The SSS Ranked Villain's Return-Chapter 279: The Final Rift, And Return

"Does everyone remember their lines?" Lar asked, receiving nods in response. "Great, let's just wait until he's done with this rift."

"That might be a bit difficult..." Asher muttered. "I believe I've heard of this kind of rift before. It appears once every 25 years or so."

"Okay? How does that help us?" Lar asked with a scoff.

Asher nodded slowly. "You see... there was a prophecy. Apparently, once a large crack appears in the sky, conquering it will mark the end of all rifts. None should appear after it's cleared, so we would only need to clear the ones left. After that, we'd be free."

"Hmm..." Lar hummed in amusement. "I've not heard of that before... very well. Now we have an even better reason to dispose of him. After all... if he regains his memories of Zaria, we're all going to be dead—Alice especially."

Alice's brow twitched. "I know. But stop with that shit and just be quiet, the monsters might find us."

The heroes glanced at one another with grim looks, and Lar let out a sigh.

"Alice. You're speaking just like Zaria," he remarked, causing Alice to halt.

Whenever he spoke in such a tone, it meant he had plans. Therefore, it was right to assume Lar was going to deal with her after all this was over and done with.

"You're overthinking it." Alice giggled innocently.

"Mhm." Lar nodded absentmindedly, clearly not believing her.

Nonetheless, he soon signaled for all of them to quiet down and watch the fight unfold.

Neraxis was holding his own pretty well, however, the injuries he had suffered at the hands of chimera Zaria were pretty bad.

Obviously, if Alice went over to him, she could heal him immediately.

However, if she wanted everything to go smoothly, she had to wait.

I feel pretty shitty... I mean, the guy was literally wrapped around my finger for such a long time, but that affection that didn't belong to me only made me resent him, Alice thought with a sigh.

It was a complicated feeling, but it was something she would rather not have at all.

After all, since she was going to die in less than five years, she wanted to tick a few things off her bucket list.

Nonetheless, the fight went on, and they were slowly growing worried.

Neraxis was dealing with all of the monsters pretty easily, yet it was evident his body was growing weaker.

He was taking a few hits every now and again, which further accumulated his scars.

However, even with those hits, he still killed tens of monsters with a single swing of his scythe, and after what felt like several hours, the crack in the sky finally vanished.

With that, Neraxis plopped down onto the ground, his scythe vanishing in the process.

Just as they were about to approach, a man wearing a shark mask approached them.

He seemed like a monster at first, but even so, the amount of pressure he was giving off simply made them halt in place.

<The Sovereign of Gluttony has descended!>

<The Sovereign of Lust has descended!>

<The Sovereign of Envy has descended!>

<All stats decrease by 90%>

<Warning!>

<The Sovereign of Lust is using [Memory Catalyst] on you!>

<Failed to resist!>

Huh? Alice's eyes widened, and then, she felt a chilly feeling run down her spine.

There was this dull pain in the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite make it out.

The masked man began saying something, yet it all felt like a blur to Alice, she couldn't even remember what words came out of her mouth.

Yet there was this sinking feeling regarding her parents.

She remembered seeing them just yesterday, but now they were dead?

Neraxis killed them...? Alice thought with furrowed brows. Memory Catalyst... is that what it changed? To make me feel more hatred than I already have?

Despite that, everything went by in a flash—the walk up to Neraxis, the words all of them spoke, and eventually, the fact that her trembling arms stabbed a dagger straight through his heart.

I-I did that...? Alice's eyes widened, yet she couldn't stop herself.

Soon, the rest of the heroes brought their weapons down on Neraxis, piercing him from every angle, until eventually, his body lifelessly gave out.

She stepped back monotonously. Still, she could hear loud laughter all around her as the three masked individuals approached Neraxis's body, inspecting it.

And to the shock of the heroes, Neraxis slowly rose—most of his injuries already healed.

He said a few words Alice couldn't quite make out, and then, a faint white flame appeared in his palm, which he swiftly began flicking toward each and every single hero present.

Finally, it was her turn, and despite her attempts to get away, her body was frozen, and soon engulfed in those white flames which made her mind turn blank.

But that blank feeling only lasted for a few short moments, since she soon found herself in a strange place, standing in front of the man she had just killed—the same one who had killed her.

Neraxis. And unlike the gaze she was used to, instead, he was staring at her with disgust.

...What just happened?

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