The World After the Bad Ending

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Kaaang! Kyang!

Dorara’s magic was unleashed, resonating with a rough noise.

The magic was directed at the ice wall before them.

“Hargh, heh, what is this made of? Why is my magic having no effect at all?”

Breathing heavily, Dorara swung his staff wildly.

The Iris team was currently trapped on the 4th floor.

This was entirely due to the ice wall right in front of them.

The ice wall didn’t even show signs of cracking from Dorara’s attacks.

It had no intention of crumbling at all.

Of course.

Lower-level magic cannot overcome higher-level magic.

That ice wall was created by Nikita using the magic of the elder dragon.

Dorara’s level of magic was simply insufficient to deal with it.

‘It’s not just Dorara’s magic.’

Even Sharin’s magic wouldn’t be able to break through that.

“Damn it.”

Dorara bit his teeth in frustration, his hands trembling.

He had already been expending his magical energy just to get this far.

Determined to find an exit, he had poured all his power into breaking through, but he had hit his limit.

“Dorara, that’s enough.”

At Iris’s words, Dorara sat down heavily.

He knew well that he could no longer break that ice wall with his magic.

‘Originally, only the flames of determination could tackle this ice wall.’

Thus, I had reluctantly joined Iris’s team.

Unlike Lucas, who could safely reach his destination in a crisis,

I had no means to deal with that ice wall.

However, I couldn’t voice that fact, so I remained silent.

It was better to experience reality firsthand.

“This is quite troublesome.”

“D-do you think this is because of the transformation of Magung we discussed last time?”

Joachim and Valentina also showed signs of anxiety.

They couldn’t return to the surface until the ice wall was dealt with.

Food supplies were limited.

Naturally, anxiety surged within them.

“Dorara, with the remaining magic, please cast the temperature-raising spell first.”

So, I decided to prioritize what needed to be done before everyone sank deeper into anxiety.

“Valentina, can you cast a curse over the whole ice wall? Carve out a rescue request with that.

Joachim, ask for blessings from Lady Iris and me. We are going to search for a safe spot to stay for a while starting now.”

As I quickly conveyed my instructions, everyone snapped back to attention and began to move.

They understood that the orders I gave were the best course of action we could take at that moment.

“I ended up having you do my work.”

“No, everyone is only this calm because of you, Lady Iris.”

Iris was the 3rd Princess.

She could be regarded as one of the most important figures in the Empire.

If it became known that someone like her was in danger, the Empire would mobilize its full force to breach Magung.

Everyone was aware of this, which allowed them to harbor thoughts of returning.

“Let’s go. It’s going to be a long wait.”

Nikita wouldn’t appear overnight.

She would continue to wait here on the 4th floor of Magung.

‘When everyone runs out of food, and the cold robs us of the strength to fight…’

That moment would be when Nikita bares her teeth like a dragon.

After receiving Joachim’s blessing, Iris and I set out to search for a safe area.

The 4th floor was the beginning point of the mid-tier of Magung.

Thus, unlike previous floors, the demons and monsters here were much more ferocious and cunning.

There were many concerns, and physically taxing as well.

Yet even in such places, safety zones existed.

‘The Flame Butterfly segment is like a dot RPG game, so there should be places where you can check your character.’

Safety Zone.

It refers to locations where demons and monsters do not cunningly approach.

I remembered all the safety zones in Magung.

It was an essential requirement to progress smoothly in the game, so I couldn’t forget them even if I tried.

“Let’s set up a safe zone here.”

“What? But this is an open wasteland.”

However, a safety zone doesn’t necessarily look safe to others.

As Dorara said, this place was a vast open land.

There were just ice sculptures scattered across the snow-covered ground.

There was nothing that could serve as cover.

“You can put the wall at your back, and since it’s an open wasteland, we’ll have a clear line of sight no matter where anyone approaches.”

“B-but that makes us easy targets…”

As Valentina slightly opposed, I shook my head.

