Toaru Majutsu no Index - Volume 20, Chapter 4: Now is the Time to Strike Back. Heroes_Congregate.

[MATURE CONTENT]Abigail Snow accidentally caught her fiancé being intimate with her sister. She learned that her fiancé had only used her to advance his business and had never truly loved her.Heartbroken, Abigail called off the engagement and left everything behind to start a new life with nothing. At her lowest point, she met Sawyer, a hidden tycoon who helped her rebuild her life and seek justice against those who made her suffer.As Abigail begins to fall in love with Sawyer, his childhood sweetheart reappears, causing doubt and confusion for her.***Excerpt:Whoever this man was, he was her savior. If he hadn’t held her hand and pulled her, she might have become dead meat and gone straight to the afterlife.“Thank you so much, good sir,” Abigail said softly as she finally looked up to see him.Abigail was stunned.“But I'm not planning to commit suicide. I tripped over my own feet,” she continued, avoiding eye contact. She stared at his chest—her line of sight only reaching his sturdy chest.“It sounds better to hear that, Miss. Because I don’t want to go to the police station to become a witness, or they might wrongly accuse me as a suspect,” he said with a sarcastic tone that caused Abigail to stifle a laugh.“Sir, I’m so grateful you helped me. You are my savior. I owe you my life—” Abigail paused, taken aback by her own words.How could she make such a deep vow to this man!? This man might take advantage of her if he was a bad person. Right?“Alright, young lady, you’re supposed to release your tight embrace on me. You’re safe now.”Abigail was utterly shocked to hear his words. She only realized she was still in his arms, her hands tightly wrapped around his waist, and her entire body pressed against him. They were so close—close enough to hear his loud heartbeat. She quickly took a few steps back.

“Before the towers fell, before everything was consumed by darkness...”Leo Astralis whispered to himself while traversing through the rubble of the ancient structure.His body bore the scars of survival, bite marks that throbbed against the coarse, blood-stiffened fabric of his clothing.“..I wonder what the world was like.”After humanity failed to complete the Tower almost 700 years ago in time, it exploded, spreading monsters all over the word.Even the system, which blessed humans with power, had abandoned them. Or did it?[Run]A singular message urged Leo to escape, yet it was short lived as was he was caught like an animal in a trap.And just like an animal he lashed out until the very end, taking one of the captors to the grave with him.But as darkness closed in, the system spoke again.[One time Regression activated][Congratulations. You've activated the Heart of the System]

A merciless and unforgiving world where a common cold could kill you, a world where survival of the fittest applied—A world where humans aren't at the top of the food chain.A world where the roar of predators echoes through the wilderness, and the threat of being hunted lingers around every corner. A world where the natural elements are both beautiful and deadly, with raging storms and scorching heat waves that can wipe out entire communities.Every day is a battle for survival, with individuals and groups fighting tooth and nail to secure food, shelter, and water. The weak and vulnerable are often left behind, their fate sealed by the brutal law of the jungle.And in this same age, same jungle there was a young boy, whose fate changed when he heard an unknown voice in his head.Garnt woke up feeling a little better after he was on the verge of death because of a single wound he suffered from hunting, and the first thing he noticed was that everything around him looked foreign to him, even though the cave he was lying in was supposed to be his home.While he was unconscious from the injuries, Garnt saw several things he couldn't even understand.He saw people using brick-like equipment to communicate with each other and flying monsters that happily served humans by taking them inside their bodies. A bizarre world where everyone covered their bodies. He saw giant structures that stood even taller than the largest caves he had seen and suddenly a voice questioned his mind about what he witnessed.[Why do these waters look muddy? Why don't you filter them?]What are you talking about? This is how they are supposed to look.[Why are these weapons so blunt?]They are sharp enough for me.[Where are your clothes, Don't you get cold?]What are clothes, I don't know.[Why do men and women look like they don't feel anything while having sex? Wasn't it supposed to be romantic and sensual?]What do you mean? It is just an activity for procreation.After witnessing such a world, Garnt felt like they were missing something important. His current status looked like a living hell when he compared it with the vision he had. But was that vision real? Does something like that really exist?[Yes, it exists. Do you want to see that world? I will help you, but in exchange, you should make my dream come true.]

I became the wife of a man with a lover. Well then, I guess I have to protect his chastity?

“You can sleep on the floor then.”

“What?” His eyes said he didn’t want to.

Well, yeah. The floor was hard. Then it couldn’t be helped.

“I’ll just hold your hand and sleep. You trust me, right?”

But, how come the bed broke on my first night with my husband?

*

Aristine, a princess confined out of the Emperor’s sight.

When in reality, she was the owner of the [Monarch’s Sight], able to see the future, past, and present.

She, who became the sacrifice for a political marriage, was married off to a terrifying barbarian…

“The most precious things should naturally be given to my bride.”

But her husband, whose monstrosity she prepared for, was way too normal.

However, he belonged to someone else.

‘I’ll go make money then.’

She might as well make the goldfields her own.

*

Can Aristine really achieve her dream of living freely on a pile of money?

Or will she end up killing two birds with one stone?