The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 47



46 – Special Hero Law

Baekmokgong.

Laxid Anubesia.

The death sentence declared by her.

I had known for a long time that the Empire had a system for executing those who harbored mysteries.

Long ago, there was an incident in the Empire where someone who harbored mysteries went berserk, causing casualties on a city-wide scale.

As such, mysteries were strictly managed within the Empire.

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But I never expected her to outright declare a death sentence.

‘She didn’t even mention the death penalty to Lucas.’

But she brings it up with me first.

“…Am I going to be executed?”

When I boldly asked, Baekmokgong’s attendant, who was beside her, twitched an eyebrow.

The attendant’s gaze was sharp.

It seemed to be because I asked without any manners.

But in a situation where I could be executed at any moment, manners were meaningless.

Baekmokgong smiled faintly.

Her smile only served to heighten my anxiety.

“Of course, even the Empire’s Penal Code has exceptions.”

In any world, there are those who stand above the law.

And in the case of the Flame Butterfly, Baekmokgong was such a person.

A living witness of the Empire.

In front of her, countless laws disappeared and reappeared repeatedly.

At that point, the law held little value for Baekmokgong.

“Just like me.”

The one who possesses the mystery.

That includes Baekmokgong as well.

The mystery she possesses.

Baekmok.

In the past, the largest and most vibrant tree in the world.

However, when the evil intervened, the tree was shattered and was reborn as the mysterious Baekmok.

The one who single-handedly stopped such Baekmok is the woman standing right in front of me.

Baekmok threatened the very existence of the empire and numerous kingdoms.

Baekmokgong, who stopped such Baekmok, was one of the world’s greatest heroes.

“The Special Hero Law.”

I expected her to mention it.

“It is a law that applies when one becomes a possessor of the mystery not by their own intention, but by confronting the mystery.”

Baekmokgong placed her hands on her waist.

“And it is also a law that I enacted.”

Baekmokgong is a hero.

Therefore, she performed her role excellently.

To encourage the birth of future heroes who would stand against injustice.

The law she personally proposed.

The Special Hero Law.

The Special Hero Law takes precedence over most laws, except for a few provisions deeply related to the imperial family.

This shows how highly the empire values her.

“The birth of heroes must be encouraged. The world is always facing great evil.

It is a great national loss if others envy and resent heroes, causing them to fall.”

She explained the reason for the enactment of the Special Hero Law as she approached me.

“So, boy.”

Baekmokgong’s lips curled into a chilling smile.

Her eyes shone with a transparent color as she pierced through me.

“Are you a hero? Or a condemned criminal?”

Will you become a hero according to the Special Hero Law?

Will I become a death row inmate according to the imperial criminal law?

She forced me to make a choice.

My mouth remained silent.

I knew well what answer Baekmokgong wanted.

“I am too insignificant to be called a hero.”

To be precise, I am merely acting as a hero.

This world is a realization of the Flame Butterfly episode that I have played countless times.

I have no grand cause.

It’s just that if I perish, I die too, so I am struggling because my life is important.

The numerous bad endings contained in this world lead to its destruction.

To survive, I had no choice.

The true hero, Lucas, is dead.

Therefore, I am nothing more than a fake hero in place of Lucas.

“It is insufficient to harbor the will of a hero, and the world is too chaotic to not harbor it.”

The empire is currently creaking due to the struggle for the throne.

The faction of the first prince and the faction of the third princess.

Due to the fierce competition between the two groups, the empire is bleeding a lot.

The empire must not collapse.

The empire bears many huge problems, including the Demon Palace.

The moment the empire collapses, the world will spur towards destruction in an instant.

“Above all, I know that a hero is not made by someone who wants to become one.”

Lucas walked a heroic path.

Among them, Lucas never elevated himself to become a hero.

It was just that countless people admired and revered his heroic path and wanted to walk that path with him.

The hero I saw was such a person.

A made hero is nothing more than a paper doll.

“So, I am not a hero yet.”

Someone else must call me a hero.

It is meaningless to call oneself a hero.

“Pfft.”

Baekmokgong, who had been mulling over my words, suddenly started to chuckle.

Seeing this, the attendant quietly sighed.

“Puhahahahahaha!”

Baekmokgong laughed for a long time, covering her mouth.

It was a hearty laugh, befitting a hero.

After laughing for a while, she looked down at me again.

“Interesting. ‘Yet’.”

She had precisely picked up on the part I mentioned.

She smiled brightly.

