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THE VILLAIN'S POV

Chapter 344: The Cost of a Few (1) · Nov 01, 2026

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Chapter List (931)

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301 Chapter 301: A Different Shade of Pain (1) 2026-11-01
302 Chapter 302: A Different Shade of Pain (2) 2026-11-01
303 Chapter 303: The Loop of Sorrow: Awakening in Darkness (1) 2026-11-01
304 Chapter 304: The Loop of Sorrow: Awakening in Darkness (2) 2026-11-01
305 Chapter 305: When Titans Speak 2026-11-01
306 Chapter 306: Nameless (1) 2026-11-01
307 Chapter 307: Nameless (2) 2026-11-01
308 Chapter 308: Journey’s End (1) 2026-11-01
309 Chapter 309: Journey’s End (2) 2026-11-01
310 Chapter 310: The next step (1) 2026-11-01
311 Chapter 311: The next step (2) 2026-11-01
312 Chapter 312: The Calm Before the Storm (1) 2026-11-01
313 Chapter 313: The Calm Before the Storm (2) 2026-11-01
314 Chapter 314: The Hunt Begins (1) 2026-11-01
315 Chapter 315: The Hunt Begins (2) 2026-11-01
316 Chapter 316: No Way Back (1) 2026-11-01
317 Chapter 317: No Way Back (2) 2026-11-01
318 Chapter 318: A Continent Against Twenty-Two 2026-11-01
319 Chapter 319: The hammer and the anvil (1) 2026-11-01
320 Chapter 320: The hammer and the anvil (2) 2026-11-01
321 Chapter 321: Cannon fodder 2026-11-01
322 Chapter 322: Beneath the Crowsʼ Gaze (1) 2026-11-01
323 Chapter 323: Beneath the Crowsʼ Gaze (2) 2026-11-01
324 Chapter 324: Beneath the Crowsʼ Gaze (3) 2026-11-01
325 Chapter 325: Womb of Ashes 2026-11-01
326 Chapter 326: Third-Generation Contracts 2026-11-01
327 Chapter 327: Ashes of Innocence 2026-11-01
328 Chapter 328: Dancing to the Devil’s Tune (1) 2026-11-01
329 Chapter 329: Dancing to the Devil’s Tune (2) 2026-11-01
330 Chapter 330: The Day Death Knocked (1) 2026-11-01
331 Chapter 331: The Day Death Knocked (2) 2026-11-01
332 Chapter 332: The Witch’s Gambit (1) 2026-11-01
333 Chapter 333: The Witch’s Gambit (2) 2026-11-01
334 Chapter 334: Frey starlight vs Beatrice (1) 2026-11-01
335 Chapter 335: Frey starlight vs Beatrice (2) 2026-11-01
336 Chapter 336: The Witch’s Game (1) 2026-11-01
337 Chapter 337: The Witch’s Game (2) 2026-11-01
338 Chapter 338: Snow Lionheart (1) 2026-11-01
339 Chapter 339: Snow Lionheart (2) 2026-11-01
340 Chapter 340: Snow Lionheart (3) 2026-11-01
341 Chapter 341: Snow Lionheart (4) 2026-11-01
342 Chapter 342: The Devil’s Bargain (1) 2026-11-01
343 Chapter 343: The Devil’s Bargain (2) 2026-11-01
344 Chapter 344: The Cost of a Few (1) 2026-11-01
345 Chapter 345: The Cost of a Few (2) 2026-11-01
346 Chapter 346: Maekar Valerion vs Astaroth (1) 2026-11-01
347 Chapter 347: Maekar Valerion vs Astaroth (2) 2026-11-01
348 Chapter 348: Maekar Valerion vs Beatrice (1) 2026-11-01
349 Chapter 349: Maekar Valerion vs Beatrice (2) 2026-11-01
350 Chapter 350: Sir Alon 2026-11-01

Chapter 344: The Cost of a Few (1)

– Frey Starlight’s POV –

I was still wandering through the endless deserts of the Ultras continent, trudging forward as a violent sandstorm howled around me, tearing apart everything in its path.

But even so, I didn’t stop. I wrapped a piece of my clothing around my face, leaving only my eyes exposed, and pressed on through the blinding sand.

It had been four days since I parted ways with the other students after our battle against the witch Beatrice.

I’d spent those days running like a madman, searching for them, but I found nothing. No trace.

There weren’t many people in this world whose deaths would truly affect me. The ones close to me were so few, I could count them on one hand.

Yet ironically, most of them were now among the other elite students...

I wasn’t the kind of person to break down if people around me died randomly. I’d already grown numb after losing those I held dear again and again.

But I couldn’t accept the idea of losing the few who remained.

Step by step, I pushed through the storm, refusing to stop.

Whenever I had the chance, I opened the system interface to check on them...

Affection Points:

Snow Lionheart: 50

Sansa Valerion: 75

Danzo Smasher: 50

Ghost Umbra: 50

These were the only four whose affection points had surpassed 50, which meant I could still locate them using the Third-Person Perspective skill.

That’s how I confirmed they were all still alive.

But knowing their location was another matter entirely. All the terrain here on this damned continent looked the same.

I kept staring at their names on the screen, even as the sand whipped into my face.

Sometimes, I hesitated to use the skill, afraid of what I might find. Afraid they’d be dead. Torn apart by the Ultras. I couldn’t shake those thoughts from my mind.

But deep within that anxious heart of mine... I knew I was a hypocrite.

