Shadow Monarch in DC - Chapter 161: Central Power Battery

Have you heard stories of love, love that would never waver for years, decades, centuries or even millenniums to come?But can you really call it love?To keep loving someone forever and ever can't be anything less than crazy, can it?This is one such story.A story of a crazy love.And it's also a story of ...Someone somewhere who wished to be saved.Someone somewhere who wished to be free.Someone somewhere who wished to be able to someday make a wish.It's a story that was supposed to be a fairytale but it turned too ugly, too twisted, and far too wretched to be called one.

I was a 28-year-old researcher in Japan, and before I knew it, I have been reincarnated in a fantasy world.

Furthermore, I had a half-spirit father and a spirit mother.

An aunt who is deeply attached to father, cousins who are problem children. Girls who cause awkward situations as in an otome.

Furthermore, in order to gain the affection of a love interest, a cousin even had a word battle with a king!

I am very busy helping humans as well as spirits!

And when I find people who are targeting my father,

「I’ll crush you.」

The cheat protagonist deters those who aim at her family. This is such a story.

I never imagined this would happen to me. Reincarnation? A second chance? Into a fictional world, no less? It was the stuff of wild stories, impossible dreams, and late-night “what ifs.” But life has a funny way of playing with your expectations.When the choice was offered—life as I knew it or a chance to die and be reborn somewhere else—how could I say no? The catch? I wouldn’t return to just any world. No peaceful afterlife, no utopia waiting for me. Instead, I landed in the heart of chaos.Here I am, standing in the shadows of giants—of gods, heroes, and monsters. Welcome to the Marvel universe, where cities are playgrounds for battles that could shake the world, and everyday people like me are nothing but collateral damage.But I’m not just another face in the crowd anymore. Somehow, I’ve got a role to play. My name in this world is Dave Garcia, and this is the story of how an ordinary guy from another life navigates a place where the impossible is an everyday reality.What would you do if you woke up in a world where the fate of everything could be changed with a snap of the fingers? Because that’s exactly what I’m trying to figure out.

Isabella was supposed to be sipping champagne at a luxury spa, not waking up in the middle of a forest. Worse, a SYSTEM had attached itself to her like some clingy ex, spouting nonsense about survival, quests, and—oh, hell no—manual labor.“System, I was NOT built for the wilderness! My ideal ‘roughing it’ experience involves a five-star hotel with bad WiFi!”Now, instead of lounging in silk robes, she’s being ordered to farm? To hunt?“A farming quest? You want me—a city girl—to grow food? System, I once killed a cactus by overwatering it. This is NOT my calling!”And don’t even get her started on the hygiene situation.“You want me to bathe in a cold river? Darling, I require warm water, scented oils, and an ambience! What do I look like—some barbarian?!”Unfortunately, the locals—big, muscular beastmen—don’t seem to understand the concept of self-care. The women? Neglecting their skin like it’s a crime to be radiant. The men? Walking hygiene disasters.“Ladies, if your man can smell you before he sees you, we have a problem.”“You see this? This is lotion. It exists so you don’t look like a dried-up leaf. Use it.”“A beard should be majestic, not tragic. Let me fix it.”And the beastmen? They don’t just stare at her like she’s an oddity. No, they hover. They smirk. They lean in too close, fangs flashing with amusement.“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” she huffed, crossing her arms.The panther grinned, his tail flicking. “Because you’re fascinating when you’re annoyed.”No, absolutely not. She was not here for this nonsense.“If you have time to stare, you have time to moisturize.”She didn’t ask to be here. She didn’t ask to be their savior. But if she has to suffer through this world, she’s making everyone around her suffer less—through skincare, style, and some serious attitude.“If I hear one more ‘We don’t season our food here,’ I’m launching a war.”“If you have time to gossip, you have time to do squats.”“You want to impress a woman? Start with not smelling like the battlefield.”Survival isn’t just about fighting monsters; it’s about looking good while doing it. So what if the System keeps throwing impossible quests her way?“What do you mean ‘you can’t skip quests’?! Since when?! Where is the skip button?! I demand a skip button!”But somewhere between dodging ridiculous quests and fixing these people’s tragic grooming habits, Isabella found herself in situations. Uncomfortable, heart-racing situations.Like being trapped against a tree by the red python, his red eyes half-lidded as he murmured, “You talk too much, little star. Should I silence you?”Like waking up with the lion lord’s fur-lined cloak draped over her shoulders, his deep voice gruff, “You shiver in your sleep. I’ll fix that.”Like the phoenix watching her every move, his burning gaze searing into her skin as he mused,“You cause chaos wherever you go, but I find that I don’t mind.”Oh, hell. No. She was not about to fall for four beastmen. She was too pretty for this much stress.“If you insult me again, I’ll make sure your soul needs a beauty upgrade.”“I refuse to be disrespected by anyone who dresses like an unwashed tree branch.”And yet, when a rival tribe came to challenge her, when danger lurked too close, those same beastmen stood beside her—smirking, taunting, fighting for her.“A beastman growled at me today. I growled back. He ran. I am the alpha now.”Isabella isn’t just surviving. She’s thriving. And this world better keep up.