[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-villain-s-pov":3,"chapter-the-villain-s-pov-the-villain-s-pov-chapter-240":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},336677,598,"Chapter 240: Rebirth Through Silence (2)","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-240",240,"\u003Cp>For someone who had spent most of his recent time locked in a cell, my first day outside passed in the blink of an eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I saw Ada first. My sister was truly happy to see me again ... and had developed that annoying personality trait where she acted like she was my mom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was particularly shocked when I opened her status window…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Name: Ada Starlight\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Affection Points: 99\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The number was terrifyingly high. I'd thought 50 was the cap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike Phoenix's window, Ada's status page was incredibly long ... like it could drill into the ground if I let it keep going.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With affection that high, I could see everything about her. Her thoughts, her abilities, what she liked, what she hated…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every detail, in overwhelming clarity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That's when I started wondering ...what use did I even have for this ability?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh, and I should mention ... I tried using Third-Person pov on Ada.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It worked. Terrifyingly well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I really did feel like a player, watching her from behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a relief, honestly, that Ada seemed to be the only person this ability worked on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If not... who knows what I might end up doing to them?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, Ada was the only one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...Or so I thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What's with that look on your face? If you keep zoning out like this, I'll beat it back into focus.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A fist slammed against my sword, forcing me back a step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…Sorry.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Being locked up for so long dulled your combat instincts... Let's keep going until that body of yours remembers how to move again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Carmen cracked her knuckles, her eyes glowing as she locked onto me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In response, I took my stance, gripping Balerion, and muttered under my breath:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…What am I even fighting for anymore? What's the point of regaining these instincts?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ignoring my idle remarks, Carmen pressed forward, launching attack after attack in hopes of shaking the rust off me before I returned to the Temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I understood. She was doing this for me ... even if she didn't say it. And I was grateful, especially for how she had always protected Ada.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention… the moment I opened her status window, I felt completely at ease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Name: Carmen Starlight\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Current Affection Points: 50\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rank : SS-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Combat Style: Stardust\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This person trusts you and sees you as both an ally and someone important.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her affection score was high enough to reveal a lot. And apparently, it wouldn't rise above 50 unless I did something about it—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something I'd done by accident with Ada.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even now, I still didn't fully understand how this new system feature worked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I spent a full week inside the Starlight estate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The manor we stayed in was isolated from the rest of the capital, peaceful and quiet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ada didn't leave my side for even a minute that whole week. She clung to me constantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And strangely enough… I didn't mind it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Somehow, I'd started seeing her as a real sister.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I never would've guessed that something so simple could change our relationship so drastically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I still remembered the surprise and joy in her eyes when I started treating her like family, after all those old barriers between us had crumbled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Family... That was all I'd fought for up to this point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now, that family was right here ... manifested in Ada Starlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That warmth I felt… maybe this was what my father meant when he told me to live.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This kind of life ... maybe that's what he always wanted for me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep down, I hoped that was the answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wished for a future kind enough to allow such a life to bloom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time really flies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before I knew it, I was back at the Temple again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The place hadn't changed at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And strangely enough, I realized I'd made a lot of memories here over the past year ... from my first days and bitter struggle, to the final battle of the Victoriad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, I was no longer a first-year. I had officially joined the elite class of the second year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn't realize it until I tried to enter my old room on the first floor and found a younger girl standing inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Awkwardly, I had to carry myself upstairs, drawing unwanted attention and stirring up a commotion I could've done without.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in that moment… I realized how the others saw me now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I saw hatred in their eyes ... disgust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To them, I was a criminal. And to be fair, I had just come out of prison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But among the disgust, I saw something else ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without me even noticing, my name had started to carry weight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Far more than it ever did when I was just \"Frey, the guy who tried to rape a noble's daughter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not that it mattered. I never cared what people thought of me anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I climbed the stairs, step by step, to the second floor ... marking one more level of progression in my Temple life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then, I saw someone else heading to the same place I was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That broad back… platinum blonde hair… a towering, muscular frame that was hard to forget.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We had once fought each other to the brink of death not so long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, he glanced sideways at me, a golden eye gleaming with raw intensity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well, well… Frey Starlight. Decided to show your face at last?