The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 60



59 – The Difference Between the Protagonist and a Third-Rate Villain

Fourth floor of the Demon Palace.

Ice Gallery.

White coldness poured out in all directions, centered around Nikita, who was swallowed by the dragon’s magic.

But amidst that coldness.

A different kind of heat mixed in.

Confusion spread through the cold.

Whoosh!

Inside Nikita’s body.

The hidden coldness bared its teeth at me.

Fear.

The biological intimidation revealed by the dragon.

Even I, who had anticipated it, was struck by a rough fear that made my skin crawl.

But the heat of the flames forcibly awakened my mind.

The remnants of this rotten dragon finally revealed their true nature.

Another reason I left Nikita to touch the dragon’s magic.

It was because of the bloodline flowing in the Cynthia Marquis family.

In the Cynthia Marquis family, children without any special talents are born generation after generation.

There’s even a saying that the Cynthia Marquis family must have at least two children when giving birth.

The reason is simple.

A long time ago.

Even before the Empire’s unification war.

The Cynthia Marquis family originally served the dragon.

The reason why the magic of the ancient dragon descended upon them in secret was also because of this.

However, for some reason, the Marquis of Cynthia betrayed the ancient dragon.

The ancient dragon was enraged by this, and instead of annihilating them, it planted a curse.

When the most outstanding child of the generation was born.

A curse that would seize the child’s talent.

The remnants of the ancient dragon.

The only talent of a child marked with the remnants of the ancient dragon.

Is to handle the magic of the ancient dragon.

The Marquis of Cynthia hid this fact for a long time.

Even the heir, Nia Cynthia, did not know this fact.

Currently, it could be said that only the Marquis of Cynthia knew about this curse.

It could not be revealed to the outside.

If they were not careful, the Marquis family would be stigmatized as being cursed and shunned.

Moreover, it was a curse bestowed by the ancient dragon.

It was not easy to find a way to erase it.

Therefore, the Marquis of Cynthia thoroughly concealed this fact.

Above all, Cynthia had become accustomed to children being born without talent.

For generations, when a child without talent was born, they used political marriages.

They knew well how to deal with a child without talent.

Thus, the remnants of the ancient dragon continued to be passed down to the children of the Marquis of Cynthia.

In modern times.

The second child of the Marquis of Cynthia, Nikita, was born without any talent.

Originally, Nikita should have spread her wings and soared high with her talent.

But because of the curse that followed the Marquis family, her wings were taken away, and she had to crawl on the ground.

However, Nikita never gave up throughout her life.

She took up her sword, made bloody efforts, and finally became the vice president of Jerion Academy.

However, there is a great wheel of fate in this world.

Even if not today, Nikita might have eventually been destined to handle the magic of the ancient dragon.

At least in the Flame Butterfly chapter that I know.

Nikita touched the magic of the ancient dragon in any route.

Of course, it’s a story I don’t know.

If Nikita had been prevented from touching the magic of the ancient dragon.

Nikita might never have touched the magic of the ancient dragon in her lifetime.

But I had no certainty about a future I didn’t know.

A guy who is struggling to keep up with the present at my feet.

There was no way I could draw a new future.

Above all.

Even if Nikita didn’t touch the magic of the ancient dragon.

The remnants of the ancient dragon would remain within her.

And someday, when she has a happy marriage and has children.

The remnants of the ancient dragon could bloom again in that child.

Seeing a child born without talent to a talentless self.

I didn’t want to imagine what kind of sad expression Nikita would make.

So I prepared.

There is no way to remove the remnants of the ancient dragon until they are directly revealed in Nikita’s unity.

But as Nikita used the magic of the ancient dragon, she finally lifted her heavy head outside.

“Try struggling in there for a hundred days.”

A desperate move to expel the remnants of the ancient dragon.

“I’ll burn it all up for you.”

The mystery continued from the Empress of Steel, the skin of steel.

The spirit lord of fire, possessing the cold and formidable power of the ancient dragon’s magic.

The Empress of Steel desires heat more than anyone.

The skin of steel also retains this characteristic intact.

However, apart from such characteristics, the mysterious power repels heat.

This is a dilemma.

The Empress of Steel desires heat.

But if she accepts the heat as it is, the steel will melt.

So the skin of steel instinctively repels heat.

Here, the unique characteristic of the spirit lord of fire also manifests.

The spirit lord of fire is the corpse of a spirit lord born from fire.

So that his last flame could burn brightly.

The flame of fire tries to burn everything that attempts to extinguish it.

Currently, the greatest threat to the flame of fire is the remnants of the ancient dragon.

As a result, the steel skin repels the flame of fire.

The flame of fire then began to cling to the remnants of the ancient dragon.

The more my hand, imbued with the flame of fire, clashed with Nikita, the more.

