All Bella ever desired was love, but her eyes only saw bone-chilling coldness until the day she was dragged into the depths of hell. Why? Because she wasn't the heroine of that so-called 'fairy tale'. Her fate was even crueler than she could imagine, described in a few lines written in an old book. A book that was written by some higher beings for their own entertainment, but they tossed it aside after just one cycle, not caring about the crumbling world within. After repeatedly reading the lines that depicted her death, Bella finally realized her bitter reality. Perhaps, if she went back death was the only ending... but instead of sorrow, a crazy glint shone in her emotionless eyes. After all, she had already died many times in the hellish place she entered a long, long time ago. "It's not a big deal to die once more, right?" In the midst of the pitch-black darkness seeping through the cracks in the sky, a beautiful silhouette swimming in a pool of water looked at her with knitted brows, showing dissatisfaction at her comment. He extended his hand and pinched her nose with a sigh. "Why do you always think of the worst?" A faint blush appeared on his cheeks when her previously emotionless eyes turned into crescents, peering at him playfully. "You-!" Alas, before he could finish his sentence, a warm hand grabbed his wrist and yanked him out of the water into a tight embrace. A deep exhale brushed against his pale skin as Bella nuzzled her nose against the crook of his neck with a satisfied expression. "If you give me a kiss, I won't say it anymore." A giggle escaped her lips when the man in her arms froze, his exposed neck turning a brilliant shade of crimson. 'How cute.' ------------- ------------- This story revolves around lots of characters as they discover their cruel reality. There are many supernatural beings and magical realms. The MC character will have a little twisted personality... Ahem, I mean she starts off as a villainess and remains one. *Whistles... Anyway, thanks to the MC's interference, the old abandoned story will regain popularity among the higher existences, kekeke. Together with the ML, Bella will search for a new path that leads them to find their beautiful reality. As for the other characters... Well, it's up to them to crawl their way out-! Thank you. ------------- ------------- Tags; #transmigration #regression #villainess #Iskei #merman #King/Queen world #Hell's journey #Hell's Queen #Not so lovely demons #Cute ml #handsome ml #Innocent ml (hehe, fl will taint him anyway) #Non-Human ml # #superpowers #Cruel fl #playful fl #magic #OP fl #Crazy fl #Dragon's descendent #romance #revenge #bored fl #The hell's spire #Death zone #The Authorities #System #Strength #Adventure... etc. ------------- ------------- (Even though the chances of me getting popular in this genre are very thin. Still, no one can stop me from daydreaming, hehe.) ------------- ------------- Note: The cover is not mine as I am too poor. All credits go to the owner. If he/she wants me to remove it, just ring me up in the comment section.
One year later, as usual, the sky in the 75th floor of Hell's Spire was pitch black.
The dark clouds loomed ominously, obscuring the vibrant red hues and any trace of the few glimmering rays of moonlight that managed to filter through.
An emotionless expression graced Lara's face when she glanced at the pile of dead bodies in front of her.
The bodies belonged to the same dark creatures that killed her countless times. The once wide wings behind their backs were burned to crisps and their horns were pulled out from their heads.
"One, two, three..."
She muttered under her breath, desperately trying to wipe the blood from her fingers. But the blue tunic draped around her body failed to remove the stains from her hands.
"I will buy a black tunic next time."
The panel of 'system shop' in her status has everything she desires. Clothes, food, skills, and all the necessary things someone would need to stay alive in the Hell's Spire. But the players need 'coins', the only currency of Hell's Spire to buy from the shop.
Earning coins was not an easy task in the Hell's Spire. After killing one low-level monster Lara could only earn a few coins. The Authorities could bestow coins to the players but their demands were too difficult. Moreover, the Authorities usually only gave their coins to those who entertained them.
Lara's hands grew numb. In the end, she dragged her body to sit beside the corpses with a frustrated expression.
Countless towering boulders, emanating intense heat, concealed everything in her surroundings. She gazed at the boulders and her breath hitched for a moment, but she stabbed her nails into her palm to maintain her consciousness. After all, the floor maintenance was long done. Now, if she lost her breath, she might not wake up again.
Amidst the gruesome scene, a square, bright golden card hovered in mid-air. The air around the card swirled gently as if screaming its importance. It was a skill card, something that rarely emerged from the bodies of the beasts Lara killed.
In the Hell's Spire skills were divided into five tiers; low, medium, advanced, supreme, and legendary.
Among them, gaining low-tier skills was rather easy because whenever someone defeated a boss monster, the highest-level creature of its kind, they would receive a skill card. Moreover, if luck was on their side, they might even acquire a higher-tier skill.
However, Lara was too weak. That's why in the past year the only thing she could do was to kill low-level, weak monsters. But, it seemed she was a bit lucky today because a medium-tier skill emerged from the lifeless body of a low-level monster.
She gingerly touched the card with her fingertips. A cold sensation spread out across her fingers when the card burst into thousands of shimmering particles.
Lara looked up at the sky. It was as if the night itself had swallowed up all signs of illumination, casting an eerie and foreboding atmosphere over the scene.
Amidst the darkness, a bright screen flashed in front of her eyes.
"#The_Soul; Congratulations for surviving again."
Lara let out a laugh. The other Authorities left the moment they lost interest. Yet, the one who placed the highest bet on her death was still lurking around her.
The screen flashed again but this time the content was not good.
"#The_Soul; Leave this place, a few powerful players are in your surroundings."
Just like any other floor, the 75th floor of Hell's Spire was occupied by a lot of strong players, but not every player was good. After all, in this hellish place who could hold onto their morals?
Lara closed her eyes with a cold glint. Right now, she was in the territory of low-level winged hurricanes. She never left this place in the past year because she was too weak to confront the stronger monsters. Amidst this, she did encounter a few players. Unfortunately, her encounter was not pleasant at all.
Their sickening laughter and curt remarks were still fresh inside her head. She clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
'Maybe I should be content with the fact that they left me alone after seeing my battered condition?'
She let out a mocking chuckle. Her choice of not buying any healing medicine from the system store indeed proved to be useful.
'It's painful but it's hundreds of times better than the worst.'
After that encounter, she tried her best to avoid the other players. And even though she hated to admit it, Soul's presence helped a lot in this matter.