The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 178

After that, I sought out a few more people.

Moving with more than five people on the 8th floor would significantly increase the chances of catching the Apostle’s attention.

So, up to the 7th floor, we could proceed with more than five, but beyond that, we had to stick to five.

What we needed for that was the right team composition.

‘The probability of encountering other academies also increases from the 5th floor.’

I already had an idea of how they would move.

After all, the core members breaking through the Demon Palace were few in any academy.

I spent the entire day gathering people.

I made it clear that if anyone didn’t want to go based on personal reasons, they didn’t have to.

“Senior, you’re underestimating me too much.”
“Of course, I’ll follow you!”

Every single person I asked responded that they would go to the Demon Palace without exception.

A sense of duty—to protect the world from the Demon Palace.

That was the kind of resolve with which students enrolled in Jerion Academy.

Among the students attending Jerion Academy, there wasn’t a single person who would refuse this proposal.

“I’ll go.”

Finally, the unyielding Blue Flame, Eve, also agreed to come.

A dire situation where the Apostle might leap at any moment.

The determination to stop it if possible was palpable.

Truly, that was Eve.

“Thank you. Now I don’t even have to think about the vanguard.”
“Hanon Iraey.”

When I expressed my gratitude to Eve, she called my name.

As I looked at her with a puzzled expression, she glanced around briefly before speaking.

“I want to talk about the Third Princess.”

The moment I heard those words, I stopped in my tracks.

Fortunately, there was no one around.

Isabel and Sharin didn’t interfere beyond helping gather people.

The only concern was that the two were sharing a room, but I doubted they’d fight even there.

“What’s the matter?”
“The last time I helped, the scale of the nightmares was rapidly increasing.”

My eyes narrowed slightly.

Eve and I had been steadily managing Iris’s nightmares all this time.

Thanks to that, Iris’s nightmares had improved significantly.

Yet, in my absence, they had grown again.

This was somewhat expected.

The Heavenly Demon Lord and the Evil Sovereign must have begun preparing their schemes in earnest.

But judging by Eve’s reaction, the nightmares seemed worse than anticipated.

“Did the White Nightmare Sword fail to suppress them?”
“……The White Nightmare Sword shattered.”
“What?”

Bewilderment crossed my face.

No matter what, I hadn’t expected the White Nightmare Sword to break.

“I confirmed it when I returned to the dorm today. It was cracked and broken.”

Eve had been the one keeping the White Nightmare Sword.

A sword that purified nightmares.

For it to shatter meant Iris’s nightmares had intensified beyond endurance.

A chill ran down my spine.

Something else must have happened to Iris—something I didn’t know about.

‘Iris said she’d return this evening.’

I’d heard it directly from Hania.

I could meet her today.

“Thank you. I’ll head to the dorm to see Her Highness.”

I could talk to her directly.

Just as I was about to leave with that thought—

“Hanon Iraey.”

Eve called me again.

“I have a bad feeling about this. Be careful.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Eve, can I borrow your appearance for a bit?”
“Go ahead.”

The intuition of a side-story protagonist was trustworthy.

Keeping Eve’s words in mind, I immediately headed toward the girls’ dormitory.

Soon, the dorm came into view.

A group of girls were gathered, chatting among themselves.

“I heard Her Highness Iris just returned.”
“She’s been looking really tired lately, hasn’t she?”
“She met with the Heavenly Demon Lord. They must have discussed official matters.”

The girls’ murmurs reached my ears.

As I’d expected, Iris had just returned.

Though I’d entered the girls’ dorm several times before, I couldn’t just walk in freely.

So, I used the Bandages of the Veil to take on Eve’s form.

Good thing I’d told Eve in advance.

Without drawing suspicion, I slipped inside.

The familiar hallway led me to Iris’s room shortly after.

I raised my hand and knocked twice.

No immediate answer came.

Normally, Hania would respond, but it seemed she wasn’t there.

“Your Highness, it’s Hanon.”

So, I quietly announced myself instead.

Luckily, the hallway was empty—no one to overhear.

“……Come in.”

A moment later, a voice permitted me to enter.

Carefully opening the door, I stepped inside.

Moonlight seeped through the window.

Iris sat serenely in its glow.

Her ink-black, long hair stood out.

Between the strands, her ruby-like eyes, tinged with gloom, gleamed with a bewitching light—enough to remind one of a vampire.

With her innate allure amplified by the Evil Sovereign’s power, Iris was breathtakingly beautiful.

“Your Highness.”
“Hanon, it’s been a while.”

Shadows lingered under Iris’s eyes.

She seemed far more exhausted than I’d imagined.

‘Just like the first day I saw her.’

Her condition had deteriorated to that extent.

All our efforts had vanished in an instant.

Severe.

Now I understood why Eve had said what she did.

“Are you alright?”
“Alright?”

Iris let out a hollow laugh, covering her mouth with her pale, slender fingers.

Then, she slowly turned to look at me.

“Hanon—no.”

She corrected herself.

“Who are you?”

