The SSS Ranked Villain's Return-Chapter 290: The Sanctuary

<Solar Sanctuary - Active!>

<Detecting...>

<Area Detected: Plateau Peak>

<Initializing...>

Neraxis felt his blood boil, the pain simply excruciating.

However, since he was around so many people, he'd much rather take it like a champ.

Fuuuuuck....

[Let it all out, trust me, no one's going to judge...] Evangeline teased.

He merely rolled his eyes at her antics and continued bearing through the pain.

Slowly, his blood cooled down, and the moment it did, it sent out a pulsating wave of mana all around them and focused on the mountain below him.

Soon, he saw a golden tint appear, followed by the ice caps slightly melting.

"N-No... my ice castles," Seraphina muttered, her arm outstretched.

Whoops... Neraxis scratched his cheek as he tried his best to reverse the effects of the melting.

And to his surprise, it worked like a charm. It seemed like all he had to do to avoid a certain modification was just to think of not doing it.

The power of the mind, and it worked wonders. Finally, after only just a few minutes, he felt a certain connection form with the mountain.

It was like wielding a Sun Construct, and while it did feel a little strange, he soon realized why he had such control.

If he were to envelop any of the girls in his mana, then they would gain access to whatever the mountain was, and they would be able to go down into the little hole Seraphina had made.

And as for those he didn't give permission to, he wanted to test what would happen.

"Evangeline, can you try entering that hole over there?" Neraxis asked.

She tilted her head. "Hm... you know, my skin is very delicate. If you burn me, I'll beat you up tonight."

"I'd like to see you try." Neraxis grinned. "But don't worry, if my eyes sense that something will go wrong, then I'll save you."

"My prince charming," Evangeline said teasingly, and slowly approached the hole leading down.

She took a step forward. However, before her foot could even land on the ground, Neraxis swiftly enveloped her in his mana, granting her access to the mountain.

Evangeline tilted her head. "Did something happen?"

"Mhm..." Neraxis sighed. "You kind of... poofed."

"Poofed?" Evangeline asked. "Did I die or something?"

"I have no clue, you just kind of disappeared," Neraxis replied with a shrug. "But hey, at least we know it works now."

With that, he proceeded to envelop each of the girls with his mana, including Zaria.

"Why me? I don't plan to stay here," Zaria said with a slight frown.

"Just in case you want to visit," Neraxis replied. "Oh, and Evangeline said you're staying over for dinner?"

"Ugh... why did I have to get entangled with you." Zaria grumbled, but despite that, she was the first one in the hole.

Soon, the others followed, and yet, Celina stayed behind, waiting for him.

"What's up?" he asked, puzzled. "I'd expected you to go with Aurelia."

"I wanted to ask you something." Celina cut straight to the chase, her red eyes narrowing.

"Would it be possible for you to locate my father?"

Neraxis tilted his head. "I don't see why it wouldn't be possible. Why?"

"My mom is feeling a little better for the first time since the incident... I want to see if I could bring him back for the last time," she said, her hands trembling.

I thought she had given up on him fully. I wonder, what's keeping her still hopeful? Neraxis pondered.

There were good people and inherently bad people. At least in this world.

Her father sat squarely in the middle of the bracket. Someone whose intentions were not clear, however, their acts made them more than suitable for a villain title.

And of course, if Neraxis were to ever encounter her father, Elijah, then he would kill him without even the slightest bit of hesitation.

He was the type of person who would accelerate the plans of the people coming for Neraxis, and in all honesty, he would be better off dead.

However, Neraxis had held back all this time, waiting for a certain someone's approval.

"I searched for him. I killed everyone he was associated with, but I still couldn't bring him out. Even after I massacred his supposed new family," Celina said with a guilty expression.

"I know what I did was wrong, but I just couldn't stomach the feeling of seeing my father live happily while throwing us into the trash bin, so I..."

"You don't have to explain yourself, Celina," Neraxis said as he slowly approached her.

She looked up at him with her confused eyes, and in the very next moment, he embraced her in a tight hug.

"We've all done some things we're not the most proud of," he said, patting her head. "If it makes you feel better, I've done far worse than massacre a single family."

"Like what?" Celina asked as she returned the hug.

"Hmm... you'll think differently of me if I were to tell you," Neraxis stated, trying to drop the topic.

Just as he was about to separate from the embrace, Celina pulled him back.

"I see you, Neraxis," Celina said, placing her hands on his cheeks and gently squishing them. "I can only imagine the extents you would go to in order to protect those you care about, so I wouldn't be surprised if you wiped out an entire world."

She said it more as a joke, but as the silence continued, Celina's eyes slightly widened.

"You did?"

"Mhm." Neraxis nodded. "I was trapped, and the only way out was to kill everyone. I'm not proud of it, but it definitely doesn't stop me from sleeping at night, if that's what you're wondering."

He leaned in, his nose practically touching hers.

"So, do you think of me differently now? Do you think I'm a monster?"

Celina sighed and pinched his cheek. "I can't really judge you when I'm in the same boat, now can I?" freewebnσvel.cøm

"Pfft..." Neraxis held back a laugh. "You're a bit naive."

Celina's brows twitched. "Naive...?"

"Not in a bad way, though," Neraxis added with a soft smile as he leaned down, and to her surprise, placed a kiss on her forehead.

After a few moments, he backed off, glancing at her flustered expression as his thoughts swirled around inside his mind.

For you and the others, I wouldn't hesitate to destroy this world either.