The SSS Ranked Villain's Return-Chapter 98: Strawberry Ice Cream

The moments passed in silence until, eventually, they managed to finish the smoothie.

And soon, the waiters came back in, preparing the next dishes, which were couples-themed, much like the smoothie itself.

Chocolate fondue, a gold-covered heart-shaped pizza too.

His mother really did go all out.

But nonetheless, everything was delicious and definitely worth both the time and the experience. Stay tuned with novelbuddy

Since, during it all, Neraxis could admire Celina’s satisfied smile, the time felt worthwhile.

However, after what felt like hours, they finished everything.

Now, there was a question that hung in the air.

What now...? The date is over, but do we just leave now... or what?

[Why is it over?] Evangeline asked, puzzled. [It’s still midday—why not go outside and walk around a park or something?]

Really? Is that what people do on dates? Neraxis thought, tilting his head before turning to Celina.

"...Do you want to go to the mall?"

"Mall?" Her eyes practically lit up as she nodded back with a smile. "Now?"

"Yes, if you don’t mind." Neraxis stood up, stretching out his hand.

"Okay," Celina replied, and the two immediately made their way out of the restaurant.

Unsurprisingly, his mother had already paid for everything in advance.

However, as they left, Celina suddenly brought him into a nearby alleyway.

But before he could question her, she tore off her dress, revealing casual and comfortable clothing that surprisingly matched his own.

Celina twirled her hair around and glanced at him, slightly embarrassed. "I had this ready just in case... It’s more comfortable to move in."

"I see..." Neraxis responded with a stiff smile. Suddenly, she jumped up, climbing onto a balcony and then leaping to the next, until she finally reached the roof of the building, looking down at him.

"What are you waiting for? Let’s go." Celina stated with a teasing smile as she slowly walked out of his view.

...I guess we’re not taking a car. Neraxis didn’t think too much about it and swiftly dashed up the wall, almost as efficiently as she did.

And when he finally got to the top, he spotted her several buildings away.

Fast, but... Neraxis began running, kicking off one building faster than the rest, until finally, he had caught up.

And now, the mall was before them.

"There’s this new virtual movie out. Let’s go there first," Celina stated, making him puzzled.

"Virtual movie?"

"You know, the movies you watch while inside virtual reality? The directors recorded the points of view from some of the extras, and while inside virtual reality, we can watch the movie from their perspective," she explained, an excited look on her face.

His eyes widened at such technology, and soon, he agreed. "That sounds fun. Let’s go."

They headed down the building and into the mall.

Finding the virtual movie-watching space wasn’t difficult, as it had its own sector.

Thankfully, a movie was about to start. Therefore, Neraxis paid the price for the tickets, and the two of them were escorted to a few virtual reality pods—ones that were practically identical to the academy’s virtual pods.

"See you there," Celina said with a soft voice, her smile brimming as she closed her pod.

Alright, now how do I get this to work? Neraxis thought, but in the very next moment, an interface appeared, displaying two buttons.

<Spectate solo / Spectate with a friend>

He pressed the second option and scrolled down until, finally, he found Celina’s name and clicked on it.

Nothing happened for a few seconds, but then his vision went black, followed by the scent of gunpowder in the air.

And lastly, a tap on his shoulder.

Yet, as he turned around, the sight was not exactly what he was expecting.

Celina was standing in front of him. However, her clothes seemed very Western, and a single cowboy hat was strapped to her waist.

"...This looks too real," he couldn’t help but say with a gasp, making her let out a giggle.

"Well, duh," Celina commented before suddenly pulling out a revolver from her holster belt and playfully aiming it at him. "Wanna do a standoff? The movie hasn’t started yet."

"Hmm..." he hummed with amusement and pulled out a revolver of his own. "I don’t see why not. The pain is turned off, right?"

"Yup," she replied with a nod and turned her back to him. "Let’s start with our backs against each other, and I think they take ten steps in the movies before shooting each other?"

Neraxis chuckled and proceeded to stand with his back touching hers. "I’ll count down. When the count reaches five, we go, okay?"

"Okay," she replied immediately.

Therefore, he did not waste any more time and began counting.

"1... 2... 3... 4... 5!"

As he finished, the two started walking forward, counting the steps in their minds, until eventually, they turned around and shot at one another.

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However, to both their surprise, the bullets collided midair, flying off into the distance without hitting either of them.

"Pfft... hahaha," Celina’s laughter resounded as she looked at the revolver in her hands before glancing off to the side, where a timer was ticking down. "Seems like we can’t go for round two."

"Draw it is," Neraxis remarked with a chuckle, and soon, his vision slightly contorted as his body was moving backward on its own.

And after just a few more moments, all kinds of objects, people, and everything else he could imagine materialized.

The textures around him changed, too, as if adding a filter and becoming cartoonish.

We are inside an animated movie? he thought with wonder, and soon, the movie began playing, with both him and Celina watching from the sidelines and even talking a bit in between each scene.

The movie finished in what felt like the blink of an eye, with them finally stepping out of the virtual pods and making their way to another sector.

But as the two looked to the sky, they noticed it was already growing darker. Therefore, it would be best if they wrapped it up.

Therefore, Neraxis turned toward her before saying, "Want some ice cream?"

"Sure," she replied cheerfully and walked beside him.

After just a few minutes of walking, they arrived in front of an ice cream stand, which had all the flavors one could imagine.

"What will you get?" he questioned, watching as her eyes scanned through all the flavors until eventually landing on one in particular.

"Strawberry... I liked the smoothie, so..." Celina trailed off as her ears became a little red before she turned toward him. "You?"

"I’ll get the same then," Neraxis said with a soft smile.

It did not take them long to get their ice cream, and they were in pretty big portions, so it would take them a bit of time to eat.

But as he was about to dig in, Celina tugged on his sleeve before saying, "Wanna go up?" She pointed toward a ladder in the very corner of the mall, leading to the roof.

"Pfft..." He let out a chuckle and nodded. "Let’s go."

Taking a few good looks around to make sure there were no guards, the two jumped on a few stalls and leaped toward a nearby tree, from which they immediately ran toward the ladder and climbed to the very top.

And once they finally arrived, what greeted their sights was a gorgeous sunset, which was on the verge of fully disappearing.

"Quickly!" She tugged on his sleeve again.

Neraxis sped up his pace as he followed after the running Celina, who, after a few short moments, jumped down into a small hatch in the roof.

With a puzzled look, he did the same, and once he did, a few mirrors came into view, perfectly reflecting what little sunlight there was, illuminating the miniature tile ceiling.

It was almost like standing on top of clouds—especially with a beauty like Celina beside him—that left him speechless.

"Is this...?"