“Demons have different sensory organs from us anyway.

They don’t perceive us through sight or hearing, so hiding in a place that isn’t visible will eventually lead to being discovered.

So, actually, narrow spaces would be disadvantageous for us.”

There’s nothing more dangerous than not knowing where the demons are approaching from.

“Certainly, that makes sense. Moreover, as long as I place a holy barrier, even an open wasteland isn’t entirely dangerous.”

Joachim supported my opinion.

“Let’s do as Hania suggested.”

Once even Iris agreed, no other objections arose.

We quickly set up our temporary shelter.

Joachim laid down a holy barrier, while Dorara cast a warmth spell over it.

At that, a reasonably livable shelter was completed.

The open snowy expanse was quieter than expected.

As a safety zone, no demons or monsters showed their faces at all.

Thanks to that, the team members felt more at ease.

Having spent quite some time advancing through the 3rd floor of Magung,

The Iris team quickly fell into rest.

They reached an unspoken agreement to tackle the ice wall issue after taking a break.

“Lady Iris, please rest as well.”

“Yeah, I should.”

Iris sat next to me and set her sword down nearby.

She quietly gazed out over the snowy landscape.

“Hania.”

“Yes, Lady Iris.”

“What kind of existence is the 3rd Princess?”

It was an unexpected question.

Iris normally didn’t speak like this.

I guessed ever since entering Magung and not being able to sleep, her stress had piled up.

In such a situation where someone might even seek her life,

It wasn’t strange for her to momentarily feel disillusioned about life.

“She’s a noble existence.”

“Noble, huh.”

“And she looks really troubled.”

Hearing those unexpected words, Iris turned to me.

Everyone around Iris admired and envied her life.

The strongest royal bloodline, one of the next emperors, possessing an appearance of decadent beauty.

Iris was full of things that others would be envious of.

She didn’t reveal her hardships to others.

Thus, to everyone else, Iris seemed like a near-perfect figure.

So, to say she looked troubled would indeed be surprising to her.

But this was my true feeling.

From the moment Iris was born, her life had not been easy for a single moment.

“Having lived in this world, I realized there really aren’t many easy things.

So, I think you must have your own struggles too, Lady Iris.”

“Struggles…?”

Iris quietly mulled over my words, resting her chin on her knees.

“…Is it weird if I say I envy you, Hania?”

After some thought, Iris asked me.

The Iris she knew was Hanon Irey.

Though we had some similar conditions, the positions we held were entirely different.

Seeing that, Iris must have thought a few things.

“Everyone envies a life they can’t lead.”

That’s how people are.

They tend to envy and desire what they do not have.

“But my life probably isn’t all that interesting to you, Lady Iris.”

If I were actually Hanon, maybe.

But I am Bickamon.

Iris, who was unaware of this fact, let out a short chuckle.

“Yeah, that’s true. That must be the case.”

With that, Iris fell silent and quietly closed her eyes.

Even if she couldn’t sleep, she was at least distancing her consciousness to relieve her fatigue.

I quietly kept watch over her.

The potential final boss, Iris Haishirion.

She was someone who also admired the lives of others.

＊ ＊ ＊

Huuuu-ooong—

As the wind blew in, snowflakes scattered around.

Beneath the snowflakes, the Iris team moved swiftly.

“Today too, there’s not even a trace of demons or monsters.”

Joachim said with a slightly anxious expression.

It had been the fourth day since they were isolated on the 4th floor.

No matter how much they wandered the 4th floor, only frozen sculptures showed up.

They hadn’t seen even a trace of demons or monsters at all.

However, during this time, they confirmed one fact.

“Damn, the exit to the 5th floor is blocked too.”

Dorara, showing his irritation, dropped his staff.

Before him stood an ice wall, only slightly marred by remnants of wind cuts.

Like the ice wall at the entrance,

The exit was also sealed off by a massive ice wall.

They were truly trapped on the 4th floor.

