Rakuin no Monshou - Volume 1, Chapter 7: Mirage Kingdom

“I am Bianca Valestra, Witch of the Frozen Night, an enemy of Humanity. By choosing to follow me, you will be fighting not just humans—but the entire world. I no longer wish to lie to you, Elian. If you wish to walk away or choose another path, I will let you.”Yet the boy shook his head and laid his hand gently over hers.“I am no longer human. I just committed what I think to be genocide. I am not afraid. For you—the one who saved me, gave me purpose, and my only desire—I will fight. I do not care how many come. I will kill them all.”___In the year 2030, everything changed.Portals to other dimensions appeared without warning.We called them dungeons.And from them came monsters that knew only destruction.But in humanity’s darkest hour, a sliver of hope emerged.People began awakening strange abilities—Talents—to fight back.Years passed. A fragile normal returned.Our story begins with Elian Reeds, a teenage student born in this new world—without a Talent.A Defect, they called him. Useless. Broken.That is, until he meets her.A fallen villainess whose name still strikes fear and reverence alike:Bianca Valestra—divine in beauty, and colder than death.This is the tale of their meeting.The chronicle of their journey.And the legacy of their triumph.

Everyone knows that the eldest young master of the Fu family is cold and noble, sinister and cunning.Few people know that he has loved a woman for over ten years and even has a child, making him a true hypocrite.Until one day, in front of the media and under the spotlight, he holds the woman firmly in his arms, tender and affectionate—“Marriage, children, the whole package. After so many years, you still refuse to take responsibility for me?”

Elia is a poor university student until the night she’s taken to the world of the Anima—ruled by humans whose ancient hearts pulse with the blood of animals. There she’s forced into a battle to the death. But when Elia survives, and refuses to kill her final opponent, the King must either kill Elia himself, or take her as his mate.

Reth, the brutal King of the Beasts with the blood of lions, shocks everyone when he chooses the weak, human Elia to become his Queen. He promises her every comfort of his wealth and position—but he is clear: She will not warm his bed. He chose her to defeat those that were trying to corner him into blending his Leonine line with the Wolves.

Elia needs the help of the Anima to become stronger and rule them well. But the vengeful Wolves see only a weak human that brought them shame. As Elia and Reth grow closer, the wolves are determined to destroy her. Will Reth and Elia admit their feelings for each in time to fight for the Kingdom—and their lives—against the villainous wolf-tribe? Or will the wolves kill Elia and steal the throne?

[Mature content - no sexual violence]

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He stalked towards her, chin low so the shadow cast by his hard jaw cut across the thick fur collar of his vest. His hair had fallen over his eyes in the scuffle, so he peered at her through it like a lion in the grass. With each step, his graceful, rolling gait reminded her of a predator stalking its prey. Despite the forest floor littered in twigs and leaves, he didn’t make a sound.

“Wh-who are you?” Elia stammered, backing away, her hands up. He met her step for step until she came up hard against the tree behind her—and didn’t stop until he loomed over her, so broad his shoulders and chest made a wall in front of her. She could feel the heat rising off his skin in the cool, night air.

“I am the Leonine King.” His voice was a dark, husky gravel. Behind him a chorus of wheezes, howls, and chirps of agreement rose from the people watching. “And you are?”

“Elia,” she breathed.

“Elia,” he growled, leaning in closer, bringing with him the scent of pine and rain and the musk of something distinctly male. “I am Reth.” He said the name with a strange, guttural roll in his throat. “I am King of Beasts. I am Clan Leader, and I am Alpha of WildWood.” Several snarls rose from the crowds behind him then, but he ignored them.

Elia swallowed as he leaned in until the scruff on his jaw rasped her cheek. “I am the King,” he said, “And you will be my mate.”

The forest behind him erupted.

After a shocking reincarnation, our hero opens her eyes to a new (and messy) world the last thing she remembers is reading Lady Viper’s Vow, a dark fantasy novel about a cruel, misunderstood villainess and her path of doom. But when our protagonist finds herself reborn right in the heart of an attack, she’s moments away from a second, way-too-soon death. Just as she’s about to face the end, a mysterious “system” pops up with a single mission: Level Up or Die Trying. It’s bossy, snarky, and her new best friend. As she levels up into a borderline-cheater powerhouse, she discovers her fate isn’t to be a hero, a princess, or even a sorceress, but to protect the one person no one ever expected her to side with: the villainess herself.