The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 199

The Apostle’s Descent.

It is a calamity upon the world.

In the past, the Apostle’s Descent resulted in over 50 million casualties.

At the time, the world’s total population was roughly 450 million.

Though there may be discrepancies in the recorded numbers, the sheer magnitude of 50 million deaths undoubtedly shook the world to its core.

This was the price each nation paid for neglecting the existence of the Demon Palace.

The Demon Palace was constructed over roughly 300 years after the Demon Lord was sealed away.

When the Demon Palace first appeared, its very existence was not even properly known to the world.

Naturally, its danger was not recognized either.

People believed the sealed Demon Lord could do nothing.

In truth, over the past 300 years, the Demon Lord’s existence had faded from the memory of ordinary citizens.

And then, after 300 years, the Apostle’s Descent finally began.

Apostles poured endlessly from the Demon Palace.

They slaughtered indiscriminately—men, women, the elderly, children.

Nations accustomed to peace belatedly mobilized their armies to confront the Apostles.

But even they were no match.

In the process, several nations collapsed and vanished, unable to endure.

Yet humanity was tenacious.

In the end, they defeated every Apostle and roared in victory.

But the river of blood did not end there.

It was good that the world united to defeat the Apostles.

But the devastated lands and dwindling population—

Compounded by droughts and floods, the world spiraled into ruin.

And finally, unable to endure, nations began plundering one another.

The scale of this conflict grew until it erupted into full-scale war.

Thus began the long and grueling World War.

The Apostle’s Descent had driven the world to war.

Humanity learned much from this bloodstained history.

They could not repeat the same mistakes.

And so, they decided to raise boys in the Academy and send them into the Demon Palace.

They knew how irresponsible it was to burden young boys and girls with such a duty.

But there was no other way to prevent history from repeating itself.

And now, today—

The Apostle has descended once more.

Everyone following me knew what that meant.

The Jerion Academy Demon Palace Assault Team.

Not a single one among them could keep their expression from hardening.

Even as they ascended faster than they had descended, their faces remained tense.

The Academy was organized to prevent the Apostle’s Descent.

Every student there carried their own pride.

And so, they felt the gravity of this situation all the more.

I was no exception.

The Apostle’s Descent was never part of the original scenario.

Then why had this happened?

Because I changed fate.

Though fate had already been broken by Lucas’s death—

My intervention had brought too many changes to the world.

And those changes had inevitably reached the Demon Palace.

“Vicarmen.”

At that moment, Sharin called my name.

She was the type to address me differently when others who knew the circumstances were present.

“Fifth floor.”

Before I knew it, we had reached the entrance to the fifth floor.

I steadied myself and looked ahead.

The fifth floor was connected to other Academies as well.

So where had the descended Apostle gone?

We had taken the path from Jerion Academy.

At the very least, it wasn’t Jerion.

“Sharin, can you find it?”

If it was Sharin’s Miriné, she might be able to uncover something.

As I made the request, the Miriné shimmered in her eyes.

We waited in silence as she focused.

“Ugh!”

After a while, Sharin clutched her temples and staggered.

I quickly reached out to steady her.

Slowly, the tension in her tightly shut eyes eased.

“…Phanisis.”

The Fantasia Kingdom, Phanisis.

The moment I heard that, I bit my lip hard.

Phanisis was currently the most chaotic kingdom due to civil war.

Because of this, most of the Academy’s talented students had returned to their families.

The remaining ranks were barely filled with commoners and students sponsored by other nations.

And now, an Apostle had descended there.

Could students from other Academies and commoners possibly stop an Apostle?

I can say with certainty—it’s impossible.

With the civil war, they wouldn’t even have proper defenses in place.

The kingdom was already reeling from internal strife.

A direct hit from an Apostle would be the end of Phanisis.

“Hania, if it’s you, can you regroup with Jerion Academy students and return to the surface alone?”

Hania turned to look at me.

After a moment, she nodded without a word.

Hania, the second-ranked Combat Arts student.

She had the skill to reach the surface even from the fifth floor.

More importantly, Hania was the daughter of the Imperial Knight Commander.

Among the students present, her authority was second only to the Saintess.

The Academy would quickly accept her input.

“Come back alive.”

“I will.”

After exchanging farewells with Hania, we immediately set off for Phanisis.

As I ran up the stairs, I called out behind me.

“From now on, I’m only looking forward.”

I was the leader here.

So I made sure my words reached everyone clearly.

“If anyone is afraid, I won’t blame you—turn back now.”

Everyone values their own life.

Conversely, if you lack that resolve, you’re better off not being here.

Leaving those words behind, I focused solely on the path ahead.

The stairs ended, and we reached the fourth floor.

In the distance, I saw the shattered remains of an Apostle.

Clearly, the descended Apostle had destroyed it while passing through.

Even among their own kind, Apostles showed no mercy.

My gaze shifted behind me.

And soon, I felt a sense of inevitability.

Not a single one was missing—everyone was still there.

For a moment, my eyes met the children’s.

Those who had come this far were Jerion Academy’s elite.

They had made their resolve before even entering the Demon Palace.

My worry had been unnecessary.

“Let’s go.”

