I Have 10,000 SSS Rank Villains In My System Space Chapter 480: Try Again

The moment Razeal sensed the Empress standing that close to him, he did not waste even a fraction of a second trying to understand how she had crossed that distance without him noticing. His body reacted before thought.

Instantly, he moved out from beneath the arm resting across his shoulders and appeared several meters away in one clean motion. His posture changed immediately. Guard raised. Eyes sharpened. Every part of his attention locked entirely onto Nerrisa. At the same time, his hand moved toward his waist and caught the handle of Dark Star.

The decision came naturally. Right now, that sword was one of his strongest trump cards. If they compared speed, strength, experience, understanding, combat ability, and almost every category of power he lost. And not by a small amount. The difference between him and her was larger than the difference between an ordinary person and a Supreme.

The gap between Great Saint and Supreme was already enough to make people despair. She stood above even that. Emperor. Not to mention the fact she appeared beside him without him sensing anything was already proof enough. So naturally, his first instinct was simple. Draw the strongest thing he had.

But just as his fingers tightened around the sword handle and he began pulling

Nerrisa disappeared from where his eyes was locked on her.

There was no movement.

No acceleration.

No visible action.

One moment she stood meters away.

The next.. she was directly in front of him. Close enough that another inch forward and their noses would touch.

A faint smile remained on her face. Her eyes quietly looked into his.

And her palm was already pressing against the handle of Dark Star.

Not grabbing simply pressing.

Only an inch of blade had left the sheath. And under that single movement the sword slowly returned inside.

Click.

The blade slid back. Her hand remained resting there.

Razeal froze.

Not because his body stopped responding. His body could move.

But suddenly none of his options looked correct.

Every action he considered felt answered before he made it. His stance collapsed before fully forming.

His attack ended before existing.

She had not released pressure. She had not used any magic or cast anything.

Only movement and positioning and somehow that alone stopped him completely.

"Not quite so fast now, are you, nephew?"

She smiled while saying it. Lightly and.. Almost teasing. Which somehow made it worse.

Razeal looked at her silently and understood immediately.

This was not suppression through raw power.

This was experience, Control.

A level of combat understanding where she did not overpower him.. she simply occupied the correct place.

Every movement he could make already had an answer waiting.

That feeling... was extremely unpleasant.

Not pressure, fear but something more worse. Like standing before a mountain.

Not because the mountain was attacking but because you understood there was no point trying to push it.

No matter what move he made she would stop it. With less movement.

With less effort.

As if she was not fighting. As if she was just playing.

Razeal remained calm.

His expression did not change. He was not scared. He was not overwhelmed but yeah he was annoyed.

At seeing that reaction Nerrisa’s smile curved slightly more.

Though her expression paused for a moment. A small flicker of surprise appeared.

Interesting.

She had not moved to stop him only because she wanted to.

The moment her hand touched the sword she had quietly sent a thin thread of pure mana toward the weapon to sense the rank of weapon.

But she couldn’t.

Not the grade.

Not the weapon.

Not the material.

Nothing.

It was as if the sword simply refused to exist within her perception.

No recognition.

Her mana simply returned empty. She could not identify the grade or the weapon.

For someone like her that almost never happened.

Her interest visibly increased.

Her eyes slowly moved back to Razeal.

Then to the sword.

Then back again.

"Ah..."

Her expression softened.

"It’s definitely above Emperor grade." She guessed the least.

Not greed but full of Curiosity.

She tilted her head slightly while keeping her hand resting on the sheath.

Looking directly into his eyes.

"Interesting..." Her gaze lowered again.

"Nephew... would you mind if I looked at your sword a little more closely?" Nerrisa asked with a light smile, though her actions already moved ahead of her words. Her palm stayed resting against the sheath while her fingers slowly shifted and reached for the handle itself, almost naturally, like someone reaching toward an object that had already captured their interest before permission was even given.

