The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 200
The Western Highlands of the 3rd Floor.
Hanon sprinted across the terrain without hesitation.
And clinging to Hanon’s back like a shadow—a man.
The shadow’s master, Solvas, had his lips pressed tightly together.
The reason he was sticking to Hanon like this was simple.
An unknown apostle was chasing them.
The only one who could outrun it was Hanon.
Hanon possessed legs so fast they could be called the best in the world.
In terms of evasion alone, he was undoubtedly the highest.
That was Hanon Irelia.
But even Hanon was barely keeping ahead in this desperate race.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A terrifying sound echoed from behind.
The apostle chasing them.
No matter how many times they tried to shake it off, it stubbornly closed the gap.
Running on all fours, flicking its tongue like a beast—it was no different from a wild animal.
“What the hell is that thing?”
“We heard it earlier, didn’t we?”
Hanon muttered in his usual languid tone.
At that, Solvas’ face froze.
“……An ascended apostle.”
Hanon nodded in response instead of answering.
“Do you have a plan?”
Though it was embarrassing to admit as the one being carried, running endlessly wasn’t a solution.
“I’m thinking we need to keep that thing tied down here as long as possible.”
“……Because there are still academy students on the upper floors. I see.”
“Right.”
Solvas immediately grasped the point.
That thing was beyond what academy students could handle.
The fact that Solvas himself could do nothing but flee was proof enough.
“But Hanon, you know better than anyone that you can’t keep this up forever, right?”
Beads of sweat had already formed on Hanon’s forehead.
Proof that he was pushing himself too hard.
Especially with Solvas on his back, the burden was even greater.
“At the very least, drop me—”
Solvas’ expression darkened.
“I… I recently met the hero I once dreamed of becoming.”
Hanon then spoke.
“When I was a kid, I read fairy tales and thought, ‘I want to be a hero like that,’ over and over.”
A carefree smile spread across Hanon’s lips.
Even drenched in sweat and visibly exhausted, his grin was bright.
“And now, that hero is walking the path of a hero again.”
Hanon’s legs tensed with all his strength.
“Shouldn’t I at least try to walk the same path?”
He tightened his grip on Solvas’ shadow.
Hanon’s resolve was unmistakably conveyed to Solvas.
Solvas fell silent for a moment before subtly averting his gaze.
“……No. That’s not what I meant. I was just saying you could drop me off at a floor leading to the 5th so I could call for reinforcements.”
Solvas wore an embarrassed expression.
If they lured the apostle to the 3rd-floor entrance, it would head straight to the 2nd.
So his plan was to reach the 5th, alert the other academy members, and call for backup.
Even if they couldn’t defeat it, they could at least buy time to restrain it.
“But I understand your resolve, Hanon.”
The shadows beneath Hanon’s feet began to writhe.
“Though its appearance made me hesitate, we are proud students of Aquiline Academy.”
The shadows instantly took the form of serpents, surging upward.
Dozens of shadow snakes flicked their tongues, radiating hostility.
“I, too, once dreamed of becoming a hero.”
Even if the Umbra Count’s house was far from heroic, forcing him to accept reality.
The dreams of a young boy still burned in his heart.
The brightly shining star of a hero.
The ember that clung to the star reignited the flames in what he thought were long-dead kindling.
It was his duty to fan those flames.
And the two here were more than capable of nurturing that spark into a star.
“The life signals of Aquiline’s students are transmitted to the surface via magic, so by now, they must know something’s happened. They’ll figure it out even if we don’t report it.”
The shadow snakes lunged at the apostle.
The apostle, still mid-stride, raised its arms and crushed the snakes’ necks, bursting them apart.
A gruesome sight, but Solvas forced a smile.
If only to shake off the fear.
If one wasn’t enough, then ten.
If ten weren’t enough, then a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand.
“I won’t let you be the only hero.”
He’d buy time until the upper floors were ready to act.
Solvas declared.
Hanon poured strength into his legs.
“Guess I’ll be running the longest I ever have in my life.”
It was time to run like hell.
The shadows tore through the air, stretching outward.
Starting as snakes, then morphing into spikes, spears, and sometimes walls—endlessly obstructing the apostle’s path.
Each time, the apostle shattered the shadows.
Its charging force, reminiscent of an enraged bull, showed no signs of weakening.
But thanks to the shadows intermittently obscuring its vision, Hanon managed to widen the gap each time.
A perilous game of tag—close enough to be caught at any moment.
For the apostle, it was infuriating.
“That thing’s dumber than I thought!”
Solvas shouted as he summoned another wave of shadows.
He’d lost track of time since dusk—no idea how long this had been going on.
One thing was certain: this was more manageable than expected.
Shadows frequently formed beneath Hanon’s feet, aiding his sprint.
With enough momentum, reducing friction via shadows let him glide effortlessly.
Solvas’ support gave Hanon time to conserve stamina.
“That thing can’t run forever! It’ll tire out eventually!”
“Yeah… I hope so.”
Hanon responded between labored breaths, regulating them to endure.
Solvas, not wanting to disrupt Hanon’s rhythm, prepared to summon more shadows when—
Something felt off.
The apostle’s body looked redder than before.
A trick of the eye?
He’d been manipulating shadows all night.
His fingers trembled from the strain.
Solvas blinked rapidly.
And when his vision cleared, he realized—
The apostle’s body was now completely crimson.
