The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 210

The standoff with the Aquiline students.

Their once-unshaken heroism had, at some point, withered endlessly.

The culprit who crushed their heroism—

That was me.

Just moments ago, I had killed ten people with my own hands.

Card, too, had slain four students without hesitation.

As a result, not a single student dared to step forward against us.

None among them wished to die.

A hero is defined in the moment when they must face death head-on—

It is decided by whether they can make that choice or not.

There were no heroes among them.

Only puppets moving under orders.

Even after killing children my own age, I felt no guilt.

While part of it was recognizing them as enemies, the stillness of my emotions played the biggest role.

My emotions had eroded due to the bandages of the Veil.

Thanks to Seron, I had regained some of my anger, but the rest of my emotions remained lost.

At least when those I cherished were around, it was bearable.

Even without emotions, I had learned to regulate myself in my own way.

But once they were gone, my emotions reached the extreme of stillness.

Now, devoid of emotions, I was no different from a weapon of war.

Amid the hesitant students—

A few began moving quietly.

Their eerie movements reeked of the scent of death.

In this world, there are those who shine like bright stars, challenging the Demon Palace.

But conversely, there are also those shrouded in shadows like clinging darkness.

This applies not just to Panasis but to every nation.

To sustain human greed and selfishness, someone must handle the dirty work.

And here, too, there are those who don the filth without hesitation.

Those so deeply corrupted they don’t even realize they’re covered in it.

They’re coming.

The moment I sensed it, something was hurled toward me.

Dozens of tiny black beads.

Without hesitation, I stepped back and unleashed Ash Flames the instant the beads flew at me.

Kwaaaah-BOOM!

In that moment, the Ash Flames clashed with the beads, triggering an explosion.

Black smoke billowed up in an instant.

Similar to the tools Card had used—

But with one difference.

"Khek— Gahk!?"

This time, it was a vicious smoke that choked not just the windpipe but seared the lungs.

Students caught in the blast writhed and screamed in agony.

They didn’t seem to care even if their own teammates were hurt.

Then again, to them, those who had lost their will to fight were no longer teammates.

Ash Flames erupted across my entire body.

The flames mercilessly burned away the toxic smoke before it could fill my lungs.

The black smoke had already filled the first-floor exit.

Students retreated from the fumes or carried away those who had collapsed under its effects.

And yet, within the smoke—

Someone moved.

I sensed movement—someone slipping past me, heading for the second floor.

Without hesitation, I reached into the smoke to grab them.

Swish!

At that moment, a dagger sharp as an awl sliced toward my throat, narrowly grazing past my fingers.

An attack meant solely to kill, devoid of hesitation.

The motion of an assassin honed for nothing but taking lives.

But they had chosen the wrong target.

I tilted my head slightly, and the dagger skimmed past my neck.

Ting!

My steel-like flesh might as well have been immune to blades.

But the next instant, flames burst from the tip of the dagger.

Boom!

The explosion engulfed my face as black smoke coiled upward.

The assassin didn’t stop—driving the dagger toward my vitals: ribs, solar plexus, navel, and spleen—

Until I snatched it from their grasp.

Crunch!

My eyes flashed through the smoke.

I caught the assassin’s mouth hanging open—toxic fluid spraying toward my face.

In response, I opened my own mouth.

My pupils turned draconic in an instant as an icy beam fired from within.

The assassin’s head froze solid mid-spit.

Then, my hand shot forward, piercing through their stomach.

In one continuous motion, I swung my elbow, smashing their frozen skull to pieces.

Crash!

The assassin's headless body rolled across the ground, a gaping hole in their stomach.

Even then, they groped for another dagger at their waist—utterly insane.

But I had no time to dwell on it.

The assassins had no intention of stopping.

Using one of their own as bait, they pressed onward toward the second floor.

They didn’t hesitate to sacrifice their own.

As I lunged to pursue—

Shadow magic spread through the gaps in the smoke.

Thud!

The assassins advancing through the smoke were caught off guard, their legs ensnared by darkness.

The smoke had backfired, limiting their vision.

"Do they still not recognize what we always use?"

Card grinned darkly, shadows shrouding his nose and mouth.

Without hesitation, I leaped ahead—landing at the second-floor entrance before the assassins.

Then, I stomped the ground hard.

Thoom!

A wall of ice erupted beneath my foot, sealing the entrance completely.

The same kind of ice wall Nikita had once used to trap Iris’s group in the Demon Palace.

Unless they defeated me, breaching it would take forever.

Standing before the wall, I raised my hand in challenge.

