The World After the Bad Ending
Chapter 269

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Chapter 269

Amidst the torrent of the Apostle's army—

"I’ve had enough of this."

Eventually, Rosli threw down his burden and turned away.

He had been sweating it out for months, fighting against the Apostle’s forces.

“I don’t want to keep struggling for garbage like this. My son can’t even recognize my face. I don’t even know what I’m fighting for anymore.”

Rosli expressed his disillusionment, as if he were sick of the world itself.

He hated the life of being used for others’ benefit.

“This time, I agree.”

Ordo drove his spear into the ground and exhaled.

He’d been seriously injured not long ago, and his arm still throbbed with pain.

Yet he was forced to continue fighting the Apostle’s army without even getting treated.

“They act like it’s none of their concern.”

Even Aquiline, usually cheerful, let out a sigh.

The rulers of the kingdoms never used to make such foolish decisions.

But after Demon Sovereign's rise, those in power had become nothing more than selfish opportunists.

In this time of chaos, only those who knew how to seize power quickly survived.

It was these very people who now held power.

To cover up their lack of legitimacy, they waged harsh criticism against other kingdoms and even the heroes.

Redirecting public attention outward was the only way to hold their fragmented nations together.

It was a ruthless tactic to preserve their regimes.

Eventually, they realized this situation actually benefited them greatly.

They had no real interest in stopping Demon Sovereign’s army.

In fact, they saw it as an opportunity—to ruthlessly extract resources and soldiers from the people, all while accumulating wealth and power for themselves.

The longer the war with Demon Sovereign dragged on, the more they could exploit from their citizens.

So rather than supporting the war effort, they stoked the flames to prolong it.

This was the brilliant decision made by the rulers of the kingdoms.

Instead, they glorified the heroes and demanded their sacrifice.

And this was happening simultaneously all across the world.

“They have no interest in protecting the world at all.”

Faithful Narea shook her head in sorrow.

Even Wolfram remained silent for once.

He had been the most active and valiant on this battlefield.

And because of that, he was also the one Narea had treated the most.

Sometimes, Wolfram would fall into deep, silent thought.

He was a hero of incredible strength, but there were moments when he looked at everyone with a sorrowful expression.

The reason for that expression remained unknown to the others.

Except to me.

‘Regression.’

To Wolfram, it was both a curse and the only way out of every disaster.

‘A curse.’

Failure was not an option for Wolfram.

The moment he failed, the world would revert mercilessly to the past in an instant.

His only path to survival was success.

And in pursuit of that success, he had to forcibly endure countless ordeals.

But Demon Sovereign’s army was truly endless.

Since their appearance, unfamiliar beings had begun to emerge across the world.

People started calling them Mystics.

Twisted entities that failed to become gods.

Priests who once prayed to the heavens now used that term to describe them.

They began appearing all over the world simultaneously.

While some suffered from their arrival, others even began to wear them on their bodies.

One such Mystic, “Whitewood,” had recently annihilated an entire kingdom.

In such a world, even the ancient dragons, once merely a headache, began to move under Demon Sovereign’s command.

The human kingdoms didn’t control the entire world.

Places untouched by human feet—homes to dragons, spirits, and more—existed still.

Now, those beings had joined forces with Demon Sovereign’s army and started crushing humanity together.

That was why Wolfram was struggling against them so desperately.

Yet the nations still failed to provide proper support.

The front lines were on the brink of collapse.

In this hopeless situation, Wolfram continued to endure it all, again and again.

He tried, failed, tried again—and still the failures piled up.

They say failure is the mother of success.

But too much failure gnaws endlessly at the human mind.

Especially when the path ahead shows no sign of success.

‘And from what I can see—’

My eyes rested on Wolfram.

Beyond his silent gaze, I sensed an indescribable emptiness.

Others might not notice, but somehow, I knew exactly what it was.

It was the look of someone who had tasted success—only to lose it right before his eyes.

‘…He got that close to defeating Demon Sovereign.’

He had gathered all his strength, poured it out, and reached the brink of victory.

But at the final moment, he lost it again—another failure.

I can’t even begin to describe the pain that must bring.

He missed the only way to break free from this hellish curse.

Only Wolfram’s iron will was barely holding him together.

Inside, he must have been torn apart long ago.

A hero walks a lonely path.

And consumed by that loneliness, Wolfram’s mind was being pushed to its absolute limit.

That truth made me frown.

This age of war—

The life of a hero who pushes forward in such times was nothing like the tales people praised.

There was no joy.

No happiness.

Only the unending curse.

“Finally!”

Just then, someone cried out.

Everyone’s attention turned toward the source, where a woman with starlight-colored eyes—Zerion—was screaming toward the sky.

“I finally figured out where Demon Sovereign came from!”

For the first time, Wolfram stood up.

Even on the battlefield, Zerion never neglected her magical training.

In fact, she trained more viciously than ever, pushing herself to the limit—even at the cost of her own lifespan.

Even her disciple, Midra, had become concerned.

But Zerion never stopped.

Wolfram quietly supported her through it all.

He never told her to do more, nor to do less.

He simply accompanied her from time to time on visits to unknown places.

And finally, she had achieved enlightenment.

‘Celestial Magic.’

A magical realm so advanced that even the gods could be deceived.

“The reason Demon Sovereign appeared… and why the Mystics began to emerge…”

Zerion pointed at the sky.

“A vacancy opened up in the heavens.”

Beyond that sky was a divine realm unknown to humans.

“No way—that position…”

Aquiline’s eyes widened.

Zerion nodded.

