The Villainess is a Marionette - Chapter 100: Announcement

I don’t know why I die, I don’t know why I live.

Divided hunters die of loyalty,

The witch who plays with emotions dies of love,

Cautious fortune-tellers die of trust.

The thief who steals everything has nothing,

The visionary who created everything never existed.

The traveler fell on his way home,

The twilight giants rest before dawn.

Lawyers sacrifice for order,

Judges forget the law.

The sleepless sleeps in the dark,

The corpse collector lay in the coffin.

We are guardians, and a bunch of poor creatures who are constantly fighting against danger and madness.

This journey is life and death.

While drowning was inevitable, they had struggled.

This is the worst of times, this is the best of times.

- Description from novelbuddy

Born into darkness, Lucius is marked by an infernal curse—the Mark of the Abyss. This unholy sigil endows him with powers that defy mortal comprehension, yet seals his fate: servitude, rejection, and a grim demise.Embark on a journey with Lucius as he unravels the hidden truth behind the Marks, battles to carve out a destiny of his own, and strikes back against the cruel fate imposed upon him.In a world that shuns him for his cursed existence, Lucius will forge unlikely alliances to challenge those who scorn him. He is driven by a relentless desire to claim a place for himself and his loved ones, no matter the cost.Prepared to plunge into the darkest depths of depravity, Lucius is poised on the brink of a harrowing journey. The ultimate enigma remains: what awaits him in the abyss of his ambitions?

Xu Youyou rebirthed to when she was 16 years old and chose a path different from her previous life and met Qiao Mu ten years earlier. The youth who had braved the wind and snow protecting her till death — and who had confessed to her.

And she realized, the Qiao Mu ten years earlier and the Qiao Mu she knew were completely different people. He didn’t have his smile that could radiate sunlight, he didn’t have his courage that could penetrate snowstorms, and he certainly didn’t have his perfect eight pack. He was like a short mushroom, quietly growing in the corner’s shadow.

Xu Youyou: If you dare be like this when you confess to me, you are so dead.

Qiao Mu was a teenage Weiqi genius, he loved Weiqi, but because of his shadow of youth was unable to enter the competition arena. And because of the fear, he was unable to become a professional player and could only return to a typical school life.

Until he met Xu Youyou.

A widely known reckless and fearless girl, who was the complete opposite of him. She was good at everything, except things relating to love. Clearly he wasn’t her type, yet she always provoked him. But the biggest joke was himself, he clearly knew everything, yet could not help but fall into the hands of the enemy.

- Description from Novelupdates

Growing up in a facility that turned children into weapons, Subject 42 never knew freedom; only survival.So when a strange creepy entity offered him a second chance in another world in exchange for one mysterious task, he took it. Even if that meant living in a world that was drenched in curses, ruled by ancient gods, and shaped by powers no mortal should touch.Reborn as a Moon Elf, a being of myth and moonlight, he finally thought he could live the life he was denied.But the task he completed set something in motion. Something that he couldn't outrun.Witness, as his fate twists and turns, as Noctis moves through this strange world in search of a respite...