[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-villain-s-pov":3,"chapter-the-villain-s-pov-the-villain-s-pov-chapter-242":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},336679,598,"Chapter 242: Even Normal Is a Lie (2)","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-242",242,"\u003Cp>-Frey starlight POV-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sophia's class ended. After seeing her again, I figured I wouldn't run into any other familiar faces for a while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As always, I was wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An odd old man with white hair and a sharp black suit appeared, barking out as he entered:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't touch anything with your filthy hands! Get to the damn training hall and wait for me!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He barked at everyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I just sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luca Bonatiro.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old bastard had found his way back, too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His lab was still the same, filled with all those precious relics of his…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I really began to wonder if I hadn't somehow jumped a year backward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In any case, he kicked all of us out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was just about to leave ... until his voice stopped me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not you, Frey Starlight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I halted and turned slightly to look at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Excuse me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You'll stay.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And so I did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, I found myself alone with Bonatiro.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn't speak, so I broke the silence myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Forgive me, but why did you stop me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bonatiro looked at me for a moment, then went back to fiddling with whatever he had in his hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You want to know why I kept you from joining the others?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah. Isn't training supposed to start now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Training? Hmph... you're excused from that, Starlight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have nothing left to teach you. You're already stronger than me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My dark eyes narrowed slightly at those last words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he didn't care and simply continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Temple is still the same idiotic place no matter who runs it ... blind to the monsters they're sheltering.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You're overestimating me, clearly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bullshit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bonatiro clicked his tongue and rose from his seat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You, that crowned hero… a few upper-year students like you... none of you should remain here any longer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stepped up to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There's nothing left for you to gain.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words gave me pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would staying at the Temple really make me stronger?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would it help me at all?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before I could ask those questions, there was a more important one:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why did I even need to grow stronger in the first place?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had no direction to point my blade anymore…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wasn't the same person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bonatiro clearly saw the emptiness in my gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A lot's happened, hasn't it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah… a lot.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Figures. Nothing surprising.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let out a quiet laugh at that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nothing surprising? Did you really expect the student standing before you to win the Victoriad and do all the things I've done?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bonatiro paused for a moment, staring at me with those dull, lifeless eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I didn't expect it… but the possibility was always there.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And what exactly made you think that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A year ago, I was nothing. So what did he see in me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"From the very start, you were different, kid. Your body didn't house one soul ... but two.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said it so casually, but the words struck me like lightning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What did you just say?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air between us shifted instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence fell. We stared at each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I hadn't meant to react, but my body had already been conditioned to release killing intent the moment such a situation arose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn't stop it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bonatiro didn't flinch. In fact, he seemed to take it as proof of what he'd said earlier—when he claimed I was stronger than him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did you know, Starlight, that I'm blind?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He kept looking straight at me, pointing at his pupil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looked perfectly normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"These eyes… they've never seen what others see. All I can perceive is the aura things contain.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aura. Life force itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That's how Bonatiro could sense the true value of all the strange items he kept in his lab.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The first time my eyes landed on you, I saw two auras ... one deep, suffocating black… and the other, a shattered white light. Only a faint trace of it remained.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I listened silently, hearing something I had never known until now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I assume some lingering will had always been with you… a powerful will… but you've lost it now, since all I can see now is darkness.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's why you weren't surprised by anything I've done?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I cut in, and he nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Exactly. It's not definitive proof, but… you could say it was instinct.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let out a dry laugh as I reassessed the man in front of me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I never imagined anyone could know about my Dual Soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That really is surprising…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I laughed faintly, and Bonatiro spoke again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Life hasn't been kind to you, has it, kid?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That other aura ... who did it belong to?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My father.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Abraham Starlight, huh… Yeah, I suppose someone like him ...someone who defies reason could pull that off.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another silence fell between us, but I wasn't thinking about Bonatiro anymore…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, my mind drifted back to my father's final words ... about the thing that now lives inside me…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dual Soul had vanished yes ...but I'd been thinking lately… maybe there was more to it. All that talk about the vessel… the Engineer… the Nameless…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It all pushed me to ask:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You said my body now holds a single soul?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's right.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are you sure?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There's only one soul inside your body, kid. My eyes don't lie… That body now has a single color.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bonatiro's words only added to my confusion ... and that didn't help in the slightest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not wanting to drag things out, he walked past me and gave my shoulder a firm pat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In any case, you're exempt from my classes, kid. But in exchange—!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shouted that last part, and I asked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In exchange?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment I asked, his eyes lit up, and he leaned in uncomfortably close.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let me examine your weapon ...Balerion the Black dread from time to time!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stared at him, unable to hide the confusion on my face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's my only request, kid! I treasure relics, and that sword is undoubtedly one of them!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Bonatiro entered his usual obsessive mode, I knew debating him further would go nowhere. I reluctantly agreed, especially after he reminded me that my ownership of Balerion was no longer a secret to the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey Starlight… bearer of one of the seven legendary swords.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Actually… two of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once I gave in, Bonatiro nodded enthusiastically and rushed off to train the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Excellent!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He vanished down the hallway, leaving me behind to wonder what I was supposed to do for the next three hours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One day back at the temple… and a handful of old faces was enough to make it eventful already.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I just laughed to myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even if he wants to live a normal life… nothing about Frey Starlight is normal, huh?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe I'll just go watch the others train.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe mess with them a little.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With those thoughts, I made my way to the training yard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If my life were a comedy show… I'd definitely watch it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1166,"2026-05-30T03:41:22.346Z","2026-06-01T04:30:12.387Z",1,"novelbin.me","8b3a3ebee28a4064353c525206718c90b582d161205cf4d2f4842dd610e84cb7","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-243","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-241",866,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-villain-s-pov-cover.jpg"]