The SSS Ranked Villain's Return-Chapter 155: Dire Situation

"Die? Pfft..." The Skeleton King held back a laugh. "I can’t die even if I wanted to, human."

"We’ll see about that," Neraxis added.

In the very next moment, he brought the sword forward, performing a {Simple Stab}.

Yet the Skeleton King merely tilted the arrowhead at an angle, causing his sword to glide on through, not hitting anything but the air.

Nonetheless, since the {Aura} expanded outwards, it at least made the battlefield more favorable for him.

After all, their strength was far above what should be possible for a mere tutorial trial—and even more so for Neraxis, who was only C+ ranked.

"What an amusing creature. If I got hit by that, my bones would be rattled," the Skeleton King remarked, swatting away the black snowflakes. "But that’s not enough to kill me—or protect the humans over in that city."

"Is that so?" Neraxis said absentmindedly before approaching closer and using {Crimson Sovereignty: Shadow Mantle}.

He phased through the incoming arrowhead spear and, right after, slashed at the Skeleton King’s body.

Yet as his sword strike was about to land, the cape suddenly expanded, blocking his attack.

But that came at a cost, as he slightly shattered the cape made out of bones, which, in turn, unveiled a bit of the Skeleton King’s body.

And just as he thought, it was truly an undead—bones and all.

He still couldn’t see its face, but with a couple more attacks, it would be possible.

"Hmm... A sly trick," the Skeleton King stated before slashing in the air.

But of course, the curse of Blindness made it blind, so it could no longer see Neraxis.

For an undead to have eyesight is strange in itself... he thought suspiciously and, just in case, made sure to read its attacks properly.

And he was right to assume so, as in the very next moment, the arrowhead shot out at an extremely fast speed, heading for his head.

Since he was ready, Neraxis was able to dodge and, at the same time, thrust the sword forward, hitting the base of the arrowhead and completely shattering it.

It broke into two and fell to the ground, with only the short yet sharp end being left in the Skeleton King’s grasp.

Despite that, Neraxis decided to use {Eve of Ruin: Mark of Destruction}, and unlike the Black Knights, it did not remove it.

Therefore, he began stacking it up, evading each shallow attack while landing an attack of his own.

His {Eve of Ruin: Ruinous Aura} made it so each attack shaved away 1% of the opponent’s health, and by now, Neraxis was at least 35 hits in.

Since the Decaying debuff was up, it couldn’t heal.

That was why he felt like he had already won. After using {Simple Horizontal Slash} as well as {Vampiric Dominion: Blood Rend}, he detonated the mark.

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Yet the explosion he was expecting to happen was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, the Skeleton King’s bone cape shattered completely—as if taking the full brunt of the detonated mark.

"Your trump card is gone, human," the Skeleton King said eerily. "It is about time you die now."

As the last of its words fell, it disappeared from Neraxis’s sight.

Shi- his thoughts were interrupted when, all of a sudden, he felt a heavy impact to his side, causing Neraxis to fly toward the city and impact what was left of a single pillar of the wall.

Potion, he said hurriedly, as he felt like his spine had been paralyzed.

And in the very next moment, the potion of blood appeared out of the stigmata’s storage.

He drank it with shaky arms, but nonetheless, it completely healed him.

But now, Neraxis only had nine more lifelines left, as the potions were of limited supply.

However, just as he was about to stand up and return to the Skeleton King, a worried voice stopped him.

"Neraxis! Are you alright!?" Jane yelled as she ran up to him, checking for injuries.

"What are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you to stay in the bell tower?" Neraxis asked with a shocked look.

"The bell broke... I used too much power, and it wasn’t able to hold up. Now I’m going around and healing the injured—such as yourself." She explained, enveloping his body in golden mana and washing away all his fatigue.

"You’re reckless," Neraxis said with a sigh and lightly stretched before evaluating the battlefield.

Surprisingly, some guards in particular were holding their own against the Skeleton Legion. And as for the Black Knights, they hadn’t made their move yet, merely standing by.

However, the number of deaths was becoming a little concerning.

[17% of the total civilians have been killed!]

