The World After the Bad Ending

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One father’s only daughter was murdered.

The murderer fled but was later apprehended by the police.

However, on the very day the murderer entered prison and was to be released, the girl’s father sought him out and killed him with a knife, just like his daughter.

After losing his daughter, the father said upon being caught by the police:

“I’ve lived only to kill that son of a bitch until today.”

Overwhelmed with grief and despair from losing his only daughter, he attempted suicide several times.

But each time, the face of the murderer who killed his daughter flashed before him, preventing him from dying.

If he were to die now, he wouldn’t be able to face his daughter.

So instead, he resolved to kill the murderer in his place.

Thus, fueled solely by the desire for vengeance, he lived for 10 years without dying.

Many people tell you to forget anger and resentment.

Because anger and resentment can ruin your life.

They mean you should forget it and live your life.

But sometimes, anger can be a driving force for prolonging life.

“Cancel that.”

Right now, the girl in front of me is just that.

Her eyes, which had seemed dull just moments ago, suddenly brightened, filled with anger.

“Cancel the insult against Lucas.”

Just a little while ago, there was applause to welcome the transfer student.

But, lo and behold, the situation completely flipped because of the transfer student’s bombshell remark.

And naturally, the one who made the bombshell remark is none other than me.

Isabel and I drew the attention of the other students.

They were surprised to see her suddenly erupt in fury, while I calmly tilted my head.

“Who is that now?”

My nonchalant behavior was perfectly optimized to provoke Isabel’s anger.

“It’s about that class representative you just mentioned!”

Her teeth ground together.

“That class representative is my childhood friend Lucas.”

She conveyed this with her last bit of kindness, indicating that she would overlook this mistake this time.

So she demanded an apology.

Her eyes pressed for it.

“Oh.”

I let out a gasp.

As if belatedly realizing my mistake.

Just as the kids looked relieved at my behavior.

“I don’t want to.”

I dropped another bombshell.

“You!”

“Isabel, take it easy. Hanon, you too.”

Professor Veganon intervened as Isabel seemed ready to pounce.

She sighed and gestured with a look of annoyance between Isabel and me.

“Hanon, don’t cause trouble right after you arrive. Just sit down in an empty seat.”

“Yes.”

I quickly replied and hurried up the classroom stairs to find an empty seat.

Naturally, Isabel continued to glare at me.

Her face was filled with rage, unable to contain herself.

‘Scary.’

Honestly, it was intimidating to see.

Experiencing such one-sided rage was rare in my life.

Moreover, Isabel is the main heroine, someone I held in quite high regard.

She naturally drew affection from me as the main character of the story.

So it hurt my heart to face Isabel’s hatred.

But this was necessary right now.

Like a sentence after a bad ending.

The moment she chose to commit suicide, this world would indeed be finished.

“Endure it, me.”

Everything is to survive in the world after the bad ending.

With that firm resolve, I felt another gaze upon me.

I turned my head to follow it, and there was a woman with black hair, just like mine.

An appearance that could make one gasp in admiration at just a glance.

Elegant, upturned eyes reminiscent of a dignified cat and a high nose.

Even her adorable lips.

The final villain.

3rd Princess Iris Haishirion.

She was watching me.

‘Did I attract too much attention?’

Knowing Iris’s backstory, I averted my gaze.

She could easily be labeled as the final boss in the game.

‘It’s not the time to engage carelessly.’

When I turned away, Iris also turned her head.

She was likely just momentarily interested because of my sudden action.

It didn’t seem to attract her major attention.

Of course, Isabel’s glare was still unwavering.

‘Shivers.’

Can I really manage well from here on out?

First things first, I can’t mess this up.

＊＊＊

In the world of Magung Academy Slayer, there are a total of six academies.

The common goal of these six academies is simple.

It is to nurture ‘students’ who will prevent the threat of the world sealed within the underground Magung: ‘Akzon.’

“The reason we bother to nurture students is quite simple.”

No one can enter the underground Magung after turning 19 years old.

This is due to Akzon’s curse, which governs the Magung.

“Looking back, Akzon seems to be a petty being targeting teenagers.”

However, there’s more reasoning behind it than one might think.

Akzon uses power beyond the seal of the underground Magung to create ‘Apostles.’

These Apostles start off incredibly weak when first created.

But in the harsh environment of the underground Magung, they continue to evolve and grow stronger.

Once they reach the point where they can venture outside of the underground Magung, they become absurd monsters capable of even killing the greatest heroes.

It takes precisely twenty years for an Apostle to fully mature.

Apostles are very greedy.

Even after maturing, they can’t remain without craving Akzon’s power.

As soon as they complete the twenty years of maturation, they are immediately sent above ground according to the rules of the Magung.

This device assures that Apostles, who must live off of Akzon’s power, are desperate to break the seal.

This rule also applies to humans.

Just as stated before, once a human turns twenty, they cannot enter the Magung.

As mentioned earlier, Apostles are weakest when they are first born.

To prevent Apostles from emerging, the world decided to send teenagers into the underground Magung.

Thus, the six academies were established.

From ages 17 to 19.

Over a total of three years, they would nurture students to be sent into the underground Magung.

The family of a student who performs well in the Magung enjoys great glory.

Not only can their family be praised as the birthplace of heroes, but those families also receive full support from their country.

Thus, academies generally have a high ratio of nobles.

Numerous noble students flock to claim glory for their family.

For the honor of their family.

And to protect the world.

Countless students seek to learn at the academy.

“Today’s class ends here.”

