The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 33

In front of the entrance to the Demonic Palace at Zeryon Academy.

A nobleman with long silver hair tied up stood.

His name was Nia Cynthia.

A current magic knight, he was also named as the successor to the Yellow Magic Tower, making him one of the Empire’s most promising talents for the future.

As Nia approached the entrance of the Demonic Palace, the palace guards, who had been informed beforehand, saluted him.

“You’ve been working hard.”

Nia acknowledged their salute and moved forward toward the entrance.

Then, he raised his hand and reached it out toward the entrance.

Crackle—

At that moment, with a spark from the tip of Nia’s hand, he was repelled backward.

As expected.

Although he had often entered the Demonic Palace during his days at Zeryon Academy, now even Nia was barred from entry.

If he forced his way in, his body would surely burn to ashes, and he would die instantly.

Nia clicked his tongue, rubbing his slightly scorched fingertip.

He had made great progress in magic compared to his days at Zeryon Academy.

Yet, he couldn’t make the slightest dent in the barrier that Azjon had cast.

‘What a wretched fellow.’

Nia expressed his exasperation.

After casting such a barrier, Azjon summoned only young children who couldn’t reach him, making them fight the apostles.

It was truly petty to no end.

And for that very reason, Nia had come here this time to test his magic.

No longer willing to leave everything to the children, Nia had come to the Demonic Palace.

This was also the main reason he sided with the First Prince.

The First Prince was a reformist.

He would correct flawed systems and actively invest in what was worth testing.

This was a starkly different path from that of the Third Princess.

The Third Princess often said this when she looked at the First Prince’s faction: Reform is more difficult than revolution.

Ironically, this perspective was one of the reasons the First Prince focused on gathering the existing establishment rather than the future powers.

「Gathering only new talents and advocating for reform holds no meaning. The establishment always fears any infringement on their rights. So when new talents advocate reform, they block it first.」

The First Prince might appear reckless, but he was a thoughtful person.

「Therefore, the first to be persuaded should not be the new talents but the establishment. Reforms that proceed without respecting the establishment don’t solve problems but rather exacerbate them. We place importance on the present as the foundation for building a brilliant future.」

To realize the ideal empire he envisioned, the First Prince sought to gain control over the present and advance toward the future.

Nia was moved by such a First Prince.

The First Prince was undoubtedly a fitting choice to become the emperor who would make the Empire ideal.

「Nia Cynthia, I want you to be my future.」

He would take command of the present.

So, he asked him to become his future.

There are few words more inspiring for a loyal subject.

Nia gladly accepted the First Prince’s offer.

And he resolved to make him emperor.

‘What I am to accomplish today.’

Is one of the steps toward the First Prince’s future.

Nia began to sprinkle a reagent on the ground.

Then, using his staff drawn from his waist, he started drawing a magic circle with the reagent.

After working on it for quite a while and completing the magic circle, Nia firmly planted his staff onto the magic circle.

The magic within Nia’s body began to surge.

Magic is an act that defies the world’s rules.

And the ability to obscure the world’s gaze and bend those rules is the mark of a true mage’s skill.

Nia had a natural talent for evading the world’s gaze.

The magic circle beneath his feet began to emit light.

Incantations to deceive the world flowed from his lips.

In the moment the magic circle released its full radiance,  Nia’s figure vanished into the light.

Step—

Shortly after, what emerged from the light was a young boy.

The boy, appearing in his mid-teens, was dressed in the magic knight uniform Nia had been wearing.

This form resembled Nia’s own appearance in his younger years.

Nia opened and closed his hand.

He could feel the slight reduction in his body size.

His face and skin also felt noticeably younger.

‘Precisely adjusting the age is still difficult.’

He had intended to appear in his late teens, but he emerged in his mid-teens instead.

It was evidence that the magic was still incomplete.

Moreover, the amount of magic power he held in this form was significantly lower than in his original state.

As previously mentioned, magic is a deception of the world.

To successfully cast this spell, Nia had also forcibly reduced his own magic power.

He could likely recover it if he returned to his original form, but for now, his magic output was limited.

‘This is why magic to reduce one’s age hasn’t caught on yet.’

If he could retain his original strength while becoming younger, that would be different, but as it is, he’s weakened, making it difficult to be effective in the Demonic Palace.

Furthermore, even the few who could perform this level of age-reducing magic are rare.

Only a magic knight of Nia’s caliber and talent could manage it.

Ordinary mages wouldn’t even dare to attempt it, for fear of their bodies being transformed into something else during the process of deceiving the world.

‘And at the moment, this spell can’t be applied to anyone other than myself.’

A magic with many aspects in need of refinement.

Yet, Nia was determined to perfect it.

If he succeeded, he could face Azjon in a direct confrontation.

‘Well, then.’

It was time to test whether he met the requirements to pass through the Demonic Palace entrance.

Nia reached his hand toward the entrance once more.

This time, unlike before, his hand proceeded without sparking.

Seeing this, Nia’s eyes widened.

It worked.

He could actually enter the Demonic Palace.

“Sir Nia Cynthia, you succeeded.”

The guards at the palace entrance looked on in astonishment, unable to hide their admiration.

This success indicated a step forward in conquering the Demonic Palace.

“Yes, I’ll just take a brief look around.”

