Dark Fantasy Normalized - Chapter 40

He was supposed to be the next big thing.Three years ago, Riku Aoyama was Japan’s rising basketball prodigy…Until a devastating injury and a brutal betrayal shattered everything.Now? He’s just a ghost of his former self—until one empty gym, one dusty court, and one crazy idea reignite the fire.Form a team of nobodies. Start from zero. Take on the monsters ruling the court.With broken players, forgotten schools, and no sponsors backing them—Riku’s team, Kaizen High, isn’t just here to play...They’re here to change the game.No powers. No shortcuts.Just sweat, soul, and skill.In a world where basketball is war—Only the crownless will rise.

Princess Anastasia of Orsenia is regarded as the kingdom’s treasure. However, she carries a heavy secret— she is diagnosed with an incurable illness. She is fated to die before she turns 18.

For years, her parents desperately searched for a cure but to no avail. That is, until a mysterious letter arrives, claiming that the only way Anastasia can escape her cruel fate is to send her to a monster:

King Caspain, the ruler of Sorvando, a vampire kingdom.

The letter prophesizes that Anastasia will live, only if she makes that bloodthirsty King fall in love with her. However, Anastasia knows it’s nearly an impossible task. Sorvando is filled with dangers. And she is only but a weak human.

Yet, her will to live won over her fear. No matter how cruel the king may be, Anastasia will still try to win his heart.

Now, if only she can keep her own heart from falling for him as well.

***

[Excerpt]

“Cas-pian…”

And he looked back to see that she was biting her lower lip as though she greatly enjoyed that kiss.

He smirked again and whispered in his deeply seductive voice, “I like my name even more ever since I started hearing it from your beautiful lips. And I like it even further when you say it in that hushed tone.”

Anastasia had no idea what Caspian was hinting at yet.

So he dropped some more hints, “Wife, weren’t you asking me what the first night meant? Let me show you.”

All she ever desired was a better life, to be recognized and accepted. Was she wrong to ask for that?What was the point of working hard when she couldn’t even see the results or the happiness, she wanted couldn’t even be grasped by her pinky finger?Even until the day she died and left her world as a lonely spirit, she had no idea what she had done wrong or what had gone wrong.A glimmer of hope returned when she found herself in a nameless body in a completely other universe. She understood what had occurred to her because she was from the modern world.She was hoping for a startling golden finger or a celestial ability as a transmigrated person, but the heavens abandoned her yet again. She was not only a waste, but she was bound to a sad and cruel life.She accepted her fate because she couldn't resist the gods for the second time, and her cowardice cost her everything. A ray of hope flashed on her just as she feared she was about to leave this second realm as a lonely ghost.Accepting to live the remainder of her life as a regular person, she faced difficulty after obstacle until her world was broken for the third time.After two decades of being homeless and living by the rules of the day, the gods finally showed mercy and bestowed upon her the golden finger she had been dying for.Alayna, bound by a hypermarket system (supermarket), will begin her journey with one objective in mind: “TO BRING JOY TO THE WORLD.”As for how? Let us join her as she transforms from a frail middle-aged woman to a strong, cheerful, and confident woman who will spread her wings and open hypermarkets all over the world.