The Return Of The Exiled Villain

”....”

Gray remained silent as the ghostly figure dissipated.

”Status.”

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[———✵ Status Panel ✵———]

Name: Gray Vireux D’Aurélion

Titles: Vessel of Beauty & Destruction, Exiled Noble, Incubus In Human Form, High-level Demon Hunter [NEW!!!], Abyss’s Chosen [NEW!!!]

Race: Human (???)

Class: ✯ Villain ✯

Rank: Early Saint Realm [PERFECTED]

Divine Abilities: ✵Law of Seduction✵

Unique Skill: [✧Swap✧]

Unique Talent: Nullification [1210/6109]

Innate Blessing: [♛ — ✧Crown of the Abyss✧ — ♛]

Active Skills: Soul Chasing Extremities [Perfected], Nine Illusionary Dream Steps [Transm???], Spirit Eyes [Peak Saint (99%)], Nine Heavens Thunder Claw [Great GrandMaster (Perfected)]

Passive Skills: High Mana Recovery, Parallel Mana Processing, Heightened Senses, Sinful Mind [Class], Villain’s Presence [Class], Cruel Instinct [Class], Shadow of Sin [Class]

Equipment: Demon Converging Gourd (Godly), Phantom Loop Earrings (Godly), Unnamed Rapier (High Emperor), Ring of Gluttony (Early Saint), Transcendent Robe (Intermediate King), 2x Enchanted Demon Hunting Daggers (Early King)

Dimensional Storage: 15x Bottles of Bloodvein Poison, 29x Smoke Bombs, 1x Golden-Plated Needlebox, 1.090x Platinum Coins, 194x Gold Coins, 98x Silver Coins, 340x Copper Coins

Sword Spirit: Atrinae (Nine-Colored Attributeless Snake • Intermediate Saint Realm [93%])

Bonded Spirit: Seria (Crimson Lightning Dragon • Above The Monarch Realm)

Personal Artifact: Demon-Hunting Book [Early Saint Realm • 40% Boost]

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Gray’s eyes moved across the panel.

The new title stood out immediately.

Abyss’s Chosen.

He had expected something after his mother’s message, but seeing it written so clearly still made him pause.

Right below his name, his race no longer read simply ”Human”, and now, there were three question marks instead.

He dismissed the panel and looked down at the rapier still standing in the dirt.

The seal was gone.

What had always been a sealed weapon now carried the clear grade of a High Emperor artifact.

Gray pulled it free from the ground and turned it over in his hand.

On the handle, near where his fingers usually rested, a mark that had never been visible before now showed clearly under the moonlight.

A faint loop, elegant and precise, with the letter V engraved at its center.

An Emperor’s Mark.

Gray’s thumb brushed across the engraving.

”Veronica... huh?”

There was no longer any doubt. The rapier he had used all this time had been forged by his mother herself.

’...Atrinae is already close to a breakthrough?’

Gray fell into thought again.

’I still need to upgrade her bloodline, but the requirements are very strict since I can’t exactly find a place with the pure energy of all elements...’

”Tsk...”

Gray clicked his tongue before walking away from the graveyard. He had no more business in this place, and didn’t even know why he walked into it.

Most people would assume that this was fate...

Except Gray.

’...I don’t like this at all.’

His eyes remained cold as he returned to the hotel and quietly entered the room.

Lyra was still asleep on the bed, breathing softly, her half-blonde hair spread across the pillow.

The room was dim and quiet.

Gray stood beside the bed for a long moment, simply looking at her.

Without any change in expression, his hand suddenly shot forward and closed around the air just above her neck, fingers already shaped as if he meant to tighten them.

He held the position for a second.

Then, slowly, he drew his hand back.

The shift in the air was enough. Lyra stirred, her eyebrows knitting slightly as her eyes fluttered open.

Still half-asleep, she looked up at him.

Gray’s hand changed course without hesitation.

Instead of pulling away completely, he brought it to her cheek and stroked it gently with his thumb, as if that had been his intention from the start.

Lyra’s eyes opened fully, still heavy with sleep.

When she saw Gray standing beside the bed, a slow, lazy smile spread across her face.

”Mhmmm~~”

She stretched her arms above her head with a soft, contented sound, the blanket slipping down a little as she did.

Then she pouted, cheeks still warm from sleep, and reached both hands toward him.

”Hug...”