“U-Uh, isn’t it colder than the first day?”

Even with Dorara’s warmth magic, Valentina was shivering from the cold.

As she said, the temperature on the 4th floor had been continuously dropping over the days.

Because of that, Dorara had been using the warmth spell more frequently.

“If this continues, my magic will run out first.”

Dorara swallowed hard, trembling his staff.

Thanks to the ever-dropping temperature, the snowy ground froze and became hard as ice.

Now, it was difficult even to move around.

In the end, they were advised to stay at the safety zone, conserving their warmth.

After four days of searches yielding nothing, fatigue was becoming apparent among everyone.

“Will our food hold out?”

Valentina checked the remaining supplies with a troubled face.

The rations they had brought were slowly nearing their end.

“…Oh God, why are you putting us through this trial?”

Joachim silently prayed, seeking solace in the divine.

With no particular methods available, he simply looked for something to lean on.

“Damn it, I might as well rain magic down on that ice wall!”

Dorara cried out in desperation, unwilling to die here.

But without his warmth magic, they would freeze in an instant.

It wasn’t a good choice to expend energy where it was futile.

Ultimately, by the consensus of everyone, Dorara sat down again.

“…Hania.”

Iris quietly called out to me.

She had gone without sleep for over a week now.

Her condition was among the most critical.

“Yes, Lady Iris.”

“You have a way to escape, don’t you?”

Iris asked quietly so that everyone else couldn’t hear.

Well, I had something.

I wouldn’t engage in this without any safety measures.

“…If it gets dangerous, take everyone and get out.”

Before I could respond, Iris said that.

It meant she would choose to die alone, rather than have them all die together.

“Lady Iris.”

I adjusted Iris’s tousled hair.

“How could I possibly leave you behind?”

Upon hearing my words, Iris smiled faintly.

Whether it was a short comment from Hania or me didn’t matter to her.

Time flowed yet again.

By the time a week had passed,

The cold was now beyond what Dorara’s magic could stop.

Ultimately, unable to bear it any longer, Dorara tried his magic against the ice wall several times, but

In the end, it was a failed attempt, and he was the first to collapse.

Valentina cursed herself into a state of hibernation.

She said this was better than consuming more food.

She offered to cast it on anyone who wanted, but everyone refused, so she opted for herself.

Joachim gradually decreased his prayers.

It was as if he realized something in this situation.

Sitting upright, he quietly closed his eyes and fell deep into thought.

I didn’t disturb him so that he could focus.

As for Iris,

‘In the end, she has fallen asleep.’

It must have been tormenting her due to the nightmares.

Yet, ultimately, it was probably even harder for her to stay awake, so she drifted off, leaning against me.

I could hear her breathing, each breath filled with tension.

She grimaced occasionally, yet there was no sign of waking up.

That was probably due to her body reaching its limits.

[Treading softly-]

And in that moment.

[Treading softly-]

Finally, the footsteps we had long been waiting for began to resound.

My head slowly lifted.

Between frozen lashes,

I saw someone walking in the dim space.

In her hand was a long sword dragging along the floor.

The cold radiating from the sword felt chillier than anything I had experienced before.

White mist of cold flowed from her mouth.

Her silver hair swayed, revealing two white horns sprouting from her forehead.

The traces of the most dangerous magic sealed away in the Cynthia Marquess family.

It was the magic of the elder dragon.

Below the horns, two lizard-like eyes shone with a deep blue glow.

With her movements, the coldness around her intensified even more.

Disaster Dragon MaidenNikita Cynthia

The boss of Act 3 finally made her appearance.

I held Iris in place so she wouldn’t awaken and slowly rose to my feet.

The ice fragments that had frozen around me fell to the ground.

“You’ve come.”

Nikita’s gaze landed on me.

It seemed she had presumed everyone had lost their energy by now.

“Nikita-senpai.”

So, I decided to welcome her alone.

“The junior’s fist might sting a little.”

It was time to wake up.