“Wouldn’t it be too dangerous?”

“I’ve ventured into the Demonic Palace countless times over the last three years. If I can’t handle the first floor, I’ll never be able to venture further.”

Leaving words of reassurance with the guards, Nia stepped inside.

And soon, the interior of the Demonic Palace began to come into view.

Above him, the artificial sun of the Demonic Palace shone down.

It had only been a short time since the apostles had been cleared out.

Thus, the gray forest remained unchanged, enveloped in a quiet stillness.

There was no trace of the apostles anywhere.

It wasn’t yet time for the apostles to emerge.

Nia exhaled a silent breath.

In the Demonic Palace he hadn’t entered for some time, Nia felt an eerie pressure he hadn’t noticed before.

Though his magic power had decreased, his skills as a mage, honed over years, remained intact.

Perhaps because of this, he could faintly sense the presence of Azjon, deep within the palace.

His breath caught.

Whatever kind of monster it was, Azjon’s mere existence instilled fear even from this distance.

‘At this level, I still have a long way to go.’

Nia clicked his tongue.

He realized there was much more research needed for the spell to reduce his age.

‘Let’s go back.’

Knowing he could enter was achievement enough, he thought, and as he turned to leave—

A chill—

An unsettling sensation suddenly coursed through his body.

As Nia slowly turned his head,

Crack—

Something pitch-black, vaguely human-shaped, was breaking away from the wall of the Demonic Palace.

A dark liquid dripped onto the floor as it emerged from the wall.

Simultaneously, a long cord connecting it to its core severed and fell away.

Seeing this, Nia’s eyes widened as he understood immediately.

An apostle.

An apostle had just been born.

‘At this timing?’

He didn’t know why.

The Demonic Palace was a place shrouded in mystery, no matter how much one investigated.

Nothing happening here would be surprising.

It seemed that the palace had somehow detected Nia’s alien presence.

An entity that had entered by deceiving the world’s rules.

In response, the Demonic Palace had sent something.

Nia drew his staff.

Realizing that his opponent was an apostle, he didn’t hesitate.

His magic power was limited, but the apostle had only just been born.

Before it could take full shape, Nia summoned his power, preparing to strike it down—

Fizzle!

In that instant, the magic gathering at the tip of his staff suddenly dissipated.

“What?”

And it wasn’t just that.

All the magic within him began being drawn into the staff’s core.

A dark, crimson light he had never seen before spread from the staff.

“Ugh?!”

Startled, Nia tried to let go of the staff, but the magic within the staff greedily wrapped itself around his hand, refusing to let go.

The moment he saw this, Nia understood.

‘This power… could it be the horn of the Illacrux?’

The mystical Illacrux.

A strange being that follows and consumes the magic power of the young.

This staff had been crafted by melting down the horn of such an Illacrux.

The Illacrux is a highly mysterious creature.

When it consumes youthful magic, even highly skilled mages fail to notice its presence, as it’s a master at concealing itself.

For this reason, there’s an old saying: The Illacrux is a mystery that adults cannot see.

And so, even Nia, chosen as the successor to the Tower of Magic, hadn’t sensed the Illacrux horn hidden within the staff at all.

But now, Nia was in a reduced age state.

So the Illacrux horn, which had never responded to his magic before, was now beginning to reveal its true power.

A look of shock crossed Nia’s face.

This staff was crafted by an artisan introduced by a close acquaintance.

The fact that an Illacrux horn had been concealed within it meant—

‘A trap.’

Nia realized that his acquaintance had betrayed him.

He didn’t have to think hard to guess the source behind this.

The Third Princess’s Faction.

It was clearly a trap set by them.

“Damn it!”

Nia gritted his teeth, trying desperately to let go of the staff.

But the Illacrux horn only devoured his magic more greedily, refusing to release him.

Crack, grind!

Meanwhile, the apostle had fully formed.

Now equipped with an exoskeleton on its back and wielding massive swords in both hands, it turned its gaze toward Nia.

Its four eyes twisted grotesquely as they swiveled around.

“———— —–!”

Then the apostle let out a roar.

It sprang off the ground and charged straight at Nia.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

Without magic, a mage is exceedingly vulnerable.

Moreover, Nia, in his youthful state, had yet to fully adapt to his body.

He threw himself in a desperate attempt to dodge.

But the apostle was already upon him.

Am I going to die?

Like this?

He hadn’t fulfilled the First Prince’s vision.

He hadn’t taken control of the family so his younger sister Nikita could live free from its obligations.

He hadn’t kept his promise to his late mother.

As these thoughts flashed before him,

‘No, this can’t be!’

He gathered every last bit of his magic in a final, desperate attempt—

Ka-aaaaaaang!

A boy appeared in front of him, blocking the apostle’s path.

A boy with black hair, even shorter than Nia in his reduced form.

Nia’s eyes widened as soon as he saw him.

“You’re…”

It was Airei.

The boy was a member of the student council, like his younger sister Nikita.

Airei exhaled in relief, looking at Nia.

“Looks like I made it in time.”

Then his crimson eyes fixed on the apostle.

With a smirk, Airei raised his hand in a blade-like gesture.

“Quite the welcome gift for our guest.”

Guess I’ll savor it to the fullest.