The Return Of The Exiled Villain

Gray did not answer immediately.

He stood in front of Veronica’s tomb with his eyes lowered slightly, as if weighing the Saintess’s words with care.

The night breeze moved through the graveyard, stirring the ends of his black hair. To anyone watching, it looked as though he was seriously considering the offer.

The Saintess waited patiently.

She had expected hesitation.

An opportunity of this scale was not something a cultivator from the lower plane could accept or reject in a single breath.

Aurora, still standing behind her, glanced at Gray once before looking away again.

After a long moment, Gray raised his eyes.

”I refuse.”

His voice was calm and clear.

The Saintess continued speaking as if she had not fully registered the words.

”You do not need to decide tonight,” she said gently.

”The path I offer is not a small one. You may take time to think about what it would mean for your future, for your strength, and for the people around you. When you are ready, you only need to...”

She stopped.

Her silver eyes narrowed as the meaning of his earlier reply finally settled. The faint smile on her lips faded into something more thoughtful.

”...You refused...?”

For the first time since she had appeared, the Saintess looked genuinely taken aback. Her composed expression cracked.

She opened her mouth, closed it, then tried again.

”You... you are refusing the position of Divine Child? Do you understand what that means? The resources of the Upper Plane, personal guidance from me, protection that no force in this world can touch, cultivation materials that even Sovereigns would fight over, are you truly turning all of that down?”

Gray’s answer came without hesitation.

”Yes.”

The Saintess stared at him.

A faint flush of disbelief colored her usually calm face.

”I can open paths that would take others centuries to walk. I can place you under laws that accelerate your growth beyond anything this plane allows. I can shield the people you care about. I can...”

”No.”

”...give you techniques lost since the old wars. I can raise your foundation until the limits of the lower world no longer apply to you. I can...”

”I already said no.”

Her voice rose slightly despite herself.

”Why would you reject something so...”

She stopped mid-sentence.

The sharp edge in her tone vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

The Saintess closed her eyes for a brief moment, drew a quiet breath, and smoothed her expression back into its usual serene mask.

When she opened her eyes again, the shock was still present, but it was under control.

She lifted one hand and lightly scratched her own forehead.

”...What is the reason?” she asked at last.

Gray answered at once.

”We are simply not compatible. I’m naturally evil; you are naturally good. Evil and Good do not sync. They collide with each other.”

The Saintess recovered quickly.

”That difference does not matter,” she said. ”I would not limit your actions. As my Divine Child you would still...”

”I do not like being pried upon.”

Gray’s voice cut through her words cleanly.

The simple sentence made the Saintess stop talking at once. Her silver eyes narrowed slightly as she studied him in silence for a few seconds.

”...You actually know what being a Divine Child means?”

Gray nodded.

He lifted his hand and cracked his index finger in pure boredom.

”Yeah. And because of that, I know very well how my freedom is limited by the rules of being a Divine Child.”

He met her gaze without any change in expression.

”Hence why... I refuse.”

The Saintess’s fingers slowly curled into fists at her sides.

For a brief moment, her calm face disappeared, showing clear frustration. Then she let out a quiet sigh and forced her hands to relax.

”Very well,” she said.

”I won’t force the matter tonight.”

A small, shameless smile returned to her lips.

”But don’t think this is the end of it. I’ll come back sometime later to poach you again. Next time I might bring better terms... or simply more patience.”

Before Gray could reply, she raised one hand and tore a clean line through the air.

Crack!

Space cracked open like fragile glass.

Soft light spilled from the opening, and her figure dissolved into it without another word. The rift sealed behind her a second later, leaving only the quiet of the graveyard.

Aurora remained.

She stood still for a few seconds, then walked forward and gently wrapped her arms around Gray from behind.

Her face rested against the back of his shoulder, and her voice came out soft and a little guilty.

”...I’m sorry. I couldn’t exactly hide you from her. Once she decided to find you, there wasn’t much I could do.”

Gray shook his head lightly. His eyes stayed on the tombstone in front of him.

”Don’t worry about it.”

He paused, then added in the same calm tone,

”Can you give me some time alone?”

Aurora’s arms tightened for a moment.

A small pout formed on her lips, but she didn’t argue. She leaned in, pressed a quiet kiss to the side of his neck, and whispered,

”Alright. I’ll see you later.”

Her presence faded as she stepped back and left the graveyard, giving him the space he had asked for.

Gray was alone now.

He walked the last few steps to the tomb and stopped in front of it. The name Veronica Vireux was clear under the moonlight.

After a moment, he raised one hand and gently rested his fingers against the cold stone, tracing the letters once.

”Mother...”

Then he reached into his dimensional storage and took out the rapier he had always treasured.

It was the sword his mother had given him years ago.

He looked at it once, then gently drove the tip into the dirt at the base of the tomb.

The moment the blade sank into the ground, a faint ripple spread outward.

A translucent barrier rose around the grave and around him, sealing the space from the rest of the graveyard.

The air inside grew still.

From the surface of the tomb, soft light gathered and formed the ghostly figure of a woman.

She was gorgeous...

Long black hair that floated as if underwater, dark eyes that held both warmth and distance, and features that carried a clear resemblance to Gray.

Her form was slightly transparent, but the details of her face and clothes were sharp.

Gray’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’...I knew it. The mother who created a genius like me wouldn’t die so easily.’

The ghostly woman turned toward him and smiled.

”My little darling... I hope that you’re the one who’s watching this message. After all, the rapier that I’ve gifted you on your birthday was made by me, solely made for this kind of situation.”

She drifted a short distance above the ground, her long hair moving slowly behind her.

”Anyways... if you’re here, it means that I have presumably ’died’. You’ve probably figured out that my death was a complete lie. So now, I’m here to clear up some of the questions that you might have.”

Her voice was calm and clear, carrying the same gentle tone Gray faintly remembered from childhood.

”First of all, my family is from the Upper Planes, and that is the place I should currently be at this exact moment. The name of our family is still Vireux, and you’re a pureblood descendant since you came from me, the one who was going to inherit the family. Once you come to the Upper Plane, you’re probably going to be found by one of our butlers, and they are going to drag you to meet me.”

She paused briefly, as if giving him time to absorb the information.

”If you decide to actually inherit the family title, you’ll need to fight the other kids of the family, which is going to put you at a lot of a disadvantage since they have very high-grade techniques, resources... so, you’ll be granted a one-month period, which is very little, but I can’t exactly change the rules.”

”But if you decide not to inherit the title, you can continue your little adventure or things like that.”

The ghostly figure’s glow began to flicker faintly at the edges.

”Now... unfortunately, my time is ending, and so I’ll answer one more of your questions. Your body is special, Gray. It was blessed by the Abyss itself, not the BEINGS from the Abyss, but BY the Abyss itself.”

Her expression grew more serious.

”Because of that... you’re innately cursed to be prosecuted by the Heavens themselves, more specifically, the Heaven’s Sons and Daughters. They’ll hunt you down until you cannot breathe, so be careful, as they are extremely dangerous! Since they are blessed by the heavens, they are extremely lucky, can turn any kind of disastrous situation into an opportunity that enhances their strength... so you need to be extra careful!”

The figure stopped floating and drifted closer.

She raised one translucent hand and gently touched Gray’s cheek. He felt no pressure, only a faint coolness in the air where her fingers passed.

”I’ll be awaiting you... my little darling.”