[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-villain-s-pov":3,"chapter-the-villain-s-pov-the-villain-s-pov-chapter-297":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},336634,598,"Chapter 297: Echoes of a Forgotten Self","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-297",297,"\u003Cp>– Snow Lionheart's pov –\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had been a long time…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since I last felt like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those golden symbols—whose meaning I never truly understood—had grown stronger ever since I obtained Vermithor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if it had been the key that unlocked a new realm of power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything was connected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The War King's Form burned through my aura at a terrifying pace, allowing me to wield levels of power I was never meant to reach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that was what let me face the furious statue head-on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Locked in a vicious clash with that entity, the two of us spun in a whirlwind of metal—sparks flying with every violent collision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The explosive auras from our battle drowned out all my senses,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>but I was certain of one thing:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey had made it through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no longer any need to hold back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a bloody grin, I poured more and more Star Aura into my sword,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>each strike landing with greater weight, hammering against that giant scythe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Barely able to hold myself back now, I was fighting to keep the bloodlust in check.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had to finish this quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clutching Vermithor in one hand, I raised the other to summon a storm of elemental force—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a barrage of razor-sharp ice spears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without hesitation, I hurled them at the furious statue's head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he twirled his scythe like a massive fan, shredding the spears into dust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn't give him time to breathe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using a surge of black lightning, I unleashed a horizontal cut—aimed directly at his torso.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Preoccupied with blocking the hail of ice, he reacted too late to stop my lightning strike—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>empowered by Void Step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blow landed clean, forcing him back as the lightning detonated across the ground beneath him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But even then—on his iron body—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It left barely a scratch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tch…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I held back a curse, wondering what on earth this thing was made of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite everything, he didn't falter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He simply stared back at me with his glowing violet eyes, as if he was trying to figure out what I was made of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time was slipping away…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In that case…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How about this ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swoooosh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I unleashed a blinding wave of light from Vermithor\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>an eruption so intense it blanketed the battlefield, even obscuring the entire black castle behind it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Void Step.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using the boosted form of the technique, enhanced by the War King's Mode,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I coated my blade in a blazing stream of blue fire, and hurled it forward like a devastating energy beam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, I activated Void Step again ...this time channeling black lightning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crackling surge tore through the earth, striking from behind the statue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Void Step!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything happened in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, I pushed my ice aura to its limits—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>igniting a white frost along my sword's edge, unleashing a wave of subzero energy across his exposed flank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alongside it came a high-frequency sonic blast, shadow aura chains to bind him,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and even gravity itself—to pull him to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To destroy that statue ...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I brought out everything I had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Surrounded by a storm of overwhelming elemental forces ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Angry widened his glowing eyes as the light finally cleared…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>only to see nature's wrath crashing down on him from every side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The explosion tore through the battlefield—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>an elemental catastrophe that shattered the terrain and sent shockwaves through the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But of course…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He survived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bathed in violet light, a shimmering aura clung to his body like armor ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>shielding him from the full brunt of my attacks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this was the moment ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The exact moment I'd been waiting for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the smoke and chaos cleared ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and the statue dared to believe the attack was over…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He saw me standing directly in front of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just centimeters away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My stance wide open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My sword aimed straight at his chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the moment I'd been waiting for—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment the enemy lets down their guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the real attack begins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using the War King's Form and Vermithor,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pushed my aura to its absolute limit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elemental particles danced wildly around my blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drawing in a breath of fire ...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the golden markings on my skin blazed to life as I swung with everything I had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"COSMIC FORMATION!!!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, it was ten times stronger ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even more than that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A colossal explosion of light swallowed the statue and the entire castle behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pillar of pure white aura surged into the heavens, piercing the clouds ...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a nuclear beam unleashed at point-blank range.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in the midst of that radiant inferno,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the furious statue was finally obliterated—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>reduced to nothingness by the full force of my power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that moment…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wished with all my heart ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That this would be enough to end it all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>– Frey Starlight's pov –\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had finally entered the castle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black castle…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The one that made my entire body tremble without end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glanced at my hand, trying to steady myself ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>but the way my fingers shook made it clear how utterly I failed at that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Step after step,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wandered through the towering fortress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What I stood upon was the grand entrance to this terrifying place ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a hall with walls adorned in symbols and carvings I couldn't understand,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and ceilings so high that even the largest giants could walk—or run—through with ease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what truly caught my attention, aside from the incomprehensible symbols,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>were the murals that accompanied them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Illustrations that depicted, as far as I could guess, the life of the one who had once ruled this castle…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scenes on the walls showed glimpses of brutal wars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Battles that raged across land and sky on a scale I had never seen before—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a scale that managed to send a chill down my spine through images alone, without me needing to live them myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The enemy in these wars was familiar—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>always the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Demons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the mystery lay in who fought the demons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike the demons .. who all belonged to one race and were easy to recognize ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the other side was chaos incarnate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A gathering of countless different beings and creatures I had never seen or heard of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn't help but wonder if what I was seeing was real…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>or just some imagined depiction crafted to embellish this place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Completely captivated by the murals ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>my senses returned when the ground suddenly shook beneath me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A violent tremor rocked the castle as the thunderous roar of an explosion echoed through the walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That aura...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stunned, I recognized it instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was familiar ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>yet far stronger than I had ever felt it before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The source of that attack could only be one person—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snow, still battling Angry outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That blast reminded me—again—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>that I had to keep moving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That I needed to end this, once and for all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the least I could do for my comrades, who were fighting in my place beyond those walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To bring an end to all this madness ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To find the answers I'd been searching for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Answers to questions that had long haunted my life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With those thoughts burning in my mind, I charged deeper into the castle ...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>hungry for the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the further I went,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the more I realized how vast this place truly was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A massive citadel, built like an ancient museum…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But completely empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Other than the decorated walls carrying those paintings,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>there was nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like a ghost house of ancient wars,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>left alone in the middle of a sea of kneeling pilgrims ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>worshippers of a king who never returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more I advanced,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the higher I climbed the grand staircase…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The slower my steps became.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That fire inside my chest grew hotter and hotter .. until it felt like my insides were burning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My pulse pounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A splitting headache roared in my skull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I started breathing heavily,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>clutching the wall just to keep moving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What… is happening to me?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My vision blurred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could barely keep my consciousness from slipping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The long corridor ahead of me began to twist and ripple ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>like an old painting fading with time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the pain struck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blinding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Searing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even I—someone well-acquainted with agony—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>screamed from the depths of my soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I writhed on the ground,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>unable to see,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>as visions flooded my mind ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>as if the murals had come to life inside my head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People I had never met.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Places I had never seen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All accompanied by torment I couldn't fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All I could do was scream ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and pray for it to end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it didn't.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It never stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was like someone was crushing my skull with a giant hammer,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>again and again and again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time in my life—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I cursed the strength of my mental resilience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That ability…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>which once felt like a blessing,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>now felt like a curse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A curse that kept me conscious through every moment of that pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I twisted on the ground for hours ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>like an insect...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until finally, my eyes rolled back into empty white,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and I lost consciousness at last.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But even in that unconscious state,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the visions didn't stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They followed me into my dreams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Haunted me through that endless train of torment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And after what felt like an eternity..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I finally opened my eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>",1570,"2026-05-30T03:41:22.346Z","2026-06-01T04:30:12.387Z",1,"novelbin.me","d224924e10356706ccfee9b5a2bfe4bcae175048a1fb5fbaf8a0dfafce8f43ef","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-298","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-296",866,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-villain-s-pov-cover.jpg"]