We would defeat the descended Apostle.

Affiliated with the Kingdom of Phanisis.

One of the Six Stars.

Solvas Umbra.

He swept back his wolf-cut hair and swallowed a sigh.

The reason was simple.

It was because of the pitiful group trailing behind him.

Solvas’s team hadn’t always been like this.

But when civil war broke out in Phanisis, most noble-born students were recalled to their families.

Solvas had barely managed to remain at Aquilin Academy.

To be precise, the Umbra Viscountcy had no reason to summon him.

The Umbra family itself was torn between siding with the rebelling nobles or the traditional royal faction.

As a result, Solvas, caught between the two, had no choice but to stay at the Academy.

With the kingdom in crisis, the Demon Palace was neglected.

And so, only the dregs—those without families—were left to descend into the Demon Palace.

The same went for students sponsored by other kingdoms.

They had already formed their own teams.

Taking members from them would only disrupt coordination, making it pointless.

Among them, one person in particular disgusted Solvas the most.

Hanon Airey.

The one who had humiliated him during the International Solo Tournament.

When he heard Hanon had come to Phanisis as a sponsored student, he was speechless.

Hanon ignored Solvas completely.

As if they had never even met.

Still, his skills were undeniable—but this was beyond infuriating.

Maybe he has something to hide.

Phanisis’s civil war was a prolonged conflict with no end in sight.

So coming to Aquilin Academy as a sponsored student effectively meant staying until graduation.

Academies were reluctant to let go of their strongest assets.

For Hanon, who had reached the International Solo Tournament finals, to come here—there had to be a reason.

No doubt he kept his mouth shut to avoid exposing that reason.

Solvas wasn’t entirely ignorant of his circumstances.

He had already heard the rumors—the Imperial prodigy had personally marked him.

Probably disowned by his family.

Solvas clicked his tongue, though he wasn’t much better.

His kingdom was in civil war, yet his family hadn’t even summoned him—here he was, stuck dealing with the Demon Palace.

Suddenly, he felt pathetic.

This is pointless.

With a team like this, even reaching the fifth floor would be a struggle.

No wonder Solvas felt no motivation.

At best, they’d clear a few lower floors before retreating.

It was just killing time.

Other Academies are in chaos over the Apostle’s Descent.

While others made history, he was left scrounging around the lower floors.

Nothing could be more disheartening.

Currently, he was on the third floor.

Considering his team’s original capabilities, this pace was embarrassingly slow.

Hopeless.

“Hah…”

Just as he let out another sigh—

“S-Solvas, sir!”

A panicked voice called from behind.

One of his teammates was pointing ahead.

Solvas raised his head with an annoyed glare—

And froze.

Crunch, squelch—

The sound of something chewing on bone and flesh echoed.

Beneath it lay what looked like scraps of corpses.

They were wearing uniforms.

Not Phanisis’s.

Those golden uniforms belonged to Ergo Academy.

The five students sponsored by Ergo Academy.

They had been insufferably arrogant.

Acting as if they were above everyone else just because they were sponsored.

They had ignored Solvas and descended ahead of him.

And now, they had met this gruesome end.

Squelch—

A mangled hand rolled across the floor.

The creature that had enjoyed its meal let out a satisfied belch as it opened its long snout.

A massive frame ten times the size of a human.

Thick muscles bulged beneath its pitch-black fur.

Screech—

Then, red eyes opened across its entire face, including its snout.

Shiver—

Solvas felt a chill crawl down his spine.

By the time he realized, it was too late.

CRACK!

One of Solvas’s teammates shattered.

Literally split into thousands of cubes—instantly dead.

Before anyone could even process what had happened.

One of the creature’s eyes locked onto Solvas.

Instinctively, Solvas summoned his shadows to defend himself—

THUD!

Someone grabbed him by the scruff.

“What are you doing? Run!”

A familiar voice.

Solvas’s body was flung into the air as he was dragged away at blinding speed.

The one carrying him was none other than Hanon Airey—the person he despised most.

“H-Hanon?”

He blurted out the name before shouting in panic.

“Wait! My teammates—!”

He had brought teammates with him.

Even if they were just fill-ins, they were still fellow Academy students.

As team leader, Solvas had a duty to protect them.

Hanon’s brow furrowed sharply.

“By the time I grabbed you, it was already too late.”

Solvas’s eyes widened at Hanon’s words.

At the same time, he realized—his entire team had been reduced to cubes.

They had been dead since the moment Solvas saw his first teammate shatter.

“Be grateful for the shadows.”

The only reason Solvas was alive was because of the Shinbi—the shadow lilies.

The creature had strange hunting habits—it killed the surrounding prey first, saving the strongest for last.

Without the Shinbi, Solvas would have shared their fate.

“More importantly—”

Beads of sweat formed on Hanon’s forehead.

“This isn’t the time to worry about others.”

The creature was already far on the horizon.

It slowly rose to its feet, its legs swelling with power.

Preparing to chase its fleeing prey.

It opened its maw and let out a guttural laugh.

The thrill of the hunt—an expression of uncontrollable joy.

And proof of its confidence.

If caught, death was certain.

This was a deadly game of tag.