The Runesmith - Chapter 554: Preparing For The Culling.

CONTENT WARNING:/This novel contains mature themes, explicit sexual content, strong language, and adult situations. Reader discretion is advised./---She ran from the devil who raised her…And married the one who wore a crown.After her parents’ tragic death, Lydia Andreyevna’s life became a nightmare. Stripped of her name, inheritance, and freedom by her uncle—Lord Alexander—she was treated like property and promised to a Count four times her age.Desperate to escape, she fled into the cold night… and straight into blood.A stranger. Wounded. Beautiful. Terrifying.She should’ve left him.But she didn’t.She touched him once—and fate branded her forever.Her uncle caught her the next morning. Her escape failed. But when she begged Queen Olga for protection, the Queen offered her a deadly bargain:Marry the masked Grand Duke of Zolotaria.The king’s hunting dog. The butcher of the East. The devil in a crown.The man feared by kings.The heir to the throne.The same man she once saved.Ivan Romanov.They say he bathes in blood. That he kills without blinking. That he conquered kingdoms with a smile behind a mask. That no one sees his face—and lives.Some call him the devil. Others call him Death’s favorite son.But behind the mask is the same man she found dying in the dark.The same voice that haunted her dreams.The same hands she once held.Now, he’s her husband.Her jailer.Her obsession.She doesn’t know if she’s his prisoner, or his weakness.Cold and untouchable, Ivan doesn’t share his bed. Doesn’t share his secrets. But she sees it—the hunger in his eyes. The pain in his silence. The way he looks at her like she’s the only thing keeping his demons at bay.She should fear him.She should hate him.But the moment she dares to take off his mask… it’s already too late.Because Ivan wants her—her fire, her body, her heart.And in his world, what he wants, he keeps.Even if it means burning down the kingdom.She thought she was running from hell.She ended up in his bed.And the most dangerous thing of all?She doesn’t want to leave.

“When you think everything is going well, the world will flip you the middle finger.”__I had a fantastic life: a loving family, amazing friends, a stable job... I had it all.But that wasn’t everything—I was also a writer. Writing was my passion, and my novel *'The Land of Survival'* had achieved remarkable success...Little did I know back then that it would become the very reason my life would be turned upside down. I was reborn inside my own novel, and to make things worse... inside the body of the utterly despised villain, *'Fray.'*That pathetic villain who dies right at the start. If the novel had 100 possible outcomes, he’d die in 99 of them... and I’m not exaggerating.But who cares about that? I don’t want this life... I already had everything... Save me the cliché of second chances... because one life is enough for me.Screw this world, and screw the son of a bitch who brought me here , I’ll find a way back to my world... to my life... no matter what it takes.

[Your shadow is alive.][Feed your shadow, devour souls, level up, gain skills, complete quests, and grow stronger.][Do you wish to view your current stats?]In the magical world of Aetherus, Damon Grey is the weakest student at Aether Academy, relentlessly bullied and ridiculed for his lack of power and defiant personality. Yet, he endures the torment, clinging to his scholarship—the only thing providing him with the funds to keep his sick sister alive.After a brutal attack leaves him near death, Damon encounters a dark viscous entity in the forest that fuses with his shadow, awakening the Living Shadow System. This strange power grants him unimaginable abilities but comes with a grim cost—a relentless hunger for souls and flesh to feed his shadow.Now, with his shadow alive and insatiable, Damon faces a terrible choice: feed it to grow stronger or starve it and die with it.In a world ruled by ruthless nobles, deadly monsters, and power-hungry demons, Damon must decide if his newfound power is a curse or the only way to survive. With the Living Shadow System, his fate is clear: devour or be devoured.

Jiang Hao transmigrated and was born into an ordinary family and was forcibly sold into the demonic sect, becoming a disciple of the demonic sect.He wanted to calmly cultivate and gradually become stronger in order to survive in the world of cultivation.However, he was subjected to all sorts of humiliations by a female demon.With a vast difference in strength, he could only endure the humiliation and sneakily survive, keeping his weapons hidden and strike when the opportunity arises.