The moment I heard those words, my body froze.

For the first time, my pupils shook violently.

I never imagined my identity would be exposed to Iris at this moment.

“Did you enjoy deceiving me all this time, pretending to be my cousin?”

Iris’s question pierced through me.

I had always known this day would come.

But I’d assumed it would be after her nightmares were completely resolved.

By then, I thought it wouldn’t matter if she found out.

‘No.’

That was just me vaguely pushing the inevitable further away.

I had deceived her, just as she said.

To solve her nightmares, I’d acted out familial affection—something she desperately craved.

“I went to find the real Hanon.”

The real Hanon.

My body stiffened at those words.

“Normally, she’d come when I called, but she kept avoiding me. It was strange. I wanted to ask if something had happened.”

Iris clenched the blanket draped over her lap.

“So, I treated her as usual. You always shared warmth with me when I was struggling. I wanted to do the same for her.”

The memory of that day flashed vividly in Iris’s eyes.

“And then—I was rejected. Shockingly coldly.”

The real Hanon did not like Iris.

Hanon was one of those whose life had been stolen by the Heavenly Demon Lord.

A person whose mother had been sacrificed by the Heavenly Demon Lord, who had fought against him and ultimately been sealed.

That was Hanon Iraey.

What kind of person was Iris to Hanon?

Of course, she would never accept Iris, who bore the Evil Sovereign’s power.

Beyond mere rejection—she despised her.

The day Iris approached Hanon.

She witnessed Hanon shove her away with contempt, her disdain laid bare.

A reflexive action.

And in that moment, Iris must have realized.

That the “cousin” before her was not the person she knew.

Bewilderment filled Iris’s eyes.

The boy who had been the only one to return familial love to her.

That boy had rejected her.

“……For a while, I was happy. I thought I’d finally gained a real sibling.”

My breath hitched.

Her father was the Emperor—unable to give her the love she desired.

Her mother, in her childhood, had been trapped in a nightmare disease and died without ever escaping.

Iris had always been alone.

People treated her as a noble, but no one gave her the warmth of family.

Forced into the role of the Emperor’s daughter, growing up hearing whispers of the “Final Witch.”

None of it was what Iris had wanted.

Then, one day.

A boy appeared before her.

A boy with the same hair, eyes, and blood as hers.

Though a cousin, the only family who would do anything for her.

Iris gradually leaned on me.

Starved for familial love, she once asked me—

Why was I helping her?

I told her I was doing it for myself.

I thought letting her cling to me as family would be dangerous later.

But by then, it was already too late to turn back.

“But this time, I met my grandfather and heard about my cousin.”

Iris’s nightmares grew even darker.

The aura of nightmares emanating from her was palpable even to me.

“How my cousin truly feels about me. What the look in her eyes that day meant.”

Iris’s longing for familial love had run deep for a long time.

By the time it burst forth through me, there was no going back.

“There’s no one in this world who thinks of me as family.”

I had known, deep down.

I’d just turned a blind eye, using her nightmares as an excuse.

Maybe, in my heart, I’d naively hoped Iris would recognize my efforts.

Like with Hania, everything I’d done for Iris had been sincere.

Perhaps I’d imagined she’d accept me, and we’d have a happy ending.

“From the beginning, you were just using me.”

But now I realized how arrogant that was.

What Iris needed wasn’t the resolution of her nightmares.

What she wanted was family.

Someone she could truly consider her own.

That was all she had ever desired.

And I had betrayed that wish.

“Speak.”

Iris rose from her chair.

Beneath the blanket, her frail frame was visible.

A sign she hadn’t been eating properly.

“Why were you by my side?”

The pressure radiating from Iris coiled around me.

The room darkened, drowned in her nightmares.

The killing intent was so intense even I struggled to breathe.

If not for the Bandages of the Veil suppressing my fear, I wouldn’t have endured.

Iris’s crimson eyes flashed violently.

“What did you want to achieve by using me like this?”

Her voice was laced with anguish.

Before I knew it, she was right in front of me.

Then, her head slumped against my chest.

“For what… why?”

Her shoulders trembled.

Tears fell, drop by drop, from her grief-stricken eyes.

“Why?”

The killing intent she’d exuded wasn’t directed at me.

It was resentment—toward this cruel world that had only ever used her.

“Why…?”

A life destined to be exploited by the Heavenly Demon Lord.

The only family she’d found in that life—a lie.

Faced with that reality, Iris wept like a child.

She was being consumed by nightmares.

The nightmare gauge was skyrocketing wildly, even without seeing it.

Black nightmares writhed.

The Bad Ending Nightmare opened its maw.

Inside, there was only pitch-black darkness.

What could I possibly say to her?

I had no words.

To her, I was a sinner who had deceived her.

But did that mean I should do nothing?

‘No.’

My fists clenched.

If I left Iris like this, it would be irreversible.

Nightmares depended on one’s state of mind.

In this state, she would be devoured.

“Your Highness.”

My eyes hardened.

“Don’t act like a child.”

If anything, I had to push forward.