The World After the Bad Ending

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 277

BOOM!

Even the Chimera Apostle of the stars, who once seemed as lofty as the sky, could not withstand the onslaught and finally collapsed.

On top of its fallen body, the boys and girls all let out a triumphant roar.

It was a cry dedicated to the goddess—a cheer born from their victory in piercing through the final floor of the Demon Dungeon, a place they had once thought utterly unreachable.

As the echoes of their victory cries rang out, five figures gathered.

Isabel Luna.

Sharin Sazaris.

Seron Parmia.

Nikita Cynthia.

Iris Hysirion.

As they came together, the cheers began to quiet down.

Instead, everyone turned their gaze to the path these women would walk.

The five of them stepped forward.

Their steps finally came to a halt before the Gate of the Demon Sovereign.

Isabel had seen this gate long ago.

The ominous energy seeping out from inside still made her body tense with dread.

Every instinct screamed that this gate must never be opened.

And the same feeling overtook the other four.

The power of the Demon Sovereign evoked a deep revulsion in their very being.

“What are you scared of?!”

Seron’s shout echoed, and the others nodded in agreement.

They had descended into the Demon Dungeon with everything they had.

None of them would cower now.

They stood tall, filled with determination.

“Let’s free that guy—our Wagnon!”

Just then, Card’s voice rang out from behind.

He wasn’t alone.

“Yeah, if it’s you all, you can do it!”

“We’ve brought you this far. If you can’t finish it, then we’ll be the next ones charging in!”

“Stay strong!”

“Just a bit more!”

One by one, the children lent their voices, giving the five women strength.

That strength pressed forward on their backs more powerfully than anything else in the world.

The five women straightened their backs.

Though they had walked different lives and lived through different times, their resolve was the same.

They would defeat the Demon Sovereign and bring him back.

With that shared resolve, they reached out and placed their hands on the Gate of the Demon Sovereign.

“Open it.”

At Isabel’s signal, they all pushed with strength in their arms.

RUMMMMMBLE—

As the gate began to open, black mist poured out from within.

At that moment, Sharin, who had her hand on the gate, froze.

“W-wait!”

She looked up suddenly, having sensed something.

“Wait a se—”

But before her voice could reach the others, a pitch-black hand shot out from the gate.

No one could have predicted it.

Only Iris reacted in time, drawing her sword and slashing at it.

CLANG!

But the black hand only received a scratch and snatched Isabel.

Isabel spread her wings, but the hand’s pull was faster.

BOOOOM!

As she was dragged inside, the gate slammed shut.

Nikita’s sword, Sharin’s magic, and Seron’s axe all struck too late—the gate was fully closed.

They all stood in stunned silence.

“Rinn…”

But they had no time to be dazed.

Sharin immediately surged with holy magic and shouted.

“Break it open! It’s the Demon Sovereign! The Demon Sovereign has returned to the Demon Dungeon!”

A message sent by Xenia—through twisted space and the Demon Sovereign’s magic—had finally reached Sharin.

The Demon Sovereign had returned to the Demon Dungeon.

All of them widened their eyes and drew their weapons.

They had to open the gate before Isabel was lost.

* * *

Inside the Demon Sovereign’s Domain.

Isabel boosted the output of the Goddess’s Wings and threw off the black hand.

Thud—

She landed on the ground and caught her breath.

Then, lifting her head, she found herself in a bizarre realm resembling space.

Just like during Xenia’s rampage, the area had taken on the form of a strange cosmic void.

Her eyes locked onto the place where the black hand had emerged.

There stood a pitch-black figure with long dangling arms.

Shiver—

A chilling sensation crawled up from her gut as Isabel clenched her teeth.

She instinctively knew—

That was the Demon Sovereign.

A divine being who had fallen from the heavens.

The overwhelming sense of his presence was enough to muddle her consciousness.

But that was exactly why Isabel spread her wings even wider.

She would not break under the Demon Sovereign’s pressure.

Soon, a red eye appeared on the figure of the Demon Sovereign.

A single massive eye that filled his entire face.

It gazed directly at Isabel.

【Truly… tiresome.】

The Demon Sovereign’s voice reverberated.

【It wasn’t enough to cast me from the heavens—now you torment me with your creations as well. Goddesses truly lack any sense of decency.】

To the Demon Sovereign, Isabel was the most dangerous existence.

The Wings of the Goddess.

A warrior personally blessed by the Goddess, created solely to destroy the Demon Sovereign.

