Chapter 362

The bandit tried desperately to get up.

He tried to shake off Taesan and flee.

But it was impossible.

Forget escaping—he couldn’t even stand up.

Even breathing properly was difficult.

‘What the hell!’

The man was horrified.

They weren’t weak. The very fact that they were openly collecting tolls in broad daylight meant they were confident enough to escape even if someone came to subjugate them.

But that strength meant nothing against Taesan.

“Don’t be too afraid. If you answer properly, I’ll let you go.”

Taesan spoke leisurely.

That languid voice sounded like the voice of the Grim Reaper to them.

Taesan began asking questions. They answered with great enthusiasm.

As a result, Taesan was able to gather a decent amount of useful information.

“So, the cursed child, huh.”

The bastard of the divine blood. That child was widely known as one cursed by all things.

The reason was simple.

Everything in the child’s vicinity would break and fall into ruin.

If the child stayed in a village, the village would collapse. Buildings would crumble and people would die without a sound.

If the child stayed in a forest, the forest would wither. Lakes would dry up and vegetation would shrivel.

And during all of it, the cursed child wouldn’t suffer even a scratch.

“While everyone was afraid and confused, His Majesty personally delivered a divine message. He declared that the child, cursed by all things, was a being who brings ruin to the world by mere existence.”

“The emperor?”

“He is the ruler of the Holy Empire, which has governed this world for a very long time. He is also an apostle of the God of Discipline. He has transcended the limits of humanity.”

The face of the bandit held reverence as he said this. It wasn’t just the look one gives a ruler, but more akin to worshiping a god.

“His Majesty is the ruler of the world. His word is law. That’s why we refer to that child as the cursed one and keep our distance.”

After hearing the explanation, Taesan paused to think.

He asked the bandits another question.

“Does the curse only happen after a day has passed?”

“Yes, yes… So far, the curse has always occurred when the cursed child stays in one place for over a day.”

“What if someone follows the child around while they’re constantly on the move?”

“There’s no information about that…”

Following the cursed child.

No one would do such a thing.

The man glanced at Taesan.

What he had just said was common knowledge.

But Taesan spoke as if he was hearing it for the first time.

While the man was puzzling over Taesan’s identity, Taesan waved his hand.

“That’s enough. Get lost.”

“Th-Thank you!”

Perhaps not believing he’d truly be spared, the man ran away in a panic. The remaining bandits hurriedly followed.

“Does the host of the divine blood have such a trait?”

[Hmm… I don’t know either. There’s too little information. It doesn’t seem impossible, but can the host of the divine blood really be unharmed?]

Even the ghost seemed unsure. For now, he decided to check things nearby. Taesan stomped his foot.

The child hadn’t gone far. With just two steps, he caught up. Taesan stood in front of the child.

“Uh…?”

The child’s pupils widened at the sