The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 36



35 – The Rushing Heroines

A shocking piece of news spread through Jerion Academy.

The successor of Duke Cynthia and the next master of the Yellow Magic Tower.

It was the news that Nia Cynthia had gone missing in the magic palace while experimenting with magic.

The one who discovered this was Sharin Sazarith, who was assisting Nia Cynthia with her research.

She was the daughter of the Blue Tower Lord and had been exchanging opinions with Nia.

During this time, she discovered a questionable point in Nia’s magic and entered the magic palace to meet him.

However, she could not find Nia.

Instead, she found Nia’s staff and the necklace given only to the heir of the Cynthia family in the magic palace.

These were the only two things she found.

A wizard losing their staff in the magic palace.

This was practically a death sentence for a wizard, even if it was called a disappearance.

In a hurry, they sent the student council, led by his brother Nikita, to investigate the magic palace.

As a result, traces of a new type of apostle being born inside the magic palace were found.

In the end, they could not find Nia’s body.

Several more searches followed, but Nia’s figure was nowhere to be seen.

Eventually, they were convinced that Nia was dead, and the world fell into chaos due to the horrific outcome in the magic palace.

Just a year ago, the second magic palace incident, which was linked to death, occurred in the student team.

Because of this, the danger of the magic palace was highlighted once again in the world.

Moreover, those who questioned Nia’s death began to investigate.

As the world was in turmoil.

I slowly closed the morning newspaper I was reading.

‘It was a good decision to come out through the back road.’

I had Sharin enter through the main entrance.

But I moved separately through the back road of the magic palace, which others did not know about.

The magic palace repeatedly creates and disappears multiple entrances every day.

Fortunately, my presence was not known because I was aware of this.

‘If it’s Sharin, she had actually contacted Nia a few times, so there’s nothing to doubt.’

Nia is the next Yellow Tower Lord.

So, she had a few conversations with Sharin, the daughter of the Blue Tower Lord.

This gave credibility to Sharin’s story.

It has been a week since Nia’s disappearance became known.

Nia fortunately joined the First Prince without being caught by anyone.

‘Surely, my news will reach the First Prince as well.’

I played a significant role in saving Nia’s life.

Nia must have mentioned me in her explanation.

Naturally, the Prince will have questions about my existence.

‘The situation might escalate a bit sooner than expected.’

It can’t be helped.

This is the path I chose.

Sharin, who accompanied me to save Nia this time, didn’t say much about the incident.

Instead, she kept her silence as promised.

Given Sharin’s personality, she isn’t one to gossip.

She knew well that opening her mouth carelessly about this matter would cause trouble.

So, I decided to trust Sharin.

‘Anyway, the world believes Nia is dead.’

To be precise, it’s not the world.

‘Nikita must believe that Nia is dead.’

The path for her to become the boss of Act 4, the Dragon of Calamity, has been set.

No matter what happens, the story is surely moving towards its destined course.

A sense of complexity fills my eyes.

For the sake of the story, Nikita must fall and experience sorrow at least once.

That fact was not pleasant for me.

‘I certainly hold Nikita in high regard.’

Nikita was a character I cherished.

Her unyielding efforts, no matter the situation, were truly admirable.

But apart from that, I felt particularly weak towards Nikita.

‘Perhaps.’

Is it the influence of Vickerman, the original owner of this body?

Vickerman had feelings for Nikita.

All the evil deeds he committed against Lucas were out of his affection for Nikita.

I took over this place, pushing aside Vickerman’s soul, whose whereabouts are unknown.

Perhaps the emotions that Bikamon felt remained intact in this body.

A sigh escapes.

The real Bikamon does not exist in this world.

I tried to learn about Bikamon in my own way, but it was all information I already knew.

‘Bikamon, are you really not pleased with Nikita falling into sorrow?’

I asked Bikamon, who might be somewhere, and lifted my head.

Nevertheless, this was something that had to be experienced.

Unless Nikita becomes the dragon maiden of disaster.

We cannot move on to Act 4.

I folded the newspaper and put it back in the newspaper rack.

