Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss

Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 66

EP.66 Secret Part 1

The secret place within the academy, where the dead were gathered, was nothing short of eerie. As Jeong-hyeon gazed at the mountain of corpses, a strange thought crossed his mind.

‘Didn’t they say the death of a single noble would stir up trouble?’

He examined the scene with curiosity. The number of bodies piled here seemed excessive, even considering the size of the academy wasn’t particularly large. He didn’t know when the academy was established, but the accumulation of so many bodies seemed unreasonable.

‘If I use the bodies of the royals to form the core around the Flower of Life…’

He decided it would be best to wrap the core with the corpses stored here. Activating the golem creation window, Jeong-hyeon followed through with his plan.

‘Yes, this is it.’

He felt the same shock he had felt when he first saw a corpse golem, marveling at the sight. The grotesquely intertwined bodies, large enough to devour a high-rise building, were enough to demoralize anyone who saw them.

‘Of course, it’s too big to use effectively in most situations.’

However, if used on a battlefield where its size could be accommodated, it would perform exceptionally well. Jeong-hyeon, satisfied with his creation, reached out to pat the golem, only to awkwardly pull his hand back when he realized the part he was about to touch was someone’s head.

‘Now then…’

It was time to test whether the corpse golem could be stored using Sanctuary Declaration. He activated the skill and declared the storage of the golem.

[The Corpse Golem has been stored.]

‘It actually worked?’

Surprised by how easily the massive golem was stored, he let out a brief exclamation. He hadn’t expected it to work so smoothly. Smiling, Jeong-hyeon couldn’t help but feel pleased by this unexpected success.

As he basked in his small victory, his eyes were drawn to something unusual on the ground—a magic circle. It was partially obscured by the blood of the corpses, making its exact shape difficult to discern. However, even at a glance, it was clear that this wasn’t a magic circle with a positive purpose.

‘A magic circle…’

There were many oddities surrounding this place. The academy, after all, was supposed to be an institution dedicated to educating students—a place where safety should be prioritized above all else.

‘Yet they’ve placed dungeons here, and worse, they didn’t even bother removing them.’

He had always found it strange, but until now, he had dismissed it as just part of the game’s content.

‘But now… they’re practically screaming, “There’s something hidden here.”’

It was impossible for him not to be intrigued.

‘For now, though, without more information, it’s best to hold off on investigating further.’

Since he needed to uncover the true nature of the magic circle, Jeong-hyeon decided to investigate it further through Miria.

***

After returning above ground, Jeong-hyeon told Miria about the magic circle he had found below. Miria, after biting her thumb in thought for a moment, spoke.

“I might be jumping to conclusions here, but… considering that all the traps and dungeons are interconnected, the fact that the bodies have been preserved for so long without decay, and finally, the presence of this unknown magic circle…”

“You think this is all part of a plan?”

“… Yes.”

The real issue, though, was what exactly the plan involved, and why there were so many corpses piled up. As Jeong-hyeon mulled over the possibilities, unable to get a clear sense of it, Miria brushed her forehead and added.

“I’ll go down and take a look myself. It might be hard for me to figure out what it is since I’m in the swordsmanship department, but it’s better if I check it out firsthand.”

It seemed like a reasonable idea, so Jeong-hyeon decided to guide her to the place where the corpse golem had been.

“Whoa… this is pretty grotesque.”

She muttered.

Descending, Miria looked around in horror before slowly examining the magic circle and speaking to him.

“I’ll use a magic stone to take an imprint of this circle. Can you help clear away the blood?”

With a nod, Jeong-hyeon used his divine power to push the blood aside physically. Miria thanked him and took an imprint of the magic circle. Her voice sounded conflicted as she spoke again.

“Seeing such an obvious magic circle drawn here… I can’t help but think of all kinds of conspiracy theories.”

“Conspiracy theories?”

Jeong-hyeon asked.

“Yeah, like the kingdom and the church constantly assigning personnel to this place… Could it be connected to all of this?”

Jeong-hyeon stared at her silently. Sensing his curiosity, Miria elaborated.

“Take the joint exam, for example. Usually, such large-scale exams result in many injuries or deaths. But the academy seemed to turn a blind eye, which is highly suspicious. Just looking at the exam…”

She went on to list several inconsistencies—like the traps that could kill instantly if triggered, the lack of security personnel, and the complete absence of monitoring. None of it made sense to her.

“It might sound extreme, but… it almost feels like they were just waiting for something to go wrong, praying for a disaster.”

Jeong-hyeon nodded, having heard something similar before. Miria, however, let out a sigh, clearly still puzzled.

“What I don’t understand is how blatant it’s become. It feels rushed. For something that’s been hidden for so long without anyone noticing, you’d think they would have been more careful. But suddenly, they’re forcing students into large-scale dungeon missions like this…”

Her thoughts began to spiral out endlessly. Jeong-hyeon lost track of her reasoning halfway through and glanced around the room, letting his attention wander. Finally, Miria seemed to reach a conclusion on her own and spoke her final thought.

“So, in conclusion, I think the kingdom and the church already know about this magic circle’s existence.”

