The SSS Ranked Villain's Return-Chapter 190: Interlude: Last Mission

Start of Volume 3: Re-Awakening

***

One Year later.

"Eclipse," a skinny man called out, his clothes mirroring those Neraxis wore.

It was a simple, tight black bodysuit, perfect for covert operations.

And currently, that was what they were on.

"Peashooter, same plan as usual." Neraxis stated firmly. "That piss-stain Daniel promised to scout it out for us but got sidetracked by some woman."

"That's Daniel for you..." Peashooter replied with a sigh.

Neraxis had lost count of how many missions he'd been on already, yet his progress was anything but slow.

But since he didn't have much time, he'd go over it later.

Despite this being a suicide mission, he'd promised Amara he wouldn't be late to her cooking lessons.

This was a simple mission on the outside—infiltrate a warehouse, kill someone, get out.

The only problem with that was the fact that this entire thing was a setup.

<I didn't train you to not have balls. Or did Evangeline run you dry again?>

Delta... Neraxis sighed at the voice in his ear. "No, she's been busy with other stuff."

<Then all the merrier, Fifth Veil. Get to it.>

"Yep," he replied before leaning down.

Neraxis could see through the entire warehouse, and in total, seven people were gathered—all at the very least A- ranked.

"Peashooter, I'm going," before flashing a grin and rolling down his facemask until only his purple eyes were showing.

"Yes, boss. I'll be right behind you," Peashooter replied and pulled out a simple-looking Desert Eagle.

However, its destructive power was anything but simple—Neraxis would know.

Nonetheless, with everything prepared, Neraxis jumped off the ledge, pulled out his new black-steel rapier, and thrust forward.

Immediately, a white line shot out, followed by an entire chunk of the warehouse vanishing into nothingness.

—He's here!

—Get ready!

He could hear their alert shouts, but in the end, it didn't matter much.

After all, A-ranked Awakened were nothing but fodder to him now.

Neraxis showed himself, perching on a railing and staring down at the people.

"I believe you know why I've come here," Neraxis remarked. "Surrender now, and I'll make your deaths painless."

"As if you would, Eclipse," one of the men shot back, narrowing his eyes. "We heard how you deal with people like us. You slaughter people like a maniac and leave no witnesses—"

"Dexter Aldrow, 29. Involved in foreign government espionage, sex trafficking, multiple counts of murder. Need I go on?" Neraxis listed all his crimes. "Or do you just want to skip the foreplay and die right now?"

"Kugh... Which organization are you involved with, huh!?" the man asked, signaling his friends to surround Neraxis. "Eternal Night, Black Rose, The Syndicate?"

"We don't have a name," Neraxis stated, when all of a sudden, he flicked his rapier in the air, creating multiple invisible cracks around the men's necks.

"But I can tell you that you won't be seeing tomorrow."

[5x (A- Ranked Human) Slain! Reward: Stigmata 12.22% → 12.32%]

[1x (A Ranked Human) Slain! Reward: Stigmata 12.32% → 12.52%]

[1x (A+ Ranked Human) Slain! Reward: Stigmata 12.52% → 12.82%]

"Corny as per usual, boss," Peashooter said as he approached, putting his Desert Eagle away. "I thought you said I could help."

Neraxis shrugged and sheathed his rapier. "I accidentally killed them all."

"Sounds like you, boss..."

Nonetheless, the mission was over—just as simple as the others.

And within that single year that he was gone, there were many changes.

One of which was the fact that his parents sent out thousands of search parties looking for him.

Also, Aella, alongside the other girls, began some weird secret project that was only mentioned once on television.

It was a pity he couldn't contact them directly, but from time to time, he left hints, especially to Celina.

After all, they had the secret room above the mall, and he drew a few cats for her, then left them there.

Of course, none of them were found, merely stacking together as the year went by.

Still, it was about time he returned to headquarters.

"Peashooter, tell Daniel I'll be late this time," Neraxis said before dashing upwards and far away.

Peashooter and Daniel weren't members of Obscura.