The flame of fire continued to transfer to the remnants of the ancient dragon.

The worst match for cold is, of course, heat.

As the heat increased, the power of the remnants of the ancient dragon rapidly weakened.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

The cold raged, revealing the anger of the remnants of the ancient dragon.

Nikita’s foot stepped back.

Sensing the danger, the remnants of the ancient dragon tried to escape from this place.

Bang!

But I wasn’t going to let that happen.

I, who was close to Nikita, extended my hand.

Then Nikita’s sword hurriedly blocked my hand.

The remnants of the ancient dragon also realized that if my attack directly hit, it would be dangerous.

The moment it directly hits even once, a large amount of flame of fire would flow in.

Knowing this, the remnants of the ancient dragon could not ignore me.

“Trying to run away?”

My red eyes gleamed menacingly.

“If it were Senior Nikita, he wouldn’t run away.”

The red line slicing through the cold continued endlessly.

Bang, bang, bang!

The extended hand of heat continuously struck the remnants of the ancient dragon.

“If you’re going to run away.”

I deeply instilled fear into the remnants of the ancient dragon.

“Run away alone.”

The remnants of the ancient dragon trembled.

At that moment, Nikita’s mouth opened, and a blinding white flash surged forth.

As soon as I saw it, I twisted my body sharply.

The flash shot past me.

KABOOM!

The ceiling of the ice museum, struck directly by the flash, shattered into pieces.

Then, the ice fragments from the ceiling began to pour down on us.

I dodged the fragments.

Nikita also stepped back to avoid the fragments.

Through the fragments, Nikita receded into the distance.

The remnants of the ancient dragon urged Nikita to flee.

Crunch-

My foot pressed down on the ground.

I took a leap stance and pulled my hand back with all my might.

I took a deep breath.

In that instant, when Nikita’s figure was obscured by the fragments.

The magic inscription engraved beneath my feet activated.

The activated magic was an explosion.

At this moment.

The synergy of mystery and the magic inscription’s effects intertwined.

KABOOM!

With an explosion that felt like my foot was being torn off, my body shot forward like a cannonball.

My hand extended straight towards the fragments of the ceiling that blocked my view.

CRACK!

My hand pierced through the fragments of the ceiling, causing cracks to spread throughout the entire fragment.

CLANG!

Finally, breaking through the fragments, I ambushed Nikita.

But this was something even the remnants of the ancient dragon had anticipated.

Nikita gripped the sword, condensed with cold energy, in reverse.

Her eyes, now those of a dragon, gleamed.

I could feel the murderous intent aimed at killing me.

Looking at this.

I activated a ring with my hand still in the striking position.

Come, Thunder Caller.

Crackle-

A blinding white flash filled the ground.

Ignoring even the rules of the demon palace, the descending lightning swept everything away.

The ancient dragon, caught in the storm, roared with magic.

I raised my hand towards the sky.

The current flowing over the steel skin was forcibly sucked into my grasp.

Magic Engraving · Lightning Catcher

The swirling lightning was momentarily grasped in my hand.

With the lightning spear in hand, I stomped the ground.

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Boom!

With an explosion from my elbow, my body bent sharply.

The lightning spear left my hand.

Crackle!

The extending lightning spear pierced through Nikita.

Nikita and the remnants of the ancient dragon screamed simultaneously.

At the moment her body floated into the air.

Without hesitation, I threw myself forward.

The flame of fire was once again grasped in my hand.

I slammed the flame of fire into my grip with all my might.

“Nikita!”

I shouted her name, clenching my fist tightly.

“It’s time to wake up.”

The fist, filled with all my strength, struck Nikita.

As Nikita’s body was driven into the ground, the flame of fire raged wildly.

The remnants of the ancient dragon, refusing to be outdone, spewed cold air madly.

The collision of the two made my body feel like it was going to shatter into pieces.

To the point where my clothes were torn and the bandages of the veil were partially unraveled.

Inside the bandages of the veil, my true face was revealed.

Snow-white hair fluttered in the swirling wind, and bright amber eyes were exposed.

The skin had transformed into a rough, steel-like texture.

Perhaps the heat this time had melted the steel skin, causing it to flow inward.

‘The heat of the Spirit Lord approaches the flame of willpower.’

Just like with Lucas, I was absorbing steel and becoming a body of steel.

Moreover, perhaps because I had been struck by lightning twice.

My body also bore the scars of being struck by lightning.

It was truly a mess.

I wondered what kind of face others would make if they saw me.

But right now, that didn’t matter at all.

I poured all my flames into Nikita.

The blazing fire swallowed up all the cold.

Sssssssss!

The sound of the dragon’s remnants screaming echoed.

Meanwhile, my body was losing heat and instead embracing the cold.

However, my eyes did not lose their will in the slightest.

Rather, the willpower in my eyes surged, burning more brilliantly than anyone else at this moment.