And as for the timer,

[00:34:11]

[00:34:10]

There was still some time remaining.

After a moment of thought, Neraxis’s eyes suddenly widened. "I have an idea..."

Jane tilted her head. "What is it?"

"Do you think you could use that strong attack of yours on the big guy over there?" Neraxis pointed toward the Skeleton King, who was slowly walking over to them. "If you do, then I might be able to kill it."

"Yes... Give me a minute." Jane nodded and closed her eyes.

In the very next moment, he could feel a lot of mana envelop her before heading toward her hands, which were slowly forming a small ball of light.

But of course, he had his own task to fulfill.

"So that’s the Saint," the Skeleton King remarked in amazement. "I would appreciate it if you simply gave her to us. It would be a little less troublesome for you as well, human."

"Pass." Neraxis rejected his proposal and immediately used {Sword Dash}, appearing before the Skeleton King, giving it no time to breathe.

He combined the footwork with swordsmanship to the best of his ability, attempting to hit the Skeleton King, however, it was to no avail.

No matter how fast he moved, the Skeleton King was faster.

That was when the Skeleton King suddenly stretched out its arm, gripping Neraxis’s sword with its two bony fingers.

"It seems like I need to speed up my agenda, human," the Skeleton King stated and attempted to snap the sword into two.

But instead of snapping, the attempt backfired.

Neraxis used the same tactic he used to cover the Black Knight’s sword with his {Aura}—just this time, he performed it on the Skeleton King’s hand.

It seemed to work for a moment, as the deterioration and frost were visibly appearing.

However, his hopes were crushed when the Skeleton King merely disconnected its joints from its body and threw them onto the ground, where they finished deteriorating.

"Close," the Skeleton King stated playfully as the bony hand suddenly grew back out of nowhere. "But not close enough."

A grave look appeared on Neraxis’s face when, all of a sudden, the Skeleton King thrust its arm forward at a speed he could not track.

The arm penetrated through his defenses, and in the very next moment, a hole appeared where Neraxis’s heart was supposed to be.

He looked down with both horror and surprise as, behind him, the Skeleton King’s arm was stretched out, holding his heart between its bony fingertips.

In the very next moment, the Skeleton King tightened its grip, causing Neraxis’s heart to explode and spill a ton of blood on the ground.

"It was fun playing with you," the Skeleton King remarked with a chuckle before pushing Neraxis forward, with him falling to the ground, not even able to catch himself.

Breathing was becoming difficult until, eventually, he felt like he was on his last breath.

Just like before.

It felt like he was about to die.

Evangeline, undead, now. he said with urgency, however, he was met with sniffles instead.

[I-I can’t... I can’t turn you into a Vampire when you no longer have a heart... It’s impossible,] she stammered. [I c-can stop the bleeding for a bit... but...]

I understand. Neraxis replied, helplessness setting in.

It seemed like, despite how strong he had gotten, an S- ranked opponent was still out of his reach—and now, he would be paying the price.

But as he was expecting to die, he suddenly felt a heartbeat—yet it felt extremely foreign.

[Perk: Unyielding Vitality activated!]

[Option: Any attack that would instantly kill leaves the user just barely alive - Activated!]

[Note: Due to the severity of the injury, the time you have left alive is limited!]

[Duration: 1 Minute]

Evangeline, there is a heartbeat. he stated, groggily standing up and chugging down four Blood Potions, healing the injuries.

However, although he had healed them, the heartbeat did not feel like it was coming from a heart at all, and that was when Evangeline confirmed his suspicions.

[Y-You’re alive because of the skill... Your heart is gone.]

A frown appeared on his face, and just as he was losing all hope again, a single red flash of light startled him out of his thoughts.

[Would you like to activate the skill: Eve of Ruin: Dawn of Ruin?]

- Cooldown: 1 Second

- Duration: 1 Minute

- Cost: +5% Body Compatibility

[Note: After usage, the user’s body will undergo a full restoration.]

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Neraxis stared at the new message with a conflicted look before glancing toward the Skeleton King, who was slowly making his way toward Jane.

And with both an exhausted and helpless sigh, he chose the only option that would let him live.

"Yes..."