Chapter 546

〈 Chapter 546 〉 IF Route, Bad Ending #15X

The IF Route is an alternate scenario unrelated to the main story, branching off from it.

Readers may find some content uncomfortable; those who wish to follow the main story can skip ahead without issue.

Character deviations may occur. Please be advised.

* * *

Phoenix always plans for the worst-case scenario and doesn’t hesitate to use extreme measures to minimize variables.

Though these extremes sometimes worsen situations, Phoenix usually manages them with help and advice from others, leading to optimal outcomes.

However, as the saying goes, “the butterfly effect”—small moments can spiral into disastrous results.

Oracle observes countless “potential failed futures” through dreams, jotting down everything remembered in notebooks.

This is one such forgotten observation buried among Oracle’s notes.

* * *

# Case 153.

Azidahaka loves handsome men and enjoys being a queen bee keeping them trapped.

“Hmm, just like Hydra’s situation.”

Phoenix relaxed. With Hydra carefully synced to Yuna, there was nothing left to worry about. Taming Azidahaka proved far easier than Hydra.

“Why bother involving others? I can draw aggro myself…”

Despite minor fame issues due to mistaken relationships with Ceres, disguising herself solved any problems.

At a nameless Somali tavern, Phoenix met bartender Angwa. They quietly clinked glasses in solitude.

“Do you have a favorite cocktail?”

“Strawberry Gin Smash.”

Even with Phoenix’s peculiar tastes, Angwa (Azidahaka) expertly mixed the drink.

“Here you go.”

“…But I don’t have money…”

“Pay me with your body instead.”

“Deal.”

Impressed by Azidahaka’s skill in crafting a nearly alcohol-free strawberry cocktail, Phoenix drank without hesitation—despite knowing it was drugged—to infiltrate the Black Citadel.

“Hehehe! Stupid Phoenix!”

Phoenix woke up in a “<No Sex with Angwa, No Exit Room>.”

“Where am I…?”

Would Scheherazade’s royal bedroom look like this? Phoenix realized she’d been transformed into a female body, now dressed in velvet, her heart sinking.

“Of course! You’re inside my citadel! Hehehe, you can’t escape now.”

Azidahaka twirled salsa-style before a full-length mirror, binding Xian disguised as Baek Cheonghwa to the bed. Her face gleamed with sadistic joy.

“Foolish girl.”

Mocking Azidahaka, Phoenix attempted to summon magic power—but the chains holding her limbs wouldn’t budge—

“What…?”

Clank. Clank.

They couldn’t be broken. Phoenix realized her magic was being drained, specifically stolen by Azidahaka. She finally noticed the material of the chains around her wrists and ankles.

“Cube…?!”

“Hehehe, careless much? Yes, cubes. We gathered all we could from every monster worldwide. Barely anything left after that.”

Azidahaka stroked Phoenix’s stomach, her nails scraping upward. Despite resisting, Phoenix couldn’t move.

“Aaah, hnnngh…?!”

Every touch felt hypersensitive. The room glowed faintly crimson from the gathered cubes as Azidahaka licked her lips, caressing Phoenix’s skin.

“Hmm… Why does my captive bird look so beautiful?”

“You’re insane!”

“I’m going insane. Not my usual type, but hey, not all fish caught in nets are fish, right? In my citadel, I am the law and master.”

Azidahaka stripped off her top, revealing modest yet prominent breasts, then discarded her skirt, leaving only black pantyhose.

“Hmph. What shall we try… Ah, how about this?”

She picked up a cube from the bedside table and shoved it mercilessly under Phoenix’s groin. Ripping her pants and underwear apart, the cube entered her raw.

“Aaaah!!”

As the cube penetrated, Phoenix writhed in agony as if stabbed in the heart. Its probing magic flooded her entire body, making her shredded lingerie swell unnaturally.

“That’s right… Here, male or female parts function similarly.”

Azidahaka’s fingers grazed Phoenix’s clitoris. Pushing aside the ruined underwear, it swelled into a phallic shape. Smiling softly, Azidahaka pressed her abdomen against Phoenix’s erection.

“You should be proud. This is the best penis I’ve seen in my life… Hmm.”

She spread her stockings wide, exposing her large opening beneath.

“Please stop…!”

“Nope. Hmm, you’re so handsome… It’ll taste good.”

Azidahaka lifted her hips.

“Itadakimasu.”

Crunch.

Phoenix’s fiery pillar began spewing flames.

And Phoenix never escaped the Black Citadel.

* * *

Case. 157.

“The Blaze Dancer Li enters the club.”

“Do you really need to joke around like that?”

Baek Hee-a scolded Phoenix during briefing. Though meant to lure Azidahaka, sending Chang-yeom on such a dangerous mission seemed reckless.

