Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~ - Chapter 32: playing (2)

Before the divorce, Cecilia Nathan was always at his beck and call, docile and submissive.Everyone thought she was hopelessly in love with him.Later, Damian Hawthorne fell in love, and the object of his affection was a seemingly pure and innocent woman.The way he pursued another woman made Cecilia Nathan realize she could never warm his stony heart.The night she left, Damian Hawthorne pinned her against the wall and scoffed, “Cecilia Nathan, you can't live without me.”But later, what awaited Damian Hawthorne was not Cecilia Nathan's return, but the sight of her marrying another man.It turned out that in this relationship, the one who couldn't let go was him all along.

Four years after the Third Nightmare, something unexpected happens. A group of people find themselves in a strange theatre, which tells them to react to someone's story...?

In a world where dungeons are worshipped as divine trials and the System is hailed as a blessing, Beno Mark knows only one truth—everything is a lie.Haunted by the sin of killing his own parents, burdened by guilt, and shattered by the disappearance of his younger brother Renzo Mark in a mysterious Violet Gate, Beno spirals into madness, questioning reality itself. The System, which promises power and salvation, is nothing but a trap, binding the souls of countless hunters. The world itself is not as it seems—vast beyond imagination, hiding secrets that even the gods fear.Yet, Beno refuses to crumble. Driven by obsession and guilt, he awakens the cursed King System, the most forbidden and dominating force ever sealed. As fragments of truth and ancient conspiracies emerge, Beno, alongside Luna, Charles, Raul, and Isabella, begins to unravel the world's true history—a truth that has been hidden for centuries.What is the Violet Gate? Who controls the System? And why was Beno chosen as the vessel of the King of All Beings?The path is clear.Kneel... or Bleed.

Born and raised as a nameless shadow guard for his kingdom’s crown prince, his life’s purpose was to be used and discarded at the whims of his liege.

And his meaningless life ended when the gaze of a princess lingered on him for too long. The crown prince had him beheaded without a second thought, as if throwing out trash.

Transmigrating into the body of a baby girl, the nameless shadow finally had a name, a family, and a place to call her own. Throwing away his past, the shadow guard was now called ‘Emilia’, and walked on a new path to seek fulfillment.

It was not meant to be, however, as the girl whom she had loved with all her heart and soul ended up mercilessly plunging a dagger through Emilia's love-struck heart at the highest point in her life.

The crowd clamored at the ‘deserved death of the villainess’, and at that moment, the shadow could only wonder… why?

Why am I always the one to dedicate myself fully to someone, only to be thrown away like trash in the end?

And thus, as her soul floated away while cursing in resentment, ‘Emilia’ vowed to herself that in her next life she shall never be the one to fully dedicate herself.

Whatever she likes shall be held in her palm, and shall never escape.

The moment the vow was made, a self-proclaimed villainess system proposed to partner with her, to explore and conquer the worlds through their anchors—the heroes and heroines.

And by cultivating this energy, she shall one day go back. Back to the world she was born as ‘Emilia’ in, and face the so-called heroine once more.

The second time they meet, Emilia won’t be the one drowning in regret!

...

Author's Note: The heroines are not just trophies she’s collecting, only to be forgotten once she collects them. Each of them will remain relevant throughout the story. And it won’t become a mess, promise!