The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 161

The stronghold of Mysticism—the temple.

My party and I sprinted through it, continuing our battle.

“Left!”

The moment I shouted, the pillar on the left creaked open.

A torrent of flames gushed out, clashing with and neutralizing Zennia’s magic.

Zennia turned to me with wide eyes.

Her gaze seemed to ask how I could possibly know all the traps in Mysticism’s stronghold, starting from the Ancient Dragon’s magic.

‘Of course I know.’

How many times had I played the Flame Butterfly arc?

And the Mysticism arc was the one where I died the most.

‘Traps woven from mystery.’

High-level traps meticulously designed by the developers to torment players with sheer malice.

This episode was infamous for its brutal difficulty, forcing players to evade every single one.

Of course, there was an option to lower the difficulty for players.

But this adjustment only appeared if you failed during the infiltration of Mysticism.

As if mocking the player—

“Oh, is it too hard? Then lower the difficulty!”

I ignored it and stuck to the hardest setting.

And after countless grueling deaths, I memorized every trap in the Mysticism Temple like the back of my hand.

‘Now that it’s reality, I’d prefer the easier difficulty, but…’

To trigger the difficulty adjustment, I’d have to fail here first.

And failure, of course, meant death.

‘As if I’d die.’

In reality, there are no second chances.

So I meticulously visualized every trap in my mind and countered them relentlessly.

The Mysticism faction, in turn, grew visibly bewildered.

We were breaking through the temple far faster than they had anticipated.

They had likely planned to buy time and feed us to the Earth Dragon.

Even the White Wood Master could only stall against the Earth Dragon—without defeating it, the battle was ultimately a race against time.

But this also meant one thing:

‘They can’t flee either—they have their own reasons.’

While the Earth Dragon holds their attention, there’s something they must do.

And I didn’t need to think hard to guess what that was.

‘Vulcan intends to absorb Narea.’

Even with only half his power, absorbing Narea would be possible.

To do so, he needed the Mysticism prepared in the temple—hence this confrontation.

Just then, I dodged molten metal and poison raining from the ceiling as I ran.

The traps gave me a rough idea of how far we’d come.

“Ryu—Ryu! Even so, is this really something we can handle alone?!”

Zennia’s voice rang out, laced with disbelief.

The Mysticism faction was throwing everything they had to stop us.

Each time, Centriole and the White Wood Master’s disciples swiftly cut them down.

Both sides demonstrated the prowess of elite forces.

But even so, Zennia seemed doubtful whether this small group could take down all of Mysticism without the White Wood Master himself.

We couldn’t bring a large force this time.

Arcrede, the Saintess, couldn’t openly reveal that the Holy Kingdom had cooperated in capturing Mysticism’s members.

The Holy Kingdom was currently divided between the Royalist and Clergy factions.

Neither side would have agreed to this—not the Royalists, and certainly not the Clergy.

But Arcrede had her own circumstances, and we needed her to locate Mysticism.

So, for now, we had no choice but to move with a small force.

Yes, for now.

“Of course, we’re not the only ones moving.”

This scenario’s flow was different from the original.

So, I had prepared corresponding safety measures.

“The Blue Magic Tower and the Imperial Knights are also in motion.”

“The Blue Magic Tower… and the Imperial Knights?”

“Yes. I requested assistance from the First Prince and the Lord of the Blue Magic Tower.”

Zennia’s eyes widened.

She hadn’t expected forces of that caliber to be involved.

Mysticism was a group with a long-standing infamy.

Even if they had vanished once, their name carried weight beyond imagination.

Eradicating them would be a feat worthy of national recognition.

And would those vying for power just stand by?

Of course not.

That’s why the First Prince stepped in.

To be precise, the original story already had the First Prince involved in Mysticism’s purge.

The Mysticism arc was the episode that shook Duke Roblia.

After observing Lucas’s actions, the First Prince learned of the incident between him and the Saintess.

The Saintess was at the center of the Holy Kingdom’s power struggle.

Even Lucas couldn’t handle the scale of it alone.

So, the First Prince played his card.

He would take responsibility for the Mysticism affair—giving Lucas free rein to act.

As a result, after saving Zennia from danger, Lucas stormed Mysticism’s stronghold to rescue Arcrede, who had been captured by Vulcan.

Lucas defeated Vulcan, and Mysticism was completely dismantled.

All credit went to the First Prince.

Moreover, the First Prince also smoothed over the unsavory incidents within the Holy Kingdom, strengthening ties with the Holy Church.

This caused major upheaval in the already-fierce succession battle.

Duke Roblia, desperate, even borrowed the power of the Evil God as the First Prince’s influence grew.

That was the script for Act 5.

But this time, everything unfolded under the White Wood Master’s leadership.

Even the First Prince couldn’t recklessly interfere in the White Wood Master’s affairs.