Of course, she was a threat.

【But in the end, a creation is just a creation…】

“Shut up and give him back.”

Isabel cut him off, her voice filled with rage.

She had come here for one reason.

To reclaim Vikamon.

At her demand, the Demon Sovereign lazily opened his eye.

【What are you talking about?】

Then, from within his form, he raised a long arm.

And the fingers of that arm turned into Vikamon’s head.

Isabel’s eyes shot wide open.

【Do you mean this? The one already disassembled by me?】

But her gaze didn’t waver.

“Don’t try to deceive me with that nonsense.”

Instead, her Wings of the Goddess shone even brighter.

“There’s no way he would lose to something like you.”

Isabel knew Vikamon well.

And more than anyone, she believed in him.

Vikamon would never lose to Demon Sovereign.

That was her unwavering conviction.

Demon Sovereign stared at Isabel for a moment.

He, too, realized that no matter what he said, he couldn’t shake the goddess’s warrior.

So he crushed the fabricated head of Vikamon without hesitation.

【Very well.】

Demon Sovereign’s eyes twisted.

【Then prove it.】

The universe warped.

At the same time, darkness surged from all directions.

A suffocating darkness with not a single gap.

Isabel swung her sword toward the engulfing darkness.

The blessing that radiated from the goddess’s wings was fully imbued in Isabel’s sword.

Brilliant light collided with the darkness.

BOOOOOOM!

Though neither the light nor the darkness had form, a deafening roar echoed.

Isabel poured more and more power into her attack, pushing through the darkness.

She had to reach Demon Sovereign.

But Demon Sovereign moved freely within the darkness.

He could strike Isabel from any direction.

The darkness pressed down on her.

Isabel’s light pierced through it.

The darkness suppressed her again.

Isabel’s light tore through it once more.

This repeated endlessly.

An unbroken, ceaseless barrage.

Isabel felt as if she were fighting against the entire world itself.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

But the determination in her eyes did not waver.

In fact, it blazed even more fiercely as she pushed her power to the limit.

The places the light touched began to expand.

Her range of perception grew wider.

But the moment Demon Sovereign exerted his strength once more, the space she claimed was swallowed whole.

A pure contest of force against Demon Sovereign.

Isabel had no choice but to swing her light-filled sword madly.

But she was not an infinite being.

The goddess’s wings shone brightly, but her stamina was being consumed relentlessly.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Her lungs pounded as if about to burst.

Her heart screamed.

Her muscles and bones groaned in agony.

The heat rising from her body felt like it would melt her brain.

Yet Isabel did not stop swinging her sword.

She would never give up.

Time passed.

Within the endless torrent of darkness, Isabel kept swinging and swinging her sword.

Crack—

Unable to withstand the force, her sword began to fracture.

Isabel threw it away and forged another sword from the essence of the goddess’s wings.

And she swung it once again.

She pushed endlessly through the darkness to find Demon Sovereign.

But nowhere in the infinite void of space could she sense him.

Only the vast darkness she had furiously carved through remained.

A small flame.

Too small to erase the world’s darkness, it flickered.

The darkness continued to sap the strength from that flame.

The flame burned brightly, giving its all, but the darkness was endless.

All things that burn must eventually extinguish.

Life is finite.

And so, when all is burned, what remains is silence.

Darkness, however, is not life.

It is a law of nature that has existed since the beginning.

Where there is no light, there is darkness.

A flame can drive back darkness, but it is not infinite.

Crack—

Another shattering sound rang out.

Not only did Isabel’s sword break, but also the radiant wings she had spread.

Her will was still burning bright.

But her body was not.

She had long since surpassed the limit of what the goddess’s wings could endure.

And still, she kept swinging her sword.

All for the sole purpose of saving him.

The world doesn’t bend to will alone.

Isabel knew that all too well.

If sheer will could overcome everything, she wouldn’t have crumbled when Lucas died.

And yet, that’s exactly why she understood—

A person doesn’t stand back up alone.

They rise again by leaning on the help of many others.

Isabel swung her sword.

In those days, when she barely endured the loss of Lucas,

Vikamon was the one who brought her back to life.

No one survives everything alone.

And because they cannot, they sometimes rely on others.

That reliance makes them stronger.

Isabel knew that better than anyone.

She swung again.

She endured.

And endured.

And endured.

The flames in her eyes blazed hotter than ever.

The goddess’s light engulfed her and shone brilliantly.

