The Return Of The Exiled Villain

In front of them, a straight corridor silently stood.

Gray’s eyes narrowed the instant he saw the straight, smooth corridor ahead.

”That’s... too perfect,” he muttered.

There were no runes, magic vibrations, or anything like that.

Lyra, however, only tilted her head.

”You’re always so paranoid,” she said, stepping forward before he could stop her.

”Lyra, wait!—”

Fwip!

Fwip!

Fwip!

Fwip!

”—shit!”

From both sides of the wall, countless arrows shot toward her in a deadly blur.

Her eyes widened.

Crackle, snap!

In an instant, golden lightning burst around her body, her figure flickering forward as she dodged through the barrage.

”AAAAH, this is insane!!” she shouted, bolts sparking wildly off her arms and legs as she zigzagged, sliding, ducking, jumping.

Each arrow narrowly missed, thudding into the wall behind her.

”Gray! What are you waiting for?!”

Gray stood at the entrance, hands in his pockets, watching with a faint, entertained smile.

”Come on, cheer me on or something!” she yelled as she dived through the final volley, flipping once and landing cleanly on the other side.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly, golden sparks still dancing across her skin. Then she turned, brushing her hair aside with a proud grin.

”See? Easy.”

”Very graceful,” Gray clapped once.

”Of course—”

”Now, could you do me a favor?”

”What?” Lyra blinked.

”Pick up one of those arrows,” he said calmly, ”and toss it into the air.”

She frowned but did as told, lightly throwing an arrow upward.

”[✧Swap✧],” Gray murmured.

In an instant, he vanished and reappeared right where the arrow had been, now standing casually beside her.

Lyra’s jaw dropped, and then she pointed a finger at him with a flushed face.

”Y-you... you lazy bastard!”

Gray’s lips curved into a sly grin as he stepped into the next chamber. The place was smaller than the last—bare walls, dim blue lights, and right in the center stood a stone pedestal with a small cube resting on top.

The cube shimmered faintly, its faces glowing in four different colors—red, blue, yellow, and green.

Lyra tilted her head, curious.

”What’s this supposed to be?” she asked, walking up beside him.

”No idea. Looks like a puzzle,” Gray crouched a little, staring at it.

He reached out to touch it, but paused when his eyes caught the tiny inscription engraved beside it. He leaned closer, reading aloud:

”’Solve the Rubik’s Cube. Each side must have only one color.’”

”Oh! So it’s one of those twisty things.” Lyra blinked.

”You know how to solve it?” Gray straightened up, expression flat.

”Of course!” she said proudly, snatching it from the pedestal.

”How hard can it be?”

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing, watching her twist and turn it with determination.

...

Thirty minutes later.

”ARGHHH! This stupid thing makes no sense!” Lyra shouted, tossing the cube to the floor before collapsing to her knees with a groan.

”It’s impossible!”

Gray picked it up, brushing the dust off.

”Maybe you’re overthinking it,” he said calmly, turning it in his hand as his eyes traced the patterns.

”Don’t tell me you actually think you can solve it?” Lyra glared.

Gray hummed softly, his grin slowly returning.

”Maybe.”

Lyra crossed her arms.

”Oh, please. You probably don’t even know how to start.”

”Wanna bet?” he asked, glancing at her with that teasing spark in his eyes.

Her expression brightened instantly. ”Fine! If you can’t solve it, you have to do whatever I say for an entire day.”

Gray chuckled.

”And if I win...” His eyes trailed over her, slowly, deliberately, from her damp hair down to the yellow swimsuit that still clung perfectly to her curves.

Lyra’s face went red in an instant.

”Don’t even—”

”You’ll let me touch your body,” Gray interrupted her smoothly, smirking. ”Five minutes. No complaints.”

”W-what kind of bet is that?!” she sputtered, hugging her arms around herself.

”The kind that keeps things interesting.”

Lyra bit her lip, glancing between him and the cube.

It really did seem impossible...

”Ugh, fine,” she muttered, glaring at him. ”But don’t come crying to me when you lose, pervert.”

Clack...

Gray spun the cube in his hand once, twice, his grin widening.

”We’ll see about that, Sunny Lyra.”

Gray turned the cube slowly in his hands, his expression calm, almost bored, while his fingers moved with small, deliberate motions.

”So,” he said softly, his tone almost like a teacher explaining a simple trick. ”You start by solving the white cross first. That’s the base.”

Lyra blinked.

”White... cross?”

”Mm-hmm.” He rotated one layer, aligning the colors perfectly in a single smooth motion.

”Then you match the corners. After that, the middle layer falls into place. See?”

