The Return Of The Exiled Villain

[Gray...]

’...Mhm?’

Gray’s hand paused halfway to his mouth.

He stopped picking at the food on his plate the moment her voice reached him. He had already finished dancing with Gloria and had no intention of stepping back onto the floor.

He didn’t even dance a second set with her because he thought that maybe... it could be useful for something else.

’Is someone with divinity close by?’ he asked straight away, setting the plate down on a nearby table, and rolling his wrists slowly, loosening them lightly.

[No... not exactly... but strangely, there’s a very faint amount of Nether Energy.]

Gray’s eyebrows furrowed slighly at her words.

Nether Energy was the absolute opposite of Divinity.

Where divinity purified and restored, Nether Energy corrupted and erased. It was an energy only demons could wield properly, and even by then, it was feared.

Anything touched by it was damaged at its core.

For example, if an arm was destroyed by Nether Energy, no spell, no matter how advanced it was, would be able to restore it.

Flesh, bone, even existence itself would be denied. Only divinity could undo that kind of damage, because the two were perfect opposites.

’Nether energy...? Is there a demon nearby...?’ he wondered as he took a quick glance around his surroundings.

Even with his extreme sensing ability, he couldn’t feel anything wrong about the nobles around.

[It doesn’t seem to be coming from someone, but rather some kind of object. I’ll need you to walk closer to it, though.]

’What direction?’ he asked without hesitation.

[Gray... are you sure you want to approach it? If that energy seeps into you, you could be permanently injured... maybe even crippled.]

Jasmine warned him, but Gray shrugged it aside.

’If my theory is right, gods can convert Nether Energy into divinity,’ he replied inwardly.

’That would be extremely useful to you.’

[I know, but the risks are extremely high...]

’Don’t I have you to heal me afterwards? I don’t mind if I lose a limb or two in the process.’ He added nonchalantly.

Jasmine fell silent at his confident words.

However... a strange and deep sense of security reached out to her chest.

She didn’t have a soul contract with him as she did with the other Gray, yet this one placed his complete trust in her, even if they didn’t interact much.

Unlike the other Gray, who in the special room of the dungeon from three days ago, was a little distrustful of her when she told him that he could die and wouldn’t really die.

[...Head to your right for now, just get close to that pillar and lean wherever you want.]

Gray nodded slighly to her words, and picked up his plate again, stuffing a little more of the food into it before turning and heading closer to the pillar.

His movements were extremely normal, so no one would be able to suspect him.

Which they probably wouldn’t, since most of the nobles were far too busy laughing, gossiping, or sneaking glances at their female partners to care about a lone man drifting to the side of the hall.

Upon reaching the pillar, he leaned against it casually.

One foot crossed slightly over the other, the heel resting against the stone as he faced the center of the ballroom.

’So?’

[It’s on one of those candles by the stairway, and it actually contains a lot of Nether Energy, enough for a low-tier demon to be awakened.]

’...Then it was most likely placed by a mid-tier demon, at the very least.’

[Not necessarily because even a low-tier demon can...]

’I know, Jasmine...’ Gray interrupted her words calmly.

’If the low-tier uses himself as a medium, he’ll be able to summon another low-tier demon in his stead. However, the only reason I think that this is the work of a mid-tier demon or above is because its an actual normal object, and not even an artifact.’

[Oh... I didn’t expect you to know so much about demonology.]

’I know about almost everything that is included in the Main Library of our kingdom. I just couldn’t read the books from the uppermost floor that were only accessible by a handful of people like the King, the Pope, and the Grand Councillor....’

[...Oh my.]

Jasmine was taken aback by his words.

Reading a few restricted tomes was impressive... however, reading nearly the entire Main Library of the kingdom was something else entirely.

’I have always thought that information is power, which is why I prepared myself to gain knowledge about every single area.’

[You’re too cautious...]

’Not really...’

His eyes landed on the candles for a moment before he asked inwardly.

’How can I make you absorb the Nether Energy directly from the candle?’ he took a small piece of fruit and stuffed it into his mouth.

[...Direct contract should be the only way since I can’t manifest a Soul Body until I reach a certain amount of divinity.]

’Direct contact, huh...?’

Gray placed his plate on a nearby table, and then, without any hesitation, he began walking toward Gloria, who stood conveniently close to the stairway.

