The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 124



Lightning Strikes with Appearance

Barkhabaran looked at the three of them and whistled.

[You got skills. Managed to hook up with beauties. Give me some tips.]

“Who are you talking to?”

A creature like a walking avatar of lust had no right to say that.

[So, you’re not dead it seems, what business do you have here? A living being in a place like this ain’t usually for the best.]

Barkhabaran must have felt the pull of Thunder Caller and had come to investigate.

“My Lord.”

Just then, Vinesha whispered to me.

“There aren’t many ghosts in the other side who keep their reason. It would be wise to ask him to guide us.”

That’s right.

I hadn’t even considered it.

In that moment, I felt a pressure from Sharin’s side.

Sharin was tugging hard at my arm.

“Too closeee.”

Actually, maybe Sharin had just come to mess with me.

“Barkavaran, do you know where the Goejon is?”

Barkavaran’s brow twitched.

[Spitting out some mighty dangerous words there. Surely you’re not planning on stepping into the Goejon’s domain?]

“Yes, there’s a fool who’s gone looking for the Goejon. We have to find him before he reaches it.”

From noble mtl dot com

[So that’s why the lightning goddess gave you a shove in this direction.]

Barkavaran grumbled, letting out a sigh.

Belatedly, the lightning goddess, who’d been watching through the lightning caller, realized she’d sent Barkavaran.

‘She was helping after all.’

I’ll have to offer my thanks later.

[Can’t guarantee your safety.]

“I’m prepared for that.”

Barkavaran didn’t reply, turning his body away.

From the moment the lightning goddess had pushed him, he’d realized something serious was afoot.

“Vinesha, Sharin.”

He unwound the arms of the two who were still engaged in their little tiff.

Then, his eyes sharp, he looked at them.

“Things are urgent. We can’t keep this up.”

This isn’t the real world, but the reverse side.

We’re strangers here.

No matter what, we can’t keep acting like this without any sense of danger.

“Vinesha, you know better than anyone how dangerous the reverse side is. I trust you, but I can’t if you keep acting like this.”

“S-Sir, you’re angry. I’m sorry. Please don’t be angry. I-It was my fault!”

It wasn’t as if I was actually angry, especially since the anger side of the shroud’s bindings was diminishing.

But Vinesha was flustered, constantly apologizing to me.

She would give everything, even her liver and guts, for me.

If I was even slightly upset, she would become incredibly submissive, showering me with all sorts of antics.

It was only that it all stemmed from a need for affection, a fear of being abandoned, that made it so unfortunate.

“Sharin, you also realize that you aren’t acting like yourself.”

Sharin’s actions now were all outbursts.

They were actions that rashly came out from being provoked by Vinesha’s displays of affection.

So, if she were aware of herself, she’d realize she was acting shamefully.

“Ah, um.”

Sure enough, Sharin also became aware that her behavior was somewhat odd.

Then, with a sheepish look, she slowly let go of my arm.

“Right, yeah. Why did I do that?”

She wore a bewildered expression, even she didn’t understand her own reaction.

Anyway, this resolved the situation for now.

“Lastly, Eve.”

I managed to pry her off my back.

Then, I held her hand firmly.

“If you’re scared, keep your eyes closed. I’ll call you when I need you.”

“…Sorry.”

Eve finally responded.

There’s no need to apologize.

I was the one who asked Eve to come.

I’ll take responsibility.

“Let’s go, we’ll lose them.”

I began to walk, following after Barkavaran who was going ahead.

Then Barkavaran glanced at me and gave a chuckling laugh.

[Managing several women ain’t easy, is it?]

“Shut your damn mouth.”

[You’ll come to accept it eventually. More importantly, be careful. A woman’s jealousy can sometimes be terrifying.]

So that’s why you got struck by lightning and died.

Hearing those words from a witness who died from jealousy, I get it.

The surrounding scenery began to change gradually.

The previously monotonous grey world started to become filled with dense trees.

[But more dangerous than that, is where we are heading now, isn’t it.]

Barkavaran, the one who boldly violated even the goddess’s statue, wore an displeased expression.

A chilling wind blew through the dark forest.

A nasty chuckle slithered into my ear, carried on a wind so desolate it made the body shrink.

Between the trees, beings that seemed not of this earth flickered past.

But they didn’t approach us.

Thanks to Vinesha and Sharin.

Before I knew it, a demon with long, dangling arms appeared, silently guarding Vinesha’s side.

Each time its eyes glinted through the long strands of hair, the spirits would recoil in startled flight.

Sharin’s Mirinae glimmered, catching the starlight of the Milky Way.

Few spirits could meet the raw intensity of that starlight head-on.

That was why I had brought the two into this otherworld.

With them, at least, our chances of running into trouble in the otherworld were lessened.

