The Return Of The Exiled Villain

Ethan was the first to move, his spear flashing like silver lightning.

CLANG!

Gray slid his rapier up and knocked the spear to the side, but the force still rattled his arm. Ethan didn’t stop; he spun his weapon and stabbed again.

”First Form, Cloud Seeking Thrust!” Ethan roared.

His body blurred, almost like mist, and the spear disappeared from Gray’s sight.

”Shit!” Gray ducked just in time, the spear reappearing right in front of his face.

He kicked low at Ethan’s legs, but...

”Predictable!” Ethan jumped high, flipping the spear and slamming it down like a hammer.

BAAM!

The ground shook, a wave of dust kicking up around them. Gray instantly leapt back, his boots sliding on the cracked floor, his eyes calmly analyzing Ethan’s next move.

Ethan charged again, his spear stabbing over and over, each strike faster than the last.

CLANG!

Gray parried the blows slowly, his rapier ringing with every hit, but slowly, cuts started appearing on his body.

Ethan was much faster than Gray...

Splurt!

A slash across his shoulder, a stab that grazed his ribs, another cut along his thigh.

”Hah... hah...”

”You’re nothing!” Ethan yelled, thrusting the spear straight at Gray’s chest.

Gray twisted aside at the last second, feeling the tip rip his coat. He tried to stab back, but Ethan knocked the rapier away and smashed his shoulder into Gray’s chest.

THUD!

”Urghk!” Gray coughed blood, stumbling back.

The crowd cheered louder.

”End it, Ethan!” someone shouted.

As if fueled by the crowd, Ethan grinned wider, spinning his spear.

”Second Form, Piercing Gale!”

The spear shot forward like a bullet. Gray barely raised his rapier in time.

CLANG!

The shock blasted up his arm, his wrist going numb.

Another thrust came, then another.

”Gahh—!” Gray hissed as the spear tip dug across his side, blood spraying.

He was on the ropes, barely holding on. His body screamed in pain, and every swing of Ethan’s spear was like a hammer.

’...Fuck, am I this weak without using my skills?’ Gray cursed inwardly.

Just like Jasmine had mentioned, he had really become dependent on his skills to the point that he even forgot how to wield a sword.

’However...’ His lips slowly curled up dangerously.

’I guess this is enough to test my new skill...’

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[Passive Skill: Combat Intuition]

Level: MAX

Type: Combat / Comprehension

Effect: Grants the user the ability to instinctively read and predict any opponent’s movements, regardless of their realm, experience, or magical power. The user perceives combat flow as if seeing the future, allowing near-perfect counters, preemptive strikes, and precise timing in any situation.

Additional Traits: Heightens the body’s reaction speed to superhuman levels during battle.

— Reveals hidden weaknesses and patterns in the opponent’s technique.

— Allows subtle manipulation of the battlefield through the prediction of enemy movements.

— Awakens latent combat potential in extreme situations, adapting instinctively to unforeseen attacks.

— The skill slowly activates during the fight...

——+——+——+——

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Looking at Ethan’s figure, Gray’s eyes curled in excitement.

For the briefest moment, he saw it.

The way Ethan’s body leaned, the twitch of his wrist, the faint shift of his feet. He knew where the spear was going to stab before it even moved.

WHOOSH!

Following the trajectory, Gray slid sideways, the spear missing his chest by a breath. Then, his rapier flicked up, catching the follow-up strike.

CLANG!

”...What?” Ethan muttered, shocked at the flawless reaction.

Gray’s lips curled wider, licking his lips. The next strike came, and again, his body moved without hesitation, his rapier already waiting.

TING!

The spear was knocked aside.

”...Kekeke~” Gray laughed under his breath, blood dripping from his chin. His hypnotic black eyes glowed faintly.

”I get it now.”

Ethan snarled, clenching his teeth at his words.

”Don’t get cocky! You think you can stop this?!”

He spun his spear and slammed the butt into the ground.

”First Form—Cloud Seeking Thrust!”

The spear lunged forward, a blur of silver faster than most eyes could follow. Ethan’s body seemed to dissolve into mist, his presence vanishing with the thrust.

For an instant, it looked as though he had disappeared altogether.

The crowd gasped, struggling to follow.

”Too fast!” someone shouted.

But Gray didn’t blink.

His eyes calmly traced Ethan’s movements as if they were written on paper. He saw the twitch in his shoulder, the shift of weight in his heel, and how he would swing it.

Gray tilted his head to the side.

The spear hissed past his cheek, a razor wind cutting his skin. A single crimson line formed across his face, but his grin only widened.