The message was clear: If you want to pass, you’ll have to get through me first.

The black smoke disappeared, swept away by a gust of wind.

One of the assassins had eliminated it upon realizing it was only a hindrance.

Now revealed before me—twenty assassins.

Originally twenty-one, but one had already died by my hand.

At a glance, they were all young boys and girls.

Raised in secret by Panasis’s noble faction—professional killers.

"—Kid."

One of them spoke.

"Mind telling us what the hell you’re doing?"

Kid—

Card’s original name.

Card, too, was a spy of House Umbra and a trained assassin.

Naturally, they knew him.

In response to the questioning assassin, Card shrugged nonchalantly.

"I’m Card Velik now—who’re you?"

The assassins fell silent at his shameless reply.

Then, twin daggers slid into their hands.

"...Understood."

No further words were needed.

They had resolved to kill us both.

In unison, they pulled black masks over their faces.

With Card on our side, they couldn’t risk being identified.

Even subtle differences in build were masked by identical clothing and masks.

"Card."

"Don’t worry. I was one of their elites, you know."

If he was confident, I wouldn’t question it.

Snap!

In an instant, the assassins lunged—kicking off the ground in unison.

"Wangnon, three of them can use Aura! Be careful!"

Card warned as shadows surged around him.

Aura-users.

Not on the level of Ban or Iris, true masters.

Those two were prodigies even by global standards.

Such monsters wouldn’t exist among mere assassins.

But while they couldn’t sustain Aura indefinitely, many could unleash it in bursts—

A final trump card, reserved for the decisive killing strike.

The assassins scattered, then converged from all angles, striking as one.

Their coordination was seamless, attacking as a single entity.

But I had no intention of being surrounded.

Instead, I threw myself forward.

Ash Flames surged across my steel-clad body, engulfing me in an instant.

At the same moment, ice armor encased the assassins.

The work of the mage among them—the same one who had dispersed the smoke.

Those in front, trusting their icy armor, swung their daggers at me.

Among them lurked Aura-users—

Brute-forcing through with my steel body would be reckless.

"Using ice magic in front of me—"

Then, the Ash Flames abruptly vanished.

In their place—the remnant of an ancient dragon howled as breath of frost poured forth.

The ice gauntlet encasing my arm gleamed under the false sun of the Demon Palace.

"—Is a mistake."

A blizzard erupted from the gauntlet, engulfing them.

Their ice armor backfired—freezing them in place.

As my fist drove toward them—

Daggers aimed at my flank, Achilles’ heel, and thigh.

Assassins behind me seized their chance.

Twisting mid-motion, I stomped down and swung the gauntlet at the blades.

Crack!

One gauntlet split—cut clean through.

Proof that Aura had been embedded in one of those strikes.

As I bent forward to counter—fireballs streaked toward my back.

Boom!

The explosions staggered me momentarily.

Seizing the opening, wounded assassins retreated while fresh ones took their place.

A flawless rotation.

They knew exactly how to fight someone stronger.

Was this how Apostles felt against a team?

The assassins exploited every opening.

Individually, none could match me.

But together, they left no gaps.

Three assassins had latched onto Card—

Meaning I was left to handle the rest alone.

And there was another potential threat.

The students who had initially feared me—

Seeing me struggle, they would regain confidence and strike when I weakened.

The assassins knew this.

Undoubtedly, their plans accounted for it.

Even at the cost of their lives—they would complete their mission.

Their resolve was unyielding.

If I faltered here, it was over.

Fighting the leaping Apostle had already drained much of my strength.

In the past, I might have endured a battle of attrition—but not now.

What I needed was overwhelming force.

A victory so absolute, it would crush any thought of joining the fight and send them fleeing.

So—I raised my hand toward the sky.

Using Heavenly Dragon Form would ravage my stamina.

But I cast the gamble anyway.

Do or die.

Come—Lightning Call.

Beyond the Demon Palace, within the gathering stormclouds—

A blue-white bolt descended.

A thunderclap so overwhelming, even the assassins staggered back in shock.

The power engulfed me whole—as the dragon’s essence devoured it.

Crackle-zzt!

Currents of raw lightning surged through my body.

Electric horns sprouted, flooding me with immense power.

Heavenly Dragon Form.

Tension gripped the assassins’ eyes.

They assumed defensive stances.

Instinct told them this state couldn’t last.

If they bought time—they’d win.

But—

Kwaaaaa-BOOM!

I reduced one assassin to paste—hammering home how foolish that thought was.

The assassins stood silent.

Nineteen left.

None would leave here alive today.