Because I was still clinging to the Nameless Mask. I still remembered the Unnamed King, the man who once fought Agaroth himself.

And somewhere inside my exhausted heart, I feared him more than I feared losing my friends.

If the people I cared about died one by one... what would I have left?

I know myself better than anyone. If that happened, I’d become nothing more than a cold, unfeeling killing machine... incapable of caring about anyone ever again.

And that... is the very definition of one man.

A king without a trace of emotion — Nameless.

The more I became like him, the more something inside me began to die. I feared I was losing myself piece by piece.

Maybe that’s exactly what the blue-eyed one wanted ... the one who knew my future and was paving the road toward it by any means necessary.

Against a power that immense, all I could do was fight back against the current of fate that kept dragging me into new suffering, hoping what I had would be enough.

I could never escape my own pessimism — this cursed mindset that always turned my worst thoughts into reality. It gave me insomnia. These eyes of mine had seen enough horror to last a lifetime...

Then, in a fleeting moment, my eyes fell upon another name — one I had left off to the side.

Affection Points:

Ada Starlight: 99

My sister Ada, the last remaining member of my family. The only one who held this much affection toward me...

I wondered how she was doing on the other side.

How was she dealing with everything? Would she try to save me?

”Of course she would.”

With a faint smile, I kept moving forward, unaware of the storm that was unfolding across the world...

---

...

---

The disappearance of the temple students — of the strongest generation — was no small matter.

A war between the Empire and the Ultras was already inevitable. What happened only accelerated the process.

—

– Shezclar Bay –

Part of the Demon Sea that divided the two continents... located on the eastern shore of the Ultras continent.

This bay was known for its perpetual fog — so thick it completely blocked visibility year-round.

Normally, it remained quiet, teeming with nightmare creatures swimming freely below.

But now, that calm had been shattered.

Even the dense fog could no longer hide what was coming.

For the first time in history, Shezclar Bay had become a battlefield .. one where armies prepared to tear each other apart.

The mighty fleet of the Empire, its colossal ships casting vast shadows across the sea, had forcefully broken through the Ultras’ naval defenses, clashing against them in the open waters.

For countless hours, the thunder of long-range magical cannons and mortar shells echoed without pause.

The nightmare creatures that roamed the seas fled in terror, unable to comprehend the madness of humans so eager to slaughter one another.

”Fire, you useless bastards! I know you’re not out of shells—I gave them to you myself, damn it!”

Iris Sunlight roared from the main mast of the Sunlight family’s flagship, his flaming beard dancing with the wind. The family had taken command of this sudden assault.

”Fire!”

With every order, artillery shells ripped through the sky like rain, bombarding the enemy from above.

At the same time, Iris’s fists ignited with flames as he launched explosive fireballs with his own body .. turning himself into a walking artillery cannon, obliterating enemy ships single-handedly.

But they weren’t the only ones attacking.

The Ultras retaliated just as fiercely, dealing heavy damage in return.

”Damn it...”

Iris clenched his teeth, his gaze fixed on the chaotic battlefield.

Hundreds of Imperial ships clashed against hundreds of Ultras, who refused to let them advance an inch.

Iris had rushed to the frontlines the moment he heard about what had happened to his sons—and his nephew.

Yet, to his surprise, it was as if the enemy fleet had been waiting for him.

”Iris! The situation’s bad!”

He turned to the voice beside him—a younger man clad in a crimson combat suit, with blazing red hair and an eyepatch over one eye.

It was Gal Varion Sunlight, second-in-command of the Sunlight family and father of Phoenix Sunlight.

”Gal... what happened?”

With a grim expression, Gal pointed westward.

”Something’s tearing through our ships on that side.”

Iris narrowed his eyes, trying to peer through the thick mist. Then he saw it—destruction sweeping across that flank.

”What the hell is going on?”

*Raaaaaaaagghhhhhh!!*

Before he could grasp the situation, a monstrous, gut-wrenching scream pierced his eardrums like a dagger.

In perfect sync with that cursed cry, one of the ships was shredded into pieces.

Then he saw it.

A knight clad in dark armor, carrying a colossal sword on his back.

He leaped into the sea, running wildly across its surface on three limbs—his body defying logic as the ocean became his hunting ground.

With a single swing, he demolished another ship and slaughtered everyone aboard.

That knight was no ordinary being.

He was one of the Hollow.

He was Pontiff Sulyvahn.

Tearing through everything in sight, the Pontiff was ready to keep rampaging—until a massive beam of fire struck him from the sky, blasting him hundreds of meters back.

He landed unharmed, glaring furiously at Iris, who now hovered above the battlefield in midair.

”So, you’re the one they were talking about? The Hollow, or whatever you are.”

Iris’s body flared with blazing heat, boiling the sea beneath him.

”Then burn in hell!”

Channeling a torrent of flame, Iris launched a meteor-sized fireball straight at the Pontiff, aiming to erase him from existence.

But Sulyvahn roared and leapt into the air, his sword cloaked in dark aura.

With one swing, he split the fireball in two and continued charging forward.

At that moment, Gal Varion appeared beside him and delivered a missile-like punch to the Pontiff’s side.

The impact sent him flying once again.

Gal, still airborne, stared in shock as Sulyvahn stood up .. completely unharmed.

”Be careful, Gal. This bastard is SS+ class.”

”I figured that much already, brother.”

Ignoring the constant barrage of shells overhead, the Sunlight brothers focused their attention on the monstrous Pontiff, who snarled and lunged at them.

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