“Not a joke. I’m quite serious. This plan will surely catch Azidahaka.”

“Dear heavens, please let it work.”

“Look, Miss Baek Hee-a… Oh, already hooked.”

“My goodness.”

Chang-yeom started friendly conversations with “Angwa,” trading cocktails, casually asking for after-hours meet-ups, and smoothly obtaining her number.

“…Is he actually trying to seduce her?”

“Just natural behavior, it seems. Ah, he’s singing now.”

Chang-yeom sat at the piano. The jazz club featured an excellent grand piano, where Chang-yeom sat, gazing at Angwa, and began playing.

Lalala, lalala, la-la-lalala, la-la-la, lalala.

Melancholic yet soulful piano chords filled the air as Chang-yeom sang.

“Is there anyone out there to heal my wounds? If left alone, they’ll only grow worse…”

Suddenly, the tempo quickened, and rapid-fire lyrics poured from his mouth.

* * *

“…”

Azidahaka wiped glasses with a cloth, lost in thought over the song. The fast-paced lyrics resonated deeply, feeling almost personal—as though speaking directly to her own story.

Not just Azidahaka, but even Maamryong, her inner self, felt moved. A tale of loneliness and fear of getting hurt, always isolated, forever alone.

“…Shit.”

Swearing under her breath, Azidahaka felt her mood darken further. Chang-yeom’s song seemed both comforting after rejection by Garura and mocking her pain.

Alone, always wounded, unloved, drowning in darkness…

Clearly describing Maamryong, unmistakably referring to Azidahaka. Her grip tightened on the glass, unnoticed cracks forming.

‘Is this song aimed at me? Yeah, mocking my loneliness…’

Rationally, Azidahaka suspected it targeted her.

‘Eh, nah. Just Chang-yeom being crazy.’

If intentional mockery, Azidahaka wouldn’t tolerate it. To soothe herself, she prepared another cocktail. The song ended, yet Chang-yeom continued undisturbed, starting another.

Revealing my chest yet having no friends—

“AAARGH!!!”

Azidahaka snapped. Throwing the cocktail at full speed toward Chang-yeom—

“Your true form revealed, Azidahaka!”

Chang-yeom smirked, igniting blue flames—

“Huh.”

Whooshhhhh!!!!

The club erupted in flames.

That day, everyone inside suffered severe burns. Though a water-element hero quickly extinguished the fire, saving Miseung-hyung’s would-be friend group, they were hospitalized with extensive injuries.

Among them lay a badly burned waiter. In the hospital, Azidahaka stared blankly at the ceiling, resolving:

‘Destroy them all.’

‘I agree.’

Maamryong concurred. Mocking loners equaled teasing bald people about their hair loss. Azidahaka and Maamryong united dramatically, deciding to erase the world mocking outsiders.

‘A world where no one befriends me—I’ll destroy it all.’

Azidahaka’s thoughts spiraled. None of the monsters she called friends truly understood her anguish; they only desired her body.

‘Wreck everything. Seongju too.’

In her extreme mindset, Azidahaka opened the portal between Tera and Earth.

Billions of monsters surged from Tera, ravaging the land.

Earth fell into ruin at supersonic speed.

* * *

# Case 159

“Blazing Phoenix Revival—!!”

Phoenix unleashed a fist wreathed in azure flames. The blazing spear incinerated hundreds of Azidahakas sprouting from the ground.

“Hmph, no matter how many of you there are, you can’t defeat m—”

Zzzziiip.

Phoenix’s Blazing Phoenix Revival struck the Black Citadel’s portal. Her expression hardened as the portal began malfunctioning wildly.

“Crap.”

“OOOORRRRHHH! Blazing Phoenix Revival!”

Chang-yeom’s fiery punch pierced Saladin’s core. Dropping his Damascus sword, Saladin chuckled.

“…So this is because I became a monster. Seems heroes always win in the end. Hmph.”

Crack!

With his core shattered, Saladin dissolved into black mist, leaving only his turban in Chang-yeom’s hand.

“Master…?”

Realizing his mentor’s peril despite defeating Saladin, Chang-yeom kicked open the container and rushed to Israel.

“Magic signature scan… Huh?”

At an unnamed Israeli temple, reality fractured, splitting open.

WHOOSH!!!

Tens of thousands, perhaps billions, of Azidahakas burst forth, turning the world pitch black.

Six billion Azidahakas achieved victory in a 1:1 battle against all humanity.

* * *

Finally.

The Otherworld God aimlessly drifted through interstellar space.

The end approaches.

Ignoring Seongju’s desperate calls, the Otherworld God silently closed its eyes.