God, Help Us All [Monster Evolution/Progression/LitRPG] - Chapter 41: Poor, poor James

After dying in an oddly anticlimactic vending machine accident, Kazuki Ren is reincarnated in the demon realm—not as a hero, not as a villain, but as the only human male student enrolled at the mysterious Academy of Ruin, a school where all the professors are demon lords and all the students are powerful, beautiful she-demons.Ren is told he has one task: survive.But there’s a catch. The Academy’s darkest secret is about to awaken, and Ren holds a hidden power that could either destroy the demon world... or rule it.Now surrounded by seductive demons with hidden motives, eldritch tomes, forbidden dungeons, and twisted exams, Ren must master his ability—or be consumed.Magic, mystery, danger, and temptation await in this dark academia harem fantasy.

Her step-sister just died three months ago. Now, she insists on marrying Chu Lui, who is supposed to be her future brother-in-law, the mind behind the Chu Enterprise. The world is sure that she, the new bride-to-be, had caused her step-sister’s death in order to seduce him.

Even her own mother says to her cruelly, “Don’t call me ‘Mom’. I don’t have a daughter as vicious as you.”

- Description from Novelupdates

I despised her. I despised how she schemed to get married to me. I despised her because of her arrogance.

“Li Rui, you don't know how many times I have wished to kill you.”

But all of this was my illusion. Everything was a mysterious trap of lies. A trap that was laid to trap me.

“Rui, I want to protect you from this whole world. I will not ask you to love me.....just don't hate me. Hmm....”

The story of a lover that was never destined to get the girl he loved but his fate led him to her.

In my previous life, I was half a move short and ultimately failed to reach the summit. Having traveled back to the past, this time... I want to become the strongest in this world! To become the strongest in this world, one only needs three simple steps: 1. Pick up a newly-transferred Demonic Sect Enchantress off the streets. 2. Subdue and vanquish the demon. 3. Take her cultivation technique for myself. Awesome! I’m already invincible! ———————— Years later, Yan Yu, who had earned the title of “the strongest,” was interviewed on television: Host: To whom do you want to give thanks for your success today? Yan Yu: I’d like to thank a very important woman to me. Host (eyes lighting up): Oh, is she your wise and virtuous wife? Yan Yu: No, consider her a stepping stone, I suppose. Host (wiping sweat): Then... what about the other members of your team? They must have helped you as well, right? Yan Yu: ... How could there possibly be only one stepping stone on the path to godhood?