12 Miles Below - Chapter 34: Crucible

[ WARNING: EXTREMELY MATURE CONTENT ]“If I see you again, I'll ravish your body while you bleed, Prince!”Rosina, a woman haunted by a dark past, developed a dangerous obsession that led to a trail of blood and corpses. A predator that liked to enjoy her prey before taking their lives.She has always despised the idea of having a mate until she was compelled to attend the annual mating season. Harboring a deep desire for freedom, she detested any association with royalty.During the mating event, she encountered a mysterious man wearing a blood-red mask.Draco was portrayed as a carefree Third Prince who sought only amusement and avoided the responsibilities that came with the crown.However, his encounter with Rosina ignited a change within him. He realizes that in order to win her hand in marriage, he must become a King.That transformation set Draco on a path of self-discovery and growth as he strived to prove himself worthy of Rosina's love.Would their encounter change their fate or push them to ruin?

Philip never expected his new life to be so… complicated. When a tragic accident in the modern metropolis of Bortinto abruptly ends his struggle for survival, he wakes up as the scandal-ridden heir of a ducal house in a world where magic and science coexist. Any fantasies of an easy, heroic life vanish the moment he realizes that the estate that he is tasked with managing is drowning in debt, and his reputation has been shredded by rumors involving his predecessor’s broken engagement to the socialite Lady Rosetta—the granddaughter of a prince.Even as he scrambles to rebuild his estate’s fortunes—grappling with contaminated land, mounting debts, and shrewed industrialists—he unearths troubling secrets about the original Philip’s heartbreak and suicide. A dark, hidden force seems intent on wiping him out for an unknown reason. As conspiracies emerge linking Lady Rosetta’s departure to these shadowy machinations, Philip struggles to separate ally from adversary, not knowing why this power in high places is so bent on destroying him.Meanwhile, the realm teeters on the brink of monumental change. Technological and social revolutions collide with century-old magical traditions, and war drums thunder on the distant borders. Armed with his modern knowledge of finance—now fused with the kingdom’s burgeoning industrial innovations—Philip attempts to ride the trends and transform his estate into a beacon of prosperity and secure his heirship to the ducal title. Yet each small triumph only attracts more enemies.Tasked by the System with cultivating a supernatural entity while uncovering the real reason behind Lady Rosetta’s canceled engagement and the original Philip’s tragic end, he must also shield those he grows to care about from the looming threats. Will he harness the synergy of magic, technology, and commerce to steer his estate toward greatness, or will malevolent forces quash his second chance at life? Will his second chance at life end the same tragic way as his first?

There are times—far too many times—when you feel that uncontrollable urge to kill someone.For Kaya, this… this was exactly that moment.“Repeat what you just said?”She’d seen hell on the battlefield—second-in-command of a military unit, dodging bullets, dragging traitors by the collar, and coming out alive with grit under her nails.But nothing, absolutely nothing, prepared her for the sight of her spineless husband flirting with her own sister. Right in front of her.“I could never marry a barbarian like you. The one I... I like is Meera—”Blah blah. The same pitiful nonsense again.You think—what could possibly be worse than this?And then, right on cue, your idiotic sister chimes in, completely serious, “I just poisoned you.”Wow.BANG.Before anyone could even react, Meera collapsed.Dead.Her so-called husband gasped like a fish dragged out of water.“Y-you…”He dropped to his knees, staring at Kaya like he was seeing a monster rise from the dark.“You killed your sister?! How could y—?”BANG.Second bullet.Same spot.He dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.Silence....Just when Kaya thought her story had finally reached its bitter end, the universe—no, god himself—decided to throw in one last, ridiculous twist.“Wife… wife, didn’t you say you were gonna eat me? Why’d you stop?”A snake beast, ridiculously charming and glowing like some immortal fantasy, clung to her, eyes gleaming.Another voice interrupted.“Shut up! My wife wants to cuddle me now—”A sparrow beastman leapt into her arms, like that made any sense.“Hic… wife, don’t you want me anymore?”A panda-like beastman sat beside her, huge, sniffly, and wronged like a child abandoned at a festival.Sitting in the middle of all this, Kaya was absolutely dumbfounded.‘When the hell did all of this even start?’

Luck is limited and when villains and heroes hoard it, extras lose it.An ambitious villain defeated and killed far too soon, and a heroic group that couldn't prevent humanity's extinction, find themselves back in the past.Their battles and stolen opportunities cause consequences unknown to them, impacting the lives of all those around them, especially extras, moreso one named Neville. Unbeknownst to him, his fate is greatly influenced by the 'main characters'.He'd seen it all, gangsters, politicians and their mistresses, arrogant celebrities, even bratty heirs. But nothing prepared him for the night his client was involved in an 'accident'.Right after he was summoned by his boss who fired him and accused him of being involved but since they couldn't prove it only his license was revoked.After getting out of the building, his boss tells him that the client's family demanded to meet thehim, hoping for some answers and closure.But before going there he needed to pick up the client's eldest daughter...After that encounter his world went through changes his family pushed him to the edge and the supernatural became natural and he had to adapt to his strange new abilities!