The instant Razeal noticed her fingers moving, his whole body went alert. Absolutely not. There was no chance he was letting anyone touch Dark Star. He still did not fully understand the weapon himself. Pseudo EX rank. Even now that title still felt absurd in his head. He did not know whether only he could wield it or if anyone else could too. Logically it should only respond to him... right? That would make sense.

But honestly that was not even the important part. Even if nobody else could use it, he still did not want anyone touching it. Especially not someone like her. But then another thought immediately followed what exactly could he do? He was not strong enough to stop her. The gap between them was ridiculous. Yet despite that thought, his body still moved.

Without hesitation his free hand moved forward instantly to push her away, while at the exact same moment he activated Flow. World Wind Flow. Fifty percent World Wind Flow.

It happened instinctively.

Nerrisa had already wrapped her fingers around Dark Star’s handle and was just about to pull.. But just then she sensed something.

Razeal’s incoming hand looked harmless.

Average weak. There was no visible danger.

No energy.

No killing intent.

Nothing.

To almost anyone, it would be completely ignorable. But Nerrisa was not almost anyone. Her senses were sharpened to a ridiculous degree. And in that fraction of a second something felt wrong.

Not danger.

Not pressure.

Something she could not explain.

Her eyes changed instantly. Without even caring about the sword anymore she released it.

Her body moved back fast on its own. Her arm withdrew and her figure retreated.

Razeal’s hand passed through empty air. His fingertips missed by centimeters.

One.

Maybe two.

That close.

Silence.

Nerrisa stopped several steps away.

Her expression remained calm but her smile had disappeared. She slowly looked downward.

At her own feet. At the space between her and Razeal.

Then she slowly looked back up.

Her eyes rested on him.

A kid... made her retreat?

She ignored everything else. That thought alone remained.

Not because she feared him. Not because she was threatened.

But because.. she moved?

Instinctively?

Before thinking.

What... was that? Her eyes quietly stayed on Razeal.

Questioning?

She remained there silently thinking.. when suddenly she tilted her head slightly to the side.

Casually.

Almost lazily.

At that exact moment a deep blue beam of compressed water crossed where her head had been.

BOOOOM!!

Water exploded behind her.

Wind burst outward.

The pressure spread.

Yet her hair did not even tremble. Her clothes barely moved.

Around her body remained an invisible protective layer of absurd density.

The attack dispersed.

And from inside the stream

Sofia appeared.

Water rotated around her body as she spun forward and stopped only a single step behind Nerrisa.

Her expression held clear surprise.

She stared.

Unable to believe this women was able to dodge.

Her attack was fast.

Very fast.

She did not even think before attacking.

Simple reason. She saw this woman approach her darling. So she had attacked.

As.. Finally a chance to actually help him.

Yet now.. not only did she fail this woman looked completely unimpressed.

Sofia frowned.

Her eyes carefully observed her.

Who is she? She wondered.

"Oh?" Nerrisa finally turned her head.

Originally she was still mildly dissatisfied with herself for retreating. But the moment she looked at Sofia her eyes paused.

She sensed something. Her eyebrows slowly lifted.

That constitution? This presence?

Recognition appeared in her eyes.

Then she asked casually

"Are you perhaps Mare’s daughter?"

Sofia who had just moved closer to razeal body as was about to comment something lovely.. to him froze as hearing words behind him. Her eyes widened. She turned fully toward her.

Her surprise now had nothing to do with the dodge.

"How do you know my mother’s name?" There was genuine surprise in her voice.

Not many people knew that name. And even fewer called her that. Most people knew her mother as Thalassa

Only people extremely close to her called her Mare.

Family or friends.

Which meant this woman knew her mother personally?

Sofia’s expression slowly became cautious.

Sofia looked at this woman again, but this time properly. Before she had only reacted instinctively, but now she actually observed her. The first thing she noticed wasn’t strength or pressure. It was beauty.

