[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-reincarnated-as-the-villainess-s-son":3,"chapter-reincarnated-as-the-villainess-s-son-reincarnated-as-the-villainess-s-son-chapter-406":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1366155,1806,"Chapter 406: [Terror of the Dead God] [14] [Parasite]","reincarnated-as-the-villainess-s-son-chapter-406",406,"\u003Cp>Chapter 406: [Terror of the Dead God] [14] [Parasite]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s been so long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So long since I heard about her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl whom I thought of as my meat shield at the start.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The one who grew on me and the one who tried her best to help me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it guilt?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it because I was hurt?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whatever may be the reason, I just stopped thinking about her as soon as I was put in jail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe that’s why when Arianell told me about her, I froze in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after a few minutes of silence did I walk out of the church to find a quiet place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And….\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, I stood under the shade of a tree in the backyard of the church.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arianell standing in front of me with her helmet taken off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her face was covered with strands of her white hair that she didn’t bother to remove.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s been a while, yet both of us have remained silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sighed, leaning my body against the tree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What happened to her?” I asked. “..To Ashlyn.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arianell quietly looked at me. “…She is being kept as a secret.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Why?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The church doesn’t want her to come in public until all three reincarnations of Gabriel are together,” she mumbled, looking away. “They want to make it a grand event.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded my head softly. “Where is she now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Roaming around the continent,” Arianell said, smiling softly. “She’s helping those in need wherever she is going.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I closed my eyes for a moment, letting her words sink in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That sounded like Ashlyn, all right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Always there to help others in need.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She’s… okay?” I asked, barely above a whisper. “Mentally, I mean.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We were… scared,” Arianell mumbled, looking down. “When we heard you were executed, we both were broken… It was hard.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…..”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I remained silent as I waited for her to continue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ashlyn was ready to kill everyone in the church,” she mumbled. “If not for Helena telling us the truth, maybe she would have done that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“….That doesn’t sound like her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It wasn’t,” Arianell agreed, her voice quiet. “She changed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I slowly opened my eyes and looked at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She didn’t smile for months,” she continued. “Didn’t sleep and barely ate. She just… wandered, like a ghost. Always clenching that stupid photo she had of you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked down at my feet without a word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was so much I could say, but I didn’t want to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What good will it be to say things now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When everything has already been done.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Has she recovered?” I asked, glancing at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She still smiles,” Arianell said. “But it’s different. Like it costs her something.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A long silence followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air around us was mixed with the scent of rain as the black clouds began to cover the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I leaned my head back against the bark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I never said goodbye.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She doesn’t blame you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maybe she should.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arianell’s expression softened, her fingers gently brushing her own hair out of her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She wouldn’t be Ashlyn if she did.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let out a small chuckle as I kept on staring at the cloudy sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arianell shifted until she stood in front of me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Azariah,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>she said, her voice breaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“About Christina.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I quietly looked at her without a word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though I wanted to avoid the topic, it’s still better to talk it out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arianell slowly bowed her head. “I am sorry for your loss.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice cracked, heavy with emotion. “I know you loved her so much—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Christina isn’t dead,” I replied, cutting her off. “Her soul is safe.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arianell shifted back, slowly she straightened her back as she looked at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I.. I can save her,” I replied, honestly, rubbing my eyes. “I just need some time and she will be back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arianell first let out a sigh of relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was genuine happiness on her face before her expression hardened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She glared at me. “Couldn’t you have told me this earlier!?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shrugged. “Why does that even matter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“..What?” she whispered, her lips trembling softly. “Do you have any idea what it feels like to live in guilt of killing someone?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I quieted down as I looked at her as she walked closer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You could have told me sooner,” she snarled, her white eyes burning into mine. “Do you know how bad it was living—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Christina died in my arms,” I replied, cutting off her words. “She died for me. So, I do know what it feels like.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arianell froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her mouth parted slightly, but no sound came out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wind stirred between us, carrying the sharp scent of coming rain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked down at her feet. “You know… I’ve lived in guilt every day since that moment I got to know that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She walked closer before she stood beside me with her back against the tree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Every day, I wondered what type of horrible person I was—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I cut in her words. “It was me who acted like shit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yet, I couldn’t see the real you,” she replied, a bitter smile on her face. “I was blind to just start hating you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I remained silent, glancing up at the dark sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s hard to live, Azariah,” Arianell mumbled. “When you don’t have anything to go back to.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“..You can’t die as well,” I replied, pushing off the tree. “Not after leeching off my life energy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She quietly looked at me as I began to walk backwards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turned around as I began to walk away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Az—Himmel.