feel like I'm about to be disowned...?