[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-villain-s-pov":3,"chapter-the-villain-s-pov-the-villain-s-pov-chapter-496":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},336583,598,"Chapter 496: A Glimpse of the Abyss","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-496",496,"\u003Cp>A man could dedicate his entire life to training if he wished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But there are realms of strength that no amount of training could ever reach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If training were enough,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>everyone would become a legend in their time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This strength...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>is the result of everything I’ve endured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every life-and-death battle I’ve faced, every collision I’ve survived,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>every ounce of pain, and all the suffering I’ve borne.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The life Frey Starlight had lived was anything but easy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fate he had been forced to carry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tragedies he had been thrown into.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All of it...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>had shaped the Frey who stood here now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those abyss-black eyes of his had seen too much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Far too much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had only lived for three years in this body with full awareness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in those three years ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he had experienced more than most would in a lifetime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This... is not a level you reach through training alone, Frost Moonlight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey declared, pressing forward ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>his aura alone forcing Frost backward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frost couldn’t bear it anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He launched himself at Frey, losing control.. desperate to fight, to prove something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Frey was behind him before he even realized it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in the next instant ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>dozens of deep, surgical cuts appeared across Frost’s arm ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the one holding his spear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wounds that could’ve been fatal ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>if Frey hadn’t deliberately held back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had cut just enough .. to make Frost drop his weapon, unable to hold it any longer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound of the great spear clattering to the ground echoed across the arena.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moments later, its wielder collapsed as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Falling to his knees before Frey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey stood over him ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dark Sister held at his cheek.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank you for the match.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s all Frey said before withdrawing his aura and stepping away ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>bringing the spectacle to an end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone instinctively made way for him as he passed, still shaken by the overwhelming power they had just witnessed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the aftermath of what he’d done, Frey sighed with mild irritation...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And just as he was about to leave,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he saw Seris Moonlight standing in his path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was almost laughable ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>of all directions he could’ve chosen to leave from, it just so happened to be the same spot where Seris had been watching the duel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he passed his former Temple companion, Frey muttered an apology under his breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sorry... I might’ve gone a little too far.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had been a duel, after all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Frost was still the head of a noble house. There had been no need to humiliate him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Seris shook her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s fine. It was necessary.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She saw it from a different angle ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>as a vital lesson for Frost’s growth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something essential if he were to truly be worthy of leading House Moonlight in the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a rare smile, Seris looked ahead with newfound clarity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your current level is... astonishing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You looked like a true warrior ..like a living legend whose history is still being written before our eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you don’t mind... may I have the honor of dueling you next time?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey was caught off guard by the sudden praise and request.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ice Princess ..the famously emotionless girl often likened to a lifeless doll .. was showing a side of herself that felt fully alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if, at long last, Seris had begun allowing her true feelings to surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as she did,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey found her... breathtaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes then drifted downward...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>falling on Seris’s restored arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wore a black military uniform bearing the sigil of House Moonlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And despite the long sleeves, a portion of her right forearm was visible ..revealing a strange, intricate tattoo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A frost-marked symbol, icy flowers etched like thorned vines crawling across her pale skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that design, Frey’s smile deepened as he walked past her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s an honor to witness your growth with my own eyes, Seris...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I’d prefer to stand beside you on the battlefield...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>destroying our enemies .. rather than face you as one.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey declined politely as he passed her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seris nodded without complaint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then I’ll see you on the battlefield, Frey Starlight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that brief exchange, the two of them nodded and passed by one another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all those years,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>there was no longer any bitterness between them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both had moved past what once was ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and looked forward to what could be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>fighting side by side felt like a real possibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least for Seris, who didn’t hesitate to show Frey her back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey Starlight had changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the arrogant young lord he once was...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>to someone mysterious and unreadable...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>then the cursed champion of the Victoriad...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and now ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the miracle-bringer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was only natural for her perception of him to change after all that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as these thoughts passed through her mind, they walked shoulder to shoulder .. each going in a different direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the exact moment they brushed past each other ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A strange phenomenon erupted from nowhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Frey’s shoulder, a violet spark shot out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bizarre bolt of electricity slithered like a serpent .. leaping from Frey...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and striking straight into Seris Moonlight’s body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She froze in place the moment it touched her ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>her entire being trembling as the world around her flipped upside down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt like someone had torn her from her reality...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and thrown her into a completely different one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A dark one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A reality that sent shivers down her spine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was no longer surrounded by soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No longer in the camp she’d just been standing in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She now stood in a battlefield ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a vision of carnage unlike anything she had ever seen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flames raged across the land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flames blood-red and crimson,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>as if even fire itself had been tainted by the amount of blood spilled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And when she turned around ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She saw him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man responsible for it all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood behind the chaos ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a figure wearing a strange black mask, surrounded by a bizarre group of individuals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They looked like his followers ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and they stared at him with devotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A cursed gathering, led by one man who made her very soul tremble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And when she looked closely...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he was familiar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That white hair...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>those features...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no mistaking it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Frey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The same man she had just spoken to only moments ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But... what had happened?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was she seeing now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where even was she?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seris tried to move ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>to react, to scream, to blink .\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But her body wouldn’t respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This masked Frey wasn’t the man she knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t know him intimately ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>but even she could tell this... this wasn’t the same person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, for some reason,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>she couldn’t look away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then suddenly ..he turned toward her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their eyes met ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and he reached his hand toward her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hand soaked in blood,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a hand that had caused all of this destruction...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet... strangely...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seris found herself reaching back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking that hand without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that moment,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>she realized ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She, too, was no longer the same person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And just like that ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world flipped again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Seris returned to reality ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>as Frey passed by her, silently walking away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, she turned toward him immediately, shock etched across her face from the horror of what she had just seen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her hand reached out, instinctively ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>trying to stop him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before she could take a single step in his direction ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sharp voice echoed in her mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do not move. Take one more step and you’ll regret it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the voice of a woman . old, gentle...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>yet cold and commanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seris obeyed instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t dare go against it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My Lady... what just happened?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What did I just see?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And what does it have to do with Frey?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She asked, bewildered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence followed ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>until the strange, thorned tattoos along her arm began to faintly glow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I do not know what that was...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But something foreign invaded your body just now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A force born from that young man.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice spoke again, clearly referring to Frey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That power... I’ve never seen anything like it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An aura... ominous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And deeply unnatural.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even someone of your level couldn’t identify it...?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seris was stunned by what she heard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even her Lady... couldn’t see through Frey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Stay away from that boy, Seris...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whatever lies inside him is not something that should be awakened.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice was firm. Final.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seris slowly nodded, unwilling to defy the command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She cast one last look toward Frey’s back as he walked away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She couldn’t stop thinking about the vision ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>about how he had looked in that twisted reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What exactly had she seen?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seris had no answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the future...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>would give her one.\u003C\u002Fp>",1479,"2026-05-30T03:41:22.347Z","2026-06-01T04:30:12.387Z",1,"novelbin.me","0a6208ca8a146c3ce468f270b9014f2d73c2e972d07f0a6787c829c95b7d3f0c","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-497","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-495",866,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-villain-s-pov-cover.jpg"]