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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Prologue
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Thud!
A man took a spectacular tumble.
Beneath hair as white as snow,
lay a face so handsome it drew gasps of admiration.
"Oh, Lord Vikarmon!"
The woman accompanying him rushed to help him up.
Her flamboyant attire and striking looks,
along with her accessories,
brought to mind a woman from the pleasure district.
But the man, called Vikarmon, didn't stir.
No, more accurately, he *couldn't* stir.
He muttered, his face grim.
"...Vikarmon Niflheim."
The pixel-art RPG, 'Demon Palace Academy Slayer'.
The third and final installment in the series.
The 'Flame Butterfly' arc.
In the scenario, he failed to get revenge on the protagonist in Act 2, Chapter 3.
A third-rate villain who was ultimately expelled from the academy and even disowned by his own family.
Afterward, Vikarmon used his handsome looks and former noble status to become a host in the underworld.
A parasitic life, surviving by leeching off the money of women from the pleasure district.
And now,
into Vikarmon's body,
'I've transmigrated.'
Transmigration into a game.
A common trope.
However, he had another problem now.
Vikarmon slowly unfolded the newspaper he held in his hand again.
[Breaking News! Tragic Incident at Zerion Academy]
A student team challenging the Demon Palace was annihilated by an Apostle.
The imperial family, the New Faith, and even the common people are questioning the education at the prestigious Zerion Academy, and the list of casualties is as follows:
1. Xenia Pierne
2. Ford Neumann
3. Scia Hasenstein
4. Lucas Fernando
...
Lucas Fernando.
He was the protagonist of the Flame Butterfly arc.
And now,
he was no longer in this world.
Act 2, Chapter 8.
In 'Childhood Friend and Demon Palace Breakthrough,' the protagonist died.
Currently, it was winter break, just before the start of Act 3, Chapter 1.
In other words, the game had now entered
'Bad Ending.'
Vikarmon let out a hollow laugh.
In a world post-bad ending,
not only had he been expelled from the academy and disowned by his family,
but he was also a third-rate villain kicked out of the scenario itself.
He had transmigrated into Vikarmon Niflheim.
Unfortunate.
"…Unfortunate,"
the man repeated, emphasizing the word twice.
* * *
Twenty-nine.
That's how many times I'd cleared the Flame Butterfly arc.
The Flame Butterfly arc had twelve true endings and hidden endings.
And beyond that,
there were thirty-eight bad endings.
The protagonist, Lucas, possessed the unyielding 'Flame of Tenacity'.
A steadfast protagonist who pressed forward no matter what trials he faced.
A mindset befitting a protagonist.
However, on the path such a protagonist walked, there existed thirty-eight bad endings.
Depending on how one navigated these bad endings,
the game's clear condition would change.
Act 2, Chapter 8.
'Childhood Friend and Demon Palace Breakthrough'.
This was also the scenario where beginners died most often.
If you knew the strategy well, it wasn't too difficult.
But if you blundered through like a headstrong dinosaur without knowing the strategy, nine times out of ten, you'd die.
And Lucas was a headstrong dinosaur.
"Damn it all..."
A curse word slipped out naturally.
I clutched my white hair as if to tear it out.
A world where the protagonist was dead and a bad ending had begun.
Without Lucas, this world could never progress in the right direction.
Lucas's unique ability.
The Flame of Tenacity.
True to its name, the Flame Butterfly arc.
The scenario was connected to the Flame of Tenacity from start to finish.
Without the Flame of Tenacity,
'The true ending is out of the question.'
A long sigh escaped me.
The day I transmigrated,
I had shaken off the pleasure district woman who was captivated by me and returned to the inn where I was staying.
And then I endlessly pondered what to do about this situation.
'I don't know how I transmigrated. So, naturally, I don't know how to go back.'
This wasn't a transmigration I wished for.
I just suddenly woke up to find myself transmigrated.
'If I clear the game, can I return to reality?'
This, too, was highly uncertain.
Even if the game proceeded according to the true ending and was cleared,
there was no guarantee I would return to the real world.
In that case, there was a high probability I'd have to live in this world from now on.
'Aside from his handsome looks and his inferiority complex towards his sister, Vikarmon has nothing.'
He seemed to be surviving in the underworld by using his looks,
but looks eventually fade with time.
I couldn't live like this forever.
And more importantly,
'The scenario's clear condition is the salvation of the world.'
That is, if the scenario couldn't progress towards its end,
it meant the opposite of salvation would be born.
'Annihilation.'
I could see snow falling outside the window.
It was a cold winter now.
But a world even colder than this would descend upon it.
I knew the outcome that would arrive in this world.
When a bad ending was reached,
I had seen the words displayed on the screen countless times.
[And so, the world was annihilated.]
A single, short phrase.
That one phrase churned in my mind.
Normally, I could just restart the game.
But now, I was a resident living within this world.
If the world was annihilated, I would die too.
The Flame Butterfly arc, if it didn't lead to the true ending, would almost certainly result in annihilation.
As long as I didn't know how to go back,
I had no desire to die.
My fist clenched tight.
If there are no teeth, the gums will have to do.
"…If there's no protagonist,"
I would have to lead the world to the true ending myself.
But how, exactly?
It felt hopeless.
Vikarmon Niflheim, not only was he out of the scenario,
he had already been expelled from the academy.
The central stage of the Flame Butterfly arc scenario was Zerion Academy.
If I wasn't affiliated with Zerion Academy, I couldn't progress any part of the scenario.
This was just too much of a raw deal.
I wouldn't mind being an extra or even a third-rate villain.
But they should have at least kept me in the academy.
Misfortune has its limits.
I covered my face with my hands for a moment, silent.
Then, a thought suddenly struck me.
"…It might not be impossible?"
At that moment, only one thing came to mind.
'A hidden character.'
Hannon Ayre.
A character who transfers to Zerion Academy in Act 3, Chapter 1, during the first semester of second year.
However, this character had one major flaw.
While all the transfer procedures were already completed,
Hannon wouldn't transfer unless several conditions were met.
If Hannon didn't transfer, they would fall into wanderlust and roam the world aimlessly.
In other words, they would become a character completely outside the scenario.
"If I pretend to be Hannon,"
it would be possible to enter Zerion Academy.
The problem was how to pretend to be Hannon.
The answer came from the game's guide.
An item the protagonist would normally use in a late-game infiltration mission.
'The Shroud Bandage.'
It allowed one to perfectly change their appearance to that of another person.
However, prolonged use would randomly cause the loss of one emotion.
'There are three types of emotions that can be lost.'
Sadness, anger, love.
The protagonist lost 'love' as a consequence of overusing the Shroud Bandage.
But later, with the help of the chosen main heroine, he regained his love.
There was a way to resolve the emotional deficiency.
The drawback was that it was only possible near the very end of the scenario.
Furthermore, unlike the protagonist Lucas, I didn't know which emotion I would lose.
'That's fine.'
No matter which of the three emotions disappeared,
leading the game to a clear ending wouldn't be a problem.
Fortunately, Vikarmon was a guy who liked to save money.
I could use this money to get the Shroud Bandage.
"Be strong. Me..."
I will absolutely, in this world after the bad ending,
lead it to the true ending.