It was a newspaper rack set up at the entrance for students to read on their way to school in the morning.

I walked down the morning corridor.

Before I knew it, summer was approaching, and the rain, heavy with moisture, was falling steadily.

It seemed to be heralding the upcoming rainy season.

This signaled that the third act of the first semester of the second year was slowly coming to an end.

It was also the time when the main story of the Flaming Butterfly arc would begin.

My footsteps echoed down the corridor.

I heard the voices of passing children chattering about Nia.

Nia’s death was a big topic among the children as well.

I passed by those children and arrived at a familiar door.

The student council room.

I knocked on the door twice and slowly opened it.

Creak-

With the opening door, a girl came into view.

A girl who, unlike usual, was staring blankly out the window where the raindrops were hitting.

Seeing her, I slowly stepped inside.

“Nikita-senpai.”

When I called her name, she belatedly looked at this place.

A bit of light returned to her eyes that had been devoid of it.

There were tear stains around her eyes, as if she had been crying all night.

Even after a week had passed, the tear stains still hadn’t disappeared.

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

And they searched the labyrinth thoroughly.

In the end, there was only one thing they could find out.

The death of Nia Cynthia.

Her brother, whom she loved dearly as family, had died.

Her brother, who had been fine until just that afternoon, had died.

Even someone as mentally strong as Nikita was about to crumble.

It was such a great loss.

Within a week, Nikita’s face had become half of what it was, and she smiled faintly.

“Junior, there isn’t much student council work these days, so you don’t need to come in the morning.”

“No. It’s not about work, I came to see you, Senior Nikita.”

Hearing those words, Nikita didn’t argue as usual.

She just remained silent.

Even though there wasn’t much student council work, Nikita was always there.

Perhaps, in the vague search for a place to go, she ended up at the student council due to the loss of her brother.

“I see, I understand.”

Her response was much weaker than usual.

Boom-

The sound of thunder echoed.

It seemed as if the sky was reflecting Nikita’s heart.

Without saying anything else, Nikita sat down and started moving her pen.

I, who had been staring at her blankly, also sat down.

Scratch, scratch-

The only sound that echoed between us was the sound of pens moving.

This was the first time I had spent time with Nikita without exchanging a single word.

But I didn’t hastily open my lips.

From noble mtl dot com

I knew the whole truth.

Nikita’s brother, Nia Cynthia, is alive.

I personally saved him and gave him directions on what to do next.

Nia must be joining the First Prince by now, diligently uncovering the truth.

Is it right to hide this fact from Nikita, who is family?

Is it right to hide it when Nikita is so sorrowful?

I pressed my lips together and pondered.

The world is moving forward, pieced together by fate.

I saved Nia Cynthia.

Therefore, the future has undoubtedly changed in some aspects.

But fate remains unchanged.

The future altered by Nia Cynthia’s death will only come after the predetermined scenario reaches its end.

For now, only Nia Cynthia’s death remains.

‘At least for now, things are proceeding according to fate.’

That’s why I decided to save Nia Cynthia willingly.

I will save everyone I wish to save and guide them in a way that does not deviate from fate.

This was the realization and the first step of my firm resolve.

My eyes met Nikita’s.

‘To truly save Nikita.’

Nikita Cynthia must become the dragon maiden of disaster.

Only then can she be excluded from fate and live the life she truly desires.

Therefore, I must hide Nia Cynthia’s death from her.

“Nikita senior.”

So,

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

This was all I could say at the moment.

Nikita’s gaze met mine.

Her eyes, still marked with traces of tears, slightly smiled.

It was the biggest smile she could muster.

“That’s quite a comforting thought.”

And it was a smile deeply etched in my memory.

* * *

Time continues to flow even after Nia Cynthia’s death is known.

Nia seemed to have had a greater impact on the academy over the past two weeks than expected.

Among the children, there were those who missed Nia and cried.

They were the ones who had secretly fallen in love with Nia at first sight.

Of course, there were also those who were indifferent to this.

Even if they had heard the name once, in the end, they were strangers.

