The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 7

Martial Arts Studies.

As the name suggests, it’s the study of martial arts.

The philosophy of martial arts at Zeryon Academy is simple:

“Kill your enemy before you die.”

Today, as usual, Professor Beganon Mercia, hungover, stood before us.

She yawned loudly in her disheveled attire.

“That’s the basic stance you’ll need when facing the Apostles in the demonic palace.”

The underground demonic palace.

It’s there that the Apostles, created by the Archdemon, are born.

It is the role of the academy’s students to stop them before they emerge from the demonic palace.

“After the upcoming mock battle, you’ll be grouped according to your skill level and enter the demonic palace as second-year students.”

In the first year, there were casualties.

Yet again, someone must go back into the demonic palace.

If the Apostles are not defeated, the surface will be in danger.

A world where the responsibility of the world has been shifted onto children.

That’s why the professors strive to help the students grow stronger, so they can face the Apostles.

They, too, once attended the academy and entered the demonic palace, so their teachings are grounded in experience.

“Remember one thing,”

Beganon said, looking at the students.

“If you can’t kill it, run.”

She glanced at the picture of an Apostle projected on the board.

Apostles are strong.

Especially those that have repeatedly mutated, becoming uncontrollably powerful.

“If you survive, there’s always a next time.”

Many of those who died alongside Lucas were from the Martial Arts Studies department.

Beganon, despite her daily alcohol-soaked, hungover appearance, was still a professor who nurtured her students.

She didn’t want to see more of her students die.

The day Lucas died, even though she was always drenched in hangovers, she didn’t drink a drop and visited the graves of Lucas and his comrades for a while.

Her students, feeling her emotions, looked slightly touched.

“That’s all for today.”

She turned off the magic board.

With a long yawn, she turned and walked out.

Her hands stuffed in the pockets of her wide, sagging pants, so loose that her underwear straps were visible, she walked away slowly.

It was almost surprising she wasn’t scolded for her improper attire.

‘She probably still gets scolded, but keeps dressing like that.’

As the class ended, I stood up from my seat.

The upcoming mock battle.

I have to achieve a good score here.

‘I need to make it into one of the top-ranked groups after the mock battle.’

Though I had stumbled upon a chance to train with Aisha,

that alone isn’t enough.

This is the world after the bad ending where Lucas died.

To continue the scenario without Lucas, I had to become a key player somehow.

For that, I would have to use any means necessary.

At that moment, I felt a gaze.

When I turned my head, I saw Isabel glaring at me intensely.

The shadows under her eyes and her gloom were gone, replaced by ferocity and fury.

Good.

Along with Isabel, the other women supporting her were also glaring at me with evident displeasure.

It’s only my second day at the academy, but I’m already getting used to these stares.

‘Humans really are creatures of adaptation.’

The sharper their glares got, the higher Isabel’s chances of survival became.

Thinking that way, I actually felt more at ease.

Let them keep looking at me like that.

‘I should just focus on what I need to do.’

It was lunchtime.

I needed to prepare for the upcoming mock battle.

Just as I was getting up from my seat,

“Hey.”

I heard a voice calling me and turned around.

Before I knew it, several girls had surrounded me.

They were all glaring at me with sharp, hostile expressions.

That’s when I realized something.

These girls were all students of Zeryon Academy’s famous Martial Arts department.

Whether male or female, those who train their bodies tend to have strong pride and fiery tempers.

And one of their own had been insulted.

So what would happen next?

“Come with us for a moment.”

A group beating.

‘Perfect.’

Honestly, there was no other way to describe the situation.

Even though I’d trained, these girls were fighters who’d been putting their lives on the line.

No matter how strong I thought I was, getting ganged up on would leave me beaten senseless.

Rattle-

But I was also a student of Zeryon Academy’s Martial Arts department.

They wouldn’t think lightly of my skills.

So…

“What do you want?”

I decided to act tough.

Back when I used to train, if you showed fear in a match, your opponent’s punch would always find your face.

