The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 35

A shocking piece of news spread through Zeryon Academy.

The heir of Duke Cynthia and the next Master of the Yellow Tower.

Nia Cynthia went missing in the Demonic Palace while conducting a magic experiment.

The one who discovered this was Sharin Sazaris, who had been assisting Nia with her research.

As the daughter of the Blue Tower Master, she often exchanged ideas with Nia.

One day, Sharin noticed something suspicious about Nia’s magic, and entered the Palace to meet with him. However, she couldn’t find Nia.

Instead, she only discovered Nia’s staff and the necklace given exclusively to the heir of the Cynthia family.

A wizard losing their staff in the Palace.

This was not just a disappearance; for a wizard, it was practically akin to death.

In haste, they sent a team led by Nia’s younger sibling, Nikita, along with the student council to investigate the Palace.

They found evidence that a new kind of Apostle had emerged within the Palace.

In the end, they couldn’t find Nia’s body.

Further searches were conducted several times afterward.

But Nia was nowhere to be found.

In the end, the world was thrown into chaos, convinced that Nia had died due to the horrifying events in the Palace.

Just a year ago, this was the second deadly incident linked to the Palace for the student team.

Because of this, the dangers of the Palace resurfaced in the public eye.

Amidst this, some individuals, doubting Nia’s death, began to investigate.

As the world was thrown into turmoil, I slowly closed the morning newspaper I had been reading.

‘It was a good choice to take the back route.’

I had Sharin enter through the main entrance, but I moved through a hidden back route that few knew about.

The Palace continuously creates and removes various entrances daily.

Because I was aware of this, my presence thankfully went unnoticed.

‘Since Sharin actually met with Nia a few times, there’s no room for suspicion.’

Nia was the next Master of the Yellow Tower.

So he had occasional discussions with Sharin, the daughter of the Blue Tower Master.

This fact lent credibility to Sharin’s account.

A week had passed since news of Nia’s disappearance.

Nia had successfully joined the First Prince’s faction without anyone noticing.

‘My news should reach the First Prince too.’

I am the one who played a crucial role in saving Nia’s life.

Surely, Nia would have mentioned me to explain.

Naturally, the Prince would question my existence.

‘The situation might progress a bit faster than planned.’

There’s no choice.

This is the path I chose.

This time, Sharin, who came along to save Nia, didn’t say much about the incident.

Instead, she kept silent as promised.

Given Sharin’s character, she wouldn’t go around gossiping.

She, too, understood well that even a slip of the tongue could complicate things.

So I chose to trust her.

‘In any case, the world believes Nia is dead.’

Technically, it’s not the whole world.

‘Nikita needs to think Nia is dead.’

Her path toward becoming the Act 4 boss, the Dragon Girl of Calamity, is securely set.

One way or another, the story is progressing steadily toward the intended narrative.

A sense of unease lingers in my gaze.

For the sake of the story, Nikita must experience a moment of collapse and grief.

That fact doesn’t sit well with me.

‘I certainly hold Nikita in high regard.’

Nikita was originally a character I cherished.

Her resilience and dedication, no matter the circumstances, deeply resonated with me.

But aside from that, I also felt a strange softness towards her.

‘Could it be…’

Was it perhaps the influence of Vikarmern, the original owner of this body?

Vikarmern had harbored feelings for Nikita.

Even the atrocities he committed against Lucas were driven by his affection for her.

I had displaced Vikarmern’s soul, wherever it might be, and taken over this body.

Maybe the emotions Vikarmern felt remained deeply imprinted on it.

A sigh escaped me.

The real Vikarmern no longer exists in this world.

I had looked into him to the best of my ability, but it was all information I already knew.

‘Vikarmern, are you really that averse to seeing Nikita fall into despair?’

I raised my head, as if speaking to the absent Vikarmern.

Yet, this was something that had to happen.

Unless Nikita becomes the Dragon Girl of Calamity, we can’t progress to Act 4.

I folded the newspaper and placed it back in the holder.

