THE VILLAIN'S POV Chapter 24 24: Homecoming (2)

Oclas Mountains – Starlight Family Headquarters

Inside an isolated chamber within the massive fortress, a gate that had remained sealed for an entire year suddenly lit up.

At that mont, a young man erged.

His long black hair was longer than before.

His body—stronger.

His presence—sharper.

His pitch-black eyes now resembled swirling voids, as if threatening to consu everything around them.

And then, he grinned and shouted loudly—

"I'M BACK!"

My voice echoed through the chamber before fading into silence.

I found myself standing alone.

"Huh? No one here to welco ?"

I scratched my head. I had imagined making a dramatic entrance…

"Oh well, doesn't matter."

I made my way toward the door ahead.

Outside, a lone guard leaned on his spear.

Bored to death, he yawned, having been forced to guard a single room for an entire year.

Not once had anything happened.

This place was dead—so dead, in fact, that he had grown to despise his own job.

But then…

The door he had believed would never open creaked wide.

From within, a young man with long hair and piercing eyes stepped out.

The guard's body stiffened as his mind struggled to process what he was seeing.

I flashed him a grin—one that bore a striking resemblance to my old friend, Smiley—and waved.

"Hey there~"

The guard snapped out of his daze, gripped his spear tightly, and shouted—

"INTRUDER!"

"Intruder?"

I watched as the spear lunged toward , but thanks to my enhanced vision, it was practically moving in slow motion.

I sidestepped easily and placed my hand on his shoulder.

A wave of darkness swallowed him whole.

The guard's vision turned to nothing but pitch-black emptiness.

Sweat dripped down his forehead. His body trembled as confusion overtook him.

He tried to scream, to move—but no sound ca out.

All he saw was darkness.

A few seconds later, he collapsed, unconscious from sheer terror.

I sighed as I looked down at his motionless form.

"Man… pointing a spear at the second I arrive? That's just rude."

"Hey, Tyler! I heard you shouting—everything alright?"

Another guard rounded the corner, then froze.

His eyes darted between and his unconscious friend on the floor.

Still wearing my Smiley-like grin, I waved at him.

"Hey there~"

The man imdiately took a combat stance.

"Who are you?! How did you get in here?!"

"Huh?"

I tilted my head.

"How did I get in? Through the gate. You know, the one behind ."

I pointed toward the door behind , as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

But he wasn't listening.

"Intruder alert! I'm in the Sixth Wing—requesting backup!"

…Wait.

Did he just call an intruder?

"Oi, you idiot. I'm Frey Starlight! Who the hell are you calling an intruder?!"

I casually walked toward him, but he didn't even acknowledge my words.

The mont I stepped into his range, white energy surged around his fists.

"A hand-to-hand fighter?"

So he relied on brute strength.

Too bad for him.

I raised my right palm and effortlessly blocked his punch.

"Weak."

"You—!"

He reeled back for another strike, but before he could, a swift chop to his neck knocked him out cold.

He crumpled at my feet.

I stood there for a mont, utterly bewildered.

"What the hell is going on? Why is everyone attacking ?!"

At the end of the hallway, dozens of ard guards assembled in formation.

So wielded guns, others held bows.

They stepped forward, aiming straight at .

"Eliminate the intruder!"

"Hah?"

Expression blank, I stared at them.

"Are we really doing this right now!?"

The fools fired.

Dozens of bullets and arrows rushed toward —slow, predictable.

"Tch."

I reached into my ring and pulled out a sword.

I couldn't use Balerion here.

My mind calculated the perfect path through the incoming projectiles.

With my enhanced speed, I weaved through most of them effortlessly, deflecting the rest with my blade.

I flipped the sword, using its dull side, and dashed toward the guards ahead.

The man standing at the front barely registered my movent before I appeared before him.

"This won't kill you, but it'll hurt."

A swift strike to the head sent him straight to dreamland.

I moved like a ghost, slipping through their ranks at blinding speed.