“Boy, you are right. A hero is not something one can proclaim oneself to be.

It is a position that naturally arises as countless citizens start to talk about it.”

It seemed she liked my story.

“You gave the answer I most wanted to hear, as if you had looked into my mind.”

She was quick-witted.

“So, am I to be executed now?”

When I asked again, Baekmokgong snorted.

“Boy, the Hero Special Law applies to you. Even if you are just an aspiring hero.”

She had already looked into everything I had done.

The mystery that had dominated the Great Forest of Spirits, the Iron Empress.

To stop this, I had thrown myself into the fray.

At least, that’s how it was recorded in the report above.

“Above all, regardless of your intentions, you are not using the mystery you possess for impure purposes.”

It was the story of how I stopped the Apostle, the Forest Keeper, in the Grey Forest.

All the things I had accumulated so far had led to this moment.

Nothing was in vain.

The scenario is the force that drives the story.

When the story progresses according to the scenario, the results naturally follow.

“So, the boy will not be executed.”

I was nervous because it seemed to be going in a slightly different direction from the original scenario.

Fortunately, my life was spared.

“And boy, there is one more peculiar clause in this Hero Special Act. This is also why I came here today.”

My fist clenched tightly.

Finally, the moment had come.

I had drawn Baekmokgong’s attention for this.

“It is a law I specially created to encourage heroes and aspirants.”

I felt a pure white tree bloom behind Baekmokgong.

The tree was bathed in a halo.

Baekmokgong smiled.

Her eyes, looking at the young hero aspirant, were filled with a benevolent light.

“Boy, tell me what you desire.”

The Hero Special Act.

It includes a declaration that as long as Baekmokgong is alive, she will personally bestow rewards.

She asked me, who falls under the Hero Special Act, to tell her what I particularly desired.

A hero with the most powerful voice in the world, second only to the emperor.

What she meant by ‘desire’ encompassed almost everything one could think of.

I swallowed and lifted my head.

“I…”

And I told her what I needed the most.

* * *

After Baekmokgong left with a hollow laugh,

I also left the hospital room.

Maybe because I had rested well during the exam period,

my body had somewhat recovered.

As I walked, I saw several hospital rooms.

As I passed by the rooms, I suddenly stopped.

Because the name I knew was written on the door of one of the rooms.

Nikita Cynthia.

The room was quiet.

Was she sleeping?

‘It can’t be.’

I looked at her hospital room door and raised my hand.

Knock knock-

The sound of two knocks echoed.

No response was heard.

“Nikita-senpai.”

When I quietly called her name, I felt a presence inside.

“……Junior?”

Fortunately, she recognized it was me and responded.

As I slowly opened the door, I saw Nikita sitting by the bed.

She stared blankly at me, then flinched and hurriedly hid what she was holding.

I saw that it was a letter, but pretended not to notice.

“How are you feeling?”

Nikita had collapsed due to malnutrition and overwork.

When I asked about her condition, Nikita flinched and forced a smile.

“I’m fine.”

I saw a sandwich placed on the drawer.

The sandwich had only one bite taken out of it.

It was all she could manage.

Even though she couldn’t eat anything.

She tried to take a bite to show her appreciation for my effort.

That fact made my heart ache even more.

“You’re not fine at all.”

I gathered up the sandwich.

Knowing that in the hot summer weather, it would spoil quickly if left like this.

But even with my actions, Nikita still had a blank expression.

As if she had heard some shocking news.

“Senpai?”

“Oh, uh-huh.”

A weak response came to my call.

Nikita staggered out of bed.

When I hurried to support her, Nikita waved her hand.

“It’s okay. I’m really okay, junior.”

“But.”

“Junior, I have a favor to ask.”

Nikita spoke with a trembling face.

“I want to be alone right now. Can you leave me alone? You’re kind, so you’ll listen to me, right?”

I didn’t touch Nikita anymore.

Instead, I slowly turned and left.

“Yes, take care of yourself.”

Even so, my eyes were clearly capturing her face.

The faint anger blooming in Nikita’s eyes.

I confirmed it for sure.

The letter she had hidden.

It wasn’t hard to guess what it contained.

The letter would contain the news that Nia Cynthia had been assassinated by the Marquis of Cynthia.

And this stirred anger and revenge in her heart.

The fire spreads.

Unlike with Isabel, this is a cruel fire that will never be extinguished until the goal is achieved.

Act 3, Scene 6.

The Dragon Lady of Disaster.

The curtain has risen.