The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 203

Blades of hands and the Apostle's fists clash.

The Apostle and I collided madly without a single pause.

Chunks of the Apostle's flesh were repeatedly carved away.

Hyper-Regeneration tried to catch up belatedly, but the Heavenly Dragon's lightning forcibly delayed it.

The Apostle let out a scream.

A hint of crisis flickered in its eyes.

Meanwhile, my speed only grew faster.

I deflected the Apostle's incoming strike.

Though its arms accelerated with high-speed movement, I outpaced even that.

The number of times my hand blades pierced the Apostle's body increased.

On the other hand, the Apostle's hands never once touched me.

At that moment, the Apostle's body flashed crimson.

It was the heat ray it had fired earlier.

CRACK!

My hand gripped the Apostle's snout and forcibly clamped it shut.

The Apostle thrashed wildly, its jaws locked tight.

"You think I'd fall for the same trick twice?"

The Apostle's body returned to its original color.

It must have realized that firing now would mean losing its own head.

My foot kicked the Apostle's ankle.

SNAP!

Its ankle twisted unnaturally, bending backward.

Its adaptive physiology couldn’t keep up with my speed.

The Apostle's body lurched forward.

Without hesitation, I drove my hand blade straight in.

CRUNCH!

The Apostle's body bent in an L-shape.

A torrent of black blood gushed from its mouth.

Its eyes flew wide open in unison.

Before the Apostle could even groan in pain, my hand blades lashed out repeatedly.

STAB! CRACK! SHRED!

Gaping holes riddled the Apostle's abdomen.

Flesh—organs or whatever—spilled out messily.

Yet, not a shred of mercy lingered in my eyes.

A fury I hadn’t felt in so long.

Never before had I felt such blazing rage toward anything.

Perhaps that was why I couldn’t contain the wrath boiling to the tips of my hair.

But separate from that, my rationality moved solely to bring the Apostle down.

Predicting its attacks, I wielded only the next move meant to kill.

This thing tried to kill Seron and Charlotte.

I had absolutely no intention of letting it live.

The number of holes in the Apostle’s body grew ceaselessly.

It screamed and flailed, yet its hands never reached me.

Finally, fear seeped into the Apostle’s eyes.

Its delusion—that it was the sole hunter relishing slaughter—crumbled.

Even those eyes were shattered as my blade pierced through them.

The Heavenly Dragon’s currents surged through the Apostle’s entire body.

Deprived of even Hyper-Regeneration, its snout gasped uselessly under the assault.

Even that snout was left twisted and mangled from my relentless strikes.

BOOM!

I leapt and brought my blade down on the Apostle’s head.

Its body was driven straight into the ground under the force.

I stamped my foot on its chest.

I wouldn’t stop until its last breath was snuffed out.

The moment I raised my blade to strike again—

I sensed something different this time.

My hand blade failed to pierce its flesh and was deflected.

The Apostle’s eyes flashed momentarily.

The accumulated damage had triggered its shift—from Magic Immunity to Physical Immunity.

The Apostle lunged at me violently, its ruined maw gaping wide.

It roared as if it had waited for this single moment.

Yet, my expression didn’t falter in the slightest as I watched it.

This thing is an idiot.

True, my attacks leaned heavily toward physical force—but what truly composed my body were Magic Sigils and the Ancient Dragon’s sorcery.

Even if Physical Immunity made piercing it impossible—

All I had to do was superheat my blade with lightning and cinders.

More than anything.

"You think our strongest mage is a joke?"

A blinding cascade of radiant white light poured from the sky.

Both the Apostle and I were engulfed instantly.

The Apostle trembled, unable to even scream.

Trapped under the crushing weight of the light, it couldn’t move.

It was Charlotte’s high-tier magic.

Charlotte had waited for this exact moment—the shift from Magic Immunity to Physical Immunity.

I was caught in it as well, but it was different for me.

This light was a high-output lightning spell.

So overpowering that only brilliance was visible, but within raged a storm of electrical charge.

Which meant—

For me, in my Heavenly Dragon form, it was just another weapon.

My hand reached toward the heavens.

The Magic Sigils engraved on my arm flared in unison, empowering my grip.

The Heavenly Dragon roared, swallowing the lightning.

Currents surged through my steel-forged body.

Magic Sigil · Lightning Grasp

From it formed a single spear of electrified blue charge.

A weapon capable of piercing absolutely anything.

Until that spear took shape, all the Apostle could do was watch.

Desperation flooded its eyes—a longing for life.

It writhed, trying desperately to escape.

But I decided to show it just how futile that was.

Holding the collective fervent wish of all in my grasp, I twisted my waist with all my might.

I swung the lightning.

The moment the sensation brushed past me, the Magic Sigil at my elbow erupted as I drove the spear down with maximum force.

At last, the Apostle’s eyes turned pure white.

