1.
Nahan.
Ever since he realized he was the captain of the <Black Wolf> Mercenary Corps, he had always taken a few days off after stopping a bad ending.
There were countless reasons.
Time to check the rewards, time to absorb what he gained, time to rest after the fatigue of preventing the bad ending, and so on.
He believed that simply enduring like steel would only lead to eventual breaking, so sometimes, one had to bend like a reed and let things flow.
And in truth, that belief was correct.
Because even now, several days after stopping the 8th bad ending – <The Hero’s Death>…
“We will nominate the priest as the next Pope.”
“I refuse.”
“Don’t worry about those old guys in the Magic Towers! I can handle it.”
“It’s fine.”
“The Gardners support you!!!”
“I’ll accept the sentiment, nothing more.”
Being pestered by the <Hero’s Party> without a single day of rest, his exhaustion had reached its peak.
“Priest! Now that you’ve received such divine authority, you must take responsibility…!”
“Yeah! Being Pope’s no big deal!”
“The Gardners support you!!”
“Ahaha…”
He tried hard to ignore their overwhelming gazes and turned to Selena, who had remained silent, for help—but even she, whose gaze had always been quiet, now looked at Nahan with glimmering ash-gray eyes and made her request.
“I felt it clearly that day through detection. A third-level divine authority with that much power… You must ascend to the Papacy.”
Surrounded by what felt like statues only interested in saying their piece, communication was hopeless.
“…Haa.”
After suffering for days deep within enemy territory, Nahan finally half-gave up and asked.
“What’s the reason?”
Nahan already knew.
Those who held the third divine authority qualified for the position of Pope, but as he had just said, it was merely a qualification, nothing more.
“There are many priests besides me who’ve awakened the third divine authority.”
His sharp question made the three women freeze.
Asha looked away awkwardly while locking eyes with him.
“Th-that’s because you… well…”
Marin flat-out dodged the moment with an uncomfortable excuse.
“…Ugh. Suddenly craving sweets…”
And Selena, without changing her expression at all, began listing off justifications fluently.
“Even if one has the qualifications, how many can truly walk the right path? In that regard, Priest, you…”
“?”
Watching the three, Vulcan scratched his cheek and muttered,
“They’re trying to bring you into the <Hero Party>.”
“…Huh?”
“There was once a Pope who came from the ranks of the free priests. It’s said he had a history of working with the Hero Party back then.”
…So what?
‘I’ve already said I don’t intend to be Pope or join the Hero Party.’
He shot Vulcan that look, only for the man to lean in and whisper after glancing at the women.
“That Pope… ended up marrying one of the women in the Hero Party. What do you think? Making sense now?”
“Not really?”
“All three of them want to take you as their partner, is what I’m saying.”
Then he straightened up, winked, and patted Nahan on the shoulder.
“But don’t forget. I fell for Hest—”
SMACK!!
“—Guh.”
Thud.
Vulcan collapsed without even a scream, unconscious, his thumb still raised.
“Apologies. I overdrank yesterday and said something foolish.”
“Wait, did the Hero just punch—”
“Tsk. Must be a hypoglycemic shock. He’s low on sugar. Definitely a sugar issue.”
“Wait, why are you covering the mouth of an unconscious man—”
As Nahan looked around in confusion, the three women, having exchanged silent glances, moved swiftly in sync to collect the fallen Vulcan.
“This is the fastest way out.”
“…Do we really need to use detection magic for this?”
The three followed Selena and exited the church, and just before they left the area completely…
“Priest.”
“Yes, Hero?”
“I… No, we will never give up.”
Then, like villains from a third-rate play reading from the same script, they turned and made a bold declaration.
“We’ll come again tomorrow to persuade you.”
Sparkling sky-blue eyes.
“With an apple tomorrow.”
Sleepy wave-like blue eyes.
“…I’ll come early, Priest.”
Quietly glowing ash-gray eyes.
As Nahan felt the strangely sticky weight of their gazes, he smiled and raised his hand.
“Starting tomorrow, I’ll be on vacation for a few days.”
“…Huh?”
“There’s something I need to do.”
As soon as the sudden announcement of vacation landed, the three of them froze.
“W-wait, for how long— I mean, where and for what are you going?”
“…I’ll pack.”
“I’m really good at finding roads. I mean, I can guide you! Priest!”
Nahan firmly raised his hand as they scrambled toward him.
“It is the Goddess’s decree that I move alone.”
“But…!”
“You’re welcome to visit the church. But if you follow me beyond this… I’ll be forced to relocate entirely.”
A firm rejection, wrapped in a smile.
“…I’ll wait.”
“…Me too.”
“…You have to come back soon.”
In the end, the three heroes backed down, tails tucked, and slowly turned away—
“…G-Gardner’s… shield… is, the strongest……”
—While the unconscious Vulcan was being dragged away.
