The Return Of The Exiled Villain-Chapter 196: Dante Vs Gray

"It’s time..."

The moment he opened his eyes, Gray found himself standing in a completely clear world.

Beneath his feet stretched an endless, flat surface of water, yet firm enough that it refused to let him sink, no matter how much weight he put on it.

Above him, the sky was vast and fully blue, so clear it almost hurt to look at, not a single cloud or stain disturbing its purity.

"...Is this Gray’s inner world?" he muttered to himself.

Phew~

A strong wind suddenly swept across the open space, brushing harshly against his face and tugging at his clothes.

At the same time, something inside his mind cracked open, and a violent surge of memories flooded in without warning.

Memories... of another life.

Memories of a man called... Dante.

"Ugh..." He grabbed his head tightly, fingers digging into his hair as he tried to hold everything together.

Images, emotions, and experiences that weren’t his own collided inside his mind, stacking on top of each other until a dull, spreading pain throbbed through his skull.

Time lost its meaning as he stood there, forcing himself to endure it.

It took more than five long minutes before the memories finally settled, sinking deep into his mind as if they had always been there.

Only then did he understand.

"So... I transmigrated into Gray’s body," he said slowly, breathing out. "And now I have to fight him to take full control... If this really is a mental world..."

His eyes sharpened slighly, gaining a hint of coldness.

"I have absolute confidence in winning!"

Swoooshhh! 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The wind surged again, stronger than before, rippling the water beneath his feet. And then Dante noticed someone standing not far away.

He had black hair and pure black eyes, one of a kind.

However... something was unsettling about that handsome man. His eyes were empty, dull, completely void of emotion, as if nothing in this world could ever move him.

"... Your memories are quite interesting, Dante."

Gray’s voice suddenly reached out to Dante’s ears, causing him to frown slighly. And at that moment, Dante realized that Gray was actually holding something...

A black rose.

He slowly turned to Dante, having that same cold and emotionless expression.

"To think I’d be the creation of someone who was merely human, and yet the small things he wrote carried such power..."

He lifted the black rose and tossed it into the air. It spun slowly, swaying for a brief moment before breaking apart, its petals blooming outward in an almost silent burst.

Swish!

The black petals flowed around Gray’s body like a living current, circling him again and again.

He extended his hand forward, and the petals gathered tightly, forming into the shape of a sword, its blade dark and sharp, made entirely of black petals pressed together.

Gray grasped it firmly.

"Come on, now... kill the final boss you worked so hard to create."

He raised the sword and pointed it directly at Dante’s neck, the tip hovering just inches away.

Dante met Gray’s gaze without flinching, then slowly curved his lips into a cold smirk.

"Don’t worry, I will."

Fwooop!

A pure white aura burst out from his body, spreading outward like a sudden tide before wrapping tightly around him.

The air screamed as streams of wind gathered into his palm, condensing and hardening until a sword formed in his grasp, its blade humming with violent pressure.

"....Authority of Everything."

Fwish!

"Erase."

Dante muttered the word without emotion, thrusting his sword toward Gray as if passing judgment itself. Yet, despite the overwhelming force behind it, nothing happened.

Gray remained completely untouched.

"...You..."

Dante’s eyes widened slightly, disbelief flashing across his face, and Gray looked back at him calmly, almost with disappointment.

"This is a sword battle," Gray said evenly. "Two human bodies facing each other. You may use any skill related to swordsmanship or body enhancement."

His eyes sharpened.

"But I will not allow anything beyond that."

His words fell like an unbreakable rule.

"A sacred duel, huh..." Dante muttered under his breath.

After a brief pause, he nodded slightly, accepting it.

The white aura around his body compressed inward, thickening and solidifying until it formed a faint outer layer, like invisible armor clinging to his skin.

"Nine Sacred Swords! Sword of Annihilation!"

Fwip!

The moment he swung his blade, it expanded violently, the wind screaming as the sword grew to nearly fifty meters in length, crashing downward toward Gray’s position with crushing force.