That’s why my former coach, the ex-champion, would punch me in the stomach hundreds of times under the guise of teaching me how to control my expression.

I still have nightmares about that.

So, if nothing else, I could manage my expression like a pro.

Maybe my face was too calm, because the girls’ eyebrows furrowed in irritation.

Their eyes were filled with contempt.

“Go apologize to Isabel, right now.”

The girl in the center snapped at me.

Hearing her voice, I rubbed the back of my neck to hide my cold sweat.

“Apologize for what?”

“For all the horrible things you said to Isabel! Apologize for everything!”

“Look at him pretending not to know. Disgusting.”

“Ugh, makes me want to throw up.”

The girls behind her chimed in, shouting.

The mood in the class quickly turned hostile.

Some watched with interest, while others, who clearly didn’t like me, were starting to agree with the girls.

Among all of them,

I had no allies.

I had confronted Isabel, who was the center of the class.

It was only natural.

“Why should I apologize for saying the obvious?”

“Wow, are you even sane? I knew you had no manners, but this is next level.”

“Piece of trash.”

“Is that even a human?”

The insults were getting harsher.

But if it’s a battle of wills,

“Unless Isabel herself says something, I don’t understand why you’re demanding an apology from me.”

I wasn’t backing down either.

If all they came for was to demand an apology, I had a responsibility to keep Isabel alive.

So, I couldn’t afford to lose this fight.

“Wow, Isabel is our friend! If a friend is in trouble, of course we have to help!”

“Look at this jerk’s attitude.”

“He looks like someone who’s never had a friend in his life.”

Who just said that?

I never expected to get hit with such a critical blow out of nowhere.

Such cruel insults.

I had to compose my expression again.

I almost lost control for a second.

“That’s funny. Weren’t you the same ones who couldn’t even take care of her when she looked like she was about to die?”

And without realizing it, my words had turned sharp as well.

A moment ago, when she said that a friend should help another in trouble, that struck a nerve.

Because in the end, none of them helped Isabel, and she ended up taking her own life.

“What?”

The girls were shocked, as if they hadn’t expected me to say that.

I took a step toward the leader of the group that had been snapping at me.

“Isn’t that right? From what I’ve seen, Isabel Luna has been slowly dying for quite some time, even to someone like me who’s only just met her.”

There were countless signs of Isabel’s suicidal tendencies.

Just looking at the dark circles under her eyes and how much thinner she’d gotten compared to before was enough.

Anyone could tell that something wasn’t right with her.

It was proof that death was tightening its grip on her.

A person with no will to live was slowly letting go of her own life.

“And none of you, who call yourselves her friends, seemed to notice any of that.”

“Stop twisting things! Isabel needed time to herself because she was struggling…!”

“That’s not giving her space, that’s abandoning her.”

The leader flinched.

“If she was like that, it was only a matter of time before she followed that Lucas guy.”

Even someone like me, who had just met Isabel, could see that.

But none of her so-called friends had noticed.

I was using that fact to corner them.

If I’d spoken vaguely, they might have protested in some way.

But I spoke with certainty.

That certainty silenced them.

Isabel’s death was a foregone conclusion.

That’s why my words carried even more weight.

“We… we cared about Isabel too!”

“Sure, maybe you did at first. But when you saw that she wasn’t getting any better, you got tired of it and left her alone, didn’t you?”

Even though everyone here was acting like they were on Isabel’s side,

in reality, Isabel had suffered alone until she ultimately took her own life.

Just as they were glaring at me, my eyes were filled with contempt for them.

It had been months since Lucas’s death.

But Isabel still hadn’t been able to move on from it.

Those who had tried to help her at first eventually grew tired as they saw no change in her.

So, while it looked like they were taking care of her on the surface, there was no genuine concern left.

Actually, it’s not entirely their fault.

Although they’re not here right now, some of Isabel’s close friends are still taking care of her to this day.

The ones who followed her out earlier are those kinds of people.

But even so, Isabel hasn’t gotten any better.

At this point, there’s no one to blame.