This woman was absurdly beautiful. Not normal beautiful not the type that simply made people look twice. It almost felt unreasonable. Her platinum eyes looked impossibly clear and deep, and those platinum-colored hairs carried a strange elegance to them. Everything about her felt polished to an uncomfortable degree, as if beauty itself had taken shape into a person.

For a second Sofia genuinely wondered if this was Aphrodite herself. But she immediately dismissed that thought. No. Mother had once mentioned Aphrodite had pink hair and pink eyes. So this woman wasn’t her. Sofia kept looking anyway, and then suddenly paused. That face... she had seen something similar before. Her brows slowly pulled together before she remembered. Celestia.. That girl? Her eyes widened slightly. Wait... she resembles Celestia. Is she... Celestia’s mother? The Empress? Sofia guessed silently, though she was only half confident.

Meanwhile Nerrisa calmly looked back at her as if she already knew what Sofia was thinking. "Of course I know your mother," she said casually.

"Actually... your mother and I spent some time together." At those words a weird smile appeared on her face for just a moment before she hid it naturally. Then she pointed at herself and smiled. "And you can call me aunt." She pointed at Sofia. "You’re my niece."

Sofia froze. Her eyes widened. "What?" she asked blankly. "My aunt?"

Nerrisa blinked once before correcting herself casually. "Not real aunt. It’s an affectionate title. Your mother and I were close, so basically I’m your aunt."

Sofia frowned immediately. Still not convinced. "But... Mother never told me about you." Her expression became weird. Mostly because of that strange smile earlier. That expression when she said she and Mother had a close relationship. Close... in what way exactly?

Nerrisa’s happy expression dropped slightly. "She didn’t?" she said with visible disappointment. But it only lasted a second before her smile returned again.

"Well actually..." She tilted her head and looked at Sofia with amusement. "You would’ve been my goddaughter if I had accepted her offer." She casually shrugged. "But I rejected it. Since i thought wouldn’t be a good guide for children. Morally or spiritually." Then she winked.

Sofia completely stopped thinking for a second. Too much information. Too suddenly. Haa...?

Nerrisa looked at her and smiled again. "Oh, and you know..." Her eyes softened slightly as if remembering something.

"I was there when you were born." She looked Sofia up and down before continuing casually.

"Honestly... you were born very ugly." She crossed her arms and nodded seriously. "So seeing you turn into such a beautiful woman now makes me a little happy."

Sofia’s lips twitched violently.

Born ugly???

What does this woman even mean???

She almost wanted to argue back immediately. Actually she wanted to fight. But she stopped herself. Someone Mother knew personally? Someone speaking this casually? Yeah... probably not someone easy. So she held herself back.

Meanwhile Razeal silently looked at this weird aunt-and-niece reunion happening right in front of him. His expression became strange. Though internally, he relaxed slightly. Only slightly. The situation with Nerrisa before had put him under ridiculous pressure. This interruption gave him time to gather himself again. But even now his senses remained stretched tightly, his eyes quietly tracking her movements while staying fully alert.

Then suddenly Sofia turned her head. She looked directly at him. Her expression became unexpectedly serious.

Then she pointed at her own face.

Her large water-blue eyes blinked once.

"I was born beautiful." She looked at him seriously.

"She’s lying."

There was actual concern in her eyes. As if she genuinely cared what he thought after hearing that.

Razeal paused and looked at her then at Nerrisa.

Then back at Sofia.

What kind of answer was he supposed to give to this?

So he answered with what sounded safest.

"Umm... okay." He nodded slightly.

"Good for you."

Silence.

Sofia froze.

Slowly her eyes twitched. Her long water-blue hair almost floated behind her.

She stared at him.

"What?"

Then she pointed at herself again.

"What do you mean good for you??" Her expression turned offended instantly.

Razeal looked at her silently.

Then realized

Apparently that was not the correct answer.

