Page 2

Six academies were built atop a vast dungeon.

Among them, which one is considered the most prestigious?

Ask anyone, and the answer will be unanimous.

The Zerion Academy of the Hysirion Empire.

Founded by the transcendent sage, Zerion.

Clatter—clatter—

A single carriage approached the Zerion Academy.

To reach the academy, one must cross the world's longest bridge, Oblex.

Beneath the towering Oblex Bridge lay a sprawling forest and a river.

Had it been an ordinary forest and river, the view might have been described as beautiful.

But this was no ordinary place.

The forest, corrupted by the miasma emanating from the underground dungeon, was a Cursed Forest.

Watching the carriage crossing the Oblex Bridge was a woman standing quietly by a window.

Her long black hair flowed down like ink against her snow-white forehead.

Her ruby-like red eyes gleamed sharply.

Her combined features evoked the image of a regal long-haired cat.

This woman had risen to second in line for the imperial throne, toppling princes and princesses alike.

The 3rd Princess Iris Hysirion.

People referred to her as ‘The Final Villainess.’

She watched the carriage below with an unreadable expression.

The person inside that carriage was a distant relative of hers.

Not a member of the imperial family.

The boy within shared a bloodline from his mother's side, a duchess before becoming the emperor's concubine.

His mother's family branch had a rebellious streak, choosing to leave their house voluntarily.

His father?

A mere border noble of insignificant renown.

This boy was neither royalty nor a member of a ducal house.

In fact, he had no real connection to the imperial family at all.

But his hair and eye color bore a striking resemblance to hers.

Despite some superficial similarities, their statuses were worlds apart.

“Must be nice,”

She muttered with a scornful look.

Why had this boy suddenly transferred here at this moment?

‘Did the duke send him?’

Perhaps her grandfather, the duke, sought to investigate the recent incidents in the dungeon by sending the boy.

‘That damned ambition for the throne…’

She closed her eyes, recalling the duke's relentless desire.

Shadows deepened under her eyes.

It seemed another sleepless night awaited her.

* * *

Inside the carriage crossing the Oblex Bridge.

The boy’s black hair swayed with the vehicle’s jostling.

His long black eyelashes framed eyes of an ominous crimson hue.

His youthful appearance was almost unnervingly childlike.

Short and slender, he seemed small for his age.

His delicate figure was the perfect image of a young boy.

Naturally, for he was the hidden transfer character, Hanon Irey.

This character was designed to appeal to women players or certain male players of the game.

A classic “pretty boy” archetype.

And now, I was acting out this role.

Sigh.

‘Damn it, I was 185 cm tall, and now I’ve shrunk to 165 cm,’

I couldn't help but lament the loss.

Still, I had to live like this for now.

No, I had to make it worthwhile.

After all the effort I went through to get the Veil Bandage, I needed to put them to good use.

Just thinking about it made my headache.

The black-market dealings, endless inquiries, and eventually tracking down the Veil Bandages.

Then there was the mid-game boss, the Mad Sorceress Vinesha , who came after them.

After endless tactical battles, I cleared the Trial of Darkness ahead of her and managed to buy the Veil Bandages.

Not only did I flee with them in hand, but I also took several of her belongings.

‘She’ll come for my head eventually.’

Recalling the ordeal, I resolved to make the bandages worth the trouble.

Barely making it in time for the academy transfer deadline, I tugged at the collar of my high-neck shirt, hiding the bandages beneath.

From now on, I was no longer Vikamon Niflheim .

I was Hanon Irey.

And starting today, I had to lead the main story in place of the protagonist, Lucas .

‘Who knows how chaotic the academy must be in Lucas’s absence.’

Through the carriage window, Zerion Academy came into view.

The place radiated an ominous energy.

I prayed it was in better shape than I feared.

* * *

Zerion Academy stood as the most prestigious among the six academies.

Its campus is so expansive that it’s practically the size of an island.

From the world’s largest Oblex Bridge,

to the Forest of Shadows lying beneath it,

the endless azure of the southern Aron Sea,

the world’s first airfield and the Gray Magic Tower,

and even the northern Dragon Ridge Mountains.

The sheer scale is overwhelming for anyone visiting for the first time.

At the heart of this vast campus stands the central building of Zerion Academy.

And within that main building, I was following a professor.

The professor shuffled along like a zombie, her short, bobbed hair swaying as she walked.

Her face wasn’t inherently unattractive.

But the way she wore her clothes—carelessly, as if they were about to fall off—and her slumped shoulders...

Combined with her utterly fatigued expression, it brought everything down several notches.

“Ugh, I need a drink. My blood alcohol level is dangerously low.”

This was Vega Mercia, a professor hopelessly addicted to alcohol.

Surprisingly, she was the second-year martial arts professor.

She was notorious for her drunken antics, occasionally flashing her skin in fan-service scenes, making her a surprising hit among players.

But encountering her in person, I finally understood why some players were less than thrilled by her.

‘Her smell…’

The overwhelming stench of alcohol that wasn’t present in the game kept assaulting my nose, leaving it feeling raw.

Was it really okay for a professor to be like this?

While pondering this, I suddenly noticed the classroom door: Second-Year Martial Arts Class.

The classroom’s massive size was familiar to me, having seen it countless times while playing Flame Butterfly Arc.

Of course, it felt familiar.

I stood at the entrance, staring blankly.

The realization hit me again.

