The SSS Ranked Villain's Return - Chapter 210

Chapter 210: Cleansing And Not Supposed To Be Here?
—A cleansing?

—What’s that?

“I’ll be pleased if you remain as quiet as you were beforehand; the sound of your heartbeats is loud as it is,” Heliara remarked, looking around until placing her gaze on one particular group.

“You two, what was the last trial?”

The group looked at each other before answering. “Get into pairs and cross the maze? We were the first to cross it.”

“And the rest of you died, is that correct?” Heliara asked with a sadistic smile on her face, and the group simply nodded, not saying anything further.

“Good, that means everything went as planned,” Heliara stated, clapping her hands. “Each of you is paired with one other, a male and a female. Just as we intended.”

Hearing that, Neraxis tilted his head and glanced around.

She’s right. The groups are oddly… similar, he thought suspiciously.

“Now, you must go through the cleansing ritual, so I’ll start off with the least promising candidates first,” Heliara said and turned toward the scrawny pair in front. “Come up.”

They hesitated for a moment but went up nonetheless.

As they did, Heliara suddenly summoned some sort of chalice, filled to the brim with what seemed to be water.

But Neraxis could tell there was something more to it—he just didn’t know what.

However, as the pair approached the chalice, Heliara immediately stopped them.

“Drink one at a time. Boy, you first,” she stated, handing the chalice over to the man, who drank a massive gulp in an instant.

Neraxis looked for any strange complications with his mana but couldn’t find anything.

Therefore, the chalice was given to the woman.

“Girl, drink.”

The woman did the same, but unlike the man, she suddenly hunched over and fell to the ground, lifeless.

That was fast…? Neraxis tilted his head.

With his mana, he was able to tell that the moment the water had entered her throat, it instantly killed her.

Frankly, all her bodily functions stopped, but he didn’t quite understand the conditions behind it.

But he was definitely overlooking something stupid.

Nonetheless, the atmosphere turned gloomy as some people recoiled.

As for the man near the chalice?

“You’re eliminated.”

The moment Heliara spoke, she raised her hand and, with a clean slash, sliced the man’s head off.

But before it could drop to the ground, she kicked it off the temple like a football.

“Right then,” she turned to the rest of the people. “Next group is…”

***

A couple of hours had passed, and frankly, the survival chances seemed extremely slim.

Three hundred pairs had gone in so far, but only 43 had survived.

Next up, of course, was Neraxis and Liza, who had been panicking ever since the first death.

“I told you to not panic. You’re only going to make it worse for yourself,” Neraxis whispered. “I’m not positive, but this trial might work off emotions, so if they are too heightened, the water might kill you.”

Despite his bullshit making some sense, it didn’t seem to alleviate Liza’s concerns, as tears silently fell down her cheeks again.

For fuck’s sake, Neraxis rolled his eyes, and soon…

“Next up, the most promising candidates, step up,” Heliara called out, looking somewhat proud.

Therefore, Neraxis passed through what remained of the people and arrived in front of the chalice.

Immediately, an ominous feeling engulfed him, and as his arm reached for the chalice, Neraxis halted, turning to Heliara.

“Is it mandatory for me to go first?”

A smile appeared on Heliara’s face. “It’s what is suggested.”

“I see…” Neraxis put the chalice down before turning to the trembling Liza. “Drink up, trust me.”

“Huh? What if I die?”

“If I die, you’d die anyway. Just trust me on this one,” Neraxis assured.

He had come to one simple conclusion.

It was a 50/50 chance of dying unless the correct person drank first.

That also meant the people who died had extremely shit luck, or Heliara was simply rigging it.

As he looked at her and she smiled back at him, he knew that was likely the case.

So 44 people were supposed to pass then, he noted down.

Liza’s trembling hand reached for the chalice. Then, she closed her eyes and took a massive gulp.

“I-I’m alive!” She shot up, her eyes wide.

But now it was his turn.

However, as Neraxis reached for the chalice, he still felt the same ominous feeling from earlier.

“Drink up, boy,” Heliara said with a smile.

“…” Neraxis looked hesitantly at the chalice before accepting the challenge.

He brought the chalice up to his mouth and took a sip.

Immediately, he felt his body growing hot, followed by his mana seemingly reversing itself.

But since he was prepared, Neraxis used {Aura of the Abyss}.

It somewhat canceled out the effects, but his legs still buckled.

As they did, Liza’s face turned to one of horror as her eyes darted between him and Heliara.

However, Neraxis remained calm. Despite his body shutting down, he was fully conscious—until eventually, {Aura of the Abyss} completely expelled the water from his system.

Taking a deep breath, he stood back up and glanced straight at the smiling Heliara.

“Did I pass?”

“You passed,” Heliara assured. “But take note of one thing—you weren’t supposed to pass.”

“Why not?” Neraxis asked, readying his mana in case she attacked.

“The water you drank snuffs out beings with impurities—evil beings, you could say. You are evil,” Heliara explained. “However, you passed… And the Sun God has explicitly told me not to kill those who pass.”

“I don’t like how you’re beating around the bush. Can we go now? Is the trial complete?” Neraxis asked, and she nodded.

“It is complete, but note that these trials were meant for someone pure. You’re anything but. You will struggle more in the remaining trials than others.”

“Fair enough,” Neraxis replied, and in the very next moment, the completion prompt popped up.

<Solaris Tower – 6th Floor Elite Mode: Temple of the Sun God – Complete>

<Climber: Neraxis Valen>

<Current Progress: 6/10 Floors>

<Solaris Tower – 7th Floor Elite → Balanced Mode: Sunforge Arena – Available>

<Do you wish to enter?>

<Yes/No>

“Did you get the prompt too, Liza?” he asked, and she weakly nodded in response.

It seemed like so did the other climbers, as pair by pair, they began vanishing.

“I-I, yes… But the difficulty changed again.”

“It’s fine, doesn’t matter much. We just need to clear it all the same,” Neraxis remarked before pressing “Yes.”

He didn’t disappear immediately, and only when Liza pressed “Yes” as well did he finally vanish.

It didn’t take long to reappear, but to his surprise, they were completely off-planet now.

Even the gravity was much different, as he could see the climbers floating around.

Nonetheless, he focused on the instructions.

<Solaris Tower – 7th Floor Balanced Mode: Sunforge Arena>

<Objective: Craft the specified item, or hone your abilities to the point where the rays of the Sun God shine down on you>

<Status: Started!>

Neraxis’s brows furrowed. The what now?

He wasn’t great at crafting, as the only experience he had was that one time with Aella.

But aside from that, his confusion was soon broken, as another being, similar to Heliara, descended—a golden halo on his head.

The being’s mana enveloped him, as well as the others, before he set everyone down, tying them to this planet’s gravity.

Unlike Heliara, this one was silent, merely waving his hand as a blueprint slowly descended to each group.

While it did, he waved his hand again, and some sort of makeshift crafting station appeared—seeming more advanced than Aella’s.

But as the blueprint finally fell into his hands, he realized it was a weapon he was pretty familiar with.

We’re making a scythe…?