The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 32

After finishing the student council work, I started walking back to the dormitory.

As I was heading there, I saw a familiar figure in the distance.

Hair like a scruffy broom.

A first-year, the Spirit Lord’s contractor, Poara.

It looked like he was on his way home.

“Poara.”

When I called out to him, Poara turned his head in my direction.

He then bowed to me with a bright smile.

It’s nice to have a polite junior.

“Hello, senior Hanon!”

“Yeah, are you on your way to the dorm?”

“Oh, no, I’m actually heading to the Great Forest of Spirits.”

Going to the Great Forest of Spirits even after school?

He’s truly dedicated to spirits.

“You’re diligent.”

“Haha, actually, I’m not going to study. The Spirit Lord told me something strange.”

The Spirit Lord said something strange?

I started getting curious.

“Is it something you can tell me?”

“Oh, yes, I was actually hoping to ask for your advice.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a story about the mystery that once covered the Great Forest of Spirits.”

The Steel Empress.

It’s the mystery that granted me my main power, the steel skin.

“Why about that?”

“The Spirit Lord said he sensed the presence of the mystery again.”

My eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Mysteries contain a lot of dangers.

They are twisted things that, for some reason, failed to become gods.

So sensing a mystery again could mean something dangerous might happen.

“But there’s something odd about it.”

“Tell me in detail.”

“Yes, the energy of the mystery is definitely there, but… it’s faint, like something is blocking it.”

“Faint, you say?”

Mysteries are entities that are almost rampaging in form because they couldn’t become gods.

They are beings that, unable to handle their own power, spill it everywhere.

That’s what a mystery is.

The idea of sensing a mystery itself didn’t make sense.

“Yes, I don’t know for sure either, but that’s what the Spirit Lord said.”

Poara also knows about mysteries.

It wasn’t strange for him to feel something was wrong.

“You asked me for advice because I’ve defeated a mystery before, didn’t you?”

“Yes, you handle the power of mysteries, right?”

Poara, who is contracted with the Spirit Lord, must have heard about what I did in the Great Forest of Spirits through him.

I nodded without denying it.

“That’s why I was able to fight barehanded in that previous battle.”

“I thought maybe you’d know something more, so I wanted to ask your opinion. The Spirit Lord is anxious.”

The Spirit Lord, who once had his forest taken over by the Steel Empress, has reason to feel uneasy sensing a mystery’s presence.

“Got it. I’ll look into it personally as well.”

“Wow, thank you! You’re the best, senior.”

Poara’s eyes sparkled with genuine gratitude.

Maybe it’s because I’ve only shown my impressive side to Poara, but it seemed like I had become a very trusted senior in his eyes.

“Then, I’ll get going now.”

“Alright, take care.”

After seeing Poara off, I fell into thought for a moment.

A mystery that suddenly appeared.

Was there supposed to be any event related to a mystery around this time?

‘At least, not in my memory.’

Then, what coincides with the appearance of the mystery now?

Just one thing.

There’s an unprecedented change at Zeryon Academy.

‘Nia Cynthia.’

My gaze grew cold.

At the same time, I recalled Iris telling me about the assassination attempt on Nia.

Why did Iris tell me about Nia’s assassination?

‘Iris knew that I had dealt with the Steel Empress.’

One of the student council members is Iris’s confidant.

So he probably tipped Iris off about the Steel Empress incident that the student council kept hidden out of consideration for me.

In other words, Iris knew that I was connected to mysteries.

A conclusion formed in my mind.

‘In some way or another, Nia’s assassination is linked to a mystery.’

Mysteries are unpredictable entities.

If it’s a mystery, it could pull off Nia’s assassination too.

And make it look like an accident, clean and without complications.

My face hardened.

‘Damn it.’

I immediately chased after Poara.

Soon enough, I spotted him heading toward the Great Forest of Spirits.

“Poara, I’ve learned something about the mystery. Can I meet the Spirit Lord?”