Heavenly Dragon Form · Spear of the Thunder God

The divine judgment that would obliterate the Apostle.

―――――――――――――――!

An explosion so intense it rang in our ears swept across the area.

I stood atop the Apostle, raining down endless punches.

Its body was torn to shreds, barely retaining any shape.

To anyone, it was unmistakably dead. Yet, I didn’t let my guard down until the end.

My body trembled from the reckless assault.

But I refused to fall.

My fists continued to hammer into the shattered Apostle.

CRASH! CRUNCH!

Had even my Mystic Steel physique reached its limit?

Each strike split open my fists further.

But I couldn’t stop.

Just moments ago, this thing had tricked us and attacked Charlotte and Seron.

Not a single scrap of its body could remain.

Kill it.

I would kill it.

I clenched my fists ruthlessly.

Gathering the faint remnants of my strength, I didn’t stop.

Then, just as I raised my fist once more—

"You."

A voice reached my ears.

At the same time, her hands wrapped around my arm.

"It’s over now. You can stop."

I lifted my head.

Through my blurred vision, I saw Isabelle staring at me with desperate eyes.

Bernd, who had followed her, nodded silently.

My gaze returned to the Apostle.

A wind blew.

And with it, the Apostle’s corpse crumbled to dust.

We had truly defeated the Ascended Apostle.

An unknown Apostle, not even given a name.

It vanished without achieving its dream.

"...It’s over."

Isabelle embraced me.

The soft scent of citrus enveloped me, along with her comforting warmth.

In the distance, I saw the others.

Seron was still being treated by the Saint and Joachim.

I had to go to her.

Struggling against my heavy eyelids, I asked Isabelle for support.

When I reached Seron, I saw her wounds gradually healing.

Her face was drenched in sweat, as though she was enduring pain.

"Saint, how is Seron?"

"The critical injuries are stabilized. It’ll take a little longer, but she’ll be alright."

Some of the tension left my body.

Shifting my gaze, I saw Charlotte in the distance discarding a broken staff—likely from pouring everything into supporting me.

"King, look."

Then, Seron’s lips parted.

Struggling, she raised the corners of her mouth as she looked at me.

"See… my trump card?"

Trump card.

At last, I realized what she had meant.

"...You."

The reason Seron had looked like flame at the end—

It was because she had truly become flame herself.

Flame Incarnation

Originally, this was a technique Eve had used.

Among Seron’s Witchcraft was the Flame Ritual—a spell to ignite explosions.

She must have adapted it, enveloping herself in fire.

So this is what she’d been secretly practicing.

No wonder her body didn’t disintegrate even when her chest was pierced.

What the Apostle had pierced wasn’t flesh—but a gathering of magical energy.

Because of that, Seron didn’t die.

I stared at her, dumbfounded.

If she had messed up even slightly, she would’ve died.

A reprimand rose in my throat for her reckless act—but I didn’t voice it further.

Her flames had transferred to me, igniting my fury.

The words Seron deserved now weren’t scolding.

"You did well."

Praise was what she needed.

"We won because of you."

Charlotte had been the decisive force.

Without her, victory would’ve been impossible.

Seron smiled.

That was enough.

The rage that had flared within me was finally subdued.

"Everyone… you’ve worked hard."

The Winter Maiden Palace.

"Let’s go back."

The moment we had finally defeated the Ascended Apostle.

After resting briefly, we set our steps back toward the surface.

Given the situation—

None of us had any strength left.

Even if we were in the lower layers, the risks were too great.

It was far safer to return to Phanes and exit properly.

Above all, Seron’s condition was our priority.

Despite the Saint’s healing, she needed proper recovery.

Thus, we decided to return to Aquiline Academy first.

Fortunately, Solvas was there.

Surely, he could handle the explanations.

The ascent wasn’t difficult.

Thanks to the preparations left by Aquiline Academy’s students during our descent, we safely reached the surface.

Only then did I breathe properly again.

The stifling malice of the Maiden Palace faded, lightening my body.

Yet, for some reason, the entrance felt eerily quiet.

Word of the Ascended Apostle should’ve reached Aquiline Academy.

There should’ve been troops stationed here.

The surroundings were unsettlingly silent.

"What in the—"

Even Solvas wore a dumbfounded expression at the current situation.

Then, his eyes slowly widened.

"No way…"

Solvas hurriedly walked forward.

Exchanging glances, we followed him.

Soon, Solvas stood atop a hill overlooking the kingdom—

A vantage point where the entirety of Phanes, sprawling beneath the Maiden Palace, was visible.

Solvas froze.

He stared at the kingdom in utter disbelief.

We, who had followed, did the same.

All we could do was silently gaze at the scene below.

The capital of the Phanes Kingdom.

It was engulfed in brilliant flames.

Seizing the moment the Ascended Apostle had weakened its defenses—

The Phanes Kingdom had erupted into full-blown civil war.