The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 59



58 – Nikita’s Inevitability

Nikita Cynthia, the dragon lady of disaster.

She was now in a state of great bewilderment.

The boy in front of her.

Hanon Airei.

He had even disguised himself as Hania Rapiddaia.

Why on earth?

Nikita revealed her confusion amidst her bewilderment.

Hanon is a good junior.

He silently helped her, who always took on tasks alone.

He is witty, making conversations enjoyable.

To be honest, talking with Hanon was the most enjoyable conversation she had had recently.

Conversations with Hanon were comfortable, and sometimes his unexpected remarks made her burst into laughter.

Sometimes he was too mischievous, but that too felt like Hanon’s affection.

He often knew Nikita unusually well.

To the point where she wondered if he was someone she actually knew in disguise.

There were times when that fact felt suspicious.

But even considering all that, she didn’t dislike the person named Hanon.

Nikita had low self-esteem.

Her life was always filled with negativity.

Even her parents didn’t expect much from Nikita.

Even in that situation, he persevered and climbed up one step at a time.

Hanon recognized this and constantly praised Nikita.

Thanks to that, his self-esteem has recently risen significantly.

So much so that he often thought, ‘I think I’ve done quite well.’

Because of this, he hated the saying that he was nothing special except for his face.

The times he avoided the mirror gradually decreased.

Nowadays, he sometimes even smiled when he looked in the mirror.

Hanon was someone who raised Nikita’s self-esteem that much.

Therefore, he didn’t want to show such an ugly side to him.

The sight of someone consumed by revenge, throwing everything away to kill someone.

If Hanon saw it, he would surely be disappointed.

He felt ashamed.

He wanted to hide somewhere immediately.

He didn’t want Hanon to see this side of him.

So he told Hanon not to come deep into the labyrinth.

But Hanon stubbornly followed and was now standing right in front of him.

Kaang!

Hanon’s hand blade flew towards Nikita.

What on earth had he done?

Even Nikita, who was wrapped in the magic of the ancient dragon, was surprised by the intense heat Hanon possessed.

The heat felt from his hand blade was scorching.

And Hanon’s eyes looking at him were also burning.

Nikita instinctively felt it.

Hanon had now burned himself.

He wouldn’t be able to maintain this for long.

“Nikita-senpai.”

Hanon’s hand blade moved incessantly.

In the past, it seemed clumsy.

How much effort had he put in? Now his technique was nothing short of exquisite.

“Do you still not meet my eyes even once?”

Nikita’s body flinched.

Nikita couldn’t meet Hanon’s eyes.

This had been going on for quite some time.

Since Nia Cynthia died.

Nikita hadn’t made eye contact with anyone.

And since deciding to avenge Nia.

Nikita’s eyes were solely focused on revenge.

But Hanon constantly tried to make eye contact with her.

When he met Nikita, he smiled, spoke to her, and treated her kindly.

Nikita ignored this and closed her eyes.

‘How selfish am I?’

Nikita felt self-contempt.

Ignoring the feelings of someone who cared for her.

She was only true to her own emotions.

And this was still the case.

The desire not to show this side of herself to Hanon.

She avoided him, trying to escape his direct confrontation.

But deep inside her heart.

The still-burning desire for revenge was uncontrollable.

It felt like someone was whispering to her.

‘Can’t you even accomplish a single act of revenge?’

It felt like someone kept whispering in her ear.

This was a curse.

A curse she couldn’t escape from since the moment she touched the magic of the ancient dragon.

The desire for revenge had now surpassed the realm of self-control.

Nikita’s sword swung once more.

The storm of cold air from the sword swept through the surroundings.

Hanon broke through it and charged at Nikita once again.

Sword and hand blade crossed.

In that moment, their eyes met once more.

His red eyes blazed fiercely, following the flames.

Hanon was a boy who often acted unpredictably.

Surely, he must have sensed something and followed her all the way here.

Because of that, she wanted to ask.

Kaang!

Nikita, who had shaken off Hanon’s hand, left footprints on the snow.

“…Junior, did the 3rd princess put you up to this?”

Hanon was Iris’s cousin.

So, was he doing this to protect her? Nikita asked.

But even as she asked, Nikita knew.

Hanon’s eyes were not looking at Iris.

“No.”

As expected, Hanon denied it.

That denial pierced deeply into Nikita’s heart.

“I’m doing this because I want to stop you, Senior Nikita.”

Nikita’s eyes trembled.

“Why, on earth….”

Hanon had burned himself.

Nikita couldn’t understand why he was blocking her path, even to this extent.

No matter how she looked at it, there seemed to be no reason for Hanon to step in.

Then Hanon exhaled, leading with his hand.

“Didn’t I tell you on the first day we met?”

The first day.

Nikita recalled that day on the bridge connecting the martial arts department and the main building.

“I have respected your path since before I entered the academy, Senior Nikita Cynthia.”

