Chapter 197: The Wailing of the Unborn (1)

—Ethan’s POV—

I rushed after Aldrich without thinking, firing my grappling hook quickly enough to pass through the portal and pull me inside before it could close completely.

It was my first time experiencing teleportation.

Or rather, my second, considering I had already traveled through a Bonfire before. But this was different from anything I had experienced back then.

I wasn’t simply stepping through a doorway and emerging on the other side. Instead, I found myself traveling through what resembled a tunnel, neither particularly long nor especially short, stretching across a small distance where everything appeared strangely distorted.

The space around me rippled and twisted, as though someone had grabbed hold of the world itself and carelessly rearranged it until nothing remained in its proper place.

I could see Aldrich emerging from the portal at the far end. He was still relatively close, and I realized that I would catch up to him very soon.

There wasn’t much time to prepare, so I immediately deactivated Night Lord’s Aura before taking out the last Flask I had left and drinking its contents, restoring my HP from one to its maximum value.

The Flask worked almost immediately, allowing my body to recover a great deal, especially since I had now used two of them within such a short period.

But Flasks couldn’t cure exhaustion, nor could they replenish mana.

I was nowhere near my best condition, yet I had no choice but to fight with whatever strength I had left.

Once again, I had thrown myself into an unfavorable battle, behaving in ways that went completely against my usual nature.

‘What’s happening to me?’

I couldn’t help asking myself that question.

Since when had I become someone who valued his own life so little?

I was supposed to be more afraid of death than anyone else. I feared dying because losing my life would mean exhausting every opportunity I had been given.

There would be no third life waiting for me.

I wouldn’t wake up in another world like I had the first time.

Ordeal was my one remaining chance.

And if I lost it, I could already imagine hearing Ishizaki’s laughter as he mocked me afterward.

It was true that I possessed Blood of the Ancient Gods, but blindly relying on that Blessing was an enormous mistake. One I had already made when I leaped toward the colossal sword with nothing but my faith in Legendary Weapons Master.

‘I need to hold on to my life more desperately… Like a cockroach. I have to stay alive no matter what it costs me, and survive until the very end.’

I drew a deep breath, using the brief moment to put my priorities back in order.

Then I finally emerged from the portal, crossing over to the other side.

Part of me had been terrified that I might end up somewhere far inside the Land of the Curse. If that happened, death would be inevitable.

But I also knew that monsters of Aldrich’s rank couldn’t use an ability like this across extremely long distances. It was something I had concluded after spending an enormous amount of time studying Ordeal.

I had decided to gamble on that knowledge.

And fortunately, my gamble had paid off.

When I emerged from the portal, I found myself standing atop a distant hill overlooking the entirety of Old Ashvarn, with its dark sky filled with countless artificial stars.

Buildings stretched as far as the eye could see, most of them completely destroyed. At the center of the city, however, an enormous sword stood embedded deep within the earth, still towering above everything surrounding it.

“I’m outside the city…”

I spoke quietly, realizing that I was no longer inside Old Ashvarn itself, but somewhere along its distant outskirts.

More precisely, I had emerged on the exact opposite side of the city from the passage through which we had originally entered.

Leaving the city meant I was no longer trapped inside the labyrinth.

The curse no longer held any power over me.

I could leave.

I could finally return to Ashvarn, where the entire Heart Clan was waiting.

“I can’t believe you actually followed me. You really are stubborn… Curse Bearer.”

Aldrich’s hoarse voice interrupted my thoughts, drawing my attention back toward him.

The filthy creature stood only a few meters away, staring at me with those repulsive eyes of his. His features were difficult to make sense of, with a long, curved beak that closely resembled a plague doctor’s mask, while his grotesque body was considerably larger than a human’s, with unnaturally long, slender arms.

Tightening my grip around the Executioner’s Sword, I activated Wise Raven Insight to track his every movement and kept my guard raised as high as possible.

“I’ve never encountered a Legacy dungeon boss capable of leaving its own territory. You’re quite unique, aren’t you?” I remarked cautiously, hoping to bait him into revealing something useful.

Unexpectedly, Aldrich took the bait.

“I’m only confined to the cathedral when I’m using the Golden Dawn Knight’s body,” he answered, opening his beak-like mouth. “An irritating side effect I have to endure in exchange for controlling a hunter as powerful as him. But when I use my true body, my range expands to encompass the entire city.”

“Thanks for the valuable information. I’m sure it’ll come in handy next time.”

I smiled as I spoke, prompting Aldrich to tilt his head in response.

“Next time? It seems you’ve misunderstood something… There won’t be a next time. You’re going to die here.”

A powerful wave of killing intent erupted from him, causing me to instinctively take a step backward. I quickly regained my composure, however, refusing to let my fear show any further.

“We’ll see about that.”

I remained where I was, not daring to make the first move. Aldrich outranked me, and I was nowhere near my best condition, which made attacking him recklessly an extremely dangerous proposition.

He understood that perfectly well. Perhaps that was why he seemed so relaxed, showing no intention of attacking immediately, as though he were already certain of his victory.

The cursed monster began walking slowly to the side, turning his gaze toward the ancient city and the devastation spread across it.

“Tell me, Curse Bearer. Do you have even the slightest idea how special you are? How many eyes are watching you from afar in this world?”

Aldrich’s unexpected question caught me off guard, and I frowned almost instinctively.

“I don’t think I’m particularly special, but I’m well aware that plenty of eyes are watching me.”

“Hehehe… So you’re not entirely stupid. Though you’re still a fool.”

Aldrich took another step toward me.

“You bearers of the Mark Curse are special. Your destiny is to undergo the Ordeal again and again. Those who emerge victorious become masters, while those who lose become slaves, just like your friend, the Golden Dawn Knight.”

“He was exceptional. Incredibly powerful, with practically no weaknesses worth mentioning. I was going to use him to build an invincible Legacy dungeon! One that would swallow not only Ashvarn, but the entire Arden Empire!!”

His voice grew increasingly furious.

“But you damned bastards ruined everything!”

“Haha… Sorry about that, but you deserve an even worse fate.”

I laughed at his anger, finding a certain satisfaction in hearing just how thoroughly we had ruined his plans.

“I’ll accept your apology, Curse Bearer. After all… you’ve provided me with a replacement. Hehehehe…”

Aldrich chuckled softly, his crimson eyes glowing with a sinister light that seemed to promise something terrible.

A replacement?

Had he really just called me his replacement?

A dreadful feeling stirred in my chest as the meaning behind his words finally began to sink in.