THE VILLAIN'S POV Chapter 704: Footsteps in a Fallen Kingdom (2)

Upon witnessing my unwavering determination, Snow let out a faint, cynical laugh and cast his eyes downward.

"You’ve always been this type of bastard, Frey.

I’m not surprised you’re willing to abandon all of us for your sister.

It’s just who you are."

He took a step toward me.

For a fleeting second, I wondered...

Would he attempt to block my path?

If he chose to interfere, the situation would become incredibly messy.

His power had reached a level where he could now face me on equal footing.

I was prepared to unsheathe my blade...

But I hesitated at the final moment.

I felt no aggression.

There was no killing intent.

No aura whatsoever.

Snow simply approached me with a calm gait, his hands hanging empty at his sides.

What was his intention—?

The answer arrived the instant he reached me.

His fingers curled into a fist...

And he slammed it directly into my face.

It was a clean, savage strike that came out of nowhere.

I was sent tumbling back several meters, the searing heat of the blow radiating across my right cheek.

That was a purely physical strike.

No aura was used.

Nothing magical or supernatural.

Even so...

It hurt like hell.

I collapsed onto the ground, staring blankly up at the sky.

Snow moved forward again, coming to a halt right beside me.

"Frey... every hardship you’ve endured has left deep scars on your soul.

You constantly try to handle everything by yourself, without even realizing it.

And I can’t help but curse your selfishness for that."

With a sigh of pure frustration, he sat down calmly next to me.

"Who said I would stop you, you idiot?

...I just wanted to help."

My eyes widened as the realization finally hit me.

I shifted my gaze toward him.

"Why didn’t you ask me to come with you?

If the two of us go together, our chances will increase...

And we’ll be able to return alive.

Together."

"..."

So that was what was eating at Snow.

He never intended to prevent my departure.

He simply wanted to accompany me...

To assist me in rescuing Ada.

In hindsight, it should have been obvious.

We had spent so much time fighting as comrades that he could anticipate my thoughts before they even fully formed.

Naturally, he knew I would pursue Ada.

Naturally, he wanted to lend his strength...

But I had failed to recognize that, blinded by my own distorted nature...

That wretched instinct to depend only on myself, a habit forged by everything I had survived.

Life had taught me a single, harsh lesson:

In the end, I could only rely on my own power.

No matter how many allies surrounded me,

I always ended up standing alone.

That had been the reality for Frey Starlight since the moment I first opened my eyes in this world.

But Snow...

Snow was different.

He was the one individual who had remained by my side...

Through every trial.

Even when facing Wesker.

He was the exception.

Slowly, I pushed myself up until I was sitting beside him.

"I’m sorry...

It seems the shadows of my past still dig too deep into me."

I offered him a faint, pained smile.

"From now on, I’ll try to change that way of thinking...

But I’m going to be selfish one more time.

And ask you to let me go alone.

Just this once."

I stood back up, forcing a decision upon him that I knew he hated.

"Your presence here is vital.

For our comrades, for the survivors...

You’re the only one whose strength I can trust completely if something goes wrong."

The Shadow Sect was not entirely reliable.

The human forces were far too fragile.

Snow was the only person I could entrust with this heavy responsibility.

"Stay here.

Lead them.

Ensure they stay alive."

Snow looked up at me, his jaw clenching tight.

"Our enemy is too strong, Frey...

You won’t be able to win alone."

Snow remained unconvinced by my reasoning.

He was painfully aware of the terrifying power our enemies possessed.

But in that moment, I could only give him a subtle smile.

"Don’t worry. I’m not alone this time."

As those words escaped my lips, Snow froze for a split second.

A flicker of purple shadow manifested behind me for a heartbeat...

The silhouette of a figure clad in a black metallic mask...

A presence so majestic and overwhelming that it could only belong to a king.

"I’ll come back regardless of the cost.

Until then, I’m leaving everything in your hands."

A tidal wave of deep violet aura surged through my frame as I prepared for teleportation.

Snow let out another weary sigh, still filled with doubt.

However, seeing the resolve in my eyes, he ceased his attempts to stop me.

"Make sure you save your sister and return alive.

We’ll be waiting for you."

I gave a firm nod, and in the following instant, I vanished from the Shadow Sect, leaving him and the others behind.

---

...

Snow stood there for a long time, staring at the empty space where I had been.

Then, he slowly turned his gaze toward a patch of deep shadows nearby.

"Are you really planning to hide until the end without saying anything?

Sansa..."

His face remained expressionless, his voice devoid of warmth.

From the darkness he indicated, the shadows began to churn...

And within seconds, Sansa stepped out from the void, fully transformed into her demonic form.

"He’s gone.

It’s too late to tell him anything now..." Snow remarked, and Sansa shook her head softly.

"It’s fine.

I wouldn’t be of any help to him... not with my current strength."

Snow didn't argue with her.

Sansa’s demonic power was indeed formidable...

But it was still significantly lower than his own, and nowhere near Frey's level.

Regardless, Snow was certain of one thing:

Sansa possessed the ability to influence Frey’s heart far more than he ever could.

That alone made her existence critically important.

"He knew you were here.

His senses are much sharper than mine."

If Snow had detected her presence, then Frey had undoubtedly known she was there from the start.

He had simply chosen to ignore her until he left.

"I know that very well..." Sansa murmured, her face blank as she clenched her fist tight.

"One day... I’ll be able to approach him the way you did.

Not today, but someday... I definitely will."

Snow offered no response.

He merely let out a soft chuckle.

Unlike Snow, Sansa had hesitated—

Because she felt weak, unable to be useful to Frey in the way Snow was.

But she made a silent vow to herself:

To grow strong enough to stand at Frey’s side one day.

Strong enough to fight by his side.

Strong enough to reach out to him, just as Snow had done today...

Instead of lurking in the darkness, powerless to act.

She understood exactly what she required.

Power.

Nothing else mattered.

Sensing this shift in her, Snow laughed quietly before turning to walk away.

"The two of you...

You really are alike."

---

...

---

— Frey Starlight’s POV —

In a mere blink, my feet touched Imperial ground once more.

I had arrived in the Starlight Region...

But it bore no resemblance to the place I remembered.

Fire.

Debris.

Utter devastation everywhere I looked.

"It seems a massive battle took place here..."

Judging solely by the wreckage, it was obvious that a catastrophic event had occurred.

I wondered briefly what kind of monsters had collided with such violent force...

But I had no time to spare.

My only objective was to locate Ada.

I began to sprint deeper into the territory.

"Expand your aura and prepare for combat at a moment's notice.

There is a formidable foe nearby."

Nameless’s voice suddenly resonated in my mind.

I already suspected this level of ruin didn't come from a common skirmish...

But the fact that Nameless himself noted the strength of the culprit only deepened my anxiety.

Could it be... one of the Ten Upper Demons?

That was my primary suspicion; they were the pinnacle of power, after all.

Nameless perceived my thoughts clearly, but he offered no confirmation.

He remained quiet.

Because he already knew my assumption was wrong.

The entity responsible for this carnage was not a demon.

It was a human.

He could discern this just from the residual traces of aura—a feat I wasn't yet capable of.

From those traces alone, a specific identity had already crossed his mind...

But he decided to keep that information to himself.

Oblivious to his thoughts, I continued to press deeper into the region, praying that Ada was still safe.