The World After the Bad Ending

[Translator - Night]

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Chapter 178: Caught by Iris

Afterward, I sought out a few more people.

On the 8th floor, if more than five people moved together, the likelihood of catching the apostle's eye increased.

So, up until the 7th floor, we could proceed with more than five members, but beyond that, we had to limit ourselves to exactly five.

For that, assembling the right team was crucial.

‘The chances of encountering other academies increase from the 5th floor onward.’

I had already analyzed how they would move.

After all, the key figures in breaking through the Demon Dungeon were always a small group, no matter the academy.

I spent an entire day gathering members.

I told them that if they didn't want to go, they were free to refuse.

“Senior, you're underestimating me.”

“Of course, I'm coming!”

Without exception, everyone I asked expressed their willingness to enter the Demon Dungeon.

The sense of duty to protect the world from the Demon Dungeon.

That was the very reason students had enrolled in Zerion Academy.

Not a single student from Zerion Academy refused my offer.

“I'll go.”

Finally, even Eve, the Unyielding Azure Flame, agreed to join.

The situation was urgent—there was a chance the apostle would make a move.

If there was a way to stop it, we had to.

That resolve came across clearly.

How very like Eve.

“Thank you. Now there's no need to worry about our vanguard.”

“Hannon Irey.”

As I expressed my gratitude to Eve, she called my name.

When I looked at her in confusion, she glanced around before speaking again.

“I want to talk to you about the Third Princess.”

At her words, I immediately stopped walking.

Fortunately, no one else was nearby.

Even Isabel and Sharin didn’t interfere with the recruitment process.

One thing that did concern me was that the two of them shared a room, but I doubted they would fight over it.

“What is it?”

“The last time I helped, the size of the nightmare suddenly grew.”

I frowned slightly.

Eve and I had been consistently managing Iris's nightmares.

Thanks to our efforts, her nightmares had significantly improved.

Yet, while I had been away, her nightmares had worsened again.

I had somewhat expected this.

Celestial Grace must have started taking action with the Demon Sovereign in earnest.

But judging by Eve’s reaction, the nightmares were growing worse than I had anticipated.

“Even with the White Dream Sword, you couldn’t suppress it?”

“……The White Dream Sword is broken.”

“What?”

My face stiffened in shock.

I had never expected the White Dream Sword to break.

“I checked when I returned to the dormitory today. It had cracked and shattered.”

Eve had been the one safeguarding the White Dream Sword.

A sword meant to purify nightmares.

For it to break meant that Iris’s nightmares had intensified beyond its limits.

A chill ran down my spine.

Something must have happened to Iris—something beyond what I had known.

‘Iris said she’d be back this evening.’

That was what Hania had told me.

I should be able to see her today.

“Thanks. I’ll go to the dormitory to see Lady Iris.”

If I met her in person, I could talk things through.

With that thought, I turned to leave—

“Hannon Irey.”

Eve called my name once more.

“I have a bad feeling. Be careful.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Eve, can I borrow your appearance when I go in?”

“Go ahead.”

The instincts of a side-story protagonist were worth trusting.

I took Eve’s words to heart and headed straight for the girls' dormitory.

Soon, the dormitory came into view.

I saw groups of girls gathered, chatting softly.

“I heard Lady Iris just returned a little while ago.”

“She’s been looking really tired lately.”

“Well, she did meet with Lord Celestial Grace. They probably talked about important matters.”

Their murmurs confirmed that Iris had just arrived.

Though I had entered the girls' dormitory several times before, I couldn’t just walk in unannounced.

So, I used the Veil Bandages to take on Eve’s appearance.

It was a good thing I had asked her in advance.

Without raising suspicion, I entered the dormitory safely.

I walked through the now-familiar hallways, and soon, I reached Iris’s room.

I raised my hand and knocked twice.

There was no immediate response.

Normally, Hania would have answered, but it seemed she wasn’t there.

“Lady Iris, it’s Hannon.”

I quietly called my name.

The hallway was empty, so there was no risk of being overheard.

“……Come in.”

A moment later, a voice invited me inside.

I carefully opened the door and stepped in.

Moonlight filtered through the window.

Iris sat gracefully in its glow.

Her long, ink-black hair stood out.

Through the strands, her ruby-red eyes shimmered with a sorrowful depth, reminiscent of a vampire.

With her natural allure combined with the Demon Sovereign’s power, Iris was so breathtakingly beautiful that she seemed to drain one's very soul.

“Lady Iris.”

“Hannon, it’s been a while.”

Dark shadows were cast beneath her eyes.

She looked far more exhausted than I had expected.

‘Just like the first time I met her.’

Her condition had deteriorated significantly.

All the progress we had made—

Gone in an instant.

This was serious.

Now I understood why Eve had been so concerned.

“Are you alright?”

“Am I alright?”

Iris let out a quiet laugh, covering her mouth with her pale, slender fingers.

Then, slowly, she turned to look at me.

“Hannon, no…”

She corrected herself.

“Who are you?”

At her words, my entire body froze.

For the first time, my eyes trembled violently.

I had never imagined that Iris would discover my true identity at this moment.

“All this time, you’ve been pretending to be my cousin and mocking me—did you enjoy it?”