I was now inside the Flame Butterfly Arc.

And within this classroom would be countless supporting characters and heroines.

Just the thought of meeting them made my heart race.

I was a hardcore veteran of Flame Butterfly Arc.

The idea of seeing these in-game characters in person made me unintentionally excited.

w

“Alright, let’s go.”

As I wrestled with a mix of excitement and nervousness,

Professor Vega pushed open the classroom door.

The noisy chatter inside instantly died down.

Professor Vega shuffled into the room, and I let out a slow breath.

‘Don’t get nervous.’

My name is Hannon Irey.

I had just transferred here a few days into the second-year’s first semester.

‘Okay.’

Steeling my resolve, I took a step forward.

The moment I entered the classroom, countless eyes turned toward me.

“Is that the transfer student?”

“Yeah, they said they were coming today.”

“Black hair and red eyes… that’s definitely…”

“Shh, keep it down.”

The whispers of the students reached my ears.

Every face I saw was familiar.

While some were extras who filled the game’s background, others were the supporting characters connected to Lucas.

“Ugh.”

One supporting character looked at me with clear displeasure.

“Heh.”

Another gave me a coy smile and hummed softly.

“……”

Yet another silently observed me, her gaze unyielding.

But my eyes settled on just one person.

At the far corner of the classroom, her bright honey-blonde bobbed hair caught my attention.

She was supposed to be one of the main heroines and the protagonist’s childhood friend,

always encouraging him with an endlessly bright smile.

Her name was Isabel Luna.

But now, the face before me showed no sign of that brightness.

There was only one thing visible: shadow.

Her lifeless eyes, dulled by a deep darkness, held no spark of will.

The once radiant beacon of positivity was now a broken shell.

My fists clenched without me realizing it.

This sight drove home the grim reality:

I was in a bad ending.

Isabel Luna, the childhood friend cherished since her younger years, had lost the person closest to her and all the will to live.

That was Isabel Luna standing before me now.

Isabel was one of the main heroines of Flame Butterfly Arc.

She was always a source of light and unwavering support for the protagonist.

If you were to compare her to a flower, she was a sunflower, always gazing toward the sun—Lucas.

But without the sun, a sunflower wilts and lowers its head.

Without her sun, Lucas, Isabel could no longer hold her head high.

What remained for her now was a slow withering away.

This was a certainty.

In the scenario, after Lucas dies during the first-year dungeon challenge, the story plunges into the bad ending.

And then, a single line flashes across the screen:

One year later, Isabel Luna, unable to overcome her grief, ultimately chose to follow Lucas.

After Lucas’s death, Isabel eventually takes her own life.

This is the world that unfolds after the only bad ending revealed by the game.

Her bright nature had a way of drawing people to her.

Even though Lucas was gone, she was surrounded by many friends.

Yet despite that, she chose to end her life.

To her, life held no hope without the sun that was Lucas.

Seeing her now, I am certain.

Before long, she will inevitably take her own life.

My fists quietly clenched once more.

Isabel is, perhaps, the heroine who plays an even greater role than the protagonist in the later parts of the story.

Without her…

‘The Flame Butterfly arc cannot reach its ending.’

And that means…

It’s impossible to progress beyond the world of the bad ending.

So, what must I do?

"Introduce yourself,"

Said Professor Vega, leaning against her desk and lazily waving her hand.

Finally tearing my eyes away from Isabel, I took a small breath.

I could feel the sharp gazes of the other students all at once.

I’ve never had stage fright or a fear of attention, but…

Starting off in a world that had already entered the bad ending made me feel strangely tense.

Naturally, Isabel didn’t even glance in my direction.

A sunflower cannot lift its head without its sun.

What Isabel needed was undoubtedly a sun.

But that didn’t mean I could become Lucas, her sun.

I never intended to become the sun in the first place.

I am not Lucas; I am Hannon Irey.

Though to be precise, I’m Vikamon Niflheim.

But that hardly matters.

“Not long ago, I read an article about the Zerion Academy.”

The unexpected mention of a newspaper during a self-introduction piqued the curiosity and confusion of the students.

Looking at their expressions, I calmly continued speaking.

“The article went like this: last year, first-year students were massacred in the dungeon due to an Apostle.”

For the first time, Isabel’s shoulders flinched.

When I brought up Lucas, her lifeless eyes weakly turned to me.

As I said, I cannot be her sun.

“Pathetic, isn’t it?”

So instead—

“For students of Zerion Academy to die to an Apostle… What a disgrace.”

I decided to become, at the very least, her moon.

Isabel’s eyes slowly began to narrow with fury.

“Who was the leader back then? It’s clear everything went to hell because that person was utterly incompetent.”

Naturally, the leader was Lucas Fernando.

The faces of the students stiffened.

They all knew who had suffered the most from that incident.

A glance—

The students cast furtive looks at Isabel.

And, as expected, the deep fury slowly emerged in Isabel’s eyes.

She had suffered the most after losing Lucas.

And now, in her ears, someone was outright insulting Lucas.

What did this mean?

At this moment—

It meant I had crossed an irreversible line with Isabel.

“I…”

Remember this well, Isabel.

“Came here to ensure that Zerion Academy never earns such a disgraceful reputation again.”

From now on, I will be your sworn enemy.

And the one who will force you to live on, fueled by your anger.

“Hannon Irey. Nice to meet you all.”

That’s who I am.

w