Professor Veganon yawned and turned after finishing the theoretical class on Martial Arts.

Judging by the look on his face, he seemed ready to head out for a drink again.

“Ah, remember that we’ll have a mock battle soon, as usual.”

With that last remark, Veganon walked out of the classroom.

Bang!

At that moment, a loud noise erupted from the desks below.

The kids who had anticipated this situation nudged each other nervously.

The source of the noise was Isabel Luna.

Lucas’s childhood friend, Isabel.

Her face was twisted to the point where one could call her a demon.

Having been waiting for the class to end, she stepped forward with the theory book tucked under her arm.

The direction of her steps, of course, was towards me.

‘This is deadly.’

Should I run?

To be honest, I had that thought because Isabel emanated such a fierce vibe.

But I can’t run away now.

I need to become Isabel’s sworn enemy.

At least until I graduate from the academy.

She must cling to life for me.

Also, I just wanted Isabel to live on.

Having played the Spark Butterfly route countless times, I grew quite affection for her.

She is the main heroine of the Spark Butterfly route.

Saying goodbye to her would break my heart.

“Hanon Irey.”

Isabel’s voice rang out.

In this world, calling someone by both their first and last name is meant to emphasize the address.

I glanced at Isabel and stood up while pushing my chair back.

“Is there something you need?”

“It’s a repeat of what I just said. Apologize for insulting Lucas, and for insulting the friends he was with. Right now!”

The eyes of the children were glued to us.

Those who saw Isabel’s anger for the first time were filled with worry.

Yet some looked intrigued.

The transfer student who threw a bomb right upon arrival.

Everyone was curious how that transfer student would respond.

I casually scanned the children’s gazes as I turned back to Isabel.

“Again, I’ll say.”

I replied expressionlessly.

“I don’t want to.”

Isabel’s eyes bulged in disbelief.

Anger made her shiver.

“Lucas and those kids fought with all their might against the Apostles! What wrong did they do?”

“I already said it. They tarnished the honor of Jerion Academy.”

“That’s all it is!”

“That’s all?”

I slowly narrowed my eyes as I stepped closer to Isabel.

Perhaps I had come off stronger than expected.

Isabel flinched for a moment.

Isabel and I were nearly the same height.

In fact, she was a little taller.

But the power emanating from me made any height advantage irrelevant.

I practiced countless times for this moment.

If I back down now, Isabel will die.

I can’t lose this contest of wills.

“Do you think you don’t know how Jerion Academy’s honor is built?”

I took another step closer, furrowing my brow.

“The world is being threatened by the Magung.

And that threat primarily directs itself toward commoners rather than us nobles.”

If Isabel was being emotional, then I had to be rational.

I must confront this with sound reasoning.

“If commoners feel uneasy, the seeds of unease will seek out the nobles. Ultimately shaking the foundation of the country and the world.

Our aim as nobles is to ensure that such commoners can live without unease.

The six academies symbolize the protection against that unease.

And Jerion Academy stands as the foremost of those academies.”

In the past twenty years, there has never been a first-year student die at Jerion Academy.

This means that what has happened this time is highly unusual.

“Not just any academy, but at the best prestigious institution where only the best students gather, such an incident occurred.

Do you understand what that means?”

The danger level of the Magung has risen compared to before.

Perhaps the students might no longer be able to resist the Magung.

The world is becoming more dangerous.

People could interpret it like this.

Of course, it’s an exaggeration.

But it’s valid that the unease within the citizens mind after reading the newspaper has risen.

Unease is an unpredictable spark.

Though small, if it catches onto straw, it can become a raging fire.

Thus, Jerion Academy must always be invincible and true.

Jerion Academy must never show any signs of faltering.

“What you referred to as Lucas and those kids made such a significant mistake.”

Isabel stared at me with glazed eyes.

And behind her gaze lay profound disgust.

“……A person died.”

Isabel bit her lip hard.

Tears had already gathered in her eyes.

“My friend has died.”

Her childhood friend whom she had grown up with her entire life.

That childhood friend has died.

That must have felt like half of her world crashing down.

“But to call that a mistake?”

Thick tears began to drip from Isabel’s eyes.

“I can’t accept such a world. Lucas didn’t make a mistake. He fought with all his might and defeated the Apostles.”

As she said this, Isabel stepped forward toward me as well.

Thanks to that, we were glaring directly at each other, just inches apart.

“I will make you acknowledge Lucas, and you will apologize.”

“Sorry, but that will never happen in my lifetime.”

Disagreeing with me, Isabel abruptly turned and stormed out of the classroom.

As she left, the previously tense atmosphere began to relax.

“Isabel was scarier than I expected.”

“I didn’t know she could get that angry.”

While the kids whispered among themselves, several girls stood up and quickly followed Isabel out.

“Isabel, wait for us!”

“Trash.”

“Is that even a person?”

As they passed by, they cast me looks filled with contempt.

I could tell they would surely vent their frustrations about me once they reached her.

‘It’s fine. I’m used to being hated.’

Of course, that’s nonsense.

How could someone get accustomed to being hated?

But this was simply my limit in my head.

At the very least, Isabel would do anything to get Lucas’s apology from me.

That was enough for now.

I had patched up things with Isabel as much as possible.

Now it’s time for what’s next.

“3rd Year Vice President, Disaster Dragon Maiden.”

This second semester of the second year.

The final boss of Act 3, one of the worst three bad endings.

A girl associated with the bad ending called ‘Great Dragon.’

It was time to meet her.