”That again? I’ve already analyzed it,” he whispered, loud enough for Ethan to hear.

His rapier rose in a smooth ascendant arc, intercepting the follow-up strike with a clear metallic chime.

CLANG!

The shock jolted Ethan’s arms, his eyes widening in pure shock.

He really saw through it?

Gray slid his weapon down the shaft of the spear and pushed it aside, effortlessly, as if brushing away a curtain.

He leaned close, his breath warm on Ethan’s ear, whispering like a phantom.

”One.”

The crowd erupted in disbelief.

”No way... did Gray see through Cloud Seeking Thrust?!”

”He blocked it like nothing!”

Ethan clicked his tongue, retreating a step, but the tremor in his hands betrayed him. His first and fastest strike had failed, unlike the first time, and Gray’s words, along with his mocking smile, told him it wasn’t luck.

Gray licked blood from the corner of his lip, his eyes burning darker and hungrier.

”Try again. Show me more.”

Ethan’s jaw tightened at his words, veins standing out in his neck.

Swish!

He spun his spear with a furious flourish, the metal shaft humming as the point blurred into a storm of silver.

”Don’t get arrogant, bastard! Second Form—Piercing Gale!”

The spear exploded forward in a barrage of thrusts, each one faster than the last.

To the untrained eye, it looked like dozens of points at once, a relentless storm hammering toward Gray’s chest, throat, and heart.

Every strike carried a murderous intent, each meant to end the duel in one decisive flurry.

The audience roared, straining to follow the blinding rhythm.

”Too fast! He’ll never block them all!”

”This is the end for Gray; no one escapes Ethan’s Gale!”

’...This is so easy,’ Gray thought inwardly.

That skill... just like Jasmine said, it was truly a cheat.

Clang!

Clang, snap!

Each thrust was deflected at the perfect angle, Gray’s blade already waiting where the spear was about to be.

He stepped back half a pace, tilted his head a hair’s breadth, and leaned just enough to let the killing edge scrape harmlessly past.

Swip!

The air hissed around him, the tip of the spear carving through space where his flesh had been an instant earlier.

Yet his movements were so smooth, so inevitable, that it felt less like evasion and more like inevitability.

Ethan’s teeth ground together.

”Impossible...!”

Gray chuckled, his lips curling into that devilish grin.

”Two.”

Then, taking the opportunity of Ethan’s carelessness, he swung his rapier forward like a serpent striking through the storm.

Shhhk!

The thin blade kissed Ethan’s arm, drawing a crimson line from shoulder to forearm.

”Gh—!” Ethan hissed, stumbling half a step back.

Blood dripped down his sleeve.

The crowd erupted in disbelief.

”He cut him in the middle of Piercing Gale?!”

”That’s not possible!”

Gray tilted his head with a faint smile.

”Told you... It won’t work a second time.”

His eyes never left Ethan’s.

”You twitch before every thrust. You lean before every strike. If this were a real battle... you’d already be dead before you even took a single step.”

Crack...

Ethan’s knuckles whitened around the shaft of his spear. Rage burned through his veins, hotter with every heartbeat.

Gray licked more blood from his lip, grinning wider.

”What’s next? Don’t disappoint me.”

”Fuck... you damn bastard!”

Ethan’s breathing came out in sharp bursts, chest heaving, sweat and blood mixing on his face.

His first two forms had failed to land a decisive strike, and the realization was twisting his rage into something dangerous.

”Third Form—Sweeping Tempest!” he roared, spinning the spear in a wide, horizontal arc.

The motion was a violent sweep, intended to knock Gray off his feet or cut him in half!

Dust from the cracked arena floor erupted into the air, swirling around them like a miniature sandstorm.

The crowd leapt to their feet, shielding their eyes as the storm of dust and light from the spear’s arc enveloped the combatants.

Surprisingly... Gray crouched low, feeling the gust cut through his clothes.

The ground trembled under the force, but he moved as if the storm was nothing more than a gentle breeze.

His rapier traced elegant arcs, meeting the spear at the exact angles necessary to guide the blade aside without exposing himself to the force.

Clang, clang!

The noise was deafening.

Sparks flew from every collision, showering the floor.

”What... how...?” Ethan’s eyes widened, and even his mouth opened slighly in surprise.

After all, Gray’s rapier had met his spear during angles where the mana was still gathering around his spear, making it much weaker than normal.

That was the one flaw of his technique... and Gray had completely read through it, causing Ethan to clench his spear tightly in rage.

Not to mention that Gray’s response to his question was a simple grin.

”Three.”