Her vision blurred.

Her ears had long since gone deaf—she heard nothing.

All that remained were light and darkness.

Was this the end?

The thought crossed Isabel’s mind, but still, she did not stop.

She would not betray her faith.

That was Isabel Luna.

That was the resolve of the main heroine.

CRAAAACK—

But resolve aside, the end had come.

The goddess’s wings crumbled to dust.

She had burned away every last ember she had left.

Isabel’s consciousness began to fade.

And the darkness enveloped her.

Was it all meaningless struggle?

Isabel did not know.

She only tried to hold on to her last shred of awareness—

Pouring all that remained of the goddess’s wings into her sword, gripping it tightly.

And toward the darkness, she cried out:

Victory of the Goddess.

For a single moment, the blazing light pierced through the darkness.

Though the darkness quickly filled the gap again, the light soared to the heavens and shone brilliantly.

Isabel’s body collapsed.

The darkness opened its mouth to devour her.

But not before the starlight tore it apart.

“Bel!”

A woman caught Isabel’s falling body.

Isabel weakly lifted her head to see who it was.

Her longtime companion—and now, rival in love.

It was Sharin Sazaris.

Beside her, Seron ignited a blazing crimson flame to drive back the darkness.

Iris, wielding red aura, slashed through the shadows.

Nikita’s frost dragon breath froze the encroaching void.

The time Isabel had endured and held out had bought just enough to bring down Demon Sovereign’s gate.

“We’re here.”

Sharin held Isabel close as she spoke.

【And what meaning does that have, even if you came?】

Then, Demon Sovereign’s voice echoed.

【Your only hope—the Goddess’s warrior—has exhausted her strength.】

And just as he said, Isabel no longer had a single shred of power left.

The Goddess’s warrior had used everything she had.

Even though four others had come, without Isabel, Demon Sovereign could not be defeated.

She was that important—the final and strongest card they had.

【Do not fear the dark.】

The darkness, which had devoured the radiant light, surged once again to cover the five women.

【You shall soon find rest.】

Nightmares are not frightening.

If one forgets reality, even a nightmare can become the most peaceful world.

【So too with those on the surface. They will soon follow you into slumber.】

Demon Sovereign slowly closed his grasp around the world.

The world was trapped within his hand, and only darkness remained.

【Welcome your rest.】

“Like hell we will!”

At that moment, a young girl’s voice roared out.

She flared crimson flames atop her axe, her eyes wide with defiance.

“I’ll never give up, even if I die! And neither will Prince Sweet Potato! So get out here already! I know you’re in there!”

Stubborn nonsense.

Demon Sovereign viewed her obstinacy as laughable.

“It seems so.”

But he was the only one who thought that way.

“Senior, it’s time to wake up from your nap,”

Nikita said, smiling warmly as frost poured out around her.

She looked like a mischievous junior waking up her sleepy upperclassman.

“Oppa, don’t sleep on your own like that. If you’re going to sleep, do it with me.”

Iris split the darkness with her red aura, calling out to the one who had long protected her from nightmares.

“Husbaand, you’re oversleeping~”

Sharin’s divine star magic sparkled above the darkness like starlight.

The time she spent with him was far more fun than sleeping.

“You.”

Lastly, Isabel squeezed out her final ounce of strength.

From her back, tiny wings emerged.

They were no longer wings in any real sense, but they still held light.

“You must be dying to see us.”

That light became a lighthouse within the dark.

“Wake up already.”

We’re here.

Their call reached Demon Sovereign.

But he still looked down on them with pity.

His expression said: What possible meaning could that have?

Vikamon and Wolfram had already been trampled and vanished into the darkness.

No trace of their consciousness remained.

【How pitiful.】

In that case, it was time to end this and move to the surface.

Demon Sovereign stretched out his hand to bring the end.

And just as he was about to strike down—

He realized something had appeared on his fingertip.

Demon Sovereign’s eyes slowly narrowed.

When he finally recognized what it was, he saw it clearly—a ring.

A ring out of nowhere.

He had never manifested something like this.

Why now?

The question lingered only briefly.

Boom—

A rumble of thunder echoed from somewhere amidst the storm clouds.

Demon Sovereign slowly raised his head toward the sound.

And there, finally, he saw storm clouds forming in the darkness.

As he wondered what it was—

From deep within his body,

Someone buried in the darkness raised their hand with all their might.

Come forth, Lightning Caller.

A bolt of lightning pierced the darkness.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]