The Return Of The Exiled Villain-Chapter 220: Acquiring Another Skill (IV)

[Ahh... I need to wait two hours as it’s being registered in the Akashic Records, which is a little strange since it should have been registered since the last time I used it...]

’Don’t worry about it. We have time,’ Gray smiled lightly.

[By the way, Ethan will probably notice that the divinity on his body disappeared. What are you going to do about that?]

’...Well, if he relates his loss to me, then I’ll simply kill him.’

His reply was instant.

[Mhm...]

Jasmine nodded thoughtfully.

Killing Ethan would easily be the best choice as long as Gray wasn’t discovered.

’Besides, if anything, I already marked him with the Shadow of Sin. He can’t escape from my grasp even if he wanted to,’ he shrugged.

Looking at the audience, no one seemed to want to come and fight him, so Gray simply thought that it was better to end it now.

He had already gotten what he wanted from those fights, so it could be said to be quite an eventful evening!

He turned toward the referee, already lifting a hand to end the challenge.

BOOOOM!

The arena floor detonated.

Stone screamed as lightning smashed down from above, scorching the ground into blackened glass.

A figure stood at the center of the impact, electricity crawling over his skin in thick, violent arcs, each pulse strong enough to make the air vibrate.

Gasps tore through the crowd.

"Is that... CURRY?! THE 12TH RANKED, 3RD YEAR STUDENT?!"

"IS HE REALLY GOING TO CHALLENGE GRAY?"

"ISN’T THAT TOO UNFAIR?!"

"WHY WOULD IT BE UNFAIR?! WHAT MATTERS HERE IS ABSOLUTE POWER!"

The arena split into shouts and arguments, their voices crashing into each other as Curry straightened his posture, lightning licking up his arms and across his shoulders like living chains.

Gray looked at him and didn’t feel anything different.

The only difference was that Curry, the guy in front of him, was at the Intermediate stage of the Grandmaster Realm.

’...I really need a Sword Art,’ Gray muttered inwardly.

He instantly got into the stance he had used in those twenty-plus battles, and awaited for Curry to make the first move.

He had a disadvantage in terms of cultivation, but besides that... he was pretty confident that he was stronger, even if he had lost his Sword Technique.

"Heh," Curry scoffed lightly.

CRACKLE!

The lightning surrounding his body roared.

He vanished in a burst of blue-white light, reappearing an instant later with his hand stretched forward, fingers curled like talons as he went straight for Gray’s throat.

"[✧Swap✧]"

Gray vanished, reappearing right behind in that instant, with his daggers already thrusting forward, aimed cleanly at his back.

Twist...

But at that moment, Curry’s torso twisted mid-motion, spine bending in an unnatural way as his face turned just enough to show a grin sharp with confidence.

"Got you~"

His claw-like hand shot towards Gray’s neck.

Thud!

But just as he blinked for half a second...

"H-huh... KURRRRRRGHHHHH!"

Curry’s head snapped sideways as Gray’s fist smashed into his face, lightning bursting outward in a wild spray.

His body staggered back several meters.

"Y-you... pfttu!" Curry pointed a finger at Gray before suddenly feeling something hard on his mouth and spitting it out.

The moment he saw the foreign thing that was on his mouth, his eyes darkened instantly.

"...M-my teeth! My beautiful teeth!"

His eyes instantly glowed with rage upon seeing this, and the lightning crackled to the sky, as the clouds started darkening intensely.

"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY BEAUTIFUL TEETH!!!" Curry snarled, blood and spit dripping from his mouth.

The crowd instantly felt the change.

"Oh shit..."

"That pressure..."

"Is he going all out?!"

Curry planted his foot and slammed his palm into the ground.

BOOOOM!

Lightning erupted outward in a violent ring, the shockwave tearing across the arena floor, ripping stone apart and hurling debris in every direction.

Electricity raced along the cracks, turning the arena into a web of glowing veins.

Gray moved through it.

Dark mana surged through his legs and spine, muscles tightening as he leapt clean over the expanding wave.

Stone shattered beneath him as he landed, already closing the distance between them, and just at that moment, Curry vanished.

Crackle!

A flash of blue-white light burst at Gray’s side, followed by his sharp claw.

"Tsk!"

Clicking his tongue, Gray twisted, letting the attack scrape past his ribs close enough to sting, then drove his elbow backward.

Thud!

Curry barely blocked, lightning exploding between their bodies as he skidded away, his shoes burning lines into the floor.

"Dammit... your speed is really annoying!"

He raised both arms.

"Thunder Burial!"

CRACCCKLEEE!

Lightning crashed down from the clouds in thick pillars, slamming into the arena one after another, each strike leaving molten craters behind.

"TAKE THIS!"

Curry pointed his finger at Gray, and instantly, the clouds started throwing lightning bolts at Gray.

"Fuu..."

Gray instantly shot forward upon seeing this, weaving between the falling thunder, while also keeping an eye on Curry’s movements.

Crackle...!

One bolt suddenly clipped his shoulder, causing his face to change slightly, before he ignored the pain.