A scene from a warm, noonday afternoon.
2.
At last, the long-awaited free time had arrived.
“…So damn tired I could die.”
Before, he would’ve taken a nap before doing anything else—but this time, there was no time to rest.
【Bad Ending 9 – <The Empress’s Death> is now set on top of the Main Scenario.】
Right after he’d barely stopped Bad Ending 8 – <The Hero’s Death>, the next in line, <The Empress’s Death>, had already begun.
So Nahan was left to ponder.
‘What causes the Empress to die?’
The Babylonia Empire.
One of the two nations that had risen to the top of the world alongside the Eastern Kingdom.
The sovereign of such a colossal superpower was the current Empress—Reina Babylonia.
‘Our first and last encounter was right after I realized I was the Black Wolf.’
Looking back now, neither side had been fighting at full power in that clash. Just like Han-Ryang hadn’t been going all out, Reina hadn’t been either.
‘Conservatively… SS-rank.’
An Empress who had placed a great empire under her heel, and whose power alone exceeded SS-rank.
‘What the hell could possibly kill her?’
After much deliberation, two hypotheses took shape in Nahan’s mind.
The first: death at the hands of the <Black Wolf>.
Though Nahan had grown certain that there had been some misunderstanding, to the other members of the corps, Reina Babylonia remained the tyrant who had stolen away their happiness.
‘Looks like they were manipulated as part of <Eclipse>’s groundwork, but the members wouldn’t know that.’
If a hot-headed member rushed at her like during their first meeting, now that their strength had grown…
‘Reina might actually die.’
However, this was not a concern.
– We’ve discovered a new enemy. Cease all operations and stand by.
– Understood, Captain.
Not long ago, he had made it crystal clear: no one was to move without his command.
Which left the second hypothesis.
‘…<Eclipse>, then.’
Nahan was never arrogant.
If anything, he was overly cautious and skilled at evaluating himself objectively.
And after recently regaining most of the <Black Wolf>’s original abilities, his conclusion was simple.
‘Right now, I’m the strongest.’
Lactea, whom he had feared since realizing he was the true leader behind the shadows. Asha, officially recognized in the original <Babylonia> as the strongest character.
‘Both were clearly weaker than <Black Wolf>.’
Therefore, Nahan had believed that with the current strength of the <Black Wolf>, they could easily annihilate <Eclipse>.
But when he had unleashed his true power to stop <The Hero’s Death>, Elder No.2 – the Calamity of December – had spoken.
– …Surely, it couldn’t be him…?
The moment Nahan, once confident he was the strongest in the world, unleashed his full strength, the elder had mistaken him without hesitation as the leader of <Eclipse>.
Which meant—
‘The leader of <Eclipse> has power comparable to mine.’
Putting all this together:
At present, the only forces capable of killing the Empress were the <Black Wolf> and <Eclipse>.
Since the <Black Wolf> would not act…
‘<Eclipse>, then.’
Just like Bad Ending 8 – <The Hero’s Death>, Bad Ending 9 – <The Empress’s Death> was highly likely to be orchestrated by <Eclipse>.
Which brings us again to the real question…
‘If <Eclipse> truly is the culprit… then for what reason are they trying to kill the Empress?’
And—
‘If they intend to kill her, what method would they even use to do it?’
Even previous bad endings had lacked information.
But this time, there was even less to work with.
Nahan pondered deeply.
– One thing at a time. Take it slow, Brother.
– …Yeah, I got it.
To get it right—without making a single mistake.
– …Hey, Nahan. Don’t live like I did.
– Fulfill my dream for me, Brother.
– Hana… your siblings…
To ensure he would never lose anything ever again.
– One thing at a time. Take it slow, Brother.
Yeah.
To be honest, you were right.
‘Back then, I was full of rage. I acted without thinking, always rushing into things.’
But do you remember?
That moment—when thanks to you—I finally learned how to burn quietly.
To let the fire inside me become steady.
That day too, you told me the same thing:
Take it slow. One step at a time.
But this time…
– No. I’ll do it my way now.
– Brother!
– Don’t worry. I’m not just throwing power around anymore.
– Now… I can use strength as one tool among many.
After I had that realization, I ran out of that place.
And smashed the cause of your pain to pieces.
You said it then, didn’t you?
– …Looks like you’ve surpassed me now, Brother.
This time is no different.
I’m not blindly swinging my strength.
‘Severely lacking intel.’
‘A twisted future.’
‘But now… power I never had before.’
Because it looked like wielding strength was the best possible option.
I just chose what always seemed like the best path to me.
.
.
.
And so, that night, in the Imperial Palace—
The worst, and strongest, criminal organization’s leader—
The <Black Wolf>’s Captain, the Black Wolf himself—
“Ha! Figures a criminal would crawl in through a window even when there’s a perfectly good door!”
“A window is still a door.”
Infiltration of the Empress’s chambers.
