[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-villain-s-story":3,"chapter-the-villain-s-story-the-villain-s-story-chapter-435":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Villain's Story",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},746560,986,"Chapter 435 [435] Eyes as deep as the abyss.","the-villain-s-story-chapter-435",435,"\u003Cp>[Tower of Trials, ?? Floor, Alan Peccator POV]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Urgh...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My head hurt...it was aching like a fucking boulder had been dropped on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Where am I?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I opened my eyes, only to struggle to see what the fuck was happening before me. My vision was incredibly blurry, I could only make out that I was in a hallway of sorts...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can't believe it...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, everything became clear as I realized that I was still In Elijah's body. Unfortunately, I still had no control over my actions, I was, once again, an Observer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or rather a victim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'What is the purpose of this floor now...?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I thought, curious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elijah's voice sounded depressed, I don't know what will happen but I don't think it will be anything good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We(?) or rather I, was currently in the hallway of a hospital, filled with people. Most of the people here were injured...Some even corpses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All available doctors and nurses rushed to do whatever they could, the family stood beside them, ready to help in any way possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Disgusting...'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The smell inside this place...was foul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From what I could see...there were dead bodies, half eaten bodies, legs, arms...Everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some held the appendages covered in cloth and cried as much as they could. Some were...shocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their eyes were listless and they were either holding an appendage or looking at the dead body of someone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I...can't believe it...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I heard Elijah say again, and he slouched down on a random free seat in the hallway. He looked aimlessly at the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised his hands...and just stared at them, shaking little by little.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised his hands further...and grabbed his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Hey! Hey!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had expected he would just cover his face with his hands but this lunatic was ripping his skin off!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Hey!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thankfully, he stopped, whether it was due to me or something else...I was just glad he stopped trying to rip his own face off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Whew...'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let out a sigh of relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'What's the objective here?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wondered...What is the tower trying to do now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The concept of these trials is...confusing to say the least. While I had concluded that maybe it was just giving me a taste of Elijah's pain and memories...I have an inkling that maybe there is an ulterior motive here that I am unaware of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the thought irks me. I can't predict what the tower will do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This goddamned tower is capable of doing anything it wants...And that fact alone is all I need to be constantly on my guard...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who knows, maybe a demon or whatever will appear in front of me again, and that time I would have control over Elijah's body and would have to fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"..i'm sorry...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All of a sudden, a plethora of emotions overwhelmed me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Depression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anxiety.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guilt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My heart was beating loudly, or rather Elijah's heart was beating loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could hear every beat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thump!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It did not stop there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thump!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The emotions were so intense that I had fallen to my knees and I could barely breathe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'..!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elijah raised his head, his eyes filled with tears and looked at a particular family far away, all crowded around a bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could see his father's robust back, he was standing firm and proud, but I could see tears running down his cheek.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mother and sister, both were hunched over the bed...breaking down in tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm sorry...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah, guilt hit me again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm sorry...Elton.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And when those words left his mouth did I realize who it was on the bed. It was his brother, Elton Ardor. The one Elijah was trying so desperately to save. He...was the reason why everyone was crying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was the reason why I was crying as well...No matter what, I couldn't help it. Elijah's emotions overwhelmed me and I felt as if tears were running down my cheek.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'...'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tried to withstand the onslaught of the emotions, but they, slowly but surely struck me again and again and again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Kuuhh.....'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm sorry Elton...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Again, his saddened voice rang out. The sounds of various children and mothers crying in the hospital disappeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was all a blur, the voices in the surroundings had gone silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***************\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Tower of Trials, 41st floor, Elijah Ardor Pov.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ugh...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My head hurts....so much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tried to massage my head but I couldn't feel...my body moved according to my will.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was...blank. All I could hear was the distant echoes of a raging battle going on. And even that\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Where am I?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I questioned, trying to calm my mind. I raised my head but what I saw...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was destruction, nothing else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All around me, debris and blood littered the ground, accompanied by an occasional corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My feet were bare, and the cloth on my knees had been eviscerated. The pain in my knees from sitting on the rough, broken ground was...immense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt weaker, I felt...smaller. It was as if all of my strength had been sapped away and I had regressed back to when I was a kid...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, even as a child, I was still stronger than this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'What...is happening?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I questioned, tears ran down my face endlessly, my throat and mouth were filled with saliva and snot, which blocked my air passageways, making me struggle to breathe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My chest...was in pain from all the crying, I could barely breathe!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"..!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sudden noise shook me, I looked up to see an explosion of ice mana which had coagulated into massive spears. The spears however, were shattered by a black whip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed familiar to me...But I could not accurately grasp why. I knew I had seen it somewhere before...but where?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could see a man and a woman, both clad in armor fighting against something, the explosions from their fight had rendered my ears useless...All I could hear was a constant ringing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Wait...'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking further, I spotted the body of a young girl, she looked to be only a little bit bigger than a baby. Being able to walk and talk but not that well at her age.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My eyes widened when I observed her more...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'My god...'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her legs had been crushed. Although the pelvis and groin was still fine, everything from her thighs to her feet had been brutally crushed. It was as if a snake had strangled them with all his strength and broke the twigs that were the little girls legs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood and flesh escaped from the punctures of her skin, caused by shards of broken bone or the sharp objects on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'I need to help her.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could see her chest moving up and down...the girl was alive, albeit barely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then, I realized I could not move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like a coward...all I was doing was crying an endless river of tears\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Move!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Move!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Move!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no matter what, my body refused to listen to me. I tried to do anything I could, with all my might...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But nothing happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Move! Move!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That girl will die soon enough! I need to go there and feed her a potion or use a skill to heal her!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'System!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I called my system, trying to access the shop in order to purchase a high grade potion...But nothing happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'...System?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shocked, I called out again. But nothing happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'...system!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Desperate,?I did it again, but nothing happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, I was truly confused...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Has the tower restricted my system?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The very thought was terrifying...and impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The system couldn't be restricted by anyone! It's just something...that can't. Even Agri failed miserably when he tried to tamper with it. He was gone for an entire year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'System!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I called out again, refusing to believe this accursed tower is stronger than the King of Fire Dragons. I refuse to believe it can do anything to my system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>''System!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Come on!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Ah!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another explosion of mana erupted, and out of instinct I tried to erect a mana barrier in front of me. And at that point I realized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had no mana as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could not feel the mana of the fire element flowing through my veins. I could feel nothing in my body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'This...can't be happening.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tower, to even take away my mana? Are you trying to kill me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What happened to the 'I give trials, not executions?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Tower!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But there was no answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Argh!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A piece of rock hit my shoulder, the explosion was probably the reason for it coming at me with a high speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Fuck!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I cursed, the pain was immense...even though it was a little rock it hurt so fucking much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked at the duo, however, this time...They had fallen to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And I saw him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I saw his figure, covered in a cloak of darkness, wielding a black whip covered with thorns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah, now I know why that whip felt so familiar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was him, the bastard that had brought forth the destruction of my home.\u003C\u002Fp>",1494,"2026-06-02T11:57:26.352Z",1,"novelbin.me","e914c7938fbe9abd2b49cc428b20519aed8e06e0f9bcad3fb1925670466b8613","the-villain-s-story-chapter-436","the-villain-s-story-chapter-434",910,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-villain-s-story-cover.jpg"]