It was set up by the entrance for students heading to class in the morning.

I walked through the morning hallway.

At some point, rain had started to fall in a misty drizzle, hinting that the summer monsoon season was approaching.

It also signaled that the first semester of the second year, Act 3, was slowly nearing its end.

It was the time when the main story of the Blazing Butterfly arc would truly begin.

My footsteps echoed down the hallway.

I overheard students talking about Nia as I passed by.

To them, Nia’s death was also a major topic of conversation.

Passing those students, I arrived at a familiar door.

The student council room.

I knocked twice on the door before slowly opening it.

Creak—

Through the opened door, I saw a girl.

Unlike usual, she was staring vacantly out the window where the rain hit the glass.

Seeing her, I quietly entered.

“Nikita-senpai.”

When I called her name, she finally looked in my direction.

A bit of light returned to her previously lifeless eyes.

Tear marks were visible around her eyes, as if she had cried all night.

Even though a week had passed, the traces of her tears hadn’t faded.

As soon as Nikita heard the news of Nia’s disappearance, she led the student council and headed to the Palace.

She scoured every inch of it.

In the end, she learned just one thing.

The death of Nia Cynthia.

Her beloved older brother, whom she had cherished as family, was dead.

A brother who had been fine just hours before was now gone.

Even someone as mentally strong as Nikita couldn’t bear it.

It was a loss too immense to endure.

In just a week, Nikita’s face had become gaunt, and she managed a faint smile.

“Junior, there aren’t many student council tasks lately, so there’s no need to come in the morning.”

“No. I came here to see you, Nikita-senpai, not for work.”

Hearing that, Nikita didn’t respond as she usually would.

She simply remained silent.

Even though there weren’t any pressing student council matters, Nikita continued to come here every day.

Perhaps, in her overwhelming sense of loss over her brother, the student council room was the only place she could think to go.

“Yes, I see.”

Her response was far weaker than usual.

Boom—

The sound of thunder cracked across the sky.

It felt as though the heavens were reflecting Nikita’s emotions.

Without saying much, Nikita sat down and began to move her pen.

I watched her quietly for a moment, then sat down as well.

Scratch, scratch—

The sound of pens moving filled the silence between us.

This was the first time I’d been with Nikita without exchanging a single word.

But I held back, unwilling to speak carelessly.

I knew the whole truth.

Nikita’s brother, Nia Cynthia, is alive.

I saved him with my own hands and even set his course for the future.

By now, Nia is likely with the First Prince, working diligently to uncover the truth.

So, is it right to keep this from his sister, Nikita?

Is it right to hide it while she’s suffering so much?

I pressed my lips together tightly.

The world is advancing toward the carefully constructed narrative.

Even if Nia Cynthia isn’t truly dead, his staged death has had a profound impact on this world.

Nikita Cynthia must become the Dragon Girl of Calamity.

That’s the destined course.

“Nikita-senpai.”

So,

“If anything happens to you, I’ll be the first to come running.”

This was all I could offer her.

Nikita’s gaze fell on me.

The corners of her eyes, still marked with traces of tears, lifted slightly in a small smile.

It was the best smile she could manage.

“That’s… quite a comforting thing to say.”

And it was a smile that would stay deeply in my memory.

* * *

Time continued to pass after the news of Nia Cynthia’s death spread.

In just two weeks, it became clear how much influence Nia had at the academy.

Some children even cried, missing him.

They were the ones who had secretly admired him from afar.

Of course, there were also those who were indifferent.

Even if they’d heard his name once, he was ultimately just another person.

Not everyone mourns the death of a stranger.

And so time went on.

Summer had finally arrived.

The incessant chirping of cicadas clung to the trees, almost deafening.

My days followed the same pattern:

Training with Aisha in the morning.

Student council work during lunch after morning classes.

Magic engraving training with Sharin in the evening after afternoon classes.

With such a packed schedule, time flew by.

Once, I happened to lock eyes with the Third Princess, Iris Hyserion.