‘You know it too.’

I told the dragon’s remnants.

‘If you take in any more heat, you’ll disappear.’

The dragon’s remnants thrashed wildly.

Eventually, it understood my intention.

There was only one way for the dragon’s remnants to survive.

It had to transfer to a new host.

The flame of willpower that filled Lucas originally did not give the dragon’s remnants even a gap.

So the dragon’s remnants chose to perish with Nikita without a chance to transfer.

This was the main reason Lucas couldn’t save Nikita.

But now, I was merely borrowing the flame of fire.

There was plenty of room inside me for the dragon’s remnants to enter.

This is the difference between Lucas and me.

And it was also the only difference that could save Nikita.

Lucas, being the protagonist, cannot save Nikita.

But I am a third-rate villain, Vickerman Niflheim, who has already exited the main story.

This is something only I can do.

‘I never had any talent from the beginning.’

Vickerman originally had no magical talent that Nikita so desperately desired.

So, he replaced it with magical engravings, activating magic one by one.

Even now, as the remnants of the dragon that devours talent come in.

I had no talent to lose.

This was the real difference between Lucas and me.

Unlike Lucas, who had no room for the dragon’s remnants to enter because he was full of talent.

I was completely empty!

The remnants of the dragon constantly conflicted within Nikita.

But the conflict did not last long.

The remnants of the dragon could no longer endure the flames of fire pouring into her.

So, it chose.

To transfer its host here.

The remnants of the dragon, which had been shaking, surged up my fist that touched Nikita.

At that moment, a deep chill spread inside my body.

The scales that were haphazardly attached to Nikita’s body melted away and disappeared.

The horns and tail also melted away like snow.

Instead, only the fangs and eyes left their traces.

Conversely, some scales began to sprout on my skin.

A dizzying chill flowed over me, enough to make my mind fly away.

It was a terrible chill that seemed to freeze even my brain.

Nikita had endured such a chill while handling the dragon’s magic.

Crack!

But there was still some flame of fire left in my body.

The heat and the chill collided, canceling each other out.

The remnants of the ancient dragon struggled to take control of me as it moved to a new host.

But I had no intention of letting it.

The remnants of the ancient dragon were already weakened, having been repeatedly struck by the flames of fire.

In this state, it couldn’t muster the strength to take over my body.

Ssshhh-

In the end, the weakened remnants of the ancient dragon were finally pushed to one side.

The scales that had sprouted on my face fell off.

Instead, my right pupil momentarily transformed, reminiscent of a lizard.

The remnants of the ancient dragon, seemingly exhausted, fell asleep in one of my eyes.

Thanks to that, my pupil soon returned to normal.

The heat from the flames of fire also began to gradually fade.

The cold and heat dissipated, leaving only a warm warmth.

Drip drip-

The snow melting from the sky turned into a thin rain.

The warm rain made me feel a bit more at ease.

My head drooped down.

I had no strength left to move.

Barely breathing was all I could manage.

But it wasn’t over yet.

Nikita had to be presumed dead here.

‘To protect the order and save Nikita.’

Nikita also had to be excluded from the order.

The scenario would move forward with Nikita’s death.

So, I reached out with trembling hands.

I slowly cradled Nikita’s unconscious head and lifted her legs.

My body staggered as I stood up.

As the remnants of the ancient dragon fell asleep, everything around me melted away.

I walked aimlessly.

The direction I was heading was the fifth floor of the Demon Palace.

There was a passage here that most people didn’t know about.

A secret passage that allows immediate return to the surface.

In fact, it is a passage prepared for the convenience of the user.

But it is also a passage that Lucas discovers by chance.

I headed towards it.

I descended the stairs leading to the fifth floor.

Several times my body almost collapsed, but somehow I managed to keep my balance.

Before I knew it, my leg was broken.

It seemed to have broken from the impact of the earlier collision.

If I fall here, I won’t be able to get up again.

Knowing this, I stubbornly endured.

“Hoo, Bae-nim.”

At that moment, I heard Nikita’s voice.

She was starting to regain her senses little by little.

This is bad.

I hadn’t managed to tidy up the bandages of the veil, so I looked like Bikamon.

It was a mistake that came from not having the mental capacity to tidy up.

With no other choice, I pulled Nikita into an embrace.

I held her face in my arms.

Fortunately, Bikamon has a good physique, unlike Hanon.

If I cover her like this, my face won’t be visible.

Anyway, Nikita would be dazed from being attacked by the remnants of the ancient dragon.

She was so out of it that she wouldn’t recognize me.

Maybe because I held her a bit too tightly.

I felt Nikita flinch in my arms.

Holding her like this, I realized anew how small she was.

With such a small body, she had been striving alone until now.

But from now on, it will be different.