At that, Nerrisa looked at her niece with visible pity before shifting her gaze toward Razeal with equal disappointment. She did not say anything though. There was no point. Some things simply could not be fixed. She silently judged his complete inability to understand what had just happened and moved on without comment.

Meanwhile, Razeal was still looking strangely at Sofia. He genuinely could not understand why she was reacting this much over something so meaningless. He had answered honestly. What exactly was wrong with saying good for you? To him the answer felt completely reasonable.

He was still thinking about that when suddenly his sharpened senses which had remained stretched tightly this entire time and had never relaxed around Nerrisa even for a secon picked up movement. His eyes shifted immediately.

Nerrisa was slowly walking toward him.

His body tensed instantly. At the same time Sofia also noticed and turned her attention away from him. Both their gazes landed on Nerrisa.

"What do you want?" Razeal asked coldly.

Nerrisa stopped and looked mildly offended.

"So cold toward your aunt, nephew?" she asked with a smile. "I had only came to greet you." Then she lazily pointed at him, her finger moving from top to bottom while her eyes calmly scanned him.

"I mean... seeing you after our last meeting..." Her eyes slowly moved across his face and body. "Look at you. It’s like you obtained an entirely new face and body."

Razeal remained silent.

Nerrisa stared at him for several seconds.

Then sighed.

"Boring." She looked away briefly before returning to what she actually wanted.

"Anyways..." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "What was that just now?"

She raised one hand.

Then copied his earlier movement. That same simple hand motion exactly .

Her eyes looked into his.

"Some kind of new technique of yours ?"

Razeal immediately understood.

His eyes remained calm knowing she meant Flow.

That movement.. The one that made her retreat.

He looked directly at her.

"You attacked me." His voice remained even.

"I just returned the favour." Simple direct but internally a small amount of satisfaction appeared.

She sensed danger meaning his new breakthrough in flow as just touching things and forcing them into Flow.. He was underestimating it.

Until now he never seriously believed it could threaten someone at her level. Even after creating Tap of Erasure, he still subconsciously underestimated Flow. But now she admitted it herself. She retreated.

That meant this ability was more dangerous than he originally thought.

Much more.

His face remained cold but inside he was jumping up and down.

Nerrisa quietly looked at him.

Then smiled.

"Looks like you’re quite delighted with your secret technique," she said casually. "Seeing that it made me retreat... that must feel satisfying."

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Right?"

Razeal looked at her.

Then unexpectedly smirked.

"I am."

He admitted directly then looked back at her. "But you seem unhappy about it." His eyes remained calm.

"Are you perhaps upset?"

Nerrisa stared at him for a moment.

Then smiled.

"Oh..."

She lightly shook her head.

"Not at all." Her expression stayed relaxed.

"It was simply..." Her eyes softened slightly.

"...surprising."

Then without warning she moved one step closer and Stopped.

Now standing only an arm’s length away.

Then she slowly raised one arm.

Extended her palm.

Straight.

Facing him.

Nothing else.

Razeal’s body immediately tightened. His eyes locked onto her. His mind instantly started calculating. What does she want? Attack? Magic? Hi? Yet nothing happened. She simply stood there calmly with her palm raised.

Razeal’s expression slowly became confused.

His eyes moved from her face to her hand then back. That posture looked strangely familiar.

Almost like blessing someone. Which somehow made even less sense.

He stared at her confuse.

Nerrisa smiled. Her lips slowly curved upward.

She moved her fingers slightly.

Then finally spoke.

"Come on." Her eyes stayed on him.

"Try again."

Her smile widened.

"That technique of yours."

Now the meaning became completely clear.

She wasn’t attacking. She wasn’t threatening.

She wanted to test it again.

Razeal quietly looked at her. His expression did not change.

But internally he paused. His eyes moved once toward her extended hand.

Then back to her face.

She wanted him to use something that made even her retreat? on her again? And judging from her expression she was completely serious.

——