THE VILLAIN'S POV-Chapter 278: The Devil’s Hand

– Frey Starlight's Pov –

It felt like every function in my body shut down without warning.

When had it happened?

I could've sworn… just moments ago, I was sitting beside Ada.

Just the two of us, sharing a quiet family moment .. free from chaos, free from the world.

I was close.

So close…

To living the life my father had once dreamed for me.

Once, I had everything.

Then I started over from nothing in this world ..

Building it all back, piece by piece.

It was brutal. But I did it.

So why ?

The world turned gray.

Every hair on my body stood on end, as if a bolt of lightning had struck me.

I couldn't stop trembling.

My lower lip quivered with a fear I couldn't suppress.

I was so close.

So why…?

Why?!!

Helpless, I looked toward Ada.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Those eyes ..

Crimson red, glowing bright .. were the only thing not swallowed by the colorless world.

"Hello, ****."

It was her voice.

My sister's voice.

But the suffocating presence pressing against my chest…

That burning sensation in my heart…

That wasn't her aura.

I already knew who it was.

And so, trembling, the only thing I could manage to say was ..

"Why?"

Why now?

Ada .. smiling calmly, her crimson gaze unblinking .. sat as if upon a throne made just for her.

"Why? You're seriously asking me that… ****?"

The one being I never dared to cross.

The one whose presence alone could break me.

And hearing my true name .. the one I had before reincarnating .. Only twisted my insides with nausea.

The pressure crushing me wasn't even one percent of his real power.

He was far away, only puppeteering Ada's body.

And even with everything I had…

I could barely breathe.

"Why… are you here?"

What do you want from me?

I wanted to ask a hundred things.

But the trembling… the uneven breath… they sealed my throat shut.

Still, I had to know.

Why had Agaroth, the Demon King himself .. Chosen to appear now?

Sitting comfortably in Ada's form, he crossed one leg over the other, resting his arm on the chair's armrest .. smiling without a care in the world.

"What are you doing, ****—

No, I suppose I should say Frey Starlight.

That's what I want to know."

He asked a question I couldn't begin to understand.

"What… do you mean?"

I fought the urge to collapse, struggling to stay upright beneath the crushing weight of his will.

"You really don't know, do you?"

Agaroth sighed.

"A normal life.

Normal friends.

A normal family…"

He gestured toward me.

"A normal person.

Since when did you become so… unbearably dull to look at, Frey Starlight?"

His smile faded slowly.

And I ..

Still didn't understand.

My thoughts were empty.

Completely blank.

"What are you even talking about?"

What kind of madness was this?

Agaroth exhaled again and rose from his seat.

"Frey Starlight… up until now, you've been guided by a strong fate.

One tangled with countless others.

Even your light… eventually reached me."

He began to pace around the room, speaking in riddles that only made my confusion worse.

"To be honest, your pitiful little struggle for your family..

As laughable as it was ..

Still managed to be entertaining.

Watching your climb from a small insect to a slightly bigger one…

It made for a good show."

Agaroth was speaking more now than he ever had before.

Far more.

And me?

Kneeling on the floor, heart racing like it was about to burst…

I just wanted it to stop.

He stopped in front of me, staring down.

That look .

It reminded me how small I truly was.

So small.

"From where I'm standing, you've got nothing left to offer… Frey Starlight."

His words dug deep.

A show? A struggle? Something "ugly to look at"?

He had been watching me…

This entire time?

The Engineer. Wesker. Agaroth.

All these beings… circling around me.

But for what?

"Am I…"

Everything I've endured until now…

All the blood.

All the tears.

"Am I just a show?"

Just something pathetic ..

Something you watch from above when you're bored?

A worthless toy you enjoy watching suffer?

Agaroth, still wearing Ada's body, leaned toward me with a smile that could freeze hell.

"That's right, Frey Starlight…

You've been nothing but an endless source of amusement."

I lay there, speechless ..crushed and hollow.

"Every fight you've had, every step you've taken…

I've been there, watching.

I placed great expectations on you.

And what did you do with them?"

His voice turned sharp, biting.

"Family. Friends. Sentiment.

Rubbish."

He picked up that same wicked knife from earlier.

"Listen carefully, Frey."

"Your life ..

Everything you cherish ..

Depends on what you offer next.

This little piece of happiness you're clinging to, This fragile world you've built…"

In an instant, he pressed the blade against Ada's neck, carving a thin cut that bled down her skin ..

And smiled.

"No!!"

I screamed, barely able to move, as Agaroth laughed.

"Everything you love ..your family, your friends ..

I can end it all in a heartbeat.

Did you really think I couldn't reach you,

Just because I'm sealed far away?"

His words struck deeper than any blade.

The pressure around me was unbearable ..

I bit my lip so hard it bled, and forced the words out:

"Why me?!

Why are all of you obsessed with me?!"

I tried to scream it ..

But he didn't respond.

Instead, he asked:

"Who are you?"

I opened my mouth—

But froze.

What was the answer?

Frey Starlight?

Just a regular human?

A failed author?

What was I?

Agaroth saw the confusion in my eyes and smirked.

"Blame fate.

Blame yourself.

It doesn't matter."

Still holding the knife in Ada's hand, those crimson eyes locked onto mine.

"Just remember…"

"I am always here.

No matter where you go, or how far you run ..

I will find you.

So don't disappoint me again.

Or else…"

Clap.

He snapped his fingers.

"The show ends early."

A clear threat.