Beside her, a tall golden trident held several candles aloft, their flames casting soft light over the marble steps.

’Is it the middle candle?’

[No... the left one.]

’Alright...’

He pinched his lips slighly, and then, a small and naturally-looking smile appeared on his lips as he reached Gloria’s side.

”My lady,” he knelt on one knee.

”May I have the honor of having the second set with you?”

He looked straight at her golden eyes, seeing him act like this made him quite surprised. Nonetheless, she smiled and gently took his hand.

”Gladly.”

Hearing her words, Gray smiled as he gently turned to lead her to the dance floor, but at that moment, his lips showed a cold smile as the hand behind his back slowly lifted... barely touching the left candle for a brief moment.

’...This kind of pain is quite mediocre. I have suffered the worst.’

Instantly, a sharp burning sensation tore through his right hand, violent and invasive, as if something was trying to eat its way inside him, but he ignored the pain and simply let Jasmine do her job.

[Phew... just in time, I barely managed to heal you with divinity.]

A moment later, Jasmine sighed in relief.

This made Gray smile lightly as a warmth spread through his hand, the pain fading as quickly as it had appeared.

The skin felt renewed, alive in a way it hadn’t been before. Then, he placed that same hand on Gloria’s waist while his other held her delicate fingers.

The music flowed gently through the hall.

As the man, Gray, slowly led Gloria moving forward and then to the side before spinning her lightly, interlacing their fingers, and taking a step back.

It was one of the most basic noble dances.

Glora followed his lead easily as she couldn’t help but smile lightly at how natural they felt. Even while dancing with the king, he didn’t give her this feeling.

”I realized it from our first dance... but you really dance much better than I expected,” she whispered to his ear the moment their bodies closed up.

”I learned what was necessary,” Gray replied.

She smiled at that and leaned a little closer as they stepped inward again.

Necessary meant a lot, coming from him.

They turned together. Gray guided her gently, rotating her under his arm before pulling her back into place.

It’s almost like they had practiced this dance a lot of times.

But one thing that shocked her was how calm Gray was acting, and how he was only looking at her in the eyes.

Around them, other couples danced as well, but unlike Gray, they all looked around or didn’t exactly focus on their partner, just like Gray did.

Even the King didn’t focus only on her while they were dancing.

However, the moment he spun her, causing her back to be pressed against his chest while they slowly swayed from side-to-side, Gray finally had the time to look for anything more that looked suspicious.

His eyes scanned the room once more, briefly passing over the stairway where the candle had been.

Nothing looked out of place, except for the flame of the candle that seemed to almost disappear.

’Good. Jasmine, warn me if you feel anything else.’

[Sure.]

Rustle...

Their clothes brushed against each other as Gray spun Gloria back to his arms, adjusting his free hand to her waist, and interlacing his fingers with hers the moment she faced him.

They continued to move, step after step, the rhythm staying calm.

And just like that, the dance came to an end. Gray loosened his hold and stepped back into proper distance, bowing his head just enough to be polite.

”Thank you for the dance,” Gloria said.

”Mm.”

Once again, they headed into one of the catering corners. But just at that moment, the scent of blood seeped into Gray’s nostrils.

’Jasmine...’

[...Fifteen people, most of whom are at the peak of the King Realm, and there are two at the Early Saint Realm.]

’...Gloria should be able to take care of them alone... as long as there aren’t any kind of arrays nearby,’ Gray thought.

He didn’t warn Gloria because she was strong enough to kill them with a wave of her finger.

[Wait... Gray, we have a problem...]

’What?’

[The candle was not just a regular medium, but also... one of the three inner parts of a prison array.]

Gray’s eyes went cold in an instant.

’What grade?’

[Early Sovereign ... but without that candle... it might have downgraded to the peak of the Emperor Realm.]

’Tsk...’ Gray clicked his tongue.

’Then... at most they can imprison both Gloria and my sister for thirty minutes, and judging by the nobles... only Evelyn has the power to survive against the attackers. That is, if she also isn’t caught by the array.’

[Be careful...]

With one last warning coming from Jasmine, Gray pushed his sleeves back slighly.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

And just as he did... an explosion occurred just on the otherside of the ballroom.