The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 1



0 – Prologue: The Protagonist Died

Prologue

Crash!

A man fell grandly.

Underneath hair as white as snow.

There was a face that naturally elicited the word “handsome.”

“Oh my, Lord Vickerman!”

The woman walking beside him hurried to help him up.

Her attire and appearance were splendid.

And even her accessories.

She reminded one of a courtesan.

But the man called Vickerman did not move.

No, to be precise, he could not move.

With a stiff face, he muttered.

“……Vickerman Niflheim.”

Dot RPG game, Demon Palace Academy Slayer.

The third and final series.

The Fiery Butterfly arc.

In the scenario, he failed to take revenge on the protagonist in Act 2, Scene 3.

In the end, he was expelled from the academy and even ousted from his own family, a third-rate villain.

After that, Vickerman used his good looks and former noble status to become an underworld host.

A parasitic life, living off the money of courtesans.

And now.

In such a Vickerman’s body.

‘I have possessed him.’

Possession in a game.

A common story.

But now he had another problem.

Vickerman slowly unfolded the newspaper he was holding again.

[Breaking News! The Tragic Incident at Jerion Academy]

One student team challenging the Demon Palace was annihilated by the Apostle.

The prestigious academy Jerion’s education is being questioned by the imperial family, the new religion, and the public, and the list of the deceased is as follows.

1. Xenia Pieren

2. Ford Neumann

3. Saia Hasentain

4. Lucas Fernando

…

Lucas Fernando.

He is the protagonist of the Flame Butterfly arc.

And now, no longer.

He no longer exists in this world.

Act 2, Scene 8.

In ‘Childhood Friends and the Demon Palace Fragment,’ the protagonist died.

Currently, it is before the start of Act 3, Scene 1, during winter break.

In other words, this game is now.

Entering the ‘Bad Ending.’

Vikamon let out a hollow laugh.

In the world after the Bad Ending.

He was expelled from both the academy and his family.

And even from the scenario, he was cast out as a third-rate villain.

Vikamon Niflheim was possessed.

Unfortunate.

“……Unfortunate.”

The man emphasized twice.

＊ ＊ ＊

Twenty-nine.

The number of times I have cleared the Flame Butterfly arc.

The Flame Butterfly arc has 12 true endings and hidden endings.

And behind them.

There are 38 bad endings.

The protagonist, Lucas, possesses an unyielding “Flame of Determination.”

A steadfast protagonist who moves forward no matter what trials come his way.

It is a mindset befitting the protagonist.

However, on the path that such a protagonist takes, there are 38 bad endings.

Depending on how these bad endings are overcome,

The game’s completion varies.

Act 2, Scene 8.

Childhood friend and the fragment of the demon palace.

This is also the scenario where beginners die the most.

If you are well-versed in the strategy, it is not too difficult.

But if you charge in without knowing the strategy, nine times out of ten, you will die.

And Lucas was a charging dinosaur.

“Damn it…”

A curse naturally comes out.

I grabbed my white hair as if to tear it out.

A world where the protagonist dies and enters a bad ending.

Without Lucas, this world can never move in the right direction.

Lucas’s unique ability.

The Flame of Determination.

As the name “Flame Butterfly” suggests,

The scenario is connected from the beginning to the end with the Flame of Determination.

At the point where there is no Flame of Determination,

“The main story is over.”

A long sigh came out.

The day I possessed.

I shook off the courtesan who was infatuated with me and returned to the inn where I was staying.

And then I constantly pondered what to do about this situation.

“I don’t know how I got possessed. So, of course, I don’t know how to return.”

This is not a possession I wanted.

I suddenly woke up to find myself possessed.

‘If I clear the game, can I return to reality?’

This too is highly uncertain.

Even if the game flows according to the scenario and is cleared.

There is no guarantee that I will return to the real world.

In that case, the probability of having to live in this world is high.

‘Bikamon has nothing but his good looks and his inferiority complex towards his younger sister.’

He seems to be somehow surviving in the underworld using those looks.

But looks eventually fade with time.

One cannot live like this forever.

And most importantly.

‘The direction of clearing the scenario is the salvation of the world.’

In other words, if the scenario cannot progress towards its end.

It means it will produce the opposite of salvation.

‘Destruction.’

I see the snow falling outside the window.

It is a bitterly cold winter now.

But a world colder than this will come to this world.

I know the result that will come to this world.

If we face a bad ending.

I have seen the phrase written on the screen countless times.

【 And so the world was destroyed. 】

A short phrase.

That one phrase disturbed my mind.

Originally, it was just a matter of restarting the game.

But now I am a resident living in this world.

If the world is destroyed, I will die too.

If the Flaming Butterfly episode does not proceed according to the scenario, it will most likely be destroyed.

As long as I don’t know how to return.

I didn’t want to die.

My fist clenched tightly.

If there are no teeth, use the gums.

“…If there is no protagonist.”

I must lead the world to justice.

But how on earth?

I feel a sense of hopelessness.

Bikamon Niflheim, not to mention the scenario.

He has already been expelled from the academy.

The central stage of the Flame Butterfly scenario is Jerion Academy.

If you are not affiliated with Jerion Academy, no scenario can proceed.

No matter how you look at it, this is absurd.

Even if it’s an extra or a third-rate villain.

At the very least, they should have kept him in the academy.

Misfortune has its limits.

I covered my face with my hands and remained silent for a moment.

Then, a thought suddenly struck me.

“…Is it impossible?”

At this moment, only one thing came to my mind.

‘Hidden character.’

Hanon Airei.

A character who transfers to Jerion Academy in the first semester of the second year in Act 3, Scene 1.

However, there is a blind spot in this character.

Although the transfer procedures have already been completed.

Unless certain conditions are met, Hanon does not transfer.

If Hanon does not transfer, he falls into a wandering wall and roams the world aimlessly.

In other words, he becomes a character completely outside the scenario.

“If I pretend to be Hanon.”

It is possible to enter Jerion Academy.

The problem is how to pretend to be Hanon.

The answer comes from the game strategy.

Originally, it would be an item used by the protagonist in a late infiltration operation.

‘The Bandage of the Veil.’

It allows one to completely change their appearance to that of another person.

However, if used for a long time, one of the emotions will randomly become defective.

‘There are three types of emotions that can become defective.’

Sadness, anger, love.

The protagonist loses ‘love’ as a consequence of abusing the Bandage of the Veil.

But later, with the help of the main heroine he chooses, he regains love.

There is a way to resolve emotional defects.

The downside is that this is only possible near the very end of the scenario.

Moreover, unlike the protagonist Lucas, I do not know which emotion will become defective.

‘But it’s okay.’

No matter which of the three emotions disappears.

It won’t be a problem to lead the game to a clear.

Fortunately, Vickerman was a guy who liked to save money.

We can use this money to get the Bandage of the Veil.

“Stay strong. I……”

I will definitely lead the world after the bad ending.

To the true ending.