However, it was hard to listen to those who were only loosely connected to her, spouting off like this.

“If we’re going by that logic, shouldn’t Isabel and you all be thanking me instead?”

I looked at the startled leader’s face and sneered.

“As long as you’re this angry, she won’t be thinking about dying.”

The entire class fell silent.

My words had clearly crossed a line.

But if you want to become an enemy, you can’t be half-hearted about it.

I was making sure everyone in this room knew that I was Isabel’s enemy.

At that moment, the leader of the group raised her hand.

Instinctively, my eyes followed her hand’s movement.

Smack-

Without realizing it, my hand blocked her wrist mid-swing.

It was purely a reflex.

Her eyes widened in surprise, as if she hadn’t expected her wrist to be stopped.

“You—!”

Whoosh!

She swung her other hand in anger, but I quickly pulled back, dodging it.

It was a movement as swift as a flying squirrel.

‘Wow.’

I still got it, huh?

From this close range, there are only so many directions she can swing her hand.

With just a glance at her movement, I could dodge it easily.

“Damn it!”

Frustrated at missing my face twice, she grew even more enraged.

I knew it, though.

Those were just jabs, and if she really decided to attack, I wouldn’t be able to dodge so easily.

She was a student of Zeryon Academy’s martial arts department, after all.

But perhaps because too many eyes were on her, she hesitated and slowly lowered her hand, realizing she had crossed a line by trying to use violence.

“You crazy bastard…”

The leader of the girls’ group looked at me as if I were something revolting, then turned around.

“Forget it. Don’t waste your time talking to someone like that.”

“Yeah, let’s go. No point in dealing with garbage.”

“He’s not even worth acknowledging.”

They walked away, disgusted, clearly wanting nothing more to do with me.

The same went for the other kids.

Even those who had been watching with interest now looked at me with cold eyes.

But among them,

the one exception was the Third Princess, Iris Hyserion, who continued to watch me intently.

Her gaze was more terrifying than anyone else’s.

I quickly decided to leave the classroom.

‘I guess I managed to avoid a group beating.’

Today, I’d scared them off with some harsh words, but there’s no guarantee things will stay like this in the future.

I’ll need to be prepared.

“Hey, Royal Dog.”

At that moment,

I felt a weight on the back of my neck.

Its source was a thick, tanned arm.

The owner of the arm was none other than the brute, Card Bellick.

It seemed like his magic class had ended a little early today, and he had stopped by.

Before I realized it, the way he addressed me had changed.

He was a big guy who would admit what he needed to, even to another man.

“Already popular with the girls, huh? Must be nice to be the king.”

Is he really saying this after seeing everything?

In many ways, he’s an impressive guy.

I pushed his arm away.

Card smacked his lips in disappointment.

“Does this look like popularity to you?”

“If you think of it as playing the game, it’s not bad.”

The playboy mindset is something else.

I didn’t know even bullying could be enjoyed in such a novel way.

“Being seen with me isn’t going to do you any favors.”

The martial arts kids were as hostile to Card as they were to me.

But Card just smiled brightly.

“It’s fine. The second-year girls all hate me anyway!”

Considering his messy history with women, it wasn’t surprising.

The problem was, even so, there were always new victims falling for Card’s charms.

He really was something.

“And it’s not bad to have at least one person you can hang out with comfortably, right?”

Card smiled at me brightly.

He seemed to think I had taken his words to heart from yesterday.

I had unintentionally earned Card’s favor.

What a ridiculous misunderstanding.

Still, seeing him made me feel a bit lighter.

“So, what about lunch?”

“I’ve got plans.”

I pulled out a sandwich I had prepared in the morning.

I’m a busy person.

I don’t have time to sit and eat lunch face-to-face with some guy.

“Ah, that’s a shame. Let’s eat together next time.”

Card didn’t press further.

It seemed like all he really wanted was someone to have lunch with.

I watched him walk away and then immediately continued on my way.

And at that moment, I didn’t know that Isabel had briefly returned to class.