Ascension Of The Villain - Chapter 197 : Free Like A Butterfly

Japan – National News BroadcastThe polished news anchor sat upright, her gaze sharp as she adjusted the stack of papers before her. The newsroom behind her hummed with quiet urgency, the weight of the moment settling over the broadcast.“Authorities are baffled by a sudden and unexplained surge in sleep-related deaths across Japan,” she began, her voice steady yet tense. “More and more citizens are passing away in their sleep without any prior health concerns. Experts are working tirelessly to determine the cause, but no clear explanation has emerged. Authorities urge the public to remain vigilant and report any unusual symptoms before bedtime.”A graphic appeared, displaying the spike in fatalities over the past month. Behind her, unsettling photographs flickered across the screen—blurred images of individuals found in their beds, their faces frozen in expressions of terror.The anchor’s tone shifted. “Health officials recommend citizens avoid excessive fatigue and maintain healthy sleep habits. More updates will follow as investigations continue.”---United States – Paranormal PodcastIn a dimly lit podcast studio, the host leaned forward, his eyes wide with curiosity. Across from him, a rugged man in a worn flannel shirt, gripping a faded photograph in one hand and a beer can in the other, leaned back in his chair.“So, you're telling me you saw this creature firsthand?” the host asked, clearly intrigued.The man scoffed, shaking his head. “Damn right, I did. Ugly thing had wings bigger than my body—slow but sneaky. Thought it could steal my pigs again, but I was ready this time—camera in one hand, shotgun in the other.”He slammed the table for emphasis, then shoved the blurry image toward the host. The photograph depicted a small, red-skinned humanoid figure with large, bat-like wings, its eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.“Spit, the thing didn’t know what hit it when I fired!” the man chuckled, his voice full of excitement.The host held up the picture to the live chat. “Alright, what do you think? Mothman? Demon? Or is our friend here just seeing things?”The chat exploded with theories—some skeptical, others eager for the investigation to continue.---China – Liangyuan Street MarketSurveillance footage from a bustling night market in China captured a chilling scene. A woman in a red qipao walked gracefully through the crowd, her figure striking in the soft glow of lanterns.Suddenly, she paused. Her body flickered—like a glitch in a video—before vanishing completely, as though she had never existed.The footage zoomed in, replaying in slow motion. In the final frame before she disappeared, her face distorted unnaturally, her eyes hollow and empty.The screen cut abruptly to black.

Before meeting Shen Xu, all Zhen Yuan wanted was to seek the dao and cultivate to the peak. After meeting Shen Xu, he thought the dao was important, but his wife was the most important.When Shen Xu transmigrated into a book, he mistakenly believed that Zhen Yuan was not a character in the original story. What he didn't expect was that his husband was the most mysterious and powerful unnamed character in the original novel.

*Fast paced fast slapping modern novel*Jiang AiLin, known as Miss Fox. Why was she called as Miss Fox? It's because she had killed someone while pretending to be the only daughter of the famous Jiang Family.It turns out, from a young age she was pretending to be the daughter of Jiang Family. When her identity was revealed, instead of apologizing she burned the whole house of the Jiang Family, causing for someone to be killed inside the fire!Heinous! Heinous! Everyone in Beijing had at least heard of this story once, especially the socialites who look down on her for being a Foxy woman whose true self was merely filled with hatred.But that woman had walked out of the prison after serving for six years.And... And she had caught the best bachelor as her lover! The eldest son of the Li Family, Li ZiChen.But she didn't come alone. She had came back with a revenge plan, to pay blood with blood.Yet why does this man knowing the people she had killed still agree to love her?!

The Devil’s Den was Cosette’s favorite webnovel that she had followed for three whole years. She waited for updates, wallow in those empty days during the author’s constant hiatuses, cry and laugh with the characters; it was already a part of her short life.

Cosette really wished that the novel would never end despite that she was terminally ill.

But after three years, The Devil’s Den finally came to an end. With a reader as invested as Cosette, she had mixed emotions about the ending. Not that the ending was disappointing, but what disheartened her was the ending of her favorite character; the villain Maxen Devilsin.

One year later, Cosette took her last breath only to wake up in the body of the stunning Cosette Blac; the villainess of the novel The Devil’s Den, her second favorite character after the villain.

Granted with the opportunity to live in the world of her favorite novel before the main story starts, Cosette had a plan.

That was to simp over the characters and save her favorite characters whilst hoping that the female and male lead still have their happy ending.

In a world that was already written and events that were expected to happen whether or not they wanted to, can Cosette change the course of their lives? Was overwriting the characters' fate could save them? Or would it just give them a much worse ending than what the author had given them?

Watch Cosette as she tried to become the superfan and give the dark-themed story some light.