The Runaway Huntress - Chapter 23 - 22

Ethan's head throbbed violently as he opened his eyes, his vision hazy and unfocused. A dull ringing filled his ears, drowning out his thoughts.“What’s happening…?” he thought, his mind sluggish, struggling to catch up with reality. One moment, he was asleep—or at least, he thought he was—and the next, searing pain forced him awake.His vision swam, shapes blurring together in a disorienting mess. But then, muffled noises filtered through the haze—frantic, panicked sounds. Someone was trying to scream, their voice smothered, choked by something.A cold shiver ran down his spine.As his sight gradually sharpened, Ethan's breath hitched.He was on all fours, looming over someone. A girl.Her body twisted and writhed beneath him, ropes biting into her wrists and ankles. Her mouth was gagged, muffling her cries. Her wide brown eyes, brimming with fear and fury, glared up at him.Ethan's body locked in place, his blood running cold.“What the…?” His mind reeled, thoughts slamming into each other in chaotic disarray. “What kind of bizarre dream is this?”Panic clawed at his chest. His breath came in ragged, uneven gasps as he scrambled backward, only to realize his limbs felt sluggish, uncooperative, like they didn’t belong to him.“Is this… is this some kind of twisted fantasy I never knew I had?” A sickening thought slithered through his mind, making his stomach churn.The girl's frantic squirming slowed for a moment, her gaze flickering with confusion as she took in his expression—his trembling hands, his wide, horrified eyes. But the fear returned just as quickly. She struggled harder, her body arching, her muffled screams rising in pitch.Ethan wanted to speak, to say something, anything, but before he could force out a word, a glowing blue window materialized before his eyes.His breath caught.A translucent, hovering screen?“What…?”Lines of glowing text scrolled across its surface.---[System Activated…][Host Confirmed.][Simulating Previous Data…]Ethan awakens in a mysterious world, shackled by a curse that clouds his judgment and drives him toward choices he never wished to make. Burdened by guilt and responsibility, he must navigate the fallout of his actions while unraveling the truth behind the curse—and his place in this enigmatic new reality.

There was nothing left to lose in his life.He had lived as a hero. He had started at the bottom and worked his way up to the top, at the end he become the best, yet he had always been betrayed by those he had tried to protect.Humanity did not deserve his protection.When everything went out and he could no longer even hope to beg for his life, he could do nothing but look up at the blood-red sky among the corpses of demons and angels.He wished for one more chance, just one more chance.And when that chance was given to him, he swore that he would change everything. He would no longer be a hero to save people, but an anti-hero to save the world.Sacrificing hundreds of people to save an elf, poisoning hundreds of people to save a group of half-demons.He didn't care about any of that anymore, he would protect those he cared about and send everything else to hell.Not even the gods or goddesses could stop him.

A genius idiot born from an incestual marriage!

A young man with triple identities of worker, murderer, and university student!

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Sangokushi, KOF, Knights of the Round, Shadow Force, Street Fighter…

Each one of the arcade games you are familiar with has already been changed into a prerequisite for survival!

Slaughtering Shiranui Mai with Ya Otome, Jigoku Gokuraku Otoshi to kill Li Dian. There is only what hasn’t been thought of, there isn’t anything that can’t be thought of!

On an unknown day, when you walk down the stairs, you may accidentally walk into this —— arcade nightmare!

- Description from Novelupdates

Tan Shuchang had always considered himself born into a scholarly family and had also been a young star atop the honor roll, a true parasite of the upper class. He should have been holding significant local authority, receiving endless gifts, spending boundless money, enjoying innumerable years, and marrying countless concubines. How had he ended up becoming a demonic cultivator? After pondering for a long time and still not understanding, he slowly emerged from the pool of blood, deciding to think it over gradually…