She leaned closer, watching as the random mess of colors began to form clean lines and patterns.

Each twist made a soft clack that echoed faintly through the cave.

”W-wait, how are you doing that so fast?” Lyra stammered, her eyes widening in complete surprise at how effortlessly Gray was moving his hands.

Gray chuckled under his breath.

”Pattern recognition. Once you know the logic, it’s just muscle memory.”

”You make it sound easy!”

He didn’t reply, just kept twisting.

Red aligned with red. Blue aligned with blue. The cube was almost perfect now, colors neat and sharp under the dim light.

Lyra bit her lip, growing nervous.

”No way... he’s actually going to finish it—”

But then, she noticed something.

Two little squares, one on the red side and one on the blue, were still swapped.

”Hah! I told you! You messed it up!” she said triumphantly, pointing at it with a grin.

Gray’s smile didn’t fade as he simply tilted his head with his eyes still fixed on the cube.

”You sure?”

”Of course I’m su—”

Clack! Clack! Clack!

A few rapid twists later, the cube clicked into perfection.

Creeeak...

A soft grinding noise echoed through the chamber as a hidden stone door slowly opened on the far side of the room, revealing a dimly lit passage.

”Impossible...” Lyra froze.

Gray turned the solved cube in his hand, admiring the colors before tossing it lightly in the air and catching it again.

She snatched it from him immediately, turning it over and over, confirming each side—red, green, blue, yellow—all flawless.

Her cheeks flushed crimson as she looked up at him.

”You... actually did it.”

He leaned back lazily against the wall, his smirk deepening as Lyra froze in place, her fingers twitching nervously.

”So...” Gray’s voice was low, almost teasing, ”five minutes, right?”

Lyra’s heart skipped a beat.

”W-Wait, I-I was just joking earlier, you know?” she said quickly, taking a small step back.

Gray tilted his head, the faintest grin tugging at the corner of his lips.

”A deal’s a deal.”

Her cheeks flushed bright red.

”You, you’re such a pervert!” she shouted, but her voice cracked halfway.

”Maybe. But you still agreed.”

He took a slow step toward her.

”You should’ve known better than to challenge a trickster~”

Lyra bit her lip, torn between annoyance and embarrassment.

Her golden eyes darted to the cube, as if hoping it would magically undo itself and save her.

”I didn’t think you’d actually win...” she mumbled.

Gray crouched slightly so their eyes were level.

”You should stop underestimating me.”

She swallowed hard, her face heating even more.

”J-Just hurry up and get it over with...”

Gray smirked faintly, lifting his hand. His fingertips brushed against her arm, tracing upward as if following invisible lines across her skin.

Lyra flinched, her shoulders tensing.

”One...” she whispered, eyes averted.

Gray’s hand moved slowly, deliberately, over her shoulder, brushing a strand of her golden hair aside.

”You’re counting too fast,” he murmured.

”I-I’m not!” she snapped, trying to glare but failing as his fingers lightly grazed the side of her neck, the warmth of his touch sending a small shiver through her body.

”Two...” she muttered, forcing herself to breathe steadily.

Gray’s touch drifted down her back, brief and teasing, as if testing her reactions more than anything.

”You really hate losing, don’t you?” he said with a lazy grin.

”Three...” she hissed, cheeks burning red as she tried to stay still.

He brushed a finger under her chin, lifting her face just a little so their eyes met.

”Four.”

Then, suddenly, his hands shifted, one brushing across her shoulder, the other pressing lightly against her waist as he steadied her.

The unexpected touch made Lyra yelp, her face turning crimson.

”H-Hey!” she stammered, glaring at him, though her voice came out shaky.

But Gray didn’t stop as his hand brushed lower, one of them finally landing on her peach-like ass, causing her to let out a small groan.

”Hagh~”

Her eyes went entirely red as she tried to cover her mouth, but Gray gently slid her hand away, locking it behind his neck.

Then, his other hand snaked towards the nape of her neck, slowly descending until it finally reached her bosom, which was much bigger than he had thought before.

”G-gray...” her face flushed, breathing into his shoulder as Gray’s palm finally landed on her left breast.

Squeeze~

”Agn~”

He finally squeezed it, causing her to let out a moan. Lyra’s heart thumped loudly in her chest.

It was so loud that Lyra thought that Gray could hear it.

Slowly, her body started to get heated up as Gray continued playing with both her ass and left breast for the rest of the minute.

And then, his hand stopped just before the last second passed.

”Five...”

Gray uttered as he stepped back, chuckling softly.

”See? That wasn’t so bad.”

Lyra glared at him, flustered beyond words.

”Y-You’re the worst...”