The SSS Ranked Villain's Return - Chapter 178

Chapter 178: Talk With Alice
<Aella: The cafe on your right.>

Neraxis glanced at his phone for a moment before putting it away.

It didn’t take long for him to arrive where Alice was, and frankly, he felt a bit uneasy.

What if she actually remembered the past? It would make killing her that much harder.

Nonetheless, he took a deep breath before sending a text.

<Neraxis: Cut off all communication until I’m out of there. I don’t want you snooping in on the conversation.>

While he did come off as a bit rude, the conversation they were about to have inside was definitely not something he wanted the girls to hear.

“Celina, you too. I want you to stay back. Don’t listen in on what we’re going to be talking about,” he added in a whisper, receiving a nod from Celina in return.

“Okay. I’ll wait with Aurelia then. Make sure to send a message if something goes wrong,” Celina said and, with a wave, began walking away.

The other girls reacted to his message with a ‘like’ emoji, and he finally put away his phone.

At least they’re understanding. Neraxis chuckled and approached the cafe.

It was empty, unsurprisingly. Not even the receptionist was present.

The only person there was Alice, with her long white hair and golden eyes staring at him with a half-smile.

He approached her table in silence and sat opposite her.

“Hello, Neraxis.” The same seductive voice he remembered rang out.

But it didn’t hold the same seductiveness as before.

Obviously.

“Alice.” Neraxis nodded at her. “How’s it been?”

“I wonder?” She tilted her head playfully. “I’ve been good. It’s not every day you suddenly have an influx of unknown memories, after all.”

Neraxis furrowed his brows. “So you do remember.”

“Not all of it. I remember us hanging out and clearing rifts together. After that, it’s been pretty blank,” Alice replied.

However, thanks to his {Cosmic Sight}, he was able to tell that what she had just said was utter bullshit.

But since he didn’t want to make that clear yet, he decided to pry for more answers.

“Nothing at all, huh?” Neraxis shrugged. “When did you start remembering?”

“Earlier when we locked eyes,” Alice affirmed, taking a sip of her coffee. “I believe it was fate that I remembered.”

And I believe you’re full of shit. Neraxis thought.

Nonetheless, he needed to know one more thing.

“What about Lar? Does he remember?”

“Him? He remembers even less than I do,” she replied, and surprisingly, it was honest.

“He doesn’t… huh.” Neraxis nodded before flashing a serious look. “Asher? Bale? Do they recall anything?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” Alice said with a shrug.

Lie, he noted down.

“Anyways.” Neraxis leaned backward in the chair and flashed her a poker face. “How did it feel to kill me?”

“…” Alice’s eyes widened for a moment before she let out a giggle. “It wasn’t easy. You know, killing someone like you was a challenge. Thankfully, we had it all planned out.”

Neraxis’s brows twitched at her words. “I guess you didn’t look past that, considering you died shortly after killing me.”

“Hm?” Alice tilted her head. “How did you know we died?”

“Doesn’t matter.” Neraxis stood up out of his chair and took out his sword, placing it directly on Alice’s neck. “I don’t like chatting with the person responsible for killing me, so please, die for me.”

He put pressure on the sword, watching as blood began dripping from her neck.

However, for some reason, Alice was staring at him with a smile on her face, not backing away.

“You know, Neraxis. I never really wanted to kill you, but when I noticed how perfect your body was, I wanted to have it for research purposes. Too bad I died.” She let out a giggle as a wide smile appeared on her face. “But this time, I can—”

Neraxis proceeded to put all his strength into the sword, cutting straight through her neck, and watched as her head fell to the floor.

But there was no killing notification.

In fact, she was still staring at him from the ground with the same smile.

There was one suspicion—that she might have been able to regenerate fast enough. Therefore, he bent down and placed his {Aura of the Abyss}-covered hand on her face, disintegrating it.

He placed his hand on her body and did the same.

Once again, no kill notification.

All of a sudden, the cafe’s doors shot open as Alice walked in, flipping her hair back before sitting down in the same chair she had been in when she supposedly died.

“You seem surprised,” she remarked. “Almost like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Neraxis narrowed his eyes. “What did you do?”

“I won’t tell you~” Alice giggled. “But it was fun seeing you again, Neraxis. I’m healthy, you’re even healthier than before. I’ll wait until you’re in the pit of despair like last time, and then, I’ll take you. I’ll take all of you.”

“Crazy bitch.” Neraxis scoffed before slashing his {Aura}-covered sword downward, destroying her body in an instant.

But of course, she came back through the door again, same clothes, features, and everything else.

“I wanted to leave you a message…” She trailed off, slightly fidgeting. “I’m going to win this tournament, and I will transfer to your academy. Then I will kill all those wenches who are so close to you… then, I will—”

Neraxis cut her off again, just this time, a bit differently.

“You said you can’t die, right?” he asked with a smile and approached her before gripping her neck. “So what would happen if I just didn’t kill you?”

Finishing his words, he suddenly spread {Aura of The Abyss} all throughout her body.

Instead of decay, however, he used Frost.

“Mm…” Alice let out a muffled groan as she placed her hands on the sides of her head.

Suddenly, she pushed, crushing her own head and leaving Neraxis speechless.

Nonetheless, he saw a silhouette outside the cafe, who waved at him before disappearing.

Neraxis tried chasing after her. However, the moment he went outside, she was already gone, not leaving even a single trace behind.

Fuck. Neraxis exclaimed inwardly, punching the nearby wall.

[Stuff just got real.] Evangeline whistled. [I wonder if the other heroes remember as much as Lar, or are they just like Alice.]

She said her memories started coming back when we made eye contact, and she wasn’t lying about that. Neraxis said before continuing, If anything, I believe they will soon begin remembering stuff.

Taking a deep breath, Neraxis took out his phone and opened a certain app.

It was the one displaying Bale’s location—and, of course, the magic button.

<Kill the bastard? Y/N>

No risks, no regrets. Neraxis sighed and pressed the “Yes” button.

For a moment, nothing happened. However, a new prompt soon appeared on the app.

<Thank you for using Genius Aella’s services!>

As that text fell, he suddenly heard a distant explosion off in the distance—right where the arena was.

And more so…

[1x (E+ Ranked Human) Slain! Reward: Stigmata 96.39% → 96.39%]

Hmm… Neraxis hummed inwardly as a bout of messages began flooding his phone.

<Aella: Hey, are you alright? You just used the thing.>

<Aurelia: That guy’s head blew up… I’m going to be late, guys. Toilet.>

He merely chuckled at the messages and put his phone away before walking back to the arena.

After all, the next round would soon start, and he would much rather clear his mind before then.

[I think I have an idea of what Alice did earlier.] Evangeline suddenly spoke, her tone serious.

To survive? What is it? he asked, tilting his head.

[Well… I heard of goddesses existing, and if her main skill is such a high rank… she might have some kind of passive immortality. But since she came back from the outside, then it must be something like checkpoints, maybe?] Evangeline pondered out loud, making him fall into thought.

Either way, it’s a very troublesome skill. Neraxis thought as he finally approached the arena.

And while the girls were probably accompanying Aurelia, he walked back to his seat and comfortably sat down.

Yet, Alice was there too, flashing a sly grin from where the Skryder Academy was.

…I need to figure something out.