“Yes. That position originally belonged to Demon Sovereign.”

Demon Sovereign was once a divine being who, for some unknown reason, fell to the mortal realm.

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“The Mystics are beings that realized that vacancy—and tried to ascend from the ground to claim it, only to fail.”

There was originally a fixed number of seats in the world of the gods.

Those seats were always filled, and there was no way to take one.

But after Demon Sovereign fell from the divine realm, a large vacancy appeared.

Beings who had always longed to become gods immediately soared toward the heavens.

However, they could not reach the sky and eventually returned to the earth, becoming mystics.

That was the sequence of events Zerion had uncovered.

But those present here wanted to ask—

What changes by knowing that?

Yet, there was one person.

A single person who, knowing all this, changed his thinking.

“…I see.”

Wolfram, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke, his expression shifting.

The great hero, Wolfram.

A regressor who had repeated countless returns.

The one who had nearly defeated Demon Sovereign.

To him, Zerion’s magic was the only key.

“Know thy enemy and know thyself, and you will never be defeated.”

In other words, without knowing the enemy, there can be no victory.

“Rion.”

Wolfram called her by her nickname.

“Come, let’s talk for a bit.”

For the first time in a long while, determination returned to Wolfram’s eyes.

The hero who had tasted only failure now moved once more, determined to finally reach victory.

＊ ＊ ＊

Inside the tent, where he had taken Zerion.

Zerion was excitedly talking to Wolfram about all kinds of things.

For a mage, new accomplishments are the greatest joy.

That was no different even for Zerion, who would later be known as the Sage of Transcendence.

She was always like this.

No matter how desperate the situation, she remained bright.

Even with Demon Sovereign’s army right on their doorstep, the way she celebrated her magical achievements like a child always brought Wolfram peace.

And so, Zerion became Wolfram’s final key.

“Rion.”

“Hmm?”

Zerion tilted her head, having been going on about divine magic.

“I’ve been regressing through this world.”

Regression.

As soon as she heard the word, Zerion’s eyes slowly widened.

There had always been many mysteries about Wolfram’s behavior.

At times, he seemed to move as though he already knew everything.

It had always seemed like a unique power only Wolfram possessed.

And if it was tied to regression, it all made sense.

“…I see.”

Zerion echoed Wolfram’s words from earlier.

Before she realized it, she stepped closer and tightly hugged him.

She was small, but the warmth she gave him was immense.

“You’ve been fighting all alone like that.”

It was now clear why Wolfram had chosen her as his partner.

Zerion showed him exactly why.

A foolish grin slipped onto Wolfram’s face.

He had just confessed the secret of his regressions, and yet she reacted this way—he felt so lucky to have fallen for her.

“So, there’s a reason you told me all this now, isn’t there?”

And Zerion was sharp.

She understood that Wolfram had a reason for telling her now of all times.

“I’m thinking of fusing my soul with Demon Sovereign’s.”

“What?”

That was something Zerion never expected to hear.

“We can defeat Demon Sovereign. Or more accurately, we can seal him. Soon, the Goddess’s Champion will appear with a divine revelation.”

With the Goddess’s Champion, they could definitely seal Demon Sovereign.

“But the moment we do that, I regress.”

“Wait—what do you mean?”

“This is the sixth time I’ve regressed after sealing Demon Sovereign.”

My eyes widened.

I had suspected that Wolfram may have succeeded in sealing Demon Sovereign.

But I didn’t know it had already happened six times.

“Regression is originally Demon Sovereign’s power.”

When Demon Sovereign fell from the divine realm, fragments scattered across the world.

One of those fragments—

A shard that held the power of time and regression—fell to Wolfram.

“Demon Sovereign and I share the regression. But I’m the only one who retains memories of each cycle, because the regression ability is tied to me.”

Only Wolfram experiences regression.

But even without memory, Demon Sovereign knows he can be revived through regression.

“So he doesn’t use it lightly, but he knows he can activate regression through me.”

Regression is a power that cannot be controlled.

But Demon Sovereign, as the one who originally possessed it, knows how to control it.

He fixes the timeline and activates regression through Wolfram.

Someday, when Wolfram becomes too worn out by regression—

That is when Demon Sovereign will finally destroy the world.

A long, ongoing war between Wolfram and Demon Sovereign.

And now Wolfram intended to bring it to an end.

“Demon Sovereign has fixed the point in time. No matter what I do—even if I die of old age—I will always return to this moment.”

Unless regression itself is erased, both Wolfram and Demon Sovereign will forever return to this same point in time.

“Just erasing my regression won’t solve it. Because regression is Demon Sovereign’s power.”

“So I have to fuse my soul with Demon Sovereign’s. So neither of us can ever regress again.”

Wolfram said this as he looked at Zerion.

A situation where a former god used regression—it was terrifying.

“And this is the tenth time I’ve come to you for help in trying to find a way to stop it.”

Zerion fell silent.

Wolfram had told her about regression once before.

They had struggled together to find a way to stop it, and failed.

But through those attempts, Wolfram passed on her research to the next Zerion—

And the next one, and the next one after that.

Her accumulated knowledge was handed down through each loop.

And finally, today—

Zerion completed the celestial magic.

“Rion, I need your celestial magic to defeat Demon Sovereign.”

A magic powerful enough to deceive even the gods.

Celestial Magic.

It was the only way to erase the regressions of both Demon Sovereign and Wolfram.

“Seal me and Demon Sovereign together with your celestial magic.”

And that was also—

A cruel request, asking the one you love to erase you.

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