1.
Right after escaping Flora’s mental world, the aftermath proceeded swiftly.
First was Flora.
Now heading toward a happy ending, the most lacking piece was information about <Eclipse>.
‘If I take Flora and interrogate her, I should be able to obtain relevant information.’
After pondering her treatment for a while, Nahan gave a short order to Dalan.
“Take her alive.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Though the sorrow of parting still lingered, Dalan followed the Black Wolf’s command.
Still sad.
Still missed her.
Still held regrets, but—
— Dalan, what was it that you truly loved?
— Of course, Rose. It was you.
Because the one he loved would surely want him not to grieve.
With a faint smile, Dalan began preparing to leave the cave.
“I’d rather die──!!”
Thwack!
A clean blow.
“He said to take her alive, after all.”
Dalan, carrying Flora and Ruby over each of his shoulders, approached Nahan.
“Ready to move… Captain?”
He had come so close, and yet the Captain hadn’t noticed him—what was he doing?
The moment Dalan’s gaze moved from Nahan’s back to his shoulder, and finally to his face—
“…!!?”
Dalan involuntarily stiffened.
‘…Demon?’
That’s how intense Nahan’s expression was, as he swept up the stored goods into the subspace—sharp and fierce beyond words.
Luxury items,
Magical goods,
Even artifacts.
‘Once I reach the happy ending, I’ll never have to worry about making a living.’
— … Brother, what about my dream?
‘You can still achieve it here, dumbass.’
Since there was no one he knew to go back to anyway, Nahan smiled as he confirmed the subspace was filled to the brim with supplies.
Yuria, Luna, Han-Ryang.
And now Dalan and Rose.
‘That’s five out of ten done…’
Only half the members remained.
With clues about <Eclipse> and ongoing work to save the Empress and the Hero.
‘The ending must be near.’
And not the original one—
‘A happy ending.’
So, right after escaping <Eclipse>’s hideout—
“Here, the cold neck of Count Valentine, Captain.”
“…Good work, Kassler.”
“I am the cold heart.”
“…Yeah.”
Having gotten past one incident, Nahan returned to the hideout to plan the next move.
.
.
.
【Bad Ending 9 – <The Empress’s Death> has been prevented.】
【Bad Ending 10 – <The Collapse of Light> is accelerating.】
【Bad Ending 11 – <The Hidden Mastermind – Duke Halorand> is accelerating.】
【Bad Ending 12 – <The Rise of Eclipse> is accelerating.】
*
【Main Scenario – <The Unredeemed – Peter & Ria> begins.】
【“What I believe in is your kind heart.”】
2.
Three days had passed since the purge list for the Empress was carried out.
A night of iron and blood, where countless nobles died miserable deaths.
“Did you all see the victim list…!? They were all bastards sucking the blood of the people…!”
“As expected of the Black Wolf…!”
“Damn it, let’s drink to that—cheers!!”
Far from mourning, people were gathering all over to hold drinking parties.
Yeah. To be honest, it was a stroke of good fortune.
Every single one of those purged had been rotten to the core while pretending to be clean.
The Black Wolf, who purged the criminals in place of the Empire’s increasingly lenient law in the face of power.
Along with the high-ranking nobles who now watched the Black Wolf’s movements with caution, the crime rate had plummeted.
To the good-hearted people, the current Black Wolf was not a figure of fear—but one of reverence.
Of course—
“But still, a criminal is a criminal. Lord Yellow Dragon is the true Hero.”
“Damn it, Mudd. You became a mercenary just to lick that noble’s boots over there?”
—Public opinion was not entirely positive, as always. But that only helped reinforce a climate where people couldn’t carelessly express their thoughts.
“It’s not licking—it’s the truth. Even good people died in the Black Wolf’s latest raid.”
…Once it’s revealed they were all scum, that guy’s mental state will take a serious hit.
Anyway, just like usual, while gathering tidbits of information from the Mercenary Alliance, Dalan casually asked as he sipped his beer.
“How are you feeling?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean the dream of creating a better world—it looks like things are going well.”
A faint smile from Dalan, who still carried some sadness, yet looked somewhat relieved.
Nahan clinked his water glass against Dalan’s beer with a smirk.
“I didn’t know I had a dream like that.”
“Now you’re just joking.”
No, really, I didn’t know.
‘I never would’ve guessed that the Black Wolf’s goal was something so noble—something a Hero might have.’
With that surprising thought etched into his mind, Nahan feigned continuing to gather intel, while actually checking the newly surfaced system windows.
【Bad Ending 10 – <The Collapse of Light> is accelerating.】
【Bad Ending 11 – <The Hidden Mastermind – Duke Halorand> is accelerating.】
【Bad Ending 12 – <The Rise of Eclipse> is accelerating.】
Accelerated Bad Endings.
Judging by the fact that all three system windows appeared together, unlike Bad Endings 8 and 9 which were distinct, these were likely part of the same overarching event.
Originally, the next storyline was supposed to involve hunting down corrupt nobles one by one—
‘But I already killed them all.’
Which left a gap in <Light>’s movements—something not present in the original novel.
‘The only canon event that might still happen… is the clash with <Black Wolf>?’
The clash between <Black Wolf> and the <Hero Party>.
That confrontation between the two central factions—essentially the final arc of the novel <Babylonia>—was now one of the few remaining plausible scenarios.
So, the original story had ended.
‘All that remains is the eradication of <Eclipse>, the salvation of the <Black Wolf> members, and the rescue of the Empress and the Hero…’
Nahan’s overwhelming strength was still restricted.
