The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 34



33 – The Turning Point of the Scenario

In front of the entrance to the Demon Palace of Jerion Academy.

A nobleman with long silver hair tied up was standing.

His name was Nia Cynthia.

He was one of the empire’s promising talents, designated as the successor to the Yellow Magic Tower as an active magic knight.

As Nia approached the entrance of the Demon Palace, the Demon Palace guards, who had been informed in advance, saluted him.

“Good job.”

Nia accepted their salute and walked towards the entrance.

Then, he reached out his hand towards the entrance.

Crackle-

At that moment, sparks flew from Nia’s fingertips, and he was pushed back.

As expected.

Though I often entered the Demon Palace during my days at Jerion Academy.

Now, even Nia was not allowed to enter the Demon Palace.

If she tried to force her way in, her body would surely burn black and she would die instantly.

Nia clicked her tongue and gently caressed her slightly burnt fingertips.

She had advanced much further in magic than when she attended Jerion Academy.

Yet, she could not make any progress against the barrier set by Akjon.

‘What a persistent guy.’

Nia showed a reaction of exasperation.

Setting up such a barrier, he only called in children who couldn’t reach him to fight the apostles.

It was truly despicable.

And that is why she came here to test her magic this time.

She no longer wanted to leave everything to the children.

She had come to the Demon Palace.

This was the main reason Nia sided with the First Prince.

The First Prince was a reformist.

He actively invested in correcting wrong systems and testing what could be tested.

This was a very different approach from the Third Princess’s faction.

The Third Princess always said to the First Prince’s faction,

“Reform is harder than revolution.”

Ironically, this was also the reason the First Prince focused on gathering the existing vested interests rather than future forces.

“Gathering only new talents and advocating for reform is meaningless.

The vested interests are always afraid of their rights being infringed upon.

So, when new talents advocate for reform, they first block it.”

The First Prince seemed reckless, but he was always a deep thinker.

“Therefore, the first ones to be persuaded are not the new talents but the vested interests.

A reform that does not respect the vested interests not only fails to solve problems but also creates more serious issues.

We prioritize the present, which is the foundation for a brilliant future.”

To realize the ideal empire he envisioned.

The First Prince was a person who took control of the present and moved forward to the future.

Nia was moved by the 1st Prince.

The 1st Prince was undoubtedly a fitting candidate to become an ideal emperor for the empire.

“Nia Cynthia, I want you to become my future.”

For now, he would take control.

So he asked Nia to become his future.

As a vassal, there were no words more touching than these.

Nia gladly accepted the 1st Prince’s proposal.

And she resolved to make him the emperor.

‘What I must accomplish today.’

It was one of the steps towards the 1st Prince’s future.

Nia began to sprinkle the reagent on the floor.

Then, she drew a magic circle using the reagent with the staff she pulled out from her waist.

After drawing for a long time and completing the magic circle,

Nia struck the staff onto the magic circle.

Magical power began to surge from Nia’s body.

Magic is an act that goes against the rules of the world.

And a magician’s skill is determined by how much they can bend those rules while blinding the world’s eyes.

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

The magic circle engraved beneath Nia’s feet began to emit light.

An incantation to deceive the world flowed from his lips.

The moment the magic circle emitted a full light,

Nia’s figure disappeared into the light.

Step-

A moment later, what emerged from the light was a young boy.

The boy, now in his mid-teens, was wearing the magical knight’s uniform that Nia had originally been wearing.

The appearance was that of Nia in her younger days.

Nia clenched and unclenched her hand.

She felt her body, now slightly smaller than before.

Her face and skin also felt much younger.

‘It’s still difficult to control the age precisely.’

Originally, it was supposed to be in the late teens, but it came out in the mid-teens.

This is proof that the magic is still incomplete.

Moreover, the amount of magic power in the body has also significantly decreased compared to its original form.

As mentioned earlier, magic is an act of deceiving the world.

Therefore, in order to succeed in magic, Nia had to forcibly reduce the magic power she originally possessed.

If she could return to her original form, she might be able to recover.

But in this form, there is a limit to the magic power she can exert.

‘This is why the magic of becoming younger is still not widely used.’

If she could become younger while retaining her original power, it would be different, but in this weakened state, it is difficult to be active in the demon palace.

Moreover, there are few people who can use the magic of becoming younger to this extent.

It was possible because Nia was a magic knight with such talent and skill.

Ordinary wizards wouldn’t even dare to attempt this magic.

Because there is a risk that their body could become something else in the process of deceiving the world.

‘Moreover, at this point, it is not a magic that can be cast on others except for myself.’

A magic with many points to be supplemented in various ways.

However, Nia was determined to complete this magic.

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If she could complete it, she could even have a direct confrontation with Akzon.

‘Then, let’s see.’

It’s time to test whether she has properly met the conditions to pass through the entrance of the demon palace.

Nia reached out her hand towards the entrance again.

Then, unlike before, her hand went forward without any sparks.

Seeing this, Nia’s eyes widened.

It works.

She could really enter the demon palace.

“Nia Cynthia, you have succeeded.”

The demon palace guards, with surprised faces, couldn’t hide their admiration.

This success indicated that they had taken a step closer to conquering the demon palace.

