The SSS Ranked Villain's Return-Chapter 334: Out Of There

The moment those thoughts fell, Jane vanished from his sight.

Immediately, Neraxis entered a defensive stance and stood back to back with Evangeline.

Evangeline had prepared a few blood javelins, even a few blood constructs. But it was obvious that if Jane were to seriously attack them, they'd be killed in an instant.

However, with her current stunt, Neraxis was ready for at least a little slap.

Yet no matter how long they waited, no one came. It was almost as if she was gone.

"Uhh..." Evangeline scratched her cheek. "Do you think small-tits is gone?"

"I hope not," Neraxis replied, looking around. "If she is, then we're not going to be in a very good position."

"Well... look there," Evangeline said, pointing toward a nearby tree. To their surprise, there was a number written there—the number 1.

And to add to that fact, it seemed like the surroundings had gotten much, much warmer than before, but Neraxis felt that, just maybe, he had imagined it.

Right... imagined it my ass... we're in a different location, aren't we? Neraxis pondered with a sigh.

"We're not in hell, are we?"

"Of course not." Evangeline giggled. "If I were in hell, then you'd know, trust me. We're likely in some end of the forest that just so happens to be warmer. Also... it's not really possible to get into hell for us at the moment unless we were in our main bodies. As it stands, these flesh constructs of the tower are way too weak."

"True." Neraxis nodded, turning to the side. "Any idea where you want to go?"

"The opposite way we came from is the best bet, in my opinion," Evangeline mused. "If there was some hidden trial behind this thing, then there'd have to be a catch. I'm thinking... walking backwards is the catch."

Neraxis stared at her for a moment in silence before asking the important question.

"And if it isn't? What if the catch is us arguing about this when the actual answer is to go forward?"

She shook her head. "Maybe that's the case, but you know how my intuition is great sometimes? It's telling me that the path forward is not the way we should go."

"Evangeline..." Neraxis muttered, locking eyes with her. "I trust you."

"Good..." Evangeline trailed off and grabbed his hand. "Let's go then... and just in case my intuition is wrong, prepare yourself, okay?"

Neraxis nodded, and with that, the two began making their way back to where they had come from.

Immediately, the warmth he had felt a moment ago vanished, replaced by the same cool sensation as earlier.

However, to his surprise, in the very distance, he could see some light.

Is that the entrance? Or the exit? he mused.

[My guess is it's the exit. Told you I was right,] Evangeline replied, puffing her chest. [My intuition hasn't failed me yet!]

What do you think would've happened if we kept going forward? Neraxis asked. Do you think we would've entered hell or something?

[That's a bit of a stretch... but we might've faced some of the circle trials. They'd be much weaker than what's in hell, but maybe I'm just being paranoid? You too, we're both paranoid,] she remarked with a giggle. [It might've just been some warm jacuzzi, you know?]

He chuckled, and the two of them sped up their pace until eventually, they reached the light.

And just as he had thought, it was the exit. It was much simpler than he expected, though.

No monsters, no Jane. Huh... maybe this place isn't so dangerous after all?

Now that they were out, they were greeted with a surprising star-lit sky, which shouldn't exactly be possible since they were underground. However, the sight in front of them was definitely real.

To top it all off, he saw multiple mountain peaks in the distance, and leading up to them was a single path.

Yet despite the seemingly easy path, Neraxis had his own moment of intuition.

"I don't think we should go there," he said flatly.

"Yeah... I can feel it too," Evangeline replied with a sigh. "It's as if the prospect of something being too good to be true was just... placed in front of us, you know?"

"Mhm..." Neraxis trailed off. "So what now?"

Just as Evangeline opened her mouth to speak, another voice resounded from the side.

"Now you two follow me. Understood?"

It was none other than Jane. And despite their earlier miscommunication, she didn't seem particularly mad at them.

"Where'd you go, small-tits?" Evangeline asked. "Could've ended up really badly for us there, you know?"

"I doubt that." Jane shook her head. "You see... this 'intuition' of yours only worked because I scattered some of my blood in the opposite direction. If you had gone straight anyway... then it would've just been natural selection."

Evangeline's brow twitched. "You're really annoying, you know that?"

"And you needed a taste of your own medicine," Jane shot back. "You're very confident, and so is Neraxis. However, without my help there, you two would've ended up dead. I want you to know that before I lead you to the next area."

Neraxis rolled his eyes and simply gestured for her to get a move on.

The same went for Evangeline, since even if she was slightly flustered, she knew they needed to get going.

With a scoff, Jane began walking toward the path that seemed a little too good to be true.

Just as Neraxis opened his mouth to speak, Jane interjected.

"I know what you want to say, and yes, this path is dangerous. This is one of the parts where nearly everyone failed, as only five expeditions managed to get this far. However, as long as you're prepared to fight, then you'll be just fine."

Despite her assurance, Neraxis still felt uneasy.

But since she continued walking, he had no choice but to follow alongside Evangeline.

A few steps forward, and the air immediately shifted, turning incredibly cold. Yet a familiar warmth enveloped him and Evangeline moments later

And of course, it belonged to none other than Jane.

Hmm... I really hope this isn't as bad as Jane warned.