Within a Hollow Heart - Chapter 96: Volume 2, : "Paths of Broken Threads"

Enemies always meet on a narrow road and when they meet war breaks out.

They met as kids and fought but Zi Han lost.

They met in the army as recruits and even then Zi Han lost.

He lost again as he remained a sergeant while Yi Chen was promoted to the position of Marshal.

Even when his dark history swallowed him whole and shifted allegiance to become the Universe’s most infamous assassin he still lost to Yi Chen.

Zi Han, “Damn it! Why won’t you let me win.”

Yi Chen, “I can let you win in bed if you like?”

Zi Han, “……”

When did enemies graduate from rolling in the dirt fighting to rolling in the sheets….. fighting? That’s the million-dollar question.

.....

The strongest wizard Alfred, in a hero’s party, subdued the Maou and in the process took a cursed arrow to the knee.

Even with the hurt knee, Alfred’s still the strongest wizard ever. So…

「We need a chief for our newly created knight squad!」 「Could you help us as our guild manager?」「We need someone to rid us of the dragon that resides in the North Mountain!!」

Alfred just wanted some time to rest and recover, but no one would LEAVE HIM ALONE!

Because of that, Alfred wished to spend time recovering in a small country village that no one knew about.

『Need a guard in Mulg Village. Wolves and boars attacking the village. Payment is food and board. *Village has a hot spring.』

「THAT’S THE ONE!」

So, the strongest wizard in the kingdom…decided on living the slow life in the country.

Every hero starts with power. He started with dust.One moment, the classroom buzzed with teenage chatter. The next, silence fell. Students blinked—and opened their eyes in an ancient hall carved from gold and marble. The air shimmered with divine magic. And at its center stood a goddess—flawless, proud, unbelievably beautiful and wrapped in flowing white.It was a divine summoning performed by a divine goddess.Among them was Vritra… and his stunningly beautiful mother.While others received blessings, powerful physiques and grand titles, Vritra was given a skill so pathetic it made even the goddess wrinkle her nose. An ability—so pitifully weak that it drew laughter, scorn, and even disgust. But that wasn't the worst part.Betrayed and cornered inside the labyrinth, Vritra had two choices: die… or fall into the death trap.A death canopy with no exit and no chance of survival, the only option was to slaughter the demons endlessly for months.Finally!! He forced his dormant skill to awaken, after killing thousands and hundreds of thousands demons and devouring them, becoming a broken ability.******White robes. Cold arroganceA sinful revenge.White robes can stain. And in the dark, even divinity can moan.And then there was his mo— guilt in her breath, shame in her eyes, whispering apologies between gasps in her son's ear, doing what had to be done… for both their sakes.

The story revolves around Charles Karino, a Levaamu Empire mercenary aerial pilot who mans the twin seater reconnaissance seaplane Santa Cruz. One day, he receives a preposterous assignment: to fly solo over 12,000 kilometers of enemy waters to protect a girl named Fana del Moral. Fana happens to be the next in line to the empire’s throne and a girl possessing beauty “equal to 5,000 beams of light.”

This is a standalone book. There’s another series under the name “To Aru Hikuushi e no Koiuta” (Love Song for a Certain Pilot) set in the same world, but in a completely different place and with different characters.

– Ulrezaj @ Mazui

Adapted to anime as “The Princess and the Pilot”