[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-villain-s-pov":3,"chapter-the-villain-s-pov-the-villain-s-pov-chapter-351":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},336888,598,"Chapter 351: The Forgotten Rank","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-351",351,"\u003Cp>—The Tea Party—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the witch’s splendid garden...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simon Manus sat, staring with curiosity at the lady before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beatrice’s homunculus sat quietly, her head bowed, her expression utterly void of life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simon’s curious gaze turned into a smile the moment the doll moved again. Beatrice returned—exhaling a long, tired sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Welcome back, my lady sorceress... or should I say, exalted high-rank demon?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simon grinned, showing his teeth, while Beatrice casually waved her hand, dismissing the formalities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just say what you came to say.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nothing special, my demonic lady. I must admit—I didn’t expect your true body to be a demon. I imagined you to be a hybrid at most. But you’ve surpassed even my wildest expectations!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beatrice stared at Simon Manus, who chuckled curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You know, you’re the first creature on this earth unaffected by the truth of what I am.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Affected? Why would I be?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Aren’t you a Hollow? You’re supposed to be our slave like the rest, aren’t you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Naaaaah.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simon Manus made a disgusted face and immediately denied it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When did I ever say I follow filthy, grotesque creatures like demons?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My passion lies with a completely different species! More beautiful... more perfect!!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Puppetmaster, Simon Manus, openly revealed his twisted artistic desires before Beatrice, who grew more intrigued by the madman sitting before her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To speak so freely of your loyalty before a high-ranking demon... I didn’t make a mistake inviting you to this tea party, Simon. Kihihihi.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t get the wrong idea... Rank 17. I’m only interested in your doll—not your cursed real body.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though his words were nothing short of insulting, Beatrice didn’t seem the least bit offended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I hate my real body too. Every time I’m forced to use it, I lose control over all my homunculus ... they freeze completely, just like this poor one did.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Controlling that many bodies simultaneously wasn’t just difficult—it was supposed to be impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Beatrice had done it. Still, if she ever engaged in battle or something similar using her real form, she would inevitably lose control over them all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You didn’t do anything weird to my precious body while I was away... did you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beatrice asked suspiciously, and Simon looked away without saying a word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You filthy bastard.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Forget that nonsense, Beato. Tell me—do you still wish to continue this little witch’s game of yours?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beatrice answered instantly, as if the question didn’t even warrant thought—only deepening the curiosity in Simon’s heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But Beato... you have the strength to crush every intruder currently on this continent. And finding them wouldn’t even be difficult for you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I don’t understand .. why not just face them and kill them with your true body, instead of playing this childish game with them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simon had been curious about Beatrice’s motives for some time now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why would an awakened being of SS+ rank go to such lengths... for a group of weak children?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, Simon assumed that something was preventing Beatrice’s true body from acting—but she shattered that expectation the moment she revealed herself in full power as a high-ranking demon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, he couldn’t help but question why.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The answer came from Beatrice herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, about that...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a sweet smile, the witch replied,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s a secret.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I figured you’d say that,\" Simon sighed, shaking his head, regretting even entertaining the idea of getting a straight answer from the trick-loving witch beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t be like that. I have a goal I need to accomplish—otherwise, I wouldn’t have come all the way to this remote place called Earth.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I suppose you’re right.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beatrice nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Also, if I were to go there with my true body... my intuition tells me something terrible would happen.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Manus raised an eyebrow at her words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And how exactly would that happen?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t know. But I suspect it has something to do with that strange boy I mentioned last time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah... something-Starlight, was it? Frey Starlight?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes. He’s... unique.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With powers that defy logic—things she had only seen among the top 10 upper demons, or perhaps a few of the higher ones—Frey had displayed abilities no human should possess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using her sharp intellect, Beatrice came to a troubling realization: nothing she saw could be explained logically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was only one conclusion that could make it all make sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There’s a hidden force behind him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone—or perhaps more than one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey Starlight was hiding countless secrets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Beatrice, ever greedy, wanted to uncover them all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I really look forward to it... the next Witch’s Game.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that moment and in that place, everything had already been decided—and Frey and his companions were destined to continue stumbling through the hellish game the witch had prepared for them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Stormveil District—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A region like a fortress built amidst the desert, Stormveil was constantly struck by storms and sand whirlwinds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, it stood tall—unyielding—against everything that came crashing into its massive walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stormveil was unlike any of the other Lower Bloodlands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its sheer size rivaled that of the Empire’s great cities, and its population was just as vast—the streets were never empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, no matter how large a city grew, the nature of the Bloodlands never changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with its relatively better conditions, Stormveil was plagued by the same horrors:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cannibalism. Debauchery. Murder. Bloodshed. Public sex in the streets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you ventured deeper into the city, you’d find alleys crawling with its most desperate and deranged—people sleeping on the streets, fighting each other daily without pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among them sat a lone, cloaked youth, dressed entirely in black, with only a sliver of white hair peeking out from beneath his hood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he sat alone, none of the Ultras dared come near him—not after he’d beaten a dozen of them senseless the previous days. He even killed a few with his bare hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black-cloaked figure remained still for most of the time, staring into nothingness and mumbling incomprehensible words under his breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, after a long stillness, he finally moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So... Maekar lost this time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After using third-person pov for quite a while to monitor his sister, Ada...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey stood up from his spot, having learned the outcome of the battle between the Empire and the Ultras in the Bay of Shezclar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that defeat, many names had gone missing—besides Frey and his scattered companions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey realized he could no longer expect any backup. But what puzzled him most were the battle’s developments—especially its ending, and the sudden appearance of another high-ranking demon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Rank 17... Beatrice.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey questioned aloud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Was that a coincidence?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The same witch he had personally killed... and now, this demoness who called herself Witch Beatrice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course not. There are no such coincidences in this world.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t know how .. but he was sure there was a connection between them. And that only deepened his fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A wicked witch capable of manipulating an entire empire... and now she’s watching us.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regret consumed him as he realized he had revealed all his trump cards to her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had made a terrible mistake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If she comes back... the same tricks won’t work again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey cursed under his breath as he walked away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Just who... is the witch named Beatrice?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only high-ranking demon that should exist on Earth in this timeline was supposed to be Rank 19—Astaroth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet ... there she was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beatrice, destroying everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the very beginning, he hadn’t even known she existed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though he had written the story himself, along with all 72 high-ranking demons, he had only planned to use a handful of them in the actual plot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rank 17 wasn’t one of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which meant... he wasn’t even familiar with her name—because he had never created it in the first place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I need to find the others... quickly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hidden from sight...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey Starlight moved once more, searching for his friends, using the third-person player pov as his only guide ... one full week had passed since they’d been separated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The real game was about to begin.\u003C\u002Fp>",1340,"2026-05-30T03:41:22.347Z","2026-06-01T04:30:13.202Z",1,"novelbin.me","98558daa17a8599ee9b533d68eff8198bbcad61f4fbfff3b48ba22ef8fff6f75","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-51","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-200",866,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-villain-s-pov-cover.jpg"]