Grand Ancestral Bloodlines - Chapter 23: Inner Devil (4)

Never had the Radcliffe family expected their son-in-law, a loser in their eyes, to be the hidden Dragon Lord who had lived for myriads of years...

In the year 2022, gamers rejoice as Sword Art Online-a VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) like no other-opens its virtual doors, allowing players to take full advantage of the ultimate in gaming technology: NerveGear, a system that allows users to completely immerse themselves in the game world by manipulating their brain waves to create a wholly realistic gaming experience.

But when the game goes live, the elation of the players quickly turns to horror as they discover that, for all its amazing features, SAO is missing one of the most basic functions of any MMORPG-a log-out button.

Now trapped in the virtual world of Aincrad, their bodies held captive by NerveGear in the real world, users are issued a chilling ultimatum: conquer all one hundred floors of Aincrad to regain your freedom. But in the warped world of SAO, “game over” means certain death-both virtual and real…

“Your Majesty, please break-off my marriage with Her Highness the Imperial Princess. I fell in love with Lady Adriane Reese.”

“Six engagements, Six break-ups.”

The princess’s fiancé always had an affair with the maids!

“I don’t want to marry the crown prince, I want to live with my father forever…”

“Such a useless being. Begone!”

The princess who is known to be weak and s*upid, Apollonia.

But she has another hidden face…

“It’s because the throne is hard to obtain, my father also spent 10 years on trying to kill my mother, the empress.”

As Apollonia grinned, her red eyes shone intensely. Usurpation of the throne.

Her goal was clear. She was never shaken.

‘I want to live my life with my father.’

To be exact, I want to live my life where my father is seated.

Please wait, father. Your daughter is on her way.

To take back everything that was stolen from me.

“Heroes killed my parents. Now I wear the mask of one. Until I can bury them all.”At seven years old, Hernan Vale watched his parents — two powerful heroes — brutally executed in their own home by the very people they trusted most: the legendary super-team known as the Zodiac 13.They thought he was dead.They made sure the world blamed villains.They covered their tracks.But Hernan survived — and never forgot.Ten years later, under a false name, Hernan enters the prestigious Hero Academy, hailed as a prodigy. To the world, he’s a rising star. To his classmates, he’s charming, calm, unstoppable.But inside?He’s a weapon. Waiting. Smiling. Counting names.As he trains to become a licensed hero, fights real villains, and rises through the ranks, Hernan plays the long game — earning the trust of the Zodiac, learning their routines, studying their weaknesses. One by one, he’ll bring them down.And this time, he won’t hide in the closet.But the deeper he goes, the more blood he spills — the more he wonders if he’s becoming worse than the monsters he’s hunting.And when love, loyalty, and lies collide, Hernan may have to decide:Will he save the world like they think he will...or finish burning it down?