So, I played my own card.

What I had once told the First Prince:

“I won’t let Duke Roblia become Emperor.”

If he helped, I would hand over the credit for this operation to him.

As for the Blue Magic Tower? That went without saying.

If his daughter’s fiancé wanted to play the hero, of course he’d lend his support.

Master Jerion would help with any magic needed.

The main story was hurtling forward on a tightrope.

And the faster it moved, the more safety nets were necessary.

The Blue Magic Tower and the Imperial Knights.

Two factions even the White Wood Master couldn’t act against lightly—I had set them in motion.

These were the two safety nets I had prepared.

Zennia’s eyes trembled violently.

She looked at me as if she had no idea who I really was.

“…Didn’t you say you were just a disciple?”

“Until I arrived here, I thought it best to hide my identity. I may have lied a little.”

I pressed the bandages of the Veil.

My appearance shifted—my stature shrank, and jet-black hair cascaded down.

As red hues gradually filled my vision, Zennia’s eyes widened in shock.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Hanon Iraey, a student at Jerion Academy.”

“Hanon… Iraey.”

Zennia already knew my name.

After wielding the Ancient Dragon’s magic, my capture by the Imperial Family had become well-known.

“The fiancé of the Blue Magic Tower Lord’s daughter.”

I was famous in that regard, too.

“How long were you planning to hide it?”

Isabel swung her sword beside me, chiming in.

“Ugh, I thought I’d suffocate keeping it in! Hanon, I can call you by your name now, right?”

“Yes, Lady Arcrede. Go ahead.”

I shrugged nonchalantly at Arcrede’s shout from where she was being carried by Centriole.

Zennia stared at me, dumbfounded.

From the White Wood Master and the Saintess to the First Prince and the Lord of the Blue Magic Tower.

I was connected to every major figure in the world.

Her reaction wasn’t surprising.

“Just… what are you?”

Since I’d be enrolling next year, was she calling me senpai out of courtesy?

I smiled faintly at her politeness.

“A second-year combat student at Jerion Academy.”

It wasn’t the answer she wanted—her brow twitched slightly—but there was no time to dwell.

We had already reached the end of the temple, where countless pillars stood.

Beyond them stretched an endless staircase.

Where a wall should have been, an eerie darkness loomed.

Within it, faint, firefly-like lights flickered ominously.

“We’re here.”

Musica stopped, and the others halted behind me.

She dismounted lightly from her skeletal steed.

“The souls here are a chaotic mess… and the energy is overwhelmingly dangerous.”

Her expression was uneasy.

As she said, my Steel Body and the Ancient Dragon’s remnants were reacting more intensely than ever.

“Stop them!”

“Don’t let them reach the altar!”

At that moment, Mysticism’s forces caught up from behind.

“Go on ahead.”

The White Wood Master’s disciple drew his sword and turned to face them.

He could handle them alone.

“Let’s go.”

At my word, everyone began ascending the stairs.

Strangely, the steps grew increasingly irregular—some required a single step, others were like cliffs to climb.

But we had long surpassed the point where mere height could stop us.

Zennia used magic, Isabel flew with the Goddess’s wings.

Musica rode her skeletal steed, while Centriole and I relied on physical prowess.

“Eeek!”

Only Arcrede yelped in terror at each leap.

The higher we climbed, the more oppressive the aura became.

A bad premonition slowly crept in.

Vulcan, sensing the White Wood Master as a threat, had hastened his plans.

And with the Earth Dragon stirring, he had been busy preparing.

‘Vulcan’s erratic actions are beyond even my predictions.’

That’s why I had rushed here without holding back.

Thud—

Suddenly, I felt an odd sensation—like the sound of a wheel turning somewhere.

The wheel of fate was rolling forward, laden with inevitability.

Fate could only be twisted by a force strong enough to oppose it.

And had my actions so far been insignificant?

Creep—

For the first time in a while, goosebumps prickled my skin.

The Veil’s bandages had dulled my emotions, making me forget how to care for myself.

So, feeling this chill was rare.

It wasn’t emotion—it was pure instinct.

“…Damn it.”

Then, Musica’s muttered curse reached my ears.

Belatedly, I realized one unresolved issue amid the chaotic scenario.

No—

Not just one.

I had forced the main story forward, filling Lucas’s absence with every means possible.

And in doing so, I had tampered with countless elements for my desired happy ending.

This had set off countless butterfly effects, culminating in a storm.

The darkness shrouding the ceiling parted.

Then, from within, a skeletal hand—one I had seen before—tore through the void and descended.

Thud—

As the bone hand appeared, everyone present froze.

Beneath that hand—

A man stood motionless.

The leader of Mysticism.

Vulcan Zebra.

The abandoned prince of the Phantom Kingdom, Zebra—a man scorned for his tainted bloodline.

He had made a contract with the Abhorrent God.