I didn’t know exactly which mystery was behind Nia’s assassination.

That only made it more necessary to fill in the missing information.

Thankfully, Poara readily agreed.

The Great Forest of Spirits.

As we entered, Poara began his preparations.

Soon, in response to his spirit sensitivity, a faint form began to appear above the forest.

And what emerged was a massive jade-colored bird.

With the bird’s arrival, the wind swirled around us as if dancing.

It felt like the blessing of the wind was gracing this place.

But within the wind, just looking at it stirred an instinct deeply engraved in my body, causing me to shrink back unconsciously.

My hands and feet trembled.

Goosebumps rose over the steel skin embedded in my body.

I forced myself to suppress it.

I could now realize just how immense the Spirit Lord’s majesty was.

[It has been a long time, child. Thank you for helping our forest back then.]

A delayed expression of gratitude.

[Without spirit sensitivity, I couldn’t show myself before you. At that time, you couldn’t see me.]

So that was why no spirits appeared that day.

It seems I couldn’t see spirits at all back then due to my utterly lacking spirit sensitivity.

‘Even so, it stayed by my side for a moment after I defeated it, I guess.’

My memory of that day is faint as well, so I’m not entirely sure.

In any case, because of that, the Spirit Lord was thankfully very kind to me.

Although I lack spirit sensitivity, so I can’t even communicate without Poara’s help.

The Spirit Lord was well aware that I saved the Great Forest of Spirits.

Thanks to that, I was able to ask the Spirit Lord a few questions without any issues.

[A mystery is being sensed within Zeryon Academy.]

According to the Spirit Lord, the mystery was already inside Zeryon Academy.

However, as mentioned before, mysteries are an uncontrollable surge of power.

If it had entered Zeryon Academy, someone would have surely noticed by now.

“Does that mean it might be in a form similar to mine?”

I possess mystery in the form of steel skin.

The consciousness of the Steel Empress has disappeared, but her mysterious power is undoubtedly within me.

[That’s right. Now that I see, there are similarities.]

The Spirit Lord agreed with my question.

It wasn’t that the mystery itself had entered; rather, something was imbued with the power of mystery.

‘Could it be that the assassin who will kill Nia holds the power of mystery?’

However, according to the student council’s information, no new person had recently joined.

Given the threat to Nia’s life, I had thoroughly reviewed all the information in the student council’s records.

But the only new person at the academy this year was Nia herself.

‘Then, if we’re talking about someone who was already here who could potentially assassinate Nia…’

Honestly, there was no one.

I’ve played Blazing Butterfly countless times.

I know the main characters’ personalities, traits, and histories by heart.

‘Of course, it could be an extra character I don’t know at all.’

Nia is an active magic knight.

Even if mystery is involved, it’s hard to imagine him being assassinated by an extra-level character.

‘In that case…’

I lifted my head.

“Spirit Lord, I apologize, but may I ask one last question? When did you first begin to sense the mystery?”

[It was a week ago.]

A week ago.

That matches the timing of Nia’s arrival at Zeryon Academy.

“Thank you.”

The moment I realized this, I turned and quickly exited the Great Forest of Spirits.

Just as I bear steel skin upon my body, there exist items in this world imbued with the power of mystery.

Though it’s just a hypothesis, there was a high likelihood that Nia himself possessed an item related to this.

And one item came to mind immediately.

‘That staff.’

The staff Nia had recently acquired through an acquaintance.

It was a meticulously crafted staff, enough to even catch Nikita’s attention.

Was it a coincidence that he acquired a new staff at this point?

His original staff had broken.

Coincidentally, the staff craftsman had an accident and was injured.

An acquaintance recommended a new craftsman.

I felt an ominous sensation.

The assassination of Nia seemed inevitable.

Then, there must be something that worked to bring about that inevitability.

A sequence of coincidences that even Nia hadn’t noticed, layered to bring this result.

Realizing this, my legs moved even faster.

