Midnight Bride The CEO's Temptation - Chapter 8 - 8: Where Have You Been?

France, 1934. The scars of the Great War still shape the military minds of the Third Republic. Trapped in the past, its generals place their faith in fortifications and defensive warfare, while across the Rhine, a new German army rises, faster, deadlier, and ready to crush everything in its path.Into this world awakens Captain Étienne Moreau, a man who should not exist. He remembers another life, one where France falls in 1940, where German tanks storm through the Ardennes, bypassing the Maginot Line. One where his country surrenders in a matter of weeks.But here, now, he has a chance to stop it.As an officer in the 2nd Armored Division, he fights for reforms: pushing for mobile tank warfare, warning of Hitler’s growing ambitions, and challenging the high command’s obsession with World War I tactics. Yet, his ideas are dismissed as radical, madness from a young officer who “thinks he knows war.”Surrounded by political intrigue, military infighting, and rising fascism, Moreau must carefully navigate the system, winning allies among future leaders like Charles de Gaulle, while avoiding suspicion from the French High Command. His knowledge is a double-edged sword, if he is too aggressive, he risks being labeled a traitor. If he does nothing, he will live to see France burn.As war draws closer, Moreau faces a terrifying question: Can history be changed? Or is France doomed to fall, no matter what he does?Time is running out. The Blitzkrieg is coming. And he may be France’s last chance to fight back.

Adam begins as an ordinary high school student whose life is shattered when his parents vanish. The police later declare their deaths a double suicide, a conclusion Adam refuses to accept.His persistent quest for a real investigation leads him into a dark conspiracy when two corrupt police officers kidnap, torture, and murder him. In his final moments, they reveal his parents were also murdered by an untouchable, powerful entity.Instead of dying permanently, Adam awakens with a new reality: he has been granted a 'System' and the supernatural ability of 'Return by Death,' forcing him to relive his final days.Confused, Adam tries to confide in his trusted teacher, only to be betrayed and killed once again. This time, he learns the staggering reason for his persecution: a $100 million bounty has been placed on his head, making everyone a potential enemy.Dying again and again is horrible. The pain changes Adam completely. The sad, normal boy he once was is gone. He becomes a cold and ruthless killer. He trusts no one. If he even suspects someone might be a threat, he will kill them without a second thought. His only goals are to survive this deadly game and get revenge for his parents.During one of his loops, while investigating, Adam crosses paths with a female classmate being tormented by bullies. He saves her in a moment of detached action and quickly forgets the incident, focused only on his own war. For the girl, however, this act of salvation ignites an intense and devoted love.This devotion becomes a tragic and recurring element in his nightmare. The girl, willing to do anything for him, repeatedly throws herself in harm's way to protect him, often dying in his place across multiple loops.Adam is now trapped not only in a fight against a vast conspiracy but also in a cycle of watching an innocent person die for him, further cementing his transformation into a hardened protagonist who has lost nearly everything, including his own humanity.

Hunters getting sponsored by their Sponsors, and amongst them, the most dazzling 12 heroes of them all. They claim themselves to be Gods and started Eden.

Eden ruled the world.

That was the era that Lee Jun-Kyeong had been living in. Hunters rule the world that normal citizens are living in, like domesticated animals.

However, Lee Jun-Kyeong had a special book in his possession. It was about the life story of a forgotten yet true hero, the Demon King.

One day, one of the 12 heroes, Athena, came looking for him.

‘It’s the past? Over a hundred years ago? When Hunters first started appearing?’

However, he fell back into the past. The Demon King’s sponsor, The Sky of the Apocalypse, had sponsored him instead.

Although he walked a similar path as what the Demon King took…

‘It wouldn’t be the same as the Demon King’s.’

I dreamt of a much better future than the Demon King; using the very same power that the Demon King had, I would become a Player above all hunters.

‘From today, I’m a Player.’

……………………………………………………………

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Time had run out. Azrael hadn't been chosen by the system, leaving him Forsaken with no hope for a prosperous life.But he wasn’t going to let it end like this. Even if it meant trading his life for a single chance, he would take it. It was either a life of greatness, one where he would reach the very top… or a short one, dying here, unmourned and forgotten by a cursed world that never cared he existed.“An early end in pursuit of greatness sounds better than a slightly longer one filled with stagnation and regret.”In the end, all the things he had done hadn’t been for naught. The sacrifices up until now had been worth it.[Inborn Trait activated][System devoured][Inborn Trait is fusing with the system][Devouring System has been granted]To his surprise, however, his system proved to be far more extraordinary than the others, granting him a unique path that only he could follow.With that realization, one thing became certain: no matter what monster or human stood in his way, he would reach the very top of the hierarchy, regardless of the cost.