And in that instant, Gray moved.

"Shadowless Sword Art..."

His figure blurred, vanishing from sight.

"Existence."

CLAAAAANG!

The impact sent a violent shock through the air.

The giant blade of wind shattered apart the moment it met Gray’s sword, exploding into countless sharp gusts that screamed as they were pushed away.

Waves rolled across the water beneath them, spreading outward in wide circles.

Dante was the first to react.

He stepped forward hard, crushing the water under his foot, and swung his sword sideways at Gray’s waist.

FWOOOSH!

Gray twisted his body at the last second, the blade missing him by a breath.

He slid past Dante, his feet barely touching the surface, and answered with a fast strike aimed at Dante’s neck.

CLANG!

Steel met wind again as sparks burst out as the two swords collided, the sound sharp and violent.

Dante gritted his teeth and pushed forward, forcing Gray back with pure strength.

"You’re slower than I expected," Dante said coldly.

Gray didn’t reply.

He pulled his sword back and suddenly stepped in close, driving his shoulder into Dante’s chest.

BOOM!

The hit landed cleanly.

Dante was sent flying backward, skimming across the water for dozens of meters, leaving a deep trail behind him.

He dug his foot down hard and stopped himself, water splashing high into the air.

Before he could breathe....

FWIP!

Gray was already there, his fist shooting forward, aimed straight at Dante’s face.

THUD!

Dante barely managed to raise his arm in time.

The punch slammed into his forearm, and the force exploded through his body. His bones screamed as he was pushed back again, his feet cutting deep lines into the water.

"Damn!"

Dante clenched his teeth and swung his sword upward in a wide arc.

FWOOM!

A wall of compressed wind roared forward, tearing the surface apart like paper.

Gray jumped.

He flipped over the attack, twisted his body in midair, and came down hard with his sword raised above his head.

SLAAASH!

Dante blocked with both hands on his sword.

CRAAAAACK!

The impact drove him straight down. The water beneath him collapsed inward as if hit by a falling mountain, forming a massive crater.

BOOOOM!

The shockwave blasted outward, the sky itself trembling as the surface exploded into mist.

Gray didn’t waste a single second and dropped into the crater and slammed his knee into Dante’s stomach.

THUD!

Air burst from Dante’s mouth. His body bent forward, and Gray followed immediately, smashing his elbow down onto Dante’s back.

BAM!

Dante was forced face-first into the water.

SPLASH!

But even then, he didn’t stay down.

"FUUUUUUUUUCK!"

With a roar, Dante twisted his body and kicked upward.

WHAM!

His heel caught Gray under the chin. Gray’s head snapped back, and he was thrown upward into the air.

Dante jumped after him.

FWOOOSH!

He appeared above Gray and punched downward with both fists locked together.

BOOOOM!

Gray crossed his arms just in time.

Splash!

The hit sent him crashing down like a meteor, slamming into the water and sinking deep below the surface.

The surface closed above him, shaking hard as waves spread in every direction. For a brief moment, only silence remained.

Then Dante moved, lifting his sword and spreading his arms wide.

FWOOOOOM!

The white aura around his body exploded outward, rising high into the sky like a burning storm.

The air twisted, screamed, and bent under his will.

"Divine Sword Domain."

The space above the water trembled.

Fwip, fwip, fwip!

One sword appeared.

Then ten, and soon... tens of thousands.

Blades of pure light, wind, and pressure formed in the sky, all pointing downward. Each sword hummed with killing force, shaking the world just by existing.

Dante clenched his fist.

"Fall."

FWOOOOOSH!

The swords rained down like judgment.

CRASH! CLANG! BOOOOM!

They struck the water again and again, piercing through it, exploding on impact, tearing the surface apart as if it were paper.

Massive pillars of water shot into the sky, while deep holes were carved straight down into the endless plane.

More swords formed, but even while they did, Dante didn’t stop.

"Sacred Sword Style!"