Before long, the Zeryon Academy magic building came into view.

I didn’t know exactly when the attempt on Nia’s life would occur.

Moreover, even if I manage to stop this assassination, there’s no guarantee it won’t happen again.

And considering the story’s canon, letting his assassination happen is the right choice.

Even so, my legs didn’t stop moving.

A person is going to die.

Now that I knew that, I couldn’t just stand by and watch.

‘I said I’d do anything for the sake of the canon.’

But now that the situation is here, my body moves on its own.

I’m a fool.

I should be cold-hearted to reach the ending, but I couldn’t be.

However, there’s someone who will be more devastated than anyone else by Nia’s death.

Back when I played the Blazing Butterfly route, no matter what I did, I couldn’t prevent Nia’s assassination.

Then, Nikita’s darkening path would unfold right after.

As the act three boss, Nikita dies in the game.

Once Nia’s assassination was set, Nikita’s darkening was an unavoidable path.

My fists clenched tightly.

I’ve played Blazing Butterfly countless times.

I’m a true veteran among veterans.

‘Since even Lucas died.’

The direction of the canon diverged early on, and I’ve been forcing it back to the main story.

And yet here I am, struggling to avoid a bad ending.

Trying to see the Blazing Butterfly route end happily, even without the protagonist.

‘If Nia doesn’t get assassinated, would I be unable to guide this world towards the canon?’

No.

I can.

If it’s me, I can definitely do it.

I’ve seen so many endings in Blazing Butterfly, so I know it’s possible.

‘Since I’m aiming for a happy ending, anyway…’

My eyes gleamed with fierce resolve.

‘In Blazing Butterfly, there could be at least one…’

An ending where every character smiles happily.

Today, I revised my goal.

If I’m going to reach the end without the protagonist, I’ll create the most ideal happy ending.

Strength returned to my legs.

As my resolve solidified, my pace quickened even more.

I raced up the steps of the Academy’s magic building and soon reached the magic faculty office.

Just as I hurried to find Nia, creak—the door opened, and a familiar face stepped out.

With hair the color of a starlit sky, she tilted her head as she saw me.

“Hanon, why are you running?”

Her identity was Sharin Sazaris, the second-year top student in magic.

“Whew, huh, Sharine.”

I caught my breath, hands on my knees from running so hard, and looked up at her.

I was too out of breath to speak clearly.

“Those intense eyes of yours are a bit unsettling.”

“Cut the nonsense. Is Associate Professor Nia inside?”

Sharin shook her head.

“No, he already left.”

Damn, did I miss him?

Once I caught my breath, I straightened up.

“Do you happen to know where he went?”

“He probably went to the Demonic Palace? He said he was done preparing for the magic test.”

As soon as I heard that, I immediately turned around.

The attempt on Nia’s life was already underway.

The timing couldn’t be worse. Even the smallest delay would be fatal.

Just then, a feeling of weightlessness hit me.

As I flailed my legs mid-air, Sharin flew up to me.

“Whatever it is, it’s urgent, right?”

More than urgent.

A person’s life was on the line.

“I’ll help.”

With those words, Sharin quickly shifted direction.

The way she turned was toward the window.

Whoosh!

Sharin’s wind magic flung the window open.

Then, holding onto me, she soared right out the window.

The scenery below rushed past us.

The speed was incomparable to what I could achieve on foot.

Once again, I realized how valuable magic could be.

“We’re headed to the Demonic Palace, right?”

“Right, thank you for helping.”

“Then next time, buy me a curry bun.”

Is she helping just so she can make me a bread runner?

“Fine, when this is over, I’ll get you cream buns and red bean buns too.”

“Wow, now I’m even more motivated!”

With an excited grin, Sharin sped up.

The Demonic Palace, which had been just a distant silhouette on the horizon, started to draw closer rapidly.

The massive gates of the Labyrinth loomed ahead, wide open as if to swallow the sky.

Seeing that, I prayed I wouldn’t be too late.