Chapter 179: The Cursed Ones (2)

Even he had died?

"Why do you look so surprised?"

Schierke's voice came from beside me.

I turned toward her and found her smiling at me.

It was a playful smile, one I had never seen on her face before.

"Don't impose your own logic on everyone else. Not everyone is an anomaly like you."

I turned fully toward her with a frown.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

She answered while walking leisurely toward Jackson.

"Ask yourself one simple question…"

Schierke stopped beside the fallen old hunter.

"Would this battle have ended the same way if Ethan Heart had been here?"

She began using her magic to heal Jackson while Luna did the same for Moon.

For some reason, her question lingered in my mind.

What would have changed if I had fought here alongside Jackson and Moon?

Could I have changed the outcome?

I was far weaker than Jackson.

But strength wasn't everything.

I knew that better than most.

Because I had conquered the game no one else could.

I had the experience of a player who had spent an absurd number of hours inside this world.

And I possessed several Blessings that made fighting far easier for me.

Wise Raven Insight alone was enough to completely turn the tide of a battle.

"Are you saying I should've come with them instead of fighting Aldebaran?"

Schierke shook her head.

"Not at all."

She continued healing Jackson as she spoke.

"Perhaps Gustav Heart would have survived if you had been here. But someone else might have died on the other side instead."

Her eyes shifted toward me.

"What I'm trying to say is that you're special, Ethan Heart."

"You're a man who carries a Fifth-Level Mark Curse, and those who bear curses of that level have always been true monsters."

Her playful smile returned.

"Just like Verso, the captain of the Second Team… or our ancestors who carried them before us."

Then Schierke gave a quiet laugh.

"Though most of them met rather tragic ends."

"What I'm trying to say… is that common sense doesn't apply to people like you. So don't try to impose that same logic on other hunters like Gustav and those like him, whose destinies are far weaker."

My eyes narrowed slightly, my brows lowering in obvious irritation.

This girl was starting to say things that genuinely confused me.

What did she mean by a weaker destiny?

And was she the messenger of Balance or not?

She had suddenly started talking about my curse, yet she hadn't said anything only she could possibly know.

It almost felt like she was deliberately playing with my nerves.

"If we make it out of this dungeon alive, you and I are going to have a long talk."

My tone bordered on hostile.

Schierke merely smiled in amusement, completely unconcerned by my hostility.

"Of course~"

Ignoring her, I turned my attention back to Jackson.

Schierke's magic had closed most of his wounds, but the internal damage he had suffered was far from minor.

Even so…

He would survive.

I was certain of it.

"You didn't live all these years just to die now, Jackson. Hurry up and wake up soon."

I whispered the words as I gave his back a light pat before heading toward Moon and Luna.

The latter had already poured such an enormous amount of healing magic into her sister that green light had completely engulfed that corner of the hall.

Unlike Jackson, Moon had regained consciousness after receiving treatment.

Our eyes met the moment I approached them.

No…

She had already been watching me long before that.

"You look terrible. I'll assume most of that blood isn't yours."

I spoke first as I sat down in front of her, beside Luna.

Blood was still trickling from Moon's forehead and running over her eyes.

I gently wiped it away with the back of my hand.

Moon stared at me silently for a moment while Luna remained completely absorbed in chanting one healing spell after another.

"Ethan… are the others okay?"

She finally managed to force the words from her throat.

Even in her current condition, the safety of her team members was her first concern.

She had probably wanted to ask Luna, but her younger sister was continuously chanting healing magic and couldn't answer her.

"Everyone on our team is fine. They're alive… but we lost two hunters from the other teams."

Moon gave me a weak nod.

I saw the relief in the breath she released, but she didn't allow herself to show any happiness after hearing that two hunters had died.

"The boss here was incredibly strong…"

Moon's voice carried unmistakable bitterness.

"We lost the entire First Team."

This wasn't the calm, composed Moon I was used to seeing.

She looked broken.

Exhausted.

"We all entered this cathedral knowing we could die at any moment. We're fighting enemies far stronger than ourselves… sacrifices are inevitable."

"This isn't anyone's fault."

The words sounded like consolation.

But they weren't really meant for Moon.

They were meant for me.

Their situation had clearly been far worse than ours against Aldebaran, despite having a monster like Jackson fighting beside them.

And at times like this, I couldn't help wondering…

'What would have changed if I had been here fighting beside them?'

Would Gustav have survived?

Would we have won with fewer injuries?

Was my presence really enough to change the outcome that much?

I closed my eyes, turning those questions over in my mind.

Then I stood.

I had made my decision.

'I suppose it's time to find out.'

The moment I rose to my feet, I turned my head toward a certain direction.

Moon's eyes suddenly trembled.

It was as though she had realized something terrible.

"You… what are you planning to do?"

Concern filled her voice as she tried to rise, only for Luna to immediately hold her down.

"Don't try to move! You're completely exhausted!"

Luna shouted at her sister, refusing to let her get up.

Moon wouldn't be fighting again today.

She had most likely already used the resurrection ability granted by her Phoenix Blessing.

I gave her one last look.

There was no point hiding what I had decided.

"I'm joining the old man against the Golden Dawn Knight."

This time, even Luna turned toward me.

Both sisters stared at me as though they were looking at a madman.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!"

They shouted at the exact same time.

I immediately regretted telling them.

"You'll die the moment you get there! One strike from their swords will turn you into dust!"

Luna threw the truth straight in my face.

Moon, however, approached it more realistically.

"You'll only become a burden to Grandfather if you go. You'll hinder him more than you'll help him."

She stared directly into my eyes.

"If Jackson were still in good condition, maybe he could support him. But you won't even be able to touch the Golden Dawn Knight…"

I nodded.

I wasn't arrogant enough to pretend I could do anything against the Golden Dawn Knight in a direct fight.

"I'm perfectly aware of the difference in strength between us."

I gave them both a faint smile.

"But I can do things no one else can."

Before either of them could argue any further, I reinforced my body with aura and shot away.

Luna tried to stop me.

But she wasn't fast enough to cast her magic before I disappeared, and by then, I had already left the main hall behind.

The Golden Dawn Knight and I carried the same curse.

There was something unique connecting the two of us.

Something that could change everything.

And the Blessings I carried might be enough to change the outcome of the battle.

Old man Asterion was powerful.

But if he lost, everything would be over.

He was the only person capable of standing against the Golden Dawn Knight.

I didn't want to discover later that he had lost in a scenario I could have changed simply by being there.

So…

I would take part in the battle between the strongest.

And I would risk my life doing it.

"This isn't like me… I've been taking far too many risks lately."

I wasn't good against opponents I knew nothing about.

I was at my best when I had time to prepare for my enemies after uncovering all their secrets beforehand.

My chances of dying against the Golden Dawn Knight were extremely high.

But I chose to go anyway.

Because this might be my only chance to survive.

As I raced toward the final battlefield, I could only hope for one thing…

That the Uncrowned Emperor was strong enough to defeat the Golden Dawn Knight without my help.

And that all my fears would prove unnecessary.

Meanwhile…

The battle between the strongest living hunter and the strongest hunter of the previous generation…

Had already begun.