‘From here on, I can’t just follow the original story. I have to carve out a happy ending myself.’
Having reached that conclusion, Nahan waved his hand to close the floating system windows.
‘To do that, first… I need to observe how <Light> and <Eclipse> act.’
So while posing as Yellow Dragon, Nahan and Dalan camped out at the tavern to dig up information on both <Light> and <Eclipse>.
Bang.
The door to the Mercenary Alliance burst open, and a massive shadow fell over the tavern.
Step, step, step…
Each step was heavy, the man’s face veiled in deep shadow. One mercenary, who had been observing the visitor for a moment, suddenly shouted in alarm.
“V-Vulcan!! It’s Vulcan Gardner!!”
“…Huh?”
Nahan reflexively let out a dumb sound as he turned his gaze cautiously toward the entrance.
Vulcan Gardner.
Frontline tank of the Hero Party – <Light>, and known as the Guardian of the Empire.
Contrary to his overwhelming build, he was always smiling like a fool—but now, with broken shields equipped in both hands, he faced the mercenaries.
“Silence. I’ve come to make a request.”
His tone matched the oppressive atmosphere—cold and commanding.
“Did he just tell us to shut up?”
“…Damn.”
“Shhh. Let’s at least hear him out.”
As the raucous Mercenary Alliance tavern fell silent—
“Hey, Guardian.”
One infuriated mercenary stepped up to Vulcan, sticking his face right into the man’s.
“If you tell me to shut up, then I’ll shut the he—”
BOOM!!
Without even a scream, the mercenary was slammed into the floor.
“Please.”
“……”
“……”
“……”
Silence again fell over the tavern.
Whish.
Clatter!
Vulcan picked up the downed mercenary and tossed him back to his original table, then opened his mouth to speak.
“One week from now, the Hero Party of <Light> will move to subjugate <Black Wolf>. I am looking for mercenaries to join us.”
The dreaded <Black Wolf> Subjugation.
No matter how important money was—once you lose your life, it’s over.
“Ha…! Are we out of our minds—”
A few veteran mercenaries tried to raise their voices against the pressure, but—
“The reward is a minimum of 10 gold coins per person. Just participating earns 10. If you successfully land even a minor strike, it’s paid tenfold. Rates adjusted based on rank.”
10 gold coins per person.
100 gold coins for a successful strike.
‘…That’s nearly 100 million won in Korean currency.’
As soon as the money pouch was opened, every mercenary went quiet.
“Those with questions or who wish to volunteer—raise your hands.”
At Vulcan’s crisp murmur, a few mercenaries raised their hands and asked.
“What about non-combat roles? Like recon or combat support—how’s that paid?”
“Discovery of <Black Wolf>’s hideout or members during recon—100 gold. Combat support—same rate. Besides that…”
Vulcan’s explanation showed no hesitation—he had clearly already planned everything out.
Which made Nahan suspicious.
‘That idiot memorized all that?’
It was the same awakened state Vulcan had entered the first time he nearly lost Hestia. After a moment’s thought, Nahan carefully raised his hand.
“You, golden tin can. Ask your question.”
…This bastard.
Nahan felt his temper flare for a moment, but held it back—there was something more important.
“What’s the reason?”
“The reason?”
“Yeah. Why are you suddenly declaring an all-out war, when until now you stayed quiet?”
Clank, Clatter.
Yellow Dragon—his golden armor clinking—rose and walked toward Vulcan.
“I thought mercenaries valued money above all?”
Vulcan tossed a retort toward the Yellow Dragon—
“Money’s great. But tell me—what’s the use of it when you’re dead?”
Yellow Dragon didn’t back down and replied, standing face to face with Vulcan as he declared.
“Give us the reason. If you don’t, no mercenary here will stand with you.”
Authoritative like Vulcan himself.
Sensing the eyes of the other mercenaries beginning to shift, Nahan quickly added.
“Everyone, listen. If the Guardian here won’t tell the truth, I’ll hire all of you at double the price he offered.”
The job description?
“While <Light> fights <Black Wolf>, we sit here and drink ourselves into a stupor. Oh, and I’ll cover all the booze that day.”
Before the words had even finished, the tavern burst into cheers.
Having restored the mercenaries’ pride, Yellow Dragon again turned to the now serious Vulcan.
“So? Planning to answer tomorrow?”
Vulcan immediately realized—
The man standing before him was Yellow Dragon, one of the Great Ten—one of the top ten strongest on the continent.
‘He’s bluffing.’
Even if he was one of the Ten, affording that much money would be hard.
If he really meant to hire everyone, it was likely everything he had.
‘But what if he actually does it?’
Mercenaries were unpredictable—they’d do all kinds of crazy things.
‘…Am I really going to have to back down?’
The Hero Party of <Light> had already resolved to stake their lives in this war against <Black Wolf>. In such a situation, even a cat’s paw would help.
“…Damn it.”
Vulcan finally opened his mouth and answered.
“Because they killed one of our dearest comrades.”
“Comrade?”
“Yes. The kindest of us all, the one who always led us… A man who might have one day become Pope of the Babylonia Empire.”
“…? Hold on. Vulcan, wait a second—”
“Remember his name.”
Drip, Drip.
Wiping away heavy tears, Vulcan shouted for all the mercenaries to hear.
“Ian Red!!! Slain by <Black Wolf>—he was the next Hero, the future Pope, and the closest friend of our <Light>!!”
…He’s still alive.