Her voice was quiet and slightly rough from sleep, the single word carrying a clear, spoiled demand.

Gray looked at her for a second, then sat on the edge of the bed.

The moment he was close enough, Lyra pulled him down without hesitation.

Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she buried her face against his chest, nuzzling in like she had been waiting for this exact position the entire time he was gone.

”You’re warm,” she mumbled against his shirt.

”Don’t move.”

Gray adjusted so he was lying on his side, letting her settle against him properly.

One of his arms slid around her waist while the other rested along her back.

”Heh~”

Lyra made a small, pleased sound and pressed even closer, her half-blonde hair spilling across his arm and the pillow.

For a while neither of them spoke.

The room stayed quiet except for the soft sound of her breathing. Lyra’s fingers idly traced small patterns on his chest, moving slowly, as if she was still half-dreaming.

”You left,” she said after a few minutes.

Her voice sounded extremely sleepy.

”I woke up once, and you weren’t here. I almost got up to look for you... but the bed was too comfortable.”

”I went for a walk.”

”Mm.” She accepted the answer without pressing.

Her face rubbed lightly against his chest again.

”Next time take me with you. Even if it’s late. I don’t like waking up alone.”

Gray’s hand moved in slow strokes along her back.

Lyra melted further into him at the touch, her body going soft and heavy with contentment. She shifted one leg, so it rested over his, locking him in place in the gentlest way possible.

”You’re staying until morning, right?” she asked, already sounding like she knew the answer but still wanted to hear it.

”Yes.”

”Good.”

A small, satisfied smile curved her lips even though he couldn’t fully see it.

”I’m leaving tomorrow... so tonight you have to stay close. No more walking around without me.”

She tilted her head up after a moment, looking at him with half-lidded eyes.

The usual sharpness she carried when fully awake was completely gone. What remained was soft, a little clingy, and openly affectionate.

”Kiss?”

Gray leaned down and gave her a slow kiss.

Lyra returned it lazily, her lips warm and unhurried, one hand sliding up to rest against the side of his neck.

When they parted, she stayed close, noses almost touching, and let out a quiet breath that sounded almost like a laugh.

”You’re nicer when I’m sleepy,” she whispered.

”Or maybe I’m just more honest right now.”

She settled back against his chest, clearly deciding that talking was becoming too much effort.

Her arms tightened around him once more, and she let her eyes close again, though she wasn’t fully asleep yet.

Every now and then she would press a small kiss to whatever part of him was closest, his collarbone, the side of his jaw, the fabric over his heart, before going still again.

Gray continued the slow movement of his hand along her back.

Lyra responded with tiny, contented sounds each time his fingers passed a spot she liked.

The city outside remained quiet.

Inside the room, there was only the warmth between them and the steady rhythm of her breathing as it gradually grew deeper.

”Gray,” she murmured after a long stretch of silence, voice barely audible.

”Hm?”

”Don’t forget me when I leave.”

”I won’t.”

She nodded against him, as if that single answer was all she needed.

A short while later, Lyra’s breathing finally evened out completely.

Her grip on his shirt loosened just a little, though she still kept her face pressed against his chest.

She had fallen fully asleep.

Gray remained still for a time, then slowly turned his eyes toward the ceiling.

The room was dark except for the faint light that slipped in through the curtains.

He stared upward without really seeing anything, thoughts turning over one after another in silence.

The warmth of her body against him felt ordinary. Familiar... yet the information from his mother’s message still circled through his mind.

Heaven’s Sons and Daughters.

’Jasmine.’

[I’m here...]

Gray’s voice stayed quiet even inside his own thoughts.

”Should I kill her?”

There was a brief pause.

Jasmine did not sound startled or surprised at his question.

[So... you’ve realized the identity of your lover, huh?]

’Yeah... she’s definitely a Heaven’s Chosen.’

[Unfortunately, I cannot deny that.]

Gray’s gaze remained fixed on the ceiling.

Lyra shifted slightly in her sleep, letting out a soft breath before settling again. His arm was still around her as he didn’t move a single muscle.

[Most people in your position would have already decided.]

Jasmine continued.

[The moment they learned someone close to them belonged to the opposite side, they would treat it as a future threat. You’re only asking now.]

’I’m asking because it matters.’

[And if I say yes?]

Gray did not answer immediately.

He really was troubled by this.

And the fact that a lot of Dante’s memories were sealed off just complicated the situation even more.