[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-villain-s-pov":3,"chapter-the-villain-s-pov-the-villain-s-pov-chapter-428":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},336715,598,"Chapter 428: More secrets (2)","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-428",428,"\u003Cp>He spoke in an icy tone, calm and collected. But on my end...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With bloodshot eyes, I immediately drew my swords in fury, my body exploding with violet aura, ready to lunge at him in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You finally showed yourself, you son of a bitch!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was about to shatter the floor beneath me and hurl myself at him with everything my body could muster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in less than a second, a crushing weight slammed down on my shoulders, freezing me in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A tremendous aura pressure, the strongest I’d ever felt, paralyzed me completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Surrounded by that blue aura radiating from the Engineer, I realized it was coming from him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did you learn nothing from last time?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke with the same frigid tone, rising from his seat as he approached, radiating that overwhelming aura.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You know you can’t defeat me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shut your damn mouth!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Struggling against him, I tried to move in any way I could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was pointless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My dark aura was nothing but a tiny speck against the ocean of absolute power he unleashed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Face to face with him...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tried my best to calm myself, gradually suppressing my aura.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, I wouldn’t have been able to keep my cool in front of him, but things had changed after all I’d been through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As much as I wanted to rip that mysterious face of his apart, now wasn’t the time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I simply didn’t have the strength to take him down .. not yet. Besides, I knew he wouldn’t kill me. This bastard wanted me alive more than anyone else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, bit by bit, I forced myself to calm down under his cold, blue gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A wise choice... this will do.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With those words, he retracted his aura, allowing me to finally catch my breath .. and reminding me once again of the vast gap in our power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In front of that kind of strength... I had even forgotten how to breathe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Engineer ignored me completely, walking past as he left the temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Where do you think you’re going ?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaping from my place, I chased after him immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was probably the longest time I’d ever spent in the same space with the blue-eyed bastard. There was no way I’d just let him disappear again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But, contrary to my expectations, he didn’t leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a single motion of his lone hand, his power swept across the entire sect, and in an instant, more dark structures materialized from thin air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, I finally got my answer—the one I’d been wondering about since I arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he was the one who built this place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Staring at his back, I felt a tangled mess of emotions surge within me .. most of them a burning hatred that made me want to kill him on the spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But tangled up with that hatred... was the weight of countless unanswered questions. Questions I was sure only he could answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ask, if you’ve got questions. This is your chance.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if reading my mind, the blue-eyed man spoke calmly, still manipulating the terrain like it was nothing. I let out a dry laugh without meaning to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now that’s unexpected. Since when are you feeling generous, Engineer?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I said coldly. But as usual, he said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no reason for him to lie to me. If he wanted to escape, I’d never be able to find him anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the door open before me, a hundred questions flooded my head. All the things I desperately wanted answers to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But above them all...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I asked the one question that brought me here in the first place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How do I save Danzo?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I asked firmly, giving it my full focus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The final mission gave me two choices: save him, or kill him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And if anyone knew a third way, it would be this son of a bitch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I waited for his answer. A few seconds passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There’s no clear answer to that question.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The veins on my forehead twitched like worms as rage welled up again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What the hell do you mean by that?! Aren’t you the one who said this question would require using the System’s Inquiry Skill?! And that I’d regret it if I used it too soon?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shouted without thinking, frustration spilling out of me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was supposed to know the answer. He was the one who hinted at it through the system interface that day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Engineer showed no reaction. He turned toward me calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You seem to misunderstand something, Frey Starlight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coldly, he spoke words more confusing than anything I’d heard from him before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did you really think I was the one who created the system you’ve been using all this time?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words made me furrow my brows in disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What are you talking about?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wake up already. There’s no way I could give you a power like that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Continuing to spew this nonsense, my mind only filled with more questions instead of answers. I couldn’t help but yell in frustration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What the hell are you saying?! If you didn’t create it, then who did?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That power was inside you from the start. All I did was shape it into a system interface so you could use it more easily. That’s all the system is ... your own power, nothing else.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each word felt like a hammer pounding my skull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No way... this couldn’t be true.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were too many contradictions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the system was my own power, how did he manipulate it in the first place?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What kind of bullshit are you trying to sell me?! Weren’t you the one who issued missions? Weren’t you the one who gave me answers after the Victoriad?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I kept screaming, while he calmly continued reshaping the sect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t issue your missions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And as for the system inquiry... all I did was tell you the answer because I happened to know it at the time. Unlike now .. when I genuinely have no clear answer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words hit me like relentless blows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, memories of the system’s sarcastic remarks, its cryptic missions, and everything else came flooding back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Covering my face with my hands as my expression darkened, a terrible realization crept over me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That wasn’t the Engineer...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It seems you’ve finally caught on.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As his voice echoed in the temple, I collapsed onto the ground without meaning to .. realizing I’d just opened a door to an entirely new nightmare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If it wasn’t you... then who?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I asked once more, staring up at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He opened his mouth and answered flatly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I won’t tell you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why so surprised? I said I’d listen to your questions. I never said I’d answer all of them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing that smug response again, especially now of all times...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I found myself drawing my swords, unable to control my rage any longer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You really are a son of a bitch, damned engineer . The filthy engineer ..that title suits you perfectly!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Exploding the ground beneath my feet, I shot toward him at blinding speed, ready to blow him to pieces with every ounce of power I had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Take your cursed nonsense and go to hell!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swinging my sword, I slashed at him with terrifying speed .. my blade was mere inches from cutting him down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then, in that moment...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time froze, in the strangest, most unnatural way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the engineer moved, unaffected. Calmly, he placed his hand .. glowing with an overwhelming blue light .. right on my chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sleep for a while. Maybe it’ll help clear your head.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though time itself was frozen, I could hear his voice with perfect clarity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, without warning, his fist released a destructive wave of aura that tore through my body, hurling me backward until I smashed through the temple wall, shattering it completely and breaking through to the other side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I collapsed on the ground, defeated in a single blow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With one strike, the engineer had knocked me out cold, leaving me buried in the abyss of darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gap between our powers... was beyond measure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t know how long I remained unconscious. But when I finally awoke, night had already fallen outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With heavy, dragging steps, I stumbled out of the temple, wounded far more in spirit than in body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And there he was .. the damned Engineer .. still standing there, calmly continuing to build the sect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing him once again, I realized something clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My time with those piercing blue eyes was far from over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You truly are a damned son of a bitch... cursed engineer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1437,"2026-05-30T03:41:22.346Z","2026-06-01T04:30:12.387Z",1,"novelbin.me","19c4feae5535a0ef32d4304d2cb67f78708388f3e13e02b1b0bae4c24ecb4491","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-429","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-427",866,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-villain-s-pov-cover.jpg"]