[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-villain-s-pov":3,"chapter-the-villain-s-pov-the-villain-s-pov-chapter-23":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","THE VILLAIN'S POV",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},336810,598,"Chapter 23 23: Homecoming (1)","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-23",23,"\u003Cp>-Frey starlight POV -\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Snow here ♪ and snow there ♪\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A mountain here ♪ and a mountain there ♪\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I took a deep breath, letting the crisp, cold air fill my lungs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My gaze wandered over the vast, untouched landscape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You know, Balerion… Back then, I was too busy running for my life to truly take in this place.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's beautiful, don't you think?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The terrain had shifted the moment the gates appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The very air and ground had become saturated with aura, reshaping the land itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, that reminds me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I reached into my ring and pulled out my personal laptop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let's not repeat the same mistakes. There might be a new quest...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Opening the screen, I navigated to the quest log.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bingo.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A new side quest had appeared:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Return to the gate before time runs out – Reward: 500 Achievement Points\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time remaining: 05:46:20\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stared blankly at the screen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It expects me to cover all that distance in just five hours?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Pffft—Hahaha!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I burst into laughter. And here I thought I was the crazy one… Turns out, the system is even worse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had taken me days to reach this point—granted, I only traveled in the mornings. Not to mention all the detours I had to take to avoid the Nightmare Creatures…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But you know what? This might be the perfect chance to test my strength.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stretched my legs, took a deep breath, and assumed a runner's stance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You better keep up, Balerion. We're about to put on one hell of a show.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Phantom Steps.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One moment, a boy stood in the middle of a snow-covered field.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next, the field was empty, as if no one had been there at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world blurred around me as I moved at an insane speed, the wind howling against my face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is incredible!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I rushed into the cave where ancient skeletal remains lay dormant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ahead, the broken bridge I had once destroyed loomed over the abyss. The gap was massive…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I cleared it in a single leap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I entered the narrow tunnel, I let out a loud shout—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wake up! Wake up, you fools! Dinner time!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if answering my call, the skeletons stirred. The eerie sound of grinding bones filled the air as they lunged toward me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Haha, yes! That's it—come at me!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I extended my sword forward and spun at blinding speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment the skeletons got too close, they were instantly shattered. All they saw was a furious black wheel, slicing through everything in its path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bones piled up in my wake, but nothing slowed me down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like a raging black storm, I cut through the skeletal horde without taking a single hit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the cave's entrance, hordes of giant rodents swarmed, blocking my path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just then, something shot out from the gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rodents lifted their heads, their beady eyes narrowing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All they saw was a small black dot in the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wrapped my arms around Balerion and hurled myself downward. From below, they saw only a streak of black light plummeting toward them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ten Thousand Steps of Shadow: Black Meteor!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment I crashed into the ground, dozens—no, hundreds—of rodents were sent flying in every direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I carved through them like a living shadow, leaving only blood and severed limbs in my wake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Move! Move! Get out of my way—I don't have time for this!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, nothing else mattered. I cut down everything that dared stand in my way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Faster… Deeper… I need to go even deeper!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With every slash, more creatures were sent flying in bloody pieces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Show me what you're made of, Balerion! Is this really all you've got?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if provoked, Balerion trembled violently, drawing even more energy from my body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His strikes grew sharper. Heavier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes! Haha! That's what I like!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then, in mere moments, I reached the edge of the cliff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Clear the way—I'm coming through!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With those words, a madman leaped from the top of a towering mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wind howled, my hair whipping against the sky as I plummeted at terrifying speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm free!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I laughed wildly, exhilarated by the sheer thrill of the fall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the ground rushed toward me, I twisted my body and plunged Balerion into the mountain's surface, dragging it along the rock face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sparks exploded as friction slowed my descent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luckily, Balerion was sturdy enough to withstand the process.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time I hit the ground, my speed had dropped just enough to absorb the impact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked up. A straight, scorched line now ran down the mountainside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Look on the bright side, Balerion—we left our signature behind.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wasting no time, I dashed toward the forest ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The trees blurred past as I leaped from branch to branch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't be mad, my friend. I had to do it, or I would've died from the fall.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My sword was acting like an annoyed tsundere again…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Giant crabs scuttled through the forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One lifted its head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the next instant, the world flipped upside down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its severed head landed beside its still-standing body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These creatures were no longer a challenge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glanced at my right hand. The engraved circle was still there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good… It's still intact.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, I had lost my right hand. I feared that meant losing my connection to the return gate as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But thankfully, it was still here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I channeled my aura into the engraving, causing it to glow with white light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, I sensed the gate's location.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tore through the crab-infested forest until I reached familiar ground. My steps slowed, almost instinctively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Alright. The madness ends here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the same place where the Mist Stalker had attacked me before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, I had grown stronger. But compared to that thing, I was still nothing more than an insect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The memory of that encounter was carved deep into my body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So deep that even the mere thought of facing it again made my skin crawl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I moved cautiously, releasing my aura to scout the surroundings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn't cover much ground, but it was enough to sense what lay ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, the mist was shifting, constantly in motion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no sign of it anywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, I had lost a lot of time… I might have failed the quest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few minutes later, I stood before the gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pulled out my laptop and checked the screen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Return to the gate before time runs out – 500 Achievement Points (Completed)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time remaining: 00:12:45\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Barely made it, huh? Less than fifteen minutes to spare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had I not hesitated in the misty lands, I would have arrived much sooner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But whatever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At last... I was leaving this cursed place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was where I had experienced terror unlike anything before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was where I had come closest to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I had survived. And now, the journey ends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I activated the gate. A white rift appeared before me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was just about to take my first step through the gate when I suddenly stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah… I almost forgot.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glanced at the companion clinging to my hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sorry, my friend, but no one can see you right now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lifting my hand high, I spoke softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You know I love you, but we don't have a choice.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Balerion responded immediately, glowing with a deep purple light. A burning sensation spread across my skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Painful? Maybe. But something of this level no longer fazed me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that instant, Balerion vanished, replaced by a massive tattoo of a serpent that coiled from my hand up to my shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh! My hand!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I flexed my fingers, staring at them in fascination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For an entire year, I had held onto Balerion, fused with my body. Opening my hand again felt... strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I examined the large tattoo on my arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was my first time getting a tattoo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well… at least it looks cool.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was so vivid, so lifelike—it almost seemed as if the serpent could strike at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wrapped my hand in black bandages and stepped into the gate with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm back.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1357,"2026-05-30T03:41:22.067Z","2026-06-01T04:30:13.202Z",1,"novelbin.me","933700d958b5be129b17fbc76910f8b319ec404c65b12f92221bb932381c9520","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-24","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-22",866,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-villain-s-pov-cover.jpg"]