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Daemon turned fully toward me, his temper as explosive as ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Daemon. You being the first one I run into here… What's wrong? Did you get lost and accidentally wander into the elite class?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I smirked, ready for our usual war of words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Daemon responded coolly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmph. You'll be seeing me a lot from now on.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pulled out a black card engraved in gold, revealing his new designation:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elite Class – Rank AB-11\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that I looked closely, his uniform wasn't one from the Abyss class.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"AB-11?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I raised an eyebrow, and Daemon explained:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It means I belong to both elite classes now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which made sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only reason he'd been placed in the Abyss class to begin with was due to the political struggle between the prince and the princess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To maintain neutrality, he wasn't allowed in either of their classes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, with the looming threat of war, that neutrality was abandoned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Daemon was officially added to the elite class ... though in a rather strange way, as a member of both Class A and B.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, being assigned rank 11 in both classes… that was a clear slight against him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He read my thoughts instantly, smirking as he pointed at my own card.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What's wrong? Is Number One pitying me now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as he said… my rank in Class B had changed since last time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey Starlight – Class B-1\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Apparently, ever since the Victoriad, I'd become number one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sighed, replying to Daemon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Numbers don't mean anything.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"True.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He agreed, and we continued up the stairs together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was surprised by how civil he was being with me. I still remembered how hostile he used to be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You seem like you've got a lot on your mind,\" he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I do, honestly. Since when can we exchange more than three words without fighting?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I asked, confused, and Daemon raised an eyebrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What? You'd prefer if I started insulting you again?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly… I kind of thought he would.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No. I just assumed you looked down on people like me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I do.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He answered quickly, but didn't stop walking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I look down on those who fight for meaningless things ... people who act like they've achieved something when they haven't. That kind of shallow pride makes them shallow people.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was Daemon Valerion... his warrior's philosophy laid bare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned slightly to look at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But you're different, Frey Starlight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Huh?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I've never seen anyone fight with such desperation… the way you did. That raw hunger… the drive that said losing would be worse than dying. Like it was truly the end.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Daemon paused, recalling our semifinal match.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Someone who fights like that… is a true warrior.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words left me with a strange feeling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Daemon Valerion ... the combat-obsessed lion of House Valerion ...had just acknowledged me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I knew what he said shouldn't matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was meaningless, really.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for some reason, I couldn't think of anything to say back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My thoughts stalled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the first words that came to mind left my lips instead:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A true warrior? I'm just a killer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I'd meant it more as an insult to myself than anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Daemon just laughed as he walked ahead toward his room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A killer? Open your eyes, Starlight. You're surrounded by people who've all killed at least once.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Killing in this world, in this era, didn't carry the same weight it used to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The real reason everyone freaked out back then wasn't about who I killed… it was how I killed them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The danger I represented.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ones who judged me for my \"crimes\" were people who had slaughtered thousands themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was never about morality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Daemon understood that ... unlike the common students who despised me for it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm looking forward to our next fight, Frey Starlight. Be ready.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, he ended the conversation and disappeared into his room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I smiled too, then turned toward my own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm looking forward to it.\" I muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn't help but check Daemon's status window out of pure curiosity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And what I saw caught me off guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Name: Daemon Valerion\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Affection Points: 30\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rank : B\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Combat Style: Dragon's gate\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This person respects you and considers you a rival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I needed to stop treating the elite class students like characters from some story.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were more real than I was, in many ways.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I still didn't know what I was supposed to do next…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or how I was meant to live.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the final mission from my system was still blank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But whatever the answer was…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was sure I'd find it here, within the Temple walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And just like that ... My second year at the Temple began.\u003C\u002Fp>",1698,"2026-05-30T03:41:22.346Z","2026-06-01T04:30:12.387Z",1,"novelbin.me","e5aa3752b4be263b58c582958096fa16d3adeefdba14fa9021c5db2a1b320fe6","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-241","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-239",866,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-villain-s-pov-cover.jpg"]