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stopped in my tracks as I heard her voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Will there be a chance of us going back to how we were before?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t reply, I just walked away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, I don’t think that day will ever come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as Himmel walked away, Arianell fell into complete silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stayed under the tree for a long while, not moving for even a second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slowly, she began to lower her body as she sat down on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stupid,” she whispered, voice barely audible even to herself. “Why didn’t you answer that…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The answer had already been in his silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had known the moment he paused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A part of her had still hoped. Foolishly, desperately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that was the thing about people like Himmel….they changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They grew and moved forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And those who didn’t, just like her… were always left behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her fingers curled into fists, nails biting into her palms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘What did I do wrong?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since she was a child, Arianell was told only one thing in her life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That she was the sword maiden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was supposed to be a sacrifice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no meaning to her life other than that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the reason she was living.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When that very reason was taken away from her… all there was left was an emptiness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was truly lost, with nowhere to go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had nothing where she could return now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All that was left was just a hollow self who was living to not waste her life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Life that wasn’t even hers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rain began to pour down from the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A tear also trickled down her eye as she drew her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like she was trying to hold herself together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because something inside her had cracked again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe it had always been cracked, and Himmel’s presence had only made her forget how deep the break ran.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I thought I had no tears left.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arianell thought, rubbing her eyes to clear them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stood after a long while, water dripping down her pale hair, helmet hanging limply in one hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as she turned, she found someone else standing beside her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How did it go?” Helena asked, tilting her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though she was getting soaked because of the rain, she didn’t care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arianell didn’t answer right away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She just stared at Helena, eyes rimmed with red.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…You already knew what he’d say, didn’t you?” she asked quietly, her voice flat. “You always do.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helena didn’t flinch. “I had a guess.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You sent me anyway.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t send you,” Helena replied, stepping closer. “You wanted to go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rain drummed harder, but neither of them moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arianell’s grip tightened on the helmet. “It didn’t change anything.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No,” Helena said softly, “but it gave you something you needed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And what was that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Closure.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arianell shook her head, water flinging from her soaked hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That wasn’t closure, Helena. That was a funeral with no grave.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helena’s eyes softened. “Sometimes… that’s all we get.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She turned around and began to walk. “Come with me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arianell remained quiet for a while before she followed behind her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helena remained quiet for a long while as they moved through the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The people had mostly gone back to their homes, hiding from the rain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helena’s gaze moved towards the children who were playing on the road.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She smiled under her veil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where do you think devils are gone?” Helena suddenly asked, taking her by surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I.. I don’t know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You know, there are no devils in hell. The devils are all here,” she said, looking at the sky. “We walk among them, or worse, we are them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She closed her eyes, soaking herself in the rain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The church taught us to be against sinning, yet we all still sin.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She turned to look at Arianell, walking backwards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Have I ever told you about my nightmare?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arianell frowned. “…No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I saw a nightmare once,” she said, walking towards the centre of the town. “A dream that wouldn’t end no matter what.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helena’s voice had dropped to a near whisper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I repeated and corrected every mistake, and before I knew it…. I forgot how long it has been.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helena twirled around, arms now loosely folded in front of her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I hear voices. Thousands of them. All speaking in perfect harmony… praising me. Begging me. Worshipping me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And the more they begged, the more I bled.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arianell stood at her place. “Helena….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But that’s the thing about nightmares, isn’t it?” Helena continued, spinning slowly in the rain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You wake up… and find out they weren’t dreams at all. Just memories waiting to surface.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stopped spinning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s when I realized this world doesn’t want saints.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked at Arianell, her veil clinging to her face from the rain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It wants monsters who can smile while they burn.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arianell’s throat tightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“..Helena.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This world needs monsters.” she said, spreading her arms. “And do you know who that perfect monster is?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…..”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helena smiled faintly. “It’s—.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOOM!!!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her words halted abruptly as a thunderous roar boomed within the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helena slowly turned back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only to find a mush of flesh behind her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Creation is hard, cheer me up! VOTE for me!\u003C\u002Fp>",1810,"2026-06-05T21:29:08.031Z",1,"novelbin.me","efccf2f8a9c2243306deb70a0aaa7c0fe2c84f6a0059e68b8681920b8ef9dca2","reincarnated-as-the-villainess-s-son-chapter-407","reincarnated-as-the-villainess-s-son-chapter-405",556,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Freincarnated-as-the-villainess-s-son-cover.jpg"]