Iris's voice was cold.

I had always known that one day, she would find out.

But I had assumed it would happen only after her nightmares were completely resolved.

At that point, I thought it wouldn’t matter if my true identity was revealed.

‘No.’

That was just an excuse.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

I had simply been postponing the inevitable.

I mocked her, just as Iris had said.

To resolve her nightmare, I feigned the familial affection she longed for.

“I went to see the real Hannon.”

The real Hannon.

Hearing those words, my body stiffened.

"Normally, he would come when I called, but he kept avoiding me. It was strange. If something had happened, I wanted to ask.”

Iris clutched the blanket wrapped around her chest tightly.

“So I treated him the same as always. You’ve always shared warmth with me when I struggled. I wanted to return that warmth to you.”

In Iris’s eyes, the events of that day played out vividly.

“And I was cast aside. Coldly, shockingly so.”

The real Hannon did not like Iris.

Hannon was one of those whose life had been taken away by Duke Robliage.

Hannon Irey, the one whose mother was sacrificed by Duke Robliage, who fought against it until he was ultimately placed under a binding curse.

To such a Hannon, what was Iris?

It was only natural that he would not welcome her, blessed with the power of Demon Sovereign.

More than that—he must have despised her.

The day Iris approached Hannon.

She witnessed firsthand how he pushed her away with absolute contempt.

It was a reaction born of instinct.

And in that moment, Iris must have realized it.

That the younger brother standing before her was not the one she knew.

A flicker of bewilderment passed through Iris’s eyes.

The boy who had been the only one to restore a sense of family to her.

That very boy was now rejecting her—how could she not be shaken?

“…For a moment, I was truly happy, thinking I had a real younger brother.”

I felt my breath catch in my throat.

Her father was an emperor, unable to give her the love she desired.

Her mother, in her childhood, succumbed to a nightmare illness, trapped in it until she died.

Iris was always alone.

The people around her treated her as nobility, but no one gave her the warmth of family.

Raised under the burden of becoming an empress, growing up with the label of a villainess.

Not a single day in those years had given Iris what she truly wanted.

Then, one day—

A boy appeared before her.

A boy with the same hair color, the same eyes, sharing the same bloodline.

A cousin, but the only family who would do anything for her.

Slowly, Iris leaned on me.

Starving for familial love, she once asked me—

What was I helping her for?

I had answered that I did it for myself.

I thought it would be dangerous for her to long for family in me.

But by then, it was already too late to turn back.

“And then, when I met my grandfather, I learned about my cousin.”

Iris’s nightmare deepened.

The ominous presence of it seeped from her, so thick that even I could feel it clearly.

“I learned how my cousin truly saw me. And the meaning behind that look in his eyes that day.”

Iris’s longing for family had taken root long ago.

By the time it erupted through me, there was no stopping it.

“There is no one in this world who has ever thought of me as family.”

I had known that, unconsciously.

I had just ignored it, using the excuse that I needed to ease her nightmares.

Perhaps, somewhere deep inside, I had a foolish hope that Iris would recognize my efforts.

Just like in Hania, everything I had done for Iris had been sincere.

Maybe I had even allowed myself to imagine the happiness of her understanding and accepting me.

“But from the start, you only ever intended to use me.”

And now, I understood just how arrogant that thought had been.

What Iris needed was not the resolution of a nightmare.

What she wanted was familial love.

Someone she could truly see as family.

That was all Iris ever wanted.

And I had betrayed that wish.

“Tell me.”

Iris stood up from her chair.

The blanket shifted, revealing her thin frame.

It was clear she hadn’t been eating properly.

“For what reason did you stay by my side?”

The weight of Iris’s presence pressed down on me.

The room turned pitch black, consumed by her nightmare.

Even I found it suffocating, her killing intent was so overwhelming.

If not for the bandages of the Veil suppressing my fear, I might not have endured.

Iris’s red eyes glowed fiercely.

“What did you want to achieve by using me like this?”

She cried out at me, her voice filled with anguish.

Before I knew it, Iris had stepped right in front of me.

Her head lightly fell against my chest.

“For what… Why?”

At some point, her shoulders began to tremble.

Overcome with sorrow, tears streamed from her eyes.

“Why?”

Her killing intent had never been directed at me.

It was a curse hurled at the merciless world that had only ever used her.

“Why…?”

Born into a life where she was fated to be used by Duke Robliage.

And now, even the only family she had believed in turned out to be false.

Facing that reality, Iris wept like a child.

She was being consumed by her nightmare.

I didn’t have to see it—I could feel the nightmare gauge skyrocketing, spiraling out of control.

The black nightmare writhed.

A bad-ending nightmare opened its maw.

Inside, there was only endless darkness.

What should I say here?

I couldn’t say anything.

Because to her, I was a sinner who had deceived her.

But—did that mean I should just let go?

‘No.’

I clenched my fists.

If I left Iris like this, things would become truly irreversible.

A nightmare was bound to her state of mind.

Right now, in this condition, she would be completely swallowed by it.

“Iris.”

My eyes hardened.

“Stop speaking like a child.”

Here, I had to push forward.

[Translator - Night]

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