His speed was already increased by sixty times, and it still wasn’t enough to dodge the lightning bolts entirely

So, he increased it to eighty times.

And fortunately for him, just at that moment, Curry lunged from the side, his fist wrapped in condensed lightning, aiming straight for his heart.

"Nullification."

[-7 Soul Energy]

The lightning died on the spot, and Gray took the opportunity to dodge the punch and drive his knee directly into Curry’s stomach.

THOOM!

Curry folded, air tearing from his lungs as his body lifted off the ground.

Gray followed, fist slamming into Curry’s jaw, then another into his ribs, each hit backed by dark mana and perfect timing.

Thud, thud...

CRACK!

Curry flew back, smashed into the arena wall, and dropped to one knee, coughing violently as blood dripped onto the scorched stone.

Crackle...!

Curry forced himself up, his lightning flickering unevenly around his body, power leaking through cracks in his control.

His grin returned, strained and furious.

"I s-see it now... You can cancel other people’s power, and even switch positions with anything you want, huh?" he coldly spoke, wiping his lips.

"T-those are some seriously unfar skills...!"

"I s-see it now... You can cancel other people’s power, and even switch positions with anything you want, huh?" he coldly spoke, wiping blood from his lips with the back of his hand.

His eyes lifted, burning bright despite the damage he had received.

"T-those are some seriously unfair skills...!"

CRAACKLEEE!!!

The crowd instantly leaned forward upon hearing that booming sound.

"What is he doing...?"

"That pressure is getting worse!"

Curry straightened his spine and spread his fingers wide.

The lightning around him stopped lashing outward and instead pulled inward, compressing hard around his arm.

The air screamed as thunder stacked on thunder, layer after layer, each pulse heavier than the last.

The clouds above twisted violently.

Cracklee!

Thunder rolled in overlapping waves, deep and suffocating, pressing against everyone’s chest.

"I only get one shot with this."

The lightning wrapped his arm completely, shaping itself into a massive claw made of condensed thunder, each finger crackling with terrifying density.

The ground beneath his feet melted into black glass.

"Nine Heavens Thunder Claw!!!"

The arena shook as gasps tore through the stands.

"NO WAY...!"

"THAT’S A KILL MOVE!"

"CAN GRAY TAKE IT?!"

Curry stepped forward.

The claw tore through the air, warping space around it as thunder roared loudly enough to drown out thought.

Each step he took crushed the floor beneath him, lightning spilling out like blood.

Gray calmly analyzed the structure of the claw and was surprised to see that it was what people called a Flawless Technique, a technique with no flaws that has reached its limit.

[Proficiency +35%]

Nine layers of thunder stacked in sequence, each feeding the next, power cycling through Curry’s meridians with brutal efficiency.

One touch would be able shred flesh and bone, not to mention that there were nine layers that Gray needed to defend himself from.

’...It shouldn’t be much of a problem.’

"Nullification."

[-12 Soul Energy]

The outer layer of lightning vanished, causing Curry’s eyes to widen as he didn’t think that even if Gray had a skill that was able to cancel other skills, it would be able to cancel such a grand technique without spending almost all of his energy.

"RAAAAAAAGHHHG!"

But still, he pressed on and continued with the second layer of the giant claw, slamming directly at Gray.

To his surprise, Gray took a step forward, letting the claw tear past his ribs close enough to burn skin.

His body suddenly vanished for a second, and Curry was even more surprised as Gray literally skipped the second layer!

But then came the third layer of the attack, one that Gray wouldn’t be able to defend himself against...

BOOOM!

Gray suddenly slapped it aside with his forearm.

"WHAT?!"

And just like that, the fourth layer came, but this time, Gray was finally within enough distance to attack Curry.

So, he ducked low and drove his shoulder into Curry’s chest.

THOOM!

The impact staggered Curry, lightning flaring wildly, but the claw still descended, the layers five and six screaming downward.

Gray clenched his fist and compressed his mana into a single point before driving it upward, directly towards those layers!

THUD!

The blow cracked straight through the thunder structure, dispersing layers five through seven in a violent burst that shook the arena walls.

Curry screamed, blood spraying from his mouth as backlash ripped through his arm.

"HOW?!"

The final two layers collapsed inward, and this was the perfect opportunity for Gray to approach again.

"Nullification."

[-30 Soul Energy]

The two layers of thunder died in silence.

Curry froze instantly...

"A-a-ahh...!" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

His arm dropped limp at his side, skin blackened, smoke rising from his fingers. He swayed once, eyes unfocused, lightning flickering weakly around his body.

Gray approached him, letting his shadow fall over him before smiling coldly:

"Thank you for the skill~"

He stepped past Curry.

Thud!

The third year collapsed behind him, his body slamming into the cold ground as the thunder faded from the sky, and the clouds returned to normal.

[Ding!]

[The skill "Nine Heavens Thunder Claw" has been acquired!]

[Current Proficiency: Intermediate]

[-60 Permanent Points of Nullification]