Ah, this isn’t good.
A split-second instinct—the apostle’s maw split open.
Solvas shoved Hanon away with a shadow purely on reflex.
That decision saved both their lives.
Piiing—
The speed of light far surpasses human perception.
The heat ray fired from the apostle’s maw split the earth, its destructive force enough to obliterate everything in its path.
KWA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GANG!
The delayed sound, violent and explosive, swallowed the world whole.
Giant trees were uprooted, sent tumbling by the blast.
The area was reduced to wasteland in an instant.
A shadowy sphere rolled across the scorched ground.
Crash, shatter!
Moments later, the sphere fragmented, and Solvas tumbled out.
“Kuh—! Cough—!”
Blood seeped from his ashen hair.
He’d barely avoided being melted by the heat ray, but the aftermath was devastating.
His bones rattled violently.
It was a miracle he was alive.
‘Hanon—where’s Hanon?’
Though they’d been rivals in the international solo matches, now they were comrades surviving this nightmare.
As he frantically scanned the smoke—
Thud.
An unwelcome face emerged.
The apostle’s grotesque maw twitched.
Having fired its heat ray, it had reverted to its original color—and now stood before him.
Solvas forced himself up.
Without hesitation, he summoned shadows and screamed through bloodied lips:
“Hanon! The apostle’s here! Run—any way you can!”
In his panic, even his usual formal speech vanished.
At this distance, it was too late for him.
He just wanted Hanon to live.
The apostle’s eyes, perched above its maw, locked onto Solvas.
His legs shook.
Fear and death flooded his mind.
He was terrified.
So terrified he thought he’d die.
Tears threatened to blur his vision.
Any second now, he’d be torn apart like his teammates.
Yet his fists shone brighter than ever.
“Come at me, you damn beast.”
The apostle and Solvas moved simultaneously.
Solvas poured every ounce of his mana into the shadows.
A final, desperate struggle.
His mana ran wild, blood gushing from every pore as he activated:
Shadow of Night
Outlaw of the Tides
The shadows became a whirlpool, crashing into the apostle.
The charging apostle was forced back two steps.
The shadowy vortex threatened to grind it to pieces.
Solvas screamed, pouring everything he had.
Then—the apostle’s legs bulged grotesquely.
Thud!
It began advancing step by step, tearing through the whirlpool.
Its hide was damaged, but it didn’t care.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Its speed increased.
The distance between them shrank rapidly.
But Solvas could only watch.
If he stopped the Outlaw of the Tides now, his life would end.
Death approached.
Yet he could do nothing but witness it.
Strangely, Solvas felt at peace.
A sense of fulfillment—greater than any he’d ever known—filled his heart.
The Umbra Count’s house, known for its cunning in diplomacy.
Though born there, in this moment, he shone brighter than anyone.
This pride was enough to face death head-on.
Finally, the apostle’s hand broke through the Outlaw of the Tides—swinging toward Solvas.
Solvas didn’t flinch. He didn’t look away.
The boy who dreamed of being a hero had become one.
And—
Heroes don’t always stand alone.
Tap—
A footstep from nowhere.
Simultaneously, a sensation of weightlessness.
When Solvas opened his eyes again—
He was floating in midair.
The ground approached.
Realizing this, he desperately squeezed the last of his shadows to cushion the fall.
Thud!
The shadows absorbed the impact, barely sparing him.
He’d been certain he would die.
As Solvas dazedly regained his senses, he noticed the apostle was gone.
At the same time, he realized someone was holding him.
Hanon.
Hanon’s Mystic—
Wind of Concealment.
Normally, it allowed teleportation anywhere, but within the Magic Palace, its range was restricted.
They could only move within the same floor.
Hanon had snatched Solvas at the last second and used the Wind.
The shock had delayed his recovery.
If Solvas hadn’t shouted for him to run, it would’ve been a disaster.
“Hanon, you idiot.”
Solvas, back from death’s door, grabbed Hanon with overwhelming emotion.
But he soon realized—Hanon’s body had gone limp.
Drip—drip—
Something fell to the ground.
When Solvas looked down, he saw blood.
A chunk of Hanon’s side had been torn away, leaving a hollow cavity.
The price for saving Solvas.
A glancing blow from the apostle’s claws.
“H-Hanon! Hanon!”
Solvas shook him desperately.
But Hanon could only gasp for air, unable to respond.
With the last of his strength, he weakly pushed Solvas away.
As if to say, At least you—run.
Not all heroes survive.
Sometimes, the path of a hero is paved in blood.
“No! Don’t talk nonsense! Where’s that stubborn pride from the solo matches?! I know how tough you are!”
(That person was someone else—but Hanon lacked the strength to explain.)
Solvas tried to carry Hanon, to flee somehow.
But despair wasn’t done with them yet.
KWA-AAAAAANG!
The apostle landed behind them.
Its nostrils flared, sniffing the scent of the Mystic from the Wind of Concealment.
It licked the blood from its claws with a long tongue.
Then, its maw twisted into a grin before charging.
Solvas turned, shielding Hanon with his body—
KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
An ear-splitting explosion rocked the air.
Standing there, his palm clashing with the apostle’s strike—
A man with snow-white hair.
“Solvas. Hanon.”
His amber eyes flickered, pupils shifting into draconic slits.
“You held out well.”
Revenj.