“Yes, I’ll be back shortly.”

“Isn’t it too dangerous?”

“I’ve been in and out of the demon palace for three years. If it becomes dangerous on the first floor, I won’t be able to enter the demon palace in the future.”

Nia told the guards not to worry and stepped inside.

Soon, the interior of the Demon Palace began to come into view.

Above his head, the sun created by the Demon Palace shone down.

It was the time when the apostles had been dealt with not long ago.

As such, the gray forest remained unchanged, silently still.

There was no sign of the apostles anywhere.

It was not the time for the apostles to be born.

Nia quietly exhaled.

In the Demon Palace, which he had entered after a long time, he felt a strange pressure that he had not felt before.

Even though his magical power had diminished.

His skills as a wizard, honed over time, remained unchanged.

Perhaps because of this, he could faintly sense the presence of the evil being deep within the Demon Palace.

His breath caught in his throat.

What kind of monster was it to instill fear even from such a distance?

‘At this level, it’s still a long way off.’

Nia clicked his tongue.

He realized that he still had a long way to go in researching the magic of rejuvenation.

‘Let’s go back.’

He knew he could enter.

Just this was a great achievement, Nia thought as he turned to leave.

Shiver-

A chilling sensation suddenly spread through his body.

As Nia slowly turned his head.

Creak-

There, something black, resembling a human form, was emerging from the wall of the Demon Palace.

The black liquid that formed as it emerged from the wall dripped onto the floor.

At the same time, the long cord connected to the entity’s abdomen was severed.

Seeing this, Nia’s eyes widened with realization.

An apostle.

The Apostle was suddenly born.

‘At this time?’

The reason is unknown.

The Demon Palace is a place that cannot be confirmed no matter how much it is investigated.

It was not strange for anything to happen.

It seemed that even in the Demon Palace, they had vaguely noticed the alien presence called Nia.

A being that entered by deceiving the rules of the world.

In response, the Demon Palace sent something.

Nia drew her staff.

The moment she realized the opponent was an Apostle, she did not hesitate.

Though her magical power was lacking, the opponent was a newly born Apostle.

Before the Apostle could take shape, Nia gathered her magic to kill it.

Pish!

At that moment, the magic that had been gathering at the tip of her staff suddenly dissipated.

“What?”

That was not all.

The magic that had been dwelling in her body began to be sucked into the staff.

A dark red light, which she had never seen before, spread from the staff.

“Ugh?!”

Nia, with a cry of distress, tried to let go of the staff.

However, the magic extending from the staff greedily tightened around her hand.

The moment she saw this, Nia realized.

‘This power, could it be the horn of a unicorn?’

The mysterious unicorn.

A strange mystery that roams, devouring the magic of young beings that have not yet reached adulthood.

This staff was made by melting down the horn of such a unicorn.

The unicorn is an extremely peculiar being.

Even a highly skilled wizard would not notice the presence of a unicorn until it devoured their young magic.

It is also a master at hiding its appearance.

Therefore, there is a saying among people.

The unicorn is a mystery that adults cannot see.

Therefore, even Nia, who was designated as the successor to the Tower Master, could not feel the unicorn’s horn embedded in the staff at all.

However, the current Nia is in a state of being younger.

So, the unicorn’s horn, which had not reacted at all despite using magic until now, finally began to exert its power.

A look of bewilderment spread across Nia’s face.

This staff was made by a craftsman personally introduced by a close acquaintance.

The fact that a unicorn’s horn was hidden in such a staff meant…

‘A trap.’

Nia realized that her acquaintance had betrayed her.

It wasn’t hard to figure out who was behind it.

The faction of the Third Princess.

It was clear that they had set the trap.

“Damn it!”

Nia swallowed a curse and struggled to let go of the staff.

However, the unicorn’s horn greedily absorbed Nia’s magic even more and showed no intention of letting go.

Crack, snap!

In the meantime, the apostle was completely formed.

With an outer shell on its back and a giant sword in each hand, the apostle rolled its eyes around and soon locked eyes with Nia.

Its four pupils rolled grotesquely in a circle.

“―――――!”

The apostle roared.

The apostle kicked off the ground and charged at Nia.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

A wizard is infinitely weak without magic.

Moreover, Nia’s body had become younger, and she had not yet fully adapted to it.

Nia tried to throw herself to avoid it, but…

The apostle had already reached right in front of her.

Am I going to die?

Like this?

He couldn’t fulfill the First Prince’s will.

He couldn’t take control of the family so that his younger brother Nikita could live without worrying about it.

He couldn’t keep the promise he made to his deceased mother.

In the fleeting moments of his life.

‘No!’

At the moment when Nia, in a final desperate attempt, unleashed his magic power.

Kaaang!

A boy stood in front of him.

A boy with black hair, shorter than the young Nia.

As soon as Nia saw the boy, his eyes widened.

“You.”

Hanon Airey.

A boy who was a member of the student council along with his younger brother Nikita.

He sighed in relief as he looked at Nia.

“Not too late.”

And then his red eyes met those of the apostle.

Hanon, with a sharp smile, raised his hand.

“You’ve brought out something precious for the guest.”

Then I’ll have to savor it thoroughly.