But she didn’t mention anything about Nia.

With her keen intuition, maybe she already suspected he was alive.

Or if she thought he was dead, perhaps she was only mildly disappointed.

It seemed she had no intention of striking up a conversation with me.

For now, I was relieved not to be entangled with Iris, who still felt difficult to approach.

Getting involved with Iris in earnest could wait until the latter half of Act 3.

Before I knew it, it was nearing the end of Act 3, Scene 4.

The episodes with the heroines were reaching their climax.

And then, I encountered a completely unexpected issue.

“What on earth are you talking about?!”

A voice, filled with anger, echoed in my ears.

After my morning lecture, I was about to head for lunch when I noticed a group of people.

Among them was a girl with honey-blonde hair that reminded me of the sun.

But her face was twisted more than I’d ever seen before.

She looked absolutely furious.

Isabel Luna.

She was the main heroine of the Blazing Butterfly arc.

I felt a sense of puzzlement.

After all, while I’d often directly criticized Lucas myself, this was the first time I’d seen Isabel so angry at someone else.

“Is-Isabel, what’s wrong? Is it really something to get this mad about? We were just asking out of curiosity.”

The girls who had asked the question looked at each other in confusion.

They hadn’t expected Isabel to react so fiercely.

“It’s finally happening,”

Seron, who was beside me, let out a snort.

I glanced at her, signaling for more information.

When Seron noticed, she shrugged slightly.

“They’re the ones who kept pairing Isabel with someone from their class. Basically, they love stirring things up with anyone.”

So, the source of the rumors.

This must be what they meant.

“Isabel has been so focused on training lately that she’s hardly talked to anyone. But it seems those girls decided to ask her about it directly.”

Yet, my puzzlement didn’t fade.

‘With Isabel’s usual personality,’

even if she sighed inwardly,

she would have calmly corrected them.

It didn’t seem like her to be this angry.

“I think I get it now,”

Seron spoke as if she’d figured out the situation.

It seemed like she knew something, perhaps as a fellow woman.

“What is it?”

“Isabel was pretty down for a while after Lucas’s death. But after that, you, our resident troublemaker, came along, and she got her strength back, whether she liked it or not.”

That had been my intention.

Rage can also serve as a driving force for life.

“But when was it again… maybe after the Palace incident? Isabel became noticeably harsher.”

Since then, she hadn’t met my eyes even once.

But it wasn’t just with me.

Isabel had distanced herself from everyone around her.

Instead, she threw herself completely into training.

“If she’s been training like someone possessed, and then people start asking her if she’s dating, it’d get on anyone’s nerves.”

At that moment, Isabel turned and stormed off.

The girls looked at each other in surprise, trying to gauge the mood.

Even the boys tilted their heads, wondering what had happened.

I rubbed the back of my neck for a moment.

Rage can indeed drive a person forward.

But I also knew the other side of rage.

When it burns too intensely, it can consume everything it touches.

And once there’s nothing left to burn, it simply fades away.

‘I don’t know what exactly caused Isabel to change so suddenly after the Palace, but something significant must have impacted her deeply.’

“I’m going ahead.”

I left Seron behind and began walking.

Seron called after me, asking about lunch, but I brushed it off, saying I’d eat on my own.

I already knew where Isabel would be.

There’s a place she often goes when she’s feeling down.

After leaving the martial arts building and walking a while, I arrived at a certain park.

It was a park surrounded by the walls of Zeryon Academy.

After examining the wall, I noticed a stone staircase the workers had left between the gaps.

I climbed up the stone steps lightly.

And there, atop the wall, I saw Isabel sitting at the far end, staring blankly at the sky.

“Isabel.”

When I called her name, Isabel finally looked over at me.

She gazed at me quietly and let out a long sigh.

“How did you know I’d be here?”

Her response wasn’t the same as before.

Looking at her, I realized something.

The rage that had once fiercely reignited her life—that fire was now beginning to fade.