Immortal Paladin - Chapter 075 Black Mask

The story revolves around Charles Karino, a Levaamu Empire mercenary aerial pilot who mans the twin seater reconnaissance seaplane Santa Cruz. One day, he receives a preposterous assignment: to fly solo over 12,000 kilometers of enemy waters to protect a girl named Fana del Moral. Fana happens to be the next in line to the empire’s throne and a girl possessing beauty “equal to 5,000 beams of light.”

This is a standalone book. There’s another series under the name “To Aru Hikuushi e no Koiuta” (Love Song for a Certain Pilot) set in the same world, but in a completely different place and with different characters.

– Ulrezaj @ Mazui

Adapted to anime as “The Princess and the Pilot”

After dying prematurely from an incurable disease, Yuka Hikano finds himself in a mysterious realm filled with endless doors, each concealing divine gifts from powerful deities. He is not alone—others who have met the same fate of death stand beside him, unaware of the trials that await.They are put through various tests and eventually transmigrated into different worlds. But these worlds are nothing like the Earth they once knew.For Yuka, however, this apocalyptic world feels eerily familiar. It is a realm of endless war, devastation, and chaos—a world he once played in a game. Certainly not the kind of place one would wish to be reborn into.From infancy to adulthood, he must gather strength, knowledge, and allies to survive the horrors that lurk ahead. But when he awakens a system granting him a power beyond imagination, he soon realizes that blessings can also be curses.[You have gained Infinite Mana.]Infinite Mana...?What could possibly go wrong?

From infancy to maturity, what Ye Zhou dislikes the most was “two”.

The reasons were: he was ranked second at home, he had been forever ranked second at school, no matter how diligently he worked and tried, he couldn’t shake off that “second” curse. What was more exasperating was that, at University, not only was he ranked second, but even his appearance that he was proud of had to be classified as second best!

Why can’t I obtain the first place!

The eternal second will rise!

Then, Ye Zhou, after his vigorous efforts finally rises and the result was… the first became his boyfriend.

This is the story of a man who has been forced to be “second” and how he became the first, most popular.

- Description from Novelupdates

“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?