[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-villain-s-pov":3,"chapter-the-villain-s-pov-the-villain-s-pov-chapter-256":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},336593,598,"Chapter 256: A Smile in the Dark","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-256",256,"\u003Cp>Far from Belgrade's city center, where Frey currently was…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the silent temple, where only streetlamps lit the vacant roads past midnight…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the Elite Dormitory, a young maid walked quietly through the corridors where the students slept.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She gently opened one of the doors to check on the person she was assigned to care for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the bed was empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lady?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She called out, scanning the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The place was dark, so she instinctively reached for the light switch… but nothing happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if a cocoon of darkness had swallowed every source of light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lady, where are you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She asked again, forming a blade of wind aura in her left hand—hidden behind her back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eyes wary, she surveyed the surroundings, ready for anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then a chilling laugh echoed through the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound didn't come from one place. It came from everywhere ... all at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn't the gentle voice of the princess she was used to serving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the laugh of a wicked witch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the terrifying part ... the way it resonated from every corner of the darkness around her. As if dozens of voices were laughing in unison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maid tensed, completely thrown off by the eerie situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lady… please… come back to your senses.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maid pleaded with her lady ... and the reply came swiftly, whispered right beside her ear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every hair on the maid's body stood on end as the battle-hardened servant lashed out toward the voice, only to slice through empty air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wrong! Try again!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Over here!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Here~!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In her growing panic, the maid didn't realize how completely the darkness had enveloped the room. Every source of light had been smothered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She began to feel something circling her, the sound of the princess's voice echoing from all directions. No matter where she turned, she couldn't find her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A suffocating pressure squeezed her chest ... fear and confusion wrapping around her like chains. Instinct drove her to flee, but it was too late. She was already surrounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, without warning, the princess screamed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Time's up!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like a game ending ... or a turn coming to a close.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maid hadn't found the princess… and now it was the princess's turn to find her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a playful tone, Sansa's voice echoed through the darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My turn~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, the maid's eyes widened. Something brushed her heart in a flash of unnatural sensation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She glanced down ... and saw nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she felt it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dozens of jagged, spear-like tendrils erupted from the void and pierced her body, her blood mixing with the shadow, forming a formless, colorless sludge that dissolved into the darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She died instantly, still standing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the princess? She had been standing right in front of her the whole time ... wearing her nightdress, a wide smile stretched across her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though in that abyssal darkness, no one could see it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But one victim wasn't enough. She wanted more .. needed more. Fortunately, the Elite Dormitory was full of people to play with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was just about to move… when something tore through the darkness and sent her flying backward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He appeared like a ghost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His crimson eyes scanned the maid's lifeless body, then flicked to the princess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no way to read his expression beneath that mask—but his eyes said enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He clenched his daggers and cursed under his breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why… why did it have to be now of all times?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why did she lose control… only when he wasn't there to stop it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Come play with me~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sansa giggled, her presence vanishing as her voice danced through the shadows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Oliver Khan stood firm, eyes tracking something darting through the black.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Come back to your senses, Sansa… this isn't you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused, then corrected himself, adjusting his stance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Actually… it's best if you don't ...You're not ready to bear the weight of taking a life.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No sooner had he spoken than the same sharp tendrils of shadow surged toward him. But he was already gone ...vanishing, only to reappear behind the princess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a clean swing, he tried to end it right then ... but her hardened shadows blocked his blade completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He attacked again. So did the shadows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sansa darted like a demon through her veil of black, and they clashed in bursts of speed. Her projectiles were fast—faster than most could react—but they never touched him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Oliver… couldn't break through her ironclad defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She's gotten stronger…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He analyzed the fight coldly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he wasn't going all out, it didn't change the truth: Sansa had just fended off a fully awakened SS ranked opponent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An impossible feat under normal circumstances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was happening now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those cursed black tendrils closed in, joined by dozens of thorned spikes meant to kill him, just as they had the maid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oliver crossed his daggers, his crimson eyes flashing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aura surged violently around him ... and in an instant, he moved faster than the eye could follow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His arms danced like serpents, weaving dozens of explosive blue lines through the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One strike ..faster than lightning ,ripped the darkness apart, carving through the veil of shadow and dragging the terrified princess out of her lair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His dagger left a deep red gash across her chest, and she collapsed unconscious into his arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oliver gritted his teeth, holding Sansa's limp body close ... the same girl he had just struck down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the darkness gone, the light returned ... revealing the catastrophic destruction left in their wake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sansa's shadows had cloaked everything—silent, suffocating, absolute.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when the light returned… the truth was laid bare. The place was devastated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wound Oliver had carved into Sansa's chest slowly faded, vanishing completely without even leaving a scar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had made sure not to strike too deep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that kind of recovery ...instantaneous, flawless was not something a human should be capable of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, that wasn't the real problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The true issue… was that someone had died tonight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You've crossed the line, Oliver Khan.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A third voice spoke from the darkness, though Oliver had sensed his presence long before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know,\" he replied simply ...still holding Sansa in his arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him stood the head of the temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ivar Valerion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had witnessed everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Her powers are beyond control,\" Ivar said coldly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oliver's reply came firm and immediate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's too early to say that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No. It's not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Look beneath your feet, at the blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Look at the maid's corpse lying in front of you. Isn't that enough?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A long silence followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Ivar sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You know what must be done.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oliver remained stubborn ... he always was when it came to Sansa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this… this wasn't a decision he could make alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze dropped to the unconscious girl in his arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There's no place left for her in this temple anymore…\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1155,"2026-05-30T03:41:22.346Z","2026-06-01T04:30:12.387Z",1,"novelbin.me","c6e0b1e39ccab800a7a2e3662ee3093b8111ad4d9845991e4769b7a00a2395a4","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-257","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-255",866,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-villain-s-pov-cover.jpg"]