Each ti I struck, another guard fell unconscious.

"Second, third, fifth, tenth…"

A horror scene unfolded in the hallway.

A black shadow darted between the soldiers, leaving only unconscious bodies in its wake.

"Last one."

I stood silently, surrounded by fallen guards.

Not corpses—just people knocked out cold.

Exhale.

"Whether it's Nightmare Land or here… everyone just wants to kill ."

"Am I cursed or sothing?"

I stepped over the unconscious n.

"I need to find soone I know…"

But… who?

Ada? Maybe Carn…

I turned a corner—and froze.

Before stood a giant of a man.

His sheer size alone could easily block out four of .

White hair.

A massive scar running over one eye.

He grinned nacingly as he looked at .

"So, you're the intruder they were talking about?"

The giant took slow, deliberate steps toward .

I'd t this guy before… What did Ada call him back then? General Byron? Or sothing like that...

"Hey, Baryon, Byron—whatever your na is... It's , Frey."

"Pft. Impersonating a dead man? Ha! That's the worst survival attempt I've seen so far."

What the hell was this bastard talking about? We had t before—how could he not recognize ?

"There's only one similarity between you and Frey."

Byron smirked before continuing.

"You're both dead."

The mont he said that, Byron lunged at .

"You're the size of an elephant, but your brain is even smaller..."

I instantly shifted to a serious stance—this guy wasn't playing around.

I watched as veins twisted across his skin while his right fist swelled. A surge of blinding white energy coursed through his arm before he launched a punch at .

It was like watching a falling teor.

Thanks to my Hawk's Eye, I could see his attack in slow motion, but even then, I could tell how devastating it was.

Pouring everything I had into my movent, I pushed Phantom Steps to its limits, barely managing to dodge his strike and reappear behind him.

The sheer force of his punch tore through the corridor, shaking the entire palace.

"Damn it."

I propelled myself forward.

This bastard was an A-rank. I couldn't take him on without Balerion.

Like a black arrow, I shot forward, putting as much distance as possible between and the walking tank.

But then, his voice bood behind .

"Where do you think you're going?"

Byron planted his feet firmly into the ground, taking a combat stance. Then, with a series of powerful thrusts, he unleashed four consecutive energy blasts shaped like massive fists.

"Tch."

I twisted my body midair, channeling all the aura I could muster into my sword.

"Ten Thousand Steps of Shadow : Black Cutter."

Four black arcs shot forward, colliding with Byron's attacks. They weren't strong enough to stop them entirely, but they managed to divert their trajectory.

Byron's strikes crashed into the walls and floor, obliterating everything between us.

Using the opening, I bolted away.

He was far stronger than , but I had the speed advantage. He was still a tank, after all.

Just as I thought I had escaped, a figure with white hair appeared in front of .

"Hah… Finally, so excitent in this damn place."

My heart sank the mont I saw her.

"Damn it, Carn... It's ! Frey! Stop!"

But battle instincts overpowered reason.

She moved so fast that even my enhanced Hawk's Eye struggled to track her. A surge of blazing white energy engulfed her arm—Stardust Fist.

A single punch from her carried the power of an S rank.

If that hit , I was dead.

"Shit."

"Co… Balerion."

For a split second, I extended my left hand toward Carn's incoming strike. A fragnt of Balerion's form materialized—just enough to et her fist.

I poured every ounce of my remaining strength into him.

A white inferno clashed against a dark storm.

Shock registered on Carn's face.

But she was simply too much for .

Her flas engulfed my body, sending flying dozens of ters before I crashed into a wall.

I clutched my left arm, lying amidst the rubble.

"...That hurt."

If I hadn't used the hand with Balerion, I would've lost my entire arm.

In the next instant, Carn appeared before .

My eyes widened as she reached toward .

But instead of attacking, her slender fingers grasped my chin, tilting my face toward her.

She studied closely.

Then, after a long mont, she burst into laughter.

"It really is you..."

I let out a deep sigh.

"Spare this bullshit..."