There are always those who do not feel sadness at the death of a stranger.

Time passed like that.

Before I knew it, summer was approaching.

The sound of cicadas clinging to the trees rang painfully in my ears.

In the morning, training with Aisha.

After morning classes, student council work during lunch.

After afternoon classes, magic engraving training with Sharin in the evening.

Time flew by for me, who was still spending a busy schedule.

In the meantime, I did make eye contact with the third princess, Iris Hyserion.

She didn’t particularly say anything about Nia.

Being perceptive, she might have already guessed that he was still alive.

Conversely, if he were dead, she would just feel regret.

She might not have thought of talking to me.

For me, it was fortunate not to be entangled with Iris, who was still difficult to get along with.

It’s okay to get involved with Iris in earnest from the latter half of Act 3.

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

It was when the episodes with the heroines were coming to an end.

And then I faced a truly unexpected problem.

“What the hell are you talking about!”

A voice full of anger echoed in my ears.

After finishing the morning lecture, I saw people as I was about to go for lunch.

There was a girl with honey blonde hair reminiscent of the sun.

But her face was more distorted than ever.

Her face was full of anger.

Isabel Luna.

She was the main heroine of the Flame Butterfly series.

A sense of puzzlement lingered in my eyes.

It was understandable if it was someone who directly criticized Lucas.

It was the first time I saw Isabel get so angry at someone else.

“Be, Belle, why are you so angry? We were just curious and asked.”

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

They didn’t expect Isabel to get so fiercely angry.

“It’s about time.”

Just then, Seron, who was next to me, snorted.

Seeing that, I signaled to Seron.

It meant if he knew something.

When Seron met my eyes, he shrugged lightly.

“They’re the ones who kept linking Isabel with their class. To be precise, they like to link anyone with anyone.”

The center of rumors.

Is that what it means?

“Recently, Isabel has been so focused on training that she hardly talked to others.

But it seems those girls asked her directly.”

Even so, my puzzlement did not go away.

‘If it were Isabel’s original personality.’

She would have sighed inwardly.

She would have definitely corrected them, saying it wasn’t like that.

No matter what, she wouldn’t have gotten so angry.

“I roughly understand.”

But Seron spoke as if he had figured out the situation.

It seemed he knew something because they were both women.

“What is it?”

“Isabel was deeply depressed after Lucas died. After that, whether she liked it or not, she regained her strength as you kept provoking her.”

That was according to my intention.

Anger can also be a way of life.

“But when was it? Was it after the Demon Palace incident? Isabel became a bit more ruthless.”

Since then, Isabel had not met my eyes even once.

But it wasn’t just me.

Isabel was distancing herself from everyone around her.

Instead, she was solely focused on training.

“She’s training like she’s possessed. If you ask her about dating or anything like that, she’ll get mad.”

The moment Theron said that, Isabel turned around and left.

The girls looked at each other in confusion, trying to grasp the situation.

The boys tilted their heads, wondering what was going on.

I rubbed the back of my neck for a moment.

Anger can certainly be a driving force for people.

But I also know the other side of anger.

If it burns too intensely and consumes everything you have,

Then there will be nothing left to burn, and it will extinguish.

‘I don’t know why Isabel suddenly changed since the incident at the labyrinth.’

It means something must have happened that greatly affected her mind.

“I’m leaving first.”

I left Theron behind and started walking.

Theron asked, “What about lunch?” but I just said I’d figure it out myself.

I already know where Isabel would be.

There’s a place she habitually goes to when she’s feeling down.

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

It’s a park surrounded by the walls of Jerion Academy.

Upon closer inspection, I saw stone steps left by the workers when they built the walls.

I lightly stepped on the stone steps and climbed up.

Then, on top of the wall,

I saw Isabel sitting at the far end, staring blankly at the sky.

“Isabel.”

When I called her name, Isabel finally turned to look at me.

She gazed at me for a moment and then let out a long sigh.

“How did you know to come here?”

The reaction is not the same as before.

Seeing that, I realized.

The anger that once fiercely ignited her life.

That anger is now fading away.