The SSS Ranked Villain's Return-Chapter 92: Spirit King Seraphina Montclair’s Necklace

"...What?" Neraxis responded, shocked.

"It’s as I said." Seraphina leaned in even closer, her devilish smile sending a shiver down his spine. "I want to get out, and so far, you two are my only ticket."

"So, the questions?" Neraxis asked, tilting his head.

She merely shrugged. "They were answered by your friend, Evangeline."

"And the only thing you want is to get out?" he questioned, wanting to be sure.

Seraphina nodded in response. "That is correct, darling."

Alright... Evangeline? Fill me in?

[She’s a King-Ranked Spirit of Frost,] Evangeline stated and, upon noticing his confusion, continued. [Spirits have several ranks, from lowest to highest: Sprite, Lesser Spirit, Spirit, Greater Spirit, Spirit Lord, and, lastly, Spirit King.]

So she’s the highest-ranked spirit, then? Why can’t she just escape by herself? Neraxis thought, furrowing his brows.

That was until Evangeline spoke up again. [The higher-ranked the spirit, the more restrictions it has. Even taking her out of here would be nearly impossible unless she decides to seal away her powers.]

Which doesn’t seem likely, he added, turning toward Seraphina.

"I’m sure you already know the sacrifice you must make to come with me. Are you really willing to seal all your strength?"

"Nope," Seraphina replied with a giggle. "I have a different idea."

As her words fell, she flicked her fingers, and the world around them immediately began to morph—the castle and the gazebo they were in vanished.

Finally, the only thing left was a single puddle of blue liquid-like mass on the ground, shaped like a circle.

The exit of a rift.

However, as he was lost in thought, he felt his hand being pulled back when, all of a sudden, Seraphina placed something in his palm.

It looked like a simple blue castle keychain, nearly identical to the castle he had seen just moments ago.

Soon, Seraphina spoke. "This is the key to my dimension, as well as the core. If you take it outside with you, then I’ll be able to see everything. Though, interacting with the world might be a bit difficult without your help."

"But why would I help?" Neraxis suddenly asked, making her halt on the spot. "While I understand your powers are great and all, from the looks of things, you are not exactly in a favorable position."

He walked up to her, leaning in as teasingly as she had. "What can you give me in exchange for helping you out?"

Despite her teasing nature, she didn’t get flustered. Instead, she took a few steps back and picked her keychain back up.

Neraxis thought she had changed her mind, but instead, Seraphina infused some of her mana into it, making the texture much more realistic than before.

Now, it truly looked like the castle he had seen.

"All I ask of you is to carry me around wherever you go. In exchange, I will allow you to enter this world whenever you want and even help you with your training," she offered in a serious tone.

He immediately agreed. "That works for me. But could you turn this keychain into something that could go around my neck instead? I don’t exactly carry keys around with me."

"Hmm..." she hummed and infused mana into the keychain, immediately switching its form to that of a necklace.

The castle remained the same, with the small addition of a chain.

Seraphina looked straight into Neraxis’s eyes and soon approached before placing the necklace around his neck.

"Thank you for accepting my proposal, darling. You won’t regret it," she said in a soft tone, leaning in and suddenly placing a kiss on his forehead.

Before he could exclaim his surprise, both he and Aella were swiftly pushed into the rift’s exit.

Soon, they were back atop the mountain, right where they had left the cave.

Instead of the castle, there was now a clear blue sky and the mountain peak they had so desperately climbed to reach.

Yet, the atmosphere was currently a little off.

Aella was eerily quiet, and Evangeline wasn’t saying a word either.

"Let’s continue wi—" he began speaking, but upon noticing Aella’s gloomy look, he couldn’t help but sigh.

"Aella," Neraxis called out, but she did not respond.

Therefore, he did the most logical thing in the situation—the only thing that felt right.

Walking up to her, he placed his hand on her head, ruffling her hair a bit.

That seemed to get a reaction out of her, as she suddenly turned to meet his gaze with wide eyes.

However, she didn’t push him away, letting him continue until eventually, he stopped.

"Are you alright?" Neraxis asked, receiving a nod in response.

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"Yes... Just a bit tired. Let’s get this mountain thing over with and go take a nap," she replied and proceeded forward, grabbing his hand.

Nonetheless, after just a few minutes of walking, Neraxis could not spot any anomalies that would indicate any kind of rift outbreak.

He looked around extensively just in case, but even after many attempts to find something, he came up empty.

"Neraxis? Are we done here? Let’s go finish that killing assignment and go home already," Aella said with exhaustion.

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"We are done," Neraxis stated, turning around and grabbing her hand as they headed into the cave, slowly descending the mountain.

It’s empty.

[Do you think the events were replaced?] Evangeline commented, and upon seeing his brow rise, added, [Instead of the rift outbreak happening, perhaps Seraphina’s appearance is the thing that replaced it. At least that’s my opinion.]

No, you are right, he agreed. If the rift were to break out, then it would have shown signs already. The magnitude was far too great for there to be absolutely nothing.

[It is what it is,] she chuckled. [Just focus on yourself for now... and, of course, our new little guest.]

Neraxis glanced at his necklace and let out a sigh. Yeah, I just hope she won’t somehow begin destroying the world or something.

Evangeline merely giggled without answering, and soon, the two arrived back in the forest.

Not far away, Celina and Aurelia were chatting but stopped upon seeing Neraxis and Aella approach.

"You two sure took your time, didn’t you?" Celina’s annoyed voice rang out, but as she spotted the two holding hands, she froze.

Aella seemed to pay it no mind as she let go of his hand gently and proceeded toward the direction of the Zarj Encampment.

"I don’t know about you all, but I am hungry and sleepy, so let’s at least get some food."

"Food?" Aurelia’s interest was piqued, and she was the first one to follow.

Not long after, Celina and Neraxis trailed at the very back.

The peace and quiet did not last long as Celina soon spoke, pointing at the necklace he now had. "What’s this? A souvenir you picked up on top of the mountain... or perhaps..."

"It’s a souvenir, Celina. We didn’t do anything," Neraxis replied, earning a giggle from her in response.

"I guess that all that dried blood on you is nothing, then. That’s fine." She sped up her pace. "I didn’t want to know anyway."

With those words, she caught up to the rest of the girls, leaving him alone at the very back.

She is way too troublesome...