He swung his blade forward.

"Endless Execution!"

FWOOOOOOOOOM!

The swords moved at once, stabbing, slashing, spinning, cutting in every direction.

The water was shredded, the air screamed nonstop, and the sky shook as if it were about to crack.

Still, Dante wasn’t satisfied.

His eyes burned with killing intent.

"Blessing of the Sword God."

The moment the words left his mouth, the world froze.

FWOOOOOM...

A heavy pressure descended.

The swords in the sky changed.

Their edges sharpened further, turning so thin they were almost invisible. The space around them split open in thin lines, unable to handle their sharpness.

"This blade cuts through anything," he muttered, raising his sword high.

He brought it down.

SLAAAAAAAAASH!!!

The blessing surged forward, joining the storm of swords.

The attack swallowed everything below, erasing water, air, and space itself. The impact roared louder than thunder, louder than anything before.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The entire inner world shook violently. The water was blown away completely, leaving only mist and broken waves drifting in the air.

Seconds passed.

Slowly... the water began to fall back down.

Drip.

Splash.

The mist cleared, and there...

Gray stood.

His body was covered in wounds. Deep cuts ran across his arms, chest, and legs. Blood flowed freely, dripping down and staining the water beneath his feet.

Yet he stood completely still.

His breathing was calm as he wasn’t gasping or shaking at all. His sword hung loosely at his side as if nothing had happened.

His empty eyes looked straight at Dante.

"...You’re still standing?" Dante’s eyes trembled.

"Is that all?" Gray tilted his head slightly.

Noticing Dante’s obviously surprised face, Gray sighed.

"It seems so..."

He looked straight at the clear, blue sky. Since the day he had lost his emotions to get stronger, he noticed something odd about himself.

A strange seed of love was planted in his heart.

Fully dedicated to none other than...

Himself.

He didn’t know why, but after taking a glimpse at Dante’s memories, he realized that it was a simple, necessary protocol for him to cultivate the Shadowless Sword Art...

Or... the so-called...

Emotion-Severing Technique.

And after witnessing countless interactions from Dante’s perspective, he realized something:

If one didn’t have any emotions... what did it truly mean to be alive?

Gray kept staring at the sky, his eyes fixed on that endless blue.

It was beautiful... truly beautiful.

And yet, it felt empty to him, like something he could see but never touch.

He had cut his emotions long ago.

Not by accident or because he was forced... but because he wanted strength.

Fear, joy, anger, love, everything that made a person human had been severed, peeled away layer by layer so his sword could become sharper, purer, faster.

At the time, it felt right.

Necessary.

Power demanded clarity.

And emotions were simply noise.

Yet now, after seeing Dante’s memories, after living through another man’s feelings, even if only as an observer, something inside him stirred.

People laughed for no reason.

They cried even when it changed nothing.

They loved knowing it would hurt them.

They were weak... and yet, they felt alive.

Gray slowly lowered his gaze.

He finally understood it.

Emotions weren’t just burdens.

They were proof.

Proof that one existed not just as a moving body, not just as a thinking mind, but as something that experienced the world.

That truth didn’t anger him.

It didn’t sadden him either.

It simply existed.

He knew what it meant.

To regain emotions would mean hesitation.

Pain.

Fear at the edge of the blade.

A sword that shook, even for an instant.

And that... was unacceptable.

Life, to him, had become a trade.

He had exchanged warmth for certainty.

Feeling for victory.

A living heart for an unbreakable sword.

Others lived first and grew strong later.

Gray chose the opposite.

And there was no turning back.

The seed of love inside him, love for himself, wasn’t comfort. It was a replacement... a weak imitation meant only to keep him moving forward without collapsing.

Not happiness.

Not fulfillment.

Just pure persistence.

And as long as he existed, he would keep walking.

Gray finally looked back at Dante.

Those emotions Dante carried... those were luxuries.

Luxuries Gray had abandoned the moment he chose absolute strength.