It was still just an unconfirmed suspicion, so there was no way to know if it was true or not. Jeong-hyeon couldn’t be certain, but strangely enough, his thoughts were also leaning in that direction.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’

Whatever those bastards were planning, he would completely destroy it all anyway. Clenching and unclenching his fist, he decided to face the truth that would soon come to light.

***

Second Princess Karina let out a hollow laugh as she surveyed her room, now in ruins and engulfed in flames. She had no idea who had committed such an act, but one thing was certain: this single act of terror had utterly derailed her carefully laid plans.

‘Ha…’

And that wasn’t the worst of it. The shard of the holy sword, which she had kept as a bargaining chip, had also disappeared, leaving her uncertain about the outcome of the negotiations she had been preparing for.

Karina clutched her increasingly twisted expression as she sat down on what was left of her bed, now reduced to ash.

‘Who did this?’

She had plenty of enemies, enough to make it hard to pinpoint the culprit. However, none of them would dare burn down the royal palace itself, making it impossible for her to guess who was responsible.

This alone was enough of a headache, but what truly troubled her was the news that the missing Marpe had attacked nobles while riding atop a corpse golem.

‘And that golem was made from the bodies of royalty.’

It would have been chaotic enough if the golem had been made from just one royal body, but the fact that it was constructed from the remains of multiple deceased royals caused an uproar that was impossible to contain.

‘And the fallout from that…’

All eyes now turned to her, Marpe’s superior. To avoid taking the blame for this catastrophe, Karina had personally executed Marpe’s entire family, hoping to demonstrate her own innocence. Yet, the suspicions only continued to grow, leading to the situation where all the responsibility was slowly but surely being placed on her.

‘One way or another, I need to find a solution.’

Even if that meant taking drastic or immoral measures. With that thought, she briefly called out to Esich, her loyal guard who stood nearby.

“Esich. What is the First Princess doing?”

“Currently, the First Princess is…”

Before Esich could finish his sentence, someone opened the door and walked in. The fact that someone would enter her room without even observing proper manners left Karina bewildered. She turned to see who it was.

A woman with a bold, unflinching expression, tall stature, and hair of a striking blue hue, the exact opposite of Karina’s, entered without hesitation.

‘… The First Princess, Charlotte.’

The daughter of the queen and the one who bore the strongest royal bloodline.

Karina forced herself to greet Charlotte with a composed demeanor, though everything about the woman in front of her rubbed her the wrong way.

“What do you want?”

She asked, trying to sound nonchalant. Charlotte, glancing at the wreckage in the room, responded casually.

“I came to check on my dear sister. Why, is that a problem?”

“Ha… You never even look at me, but you rush over as soon as you hear there’s a fire…”

Karina couldn’t hide her anger anymore. With so many things crumbling around her, the frustration she usually kept bottled up was now seeping through. Her hostility toward Charlotte was evident. Charlotte, unaffected, shrugged and spoke.

“Well, I’m here now, right?”

That tone—the infuriating tone of someone who had everything handed to them since birth—made Karina grit her teeth. She had worked harder than anyone to surpass Charlotte, yet that wretched royal bloodline always placed her behind.

“Anyway, you seem fine, so I’ll leave. You’ve got a lot to clean up here.”

Charlotte remarked, glancing around the room.

“…A lot of talk for a loser who ran away from the throne race. You may be enjoying everything now because of your bloodline, but soon…”

Karina spat, her voice full of venom.

“Soon what? The kingdom will fall?”

Charlotte replied, cutting her off with an almost mocking smile.

Karina was momentarily at a loss for words, not expecting her sister to say it so bluntly. She clenched her teeth, anger boiling inside her, but Charlotte just smirked and continued.

“If that’s what you believe, you should have done everything to keep the hero alive, instead of trusting those useless fools you called allies.”

“…What?”

“The only one who could save the world was the hero, but instead of cherishing him, you treated him like a tool, like a bomb ready to go off. Did you really think that was wise?”

Karina suddenly laughed. She realized Charlotte didn’t know anything—nothing about why the kingdom treated the hero like a ticking bomb or why they had to ensure he was destroyed.

‘Of course, she wouldn’t know. She ran away.’

Charlotte had fled from the truth, seeking refuge in the Academy, far from the kingdom’s darkest secrets. No wonder she was clueless. Understanding this brought a twisted grin to Karina’s face. She was almost amused.

For a moment, she felt a sense of satisfaction, but then, oddly, the thought of the hero dampened her mood. The things they had done to him—she wondered if, perhaps, it had all been wrong. The question irked her.

‘But it was the right thing to do,’ she reminded herself.

Sacrificing something worthless was a small price for the greater good, and she hadn’t changed her stance on that.

No regrets. Yet, for months now, thoughts of the hero kept surfacing, unbidden. Maybe, just maybe…

Karina shook her head, letting out a hollow laugh. It was probably because everything she had built was crumbling around her that she was even entertaining such pointless thoughts.

‘It’s best not to dwell on it. The dead have no meaning.’

She decided to push thoughts of the hero away, just as she turned her gaze back to Charlotte, who was still glaring at her. Karina matched her sister’s gaze with equal intensity, a mocking smile spreading across her face.