Painting of the Nine Immortals - Chapter 288: A Deal

“How many people have you killed? How many families have you destroyed? How many towns and cities have fallen because of you!?”“I don't remember.”The villain whom the main character was destined to defeat at the end of the novel. That was who I had become.There was just one problem...“Why am I a teenager!?”“Why is there a school acceptance letter on my desk!?”

Imagination is always pleasant, but reality is cruel. I just wanted a simple life but why am I always getting into trouble?

“You mean that Prince Yu wants to marry me?”

“Heroes killed my parents. Now I wear the mask of one. Until I can bury them all.”At seven years old, Hernan Vale watched his parents — two powerful heroes — brutally executed in their own home by the very people they trusted most: the legendary super-team known as the Zodiac 13.They thought he was dead.They made sure the world blamed villains.They covered their tracks.But Hernan survived — and never forgot.Ten years later, under a false name, Hernan enters the prestigious Hero Academy, hailed as a prodigy. To the world, he’s a rising star. To his classmates, he’s charming, calm, unstoppable.But inside?He’s a weapon. Waiting. Smiling. Counting names.As he trains to become a licensed hero, fights real villains, and rises through the ranks, Hernan plays the long game — earning the trust of the Zodiac, learning their routines, studying their weaknesses. One by one, he’ll bring them down.And this time, he won’t hide in the closet.But the deeper he goes, the more blood he spills — the more he wonders if he’s becoming worse than the monsters he’s hunting.And when love, loyalty, and lies collide, Hernan may have to decide:Will he save the world like they think he will...or finish burning it down?