However, they were pretty good mercenary friends, so he kept them around.

Now that Neraxis was far away, he spoke leisurely.

"Delta, you can bring me back now."

<Just a sec. Evangeline messed up the mashed potatoes. Amara isn't faring any better.>

"Pfft..." Neraxis held back a laugh at their antics.

A year had gone by, and he managed to increase Evangeline's staying time by a week, with only a three-day cooldown.

Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.

Nonetheless, since he'd have to wait a while, he decided to take a stroll instead.

But as per usual, the location he steered toward was Celina's hideout, which had become his sleeping place when he wasn't on missions.

He made his way over, and like before, it was completely empty.

But there was one thing that was slightly different.

The latest drawing he left had been moved by a few centimeters.

"..." Neraxis looked around suspiciously before catching a glimpse of a certain sheen on the wall.

It was a camera.

So they caught on, finally. He let out a relieved sigh and, with his rapier, destroyed the miniature camera.

Immediately, all sorts of small, miniature robots began swarming him, but instead of worrying about them, Neraxis merely covered himself in {Aura of the Abyss}, destroying each robot that approached.

After a few seconds, he deemed it was enough of playing around and finally jumped out of Celina's hideout.

The roof was illuminated by the moon, which made him feel relaxed.

But as a pair of footsteps resounded, Neraxis immediately went on guard.

"Reveal yourself. Why do you keep coming here?" a cold voice rang out.

It belonged to Aurelia, surprisingly.

Neraxis turned around, meeting her hatred-filled gaze.

Yet as she glanced toward his eyes, Aurelia suddenly froze, her hands shaking.

"N-Neraxis?"

That's a quick assumption. He thought, inwardly chuckling.

However, he didn't plan on revealing himself just yet, so he merely pulled out his rapier and held it toward Aurelia.

"You won't talk, huh? I see..." Aurelia commented and reached into her pockets before pulling out a phone.

"If you try to run, this entire place will be surrounded by countless Awakened, so I suggest you don't move."

Oh no... What will I do— Neraxis's thoughts were interrupted when all of a sudden, an arrow shot right past his cheek, slightly cutting his disguise.

It didn't reveal his face, but it came pretty close

"Don't move, shithead, or I'll blow your head clean off," Eris stated, approaching with her bow drawn.

I missed this. He let out a chuckle, confusing the two women.

"I don't know who either of you are, but this is a splendid sleeping place," Neraxis said, his voice a completely different pitch than usual.

"Yeah? The famous serial killer Eclipse sleeping in our friend's hideout isn't a very reassuring thing, you know?" Eris shot back. "If anything, it raises the question of if you really are Eclipse."

"I'm pretty famous, I suppose," Neraxis replied with a shrug. "But that's about it. I have to get going now. See you later."

The moment his words fell, Eris released her bowstring, firing the arrow at an incredibly fast speed.

But instead of worrying about it, Neraxis merely stretched his hand out, grabbed the arrow, and snapped it like a twig.

Then, with a small wave, he vanished, reappearing in the Obscura headquarters throne room.

...Which just so happened to have become a massive kitchen.

"Amara... You bastard, you burnt the cookies!" Evangeline yelled, throwing a pan right at the back of Amara's head.

"Shut up already... I told you it was an accident," Amara grumbled as her gaze landed on Neraxis. "Fifth Veil. Welcome back."

"Mhm..." Neraxis nodded with a warm smile.

They were like his second family and had been for the last year.

However, it was finally time for his Eclipse persona to retire.

"Delta," he called out to the woman sleeping on the throne. "I want to go back."

"Tomorrow, Fifth Veil," Delta replied groggily. "Tomorrow there will be an announcement, and during it, you will be able to come back. I won't go back on my word."

"I see." Neraxis nodded in satisfaction, and just as he was about to ask more questions, the smell of something burning entered his nose.

"Fifth Veil..." Delta said, her tone holding clear annoyance. "Your final mission as Eclipse is to help those two cook."

Neraxis let out a chuckle.

"Of course."