Villains Are Destined to Die (novel), Vol. 3

Penelope Eckart remains trapped in the lethal "hard mode" of a dating simulator, where every misstep leads to a gruesome demise. With the affection meters of her primary suitors locked, her survival strategy shifts toward desperate improvisation. Seeking a viable escape route, she turns to Winter, the enigmatic guildmaster, hoping to secure a new ally.

However, what begins as a calculated attempt to manipulate the game’s mechanics quickly spirals into a chaotic ordeal. Their supposed date transforms into a high-stakes nightmare, pulling Penelope into a web of anti-magic conspiracies, sinister deities, and volatile confrontations with the unpredictable Crown Prince, Callisto. As she navigates this treacherous landscape, the thin line between allies and enemies blurs, and the pressure of her precarious existence begins to fracture her resolve.

With betrayal looming and the game’s grim conclusion drawing ever closer, Penelope faces the ultimate test of her ingenuity. She must decipher the true motives of those surrounding her while managing the dangerous, unscripted emotions that threaten to derail her escape. In a world where affection is a weapon and death is the only inevitable outcome, Penelope’s fight for agency becomes a race against a narrative designed to destroy her.