The SSS Ranked Villain's Return-Chapter 63: Demon’s Lair

Scattered across the entire ceiling was a row of bodies that seemed dried up of blood.

The only reason he was unable to see it in the first place was because of the way the tunnel was lit up, but now that he paid attention, it was fully on display.

"Amara..." he called out, a tad bit shocked by the sight.

<I see. Stand by for now. Sarah will meet up with you in a moment,> Amara replied in a sour tone. Immediately, he moved to the side, avoiding the blood dripping on him.

This is related to demons, Neraxis suddenly stated, earning a quiet groan from Evangeline.

[Those things...] She seemed unamused. [I would love more than anything for a demon to be here so we could kill it.]

Bold of you to assume I can kill a demon. Even the weakest ones are C-rank; I’d be squashed like a bug, he replied with a sigh, and not even a moment later, the familiar masked figure appeared beside him.

"Sarah," Neraxis greeted her, earning a nod in return.

It seemed like she was the quiet type—not a bad trait to have for someone who dabbles in both assassinations and reconnaissance.

<Good. The two of you investigate. If things go south, Neraxis, retreat,> Amara stated. Immediately, the two began walking toward where there were even more dried corpses.

Not even a couple of minutes later, they were barely avoiding the puddles of blood scattered around the tunnel.

That was until they seemingly reached a dead end, and no more corpses were in sight. It was followed by some kind of ledge leading down into the sewers below.

Well, shit, Neraxis sighed inwardly, knowing what this meant as he took a glance at Sarah, who had already begun jumping down.

Not even a moment later, he followed suit, using his sword to traverse downward to avoid splashing in the sewer water.

Finally making it down, he took a few glances around and saw Sarah heading in a particular direction, which seemed to be oozing the stench of blood.

[This is a demon, all right,] Evangeline affirmed with disgust in her tone before continuing. [Stay behind the big-breasted lady, just in case that demon tries an ambush.]

Big br—never mind. I’m not suicidal, so don’t worry, Neraxis assured her and proceeded to follow after Sarah.

The place they were in right now was even further underground than he expected. While in the very middle was a river of sewage, on the sides, there were narrow ledges on which they walked.

Still, it took everything he had not to throw up from the smell.

On the other hand, Sarah was holding up just fine.

"Newbie," she suddenly called out, turning to him. "Do you expect all of these missions to be a walk in the park?"

Despite her sounding malicious, he could tell she was only curious.

"Of course not. It took a lot of being annoying to even get this mission in the first place. Whether I’ll get others will depend on my performance."

"At least you know that," Sarah said and suddenly swung her arm downward.

Immediately, he could hear static in his earpiece, indicating the connection was being tampered with.

And the only culprit was her.

"What are you doing?" he asked cautiously, looking into her eyes.

But what he saw instead was a look of worry.

"I don’t think you are cut out for this."

Neraxis raised his brow at that comment. "According to who?"

Yet she merely shrugged in response. "Everyone except Amara."

"And how did you all come to that conclusion? Simply because I am not strong enough?"

However, just as she opened her mouth, both of them halted at the sudden pressure that descended.

Soon the static from his earpiece disappeared, and a cold voice resounded.

<Tell her if she pulls something like that again, I will force sewage water down her throat.>

"...I’ll let her know later," Neraxis replied as a shiver went down his spine.

They resumed their search, and before long, finally arrived at something promising.

All this time, they had been tracing the stench of blood, and now, they were standing right before the cause.

Surprisingly, it was the body of someone Neraxis knew—the same old man who was about to be dissected, and now, he truly was.

Horrible... He couldn’t help but let out a disgusted groan.

The man’s heart was gone, followed by his eyes. The rest of his body was opened up like some sort of piñata.

However, Sarah did not stick around, merely giving it a single glance before turning into the right cross-section.

Giving one last glance at the man, Neraxis went after her.

But just as he did that, he heard something zip behind him, and immediately, the fat man’s remains were gone—a trail of blood leading to where Sarah had gone.

The sheer speed of what had just transpired was something way beyond him, but from the looks of things, Sarah was already prepared.

Is that the demon you mentioned? he questioned while on full guard.

[Yep, but I am a bit curious why the big-breasted woman did not kill it,] Evangeline replied in an amused tone.

Foll𝑜w current novℯls on ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm.

I wonder?

It did not take long for them to arrive at another dead end, but instead of stopping, Sarah punched the wall, creating a perfect hole through it.

Surprisingly, there was a more lit-up tunnel than the one they were in, and after going inside of it, the smell of blood was even more prominent.

And yet, there was still nothing in sight, as though the whole room was made of blood in the first place.

Just as his thoughts finished, however, he suddenly saw the walls twitch with each step they took, causing him to halt.

"Sarah—" Neraxis called out, but instead of replying, she merely put a finger up to her mouth, signaling for him to remain quiet.

[This is the demon’s lair. Best to remain quiet and walk with synchronized steps. Though you don’t have to worry about the latter part, Sarah’s already been doing that since the start,] Evangeline remarked, causing him to nod in response.

Right. I guess this will be a bit more annoying than I had expected, he grumbled, feeling the ground twitch.

But not even a moment later, Sarah stopped and suddenly pulled out some twin blades, swinging them downward.

Immediately, a huge gash appeared, blood spurting all around. However, what he saw through that same gash was terrifying.

A massive pedestal stood, with a bunch of dried blood and bones scattered around.

Yet in the very middle of that pedestal stood a single humanoid entity with an off-looking, many-eyed red mask.

Its body was fully black in color, emanating the stench of blood they had smelled all along the way.

[Looks like it absorbed all the sacrifices already. It’s pretty strong now—around B rank,] Evangeline commented, earning a nod from him in response.

Yeah? Now how am I supposed to do anything against that?

[It’s simple, to be honest. Just use Stellar Dominion and keep a hefty distance between you two. The big-breasted woman can take care of the rest,] she added.

However, Amara did not share Evangeline’s thoughts, as her voice resounded through the earpiece. <Neraxis, retreat for now. Let Sarah handle it.>

"Are you sure she can handle it?" he asked with a raised brow.

<Yes. If you are here, then—oh, never mind. You will have something to do after all.> Amara changed her orders quickly. Immediately, he heard a bunch of footsteps all around him.

And once he took a glance at who it was, he noticed beings that looked similar to the demon—just much smaller than it, practically one-fifth of its size.

Soon, she said, <Deal with those imps.>

Letting out a sigh, he summoned his sword.

"Roger that."