‘The question is, how far has Grantony gone?’

Grantony’s obsession with this otherworld had always been about Musika.

The reincarnation of Aquilin, consumed by the Gwejon, Musika.

To get her back, Grantony had crossed over into this otherworld countless times.

If he was fully inside now, it meant he had found Musika.

‘In the original script, Grantony gets captured by the Gwejon once anyway.’

Hypnotized by Musika, he stumbled into this otherworld.

And there he was toyed with by the Gwejon, finally taken captive.

Around that time, Lucas had overpowered Vinesha, who had attempted to steal Jerion’s magic.

To get her cooperation in saving Grantony, he had crossed into this otherworld.

‘Here too, Lucas’s flame of defiance would be useful.’

The flame of defiance was key in blinding the Gwejon.

It also acted as a beacon.

But now we didn’t have Lucas.

Lucas had met his death.

My eyes landed on the woods.

‘Maybe.’

Perhaps Lucas was also wandering through this otherworld.

‘One never knows.’

Not every dead person roams the otherworld.

Knowing that, I resolved to hold no regrets.

What matters now is finding Grantoni.

Gwejon or whatever, finding Grantoni is the key to solving everything.

‘I just hope it’s not too late.’

Just then, Barkhabaran’s steps halted.

[This is all I know. This is as far as I can go.]

Barkhabaran had made it clear that we were now entering Gwejon territory.

It was already a kindness he led us this far.

I turned back immediately.

“Binesha.”

Binesha, who had been anxious, snapped her head up at my call.

She then hurried to me.

“Yes, my lord!”

She looked at me, forcing a bright smile.

But she couldn’t conceal the anxiousness that lingered beneath that smile.

“Check the pendant.”

Hearing that, Binesha pulled out the pendant I’d given her from her clothes.

Soon after, a beam of light emanated from the pendant, pointing somewhere.

Binesha realized what it was and widened her eyes.

“Is this pendant connected to the person named Grantoni?”

“Yes, it is.”

Binesha, who had no memory of Grantoni, expressed her wonder.

In the otherworld, the more connected an object was to someone in life, the stronger the connection.

That’s why the pendant was connected to Grantoni as well.

I stared at Binesha.

Binesha didn’t question why I’d gifted her such a pendant.

She simply held it dearly.

“Why is it so… warm light!”

Binesha smiled brightly at me.

“It must be because my lord gave it to me!”

I found myself lifting a hand, placing it over the pendant Binesha held.

Unlike Binesha’s words, the pendant’s light wasn’t particularly warm, or not.

That warmth, surely, was something only Binesha could feel.

“It’s someone’s wish, imbued with the hope that someone wouldn’t forget this warmth.”

Even though, that warmth, ultimately scattered without reaching.

I hoped that such warmth would come again to Binesha.

To merely meet a tragic end and exit as a mid-boss is a heart-wrenching thing.

“Binesha, let the light guide us. You, surely, can sense which way it leads.”

“Okay, I will!”

Binesha stepped forward with a face brimming with confidence.

Then Binesha’s steps suddenly came to a halt.

“Uh, Sir.”

Binesha was already looking up.

“The light is pointing higher and higher, isn’t it?”

Soon after, my own gaze gradually turned upwards.

Our, everyone’s, gaze naturally reached the sky.

What unfolded in the sky was a pitch-black abyss.

A massive hole was visible, boring into the sky itself.

My eyes slowly widened.

At the bottom of the hole.

A man with a bone face was dangling, rising into the sky.

Simultaneously, the hole widened, revealing a colossal being slowly emerging.

That being extended a black, bony hand from the hole to receive him.

“Shit.”

Grantoni was on the verge of being abducted by the abomination.

“Sharin!”

I called out for Sharin first and foremost.

And at that same moment, Sharin’s body was already surging towards the sky.

As one of the people I trust most, Sharin’s response was faster than anyone’s.

I trust you.

Sharine, she could snatch Grantoni for sure.

[Uh, uh-uh, honestly, going up there isn’t the smartest idea, I think.]

Barkavaran stammered, watching Sharine rocket into the sky.

The monstrous hand was already more than halfway out of the hole in the sky.

At this rate, Sharine would be grabbed and dragged in too.

But, still.

“If we don’t go, things will get worse!”

I raised my hand above my head.

Barkavaran blinked at it.

Like, why am I raising my hand at this moment?

My fist clenched tight, facing the sky.

“You’ve shown yourself in the sky.”

I gotta pay back the favor first.

[This is insane!]

Barkavaran clutched his head and flattened himself to the floor.

Then, above us, a chilling movement became clear.

A streak of blue light circled through the clouds in the sky.

At the same moment, Sharine snatched Grantoni.

Come on, lightning caller.

A bolt of blue lightning pierced the sky and poured down.