There will be no remnants of the ancient dragon that ate Nikita’s talent, nor the Marquis of Cynthia who oppressed her.

“Nikita sunbae-nim.”

As I descended the stairs, I continued to speak.

“I have always said that I respect you, senpai.”

There was a time when I too worked hard.

I worked and worked until I was called a promising talent.

But with one mistake, I got injured and retired from sports.

I had dedicated everything to sports, and when it was gone, there was nothing left.

So I immersed myself in games.

And there, I saw Nikita.

Nikita, who never gave up in any situation and kept her beliefs while working hard.

Watching her, I found an inexplicable comfort.

No matter how much people around her belittled her efforts, she always stood firm.

Even though her fate was sealed with an arranged marriage, making everything meaningless.

I was happy to see her not yielding to her fate.

But in the end, Nikita couldn’t defy her fate and died.

Every time I saw this, I swallowed my anger countless times.

But now.

Finally, I can prevent her from facing the same fate.

“And it will be the same in the future.”

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No matter what path Nikita takes from now on.

I will respect and support her.

This is my way of repaying the comfort I found watching her in the game.

“Nikita’s brother is waiting outside. I’m sorry for hiding it until now.”

I contacted Nia separately today.

It was a promise I made to him when I saved Nia before.

Since it’s related to Nikita, he must have rushed here.

I don’t know how Nikita will react when she sees that Nia is alive.

This was something I couldn’t confirm.

Since Nikita is involved with the dragon’s magic, she can’t reveal herself to the world.

Nia will surely take care of this part.

“You hated being used for an arranged marriage and living a life without expectations, didn’t you?”

I gently wrapped my hands around Nikita’s head.

Bad Ending ‘Goryong’.

The words she cried out countless times there.

“I hated my life, the life bound to the Marquis of Cynthia, so much that I could throw it away so easily.”

Now, it’s okay not to throw that life away.

“Let’s take this opportunity to live freely and do everything we want.”

Before I knew it, my feet had stopped at the secret place on the fifth floor.

As I pushed the thick stone with my body to open it, a strange passage appeared.

Seeing this, I slowly pushed Nikita inside the passage.

This passage leads to a place other than the entrance of the demon palace.

Nia has been called there, so she should be waiting well.

This is the last time with Nikita.

The moment I opened my mouth to say goodbye to her.

Clack-

Nikita’s hand grabbed me.

Did she come to her senses completely in that moment?

I don’t know what kind of mental strength this is.

More than that, this is troublesome.

I haven’t sorted out the bandages of the veil yet.

“Junior, no.”

Nikita’s hand, holding my arm, trembled.

“Vikamon.”

…Had she already found out?

There’s no spirit or leisure to hide it.

When I gave a bitter smile, Nikita looked up at me with her lips tightly closed.

She had a face full of things to say, her lips quivering.

But it was a face that didn’t know what to say.

Simply, she couldn’t control her emotions somewhere.

Tears even welled up in her eyes.

“I always ignored your feelings…”

I belatedly realized why Nikita was reacting this way.

Bikamon loved Nikita.

Nikita was not unaware of this.

However, Nikita had no intention of accepting it.

She was, after all, a body to be used in an arranged marriage.

There was no one she would date.

So, she did not like anyone.

Bikamon knew this too and did not confess.

“Why do you go to such lengths for me…?”

As if everything I had shown so far had been correct.

Nikita poured out her emotions.

“It’s okay.”

It was true that Bikamon liked Nikita.

Now I am Bikamon.

I cannot deny this.

“It is enough that Nikita is safe.”

It’s a pity that I can no longer call her senpai.

“Nikita.”

I gave her a big smile.

“Be happy.”

A miserable end does not suit the strong her.

So, I let go of her hand and pushed her into the passage.

“Bikamon, wait!”

It seemed like Nikita had something to say at the last moment, but I could no longer listen.

Because the demons and apostles who had noticed me from afar were coming.

“No…!”

With Nikita’s last voice, she left through the passage.

Thud-

Soon, the passage was completely closed.

I cannot leave through this passage.

Otherwise, there would be no way to explain my disappearance from the demon palace.

Staggering, I lifted myself up.

Then, I somehow managed to pull up the bandages of the curtain and roughly wrapped them around myself.

Soon, my appearance returned to Hania.

I moved my body towards the stairs to the 4th floor, escaping the pursuing demonic hand.

The demonic hand does not chase in the stairway.

So, as I entered the passage and tried to climb the stairs, I stumbled.

Thud-

I collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath.

Damn, this is really my limit.

‘Just a little.’

Just a little rest.

In my fading consciousness, I slowly closed my eyes.

【 Act 3, Scene 6 ‘Dragon Lady of Disaster’ 】

【 CLEAR 】

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【 Act 3 ends. 】

【 Act 3 side story begins shortly. 】