Those words of respect.

She hadn’t taken them entirely to heart.

But Nikita also remembered Hanon’s eyes, looking straight at her.

“Because of respect?”

To think he would go this far for something like that.

“Isn’t respect enough?”

The flames engulfing Hanon’s body grew fiercer.

“Isn’t that a sufficient reason?”

Hanon struggled to lift the corners of his mouth into a smile.

The blazing heat seemed overwhelming.

“…I’m not someone worthy of respect.”

“I don’t think so.”

“I’m not the person you think I am.”

“It’s okay. I’ll understand as much as you don’t, Nikita.”

“I.”

Nikita clenched her fists as if swallowing her anger.

“I.”

She couldn’t continue speaking.

The tears that fell turned into ice crystals in the cold and scattered.

Scales sprouted even more on her skin.

The magic of the ancient dragon burrowed deep into her body, now beyond control.

The ancient dragon opened its mouth.

To completely devour Nikita, it froze her mind.

Nikita felt her consciousness fading.

Even if she tried to grasp the thread of consciousness, she kept losing it.

No.

At this rate, Hanon would be in danger.

Nikita desperately clung to her consciousness, but it refused to be caught.

Nikita bit down on her emerging fangs hard enough to break them.

Her body trembled violently.

But despite this, the storm of cold grew even stronger.

“Se…nior, run…”

Nikita wanted to tell Hanon to run away.

This was her sin.

He had no reason to be in danger.

But even her lips were no longer under her control.

“After this is over, I have something to tell you. And I need to apologize.”

In the fading consciousness.

Hanon smiled and said so.

“So, see you later.”

As Nikita watched that smile, a person came to mind.

A man who had feelings for her.

Although his wrong judgment led to a rather unpleasant outcome.

The smile he gave her remained in her memory.

Thinking that smile resembled Hanon’s in some way.

Nikita was finally swallowed by the dragon’s magic.

* * *

The heat from the flames makes it hard to breathe.

But the cold that pierces through the heat is even colder.

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In front of my eyes.

Nikita has completely fallen under the dragon’s magic and has become a dragonkin.

The dragon’s magic instinctively realized.

That the heat I held could burn it.

As a result, the dragon’s magic twisted and accelerated the transformation into a dragonkin.

Surely, if this were a game, Nikita’s death would be inevitable and an unavoidable story.

No matter what Lucas does, there is no way for him to save Nikita.

But now, this world is reality.

Lucas does not have the knowledge to stop the dragon’s magic.

I have the knowledge to stop the dragon’s magic.

‘The day I decided to save Nia, I already made up my mind.’

It is I who will lead the world to its rightful course.

But no matter what I do, I cannot follow the same path as Lucas.

So, I will lead it to the rightful course.

I will draw the most ideal rightful course I desire.

‘I will save Nikita.’

I took a deep breath, having made my decision.

The moment Nikita fully became a warrior.

The evil lord would reach out to seize Nikita’s body, now a warrior.

Even now, I could feel the demonic palace writhing.

It was proof that the evil lord coveted Nikita.

‘Who would give her away?’

Do not covet.

With a resounding crash, heat and cold collided and exploded.

The strong explosion caused a ringing in my ears for a moment.

But even amidst the explosion, Nikita’s sword embroidered towards me.

The swordsmanship ingrained in Nikita’s body poured out instinctively.

Left diagonal, above the right head.

The sound of the blade and hilt clashing, the gaze and footwork.

My eyes relentlessly followed Nikita without missing a single moment.

My dynamic vision was pushed to its limits.

Missing even once would be fatal.

Knowing this, I desperately clashed with her.

And then, at some point.

Nikita’s body, which had been swinging the sword, began to slow down compared to before.

Conversely, so did I.

My body was also clearly slowing down compared to before.

It wasn’t because our stamina was depleted.

‘Finally, slowly.’

Signs began to appear.

I could feel the magic of the ancient dragon that Nikita harbored becoming flustered.

‘No.’

It wasn’t the magic of the ancient dragon.

Deep inside Nikita.

A presence that had coiled for a much longer period began to reveal its bewilderment.

It must have realized by now.

The fact that even it was in danger.

A strained smile drew on my lips.

Inside the magic of the ancient dragon.

The curse of the ancient dragon that had long descended upon the Marquis of Cynthia.

The reason Nikita had to live her whole life without talent.

The remnants of the ancient dragon.

The real reason Lucas couldn’t save Nikita.

And this is the essence of the terrible curse that only Nikita can remove by touching the dragon’s magic.

This is the inevitability entangled with Nikita.

So, I prepared the only way to disrupt that inevitability.

“Now you seem a bit flustered.”

I revealed a mocking smile, breathing heavily.

Inside the cold.

Finally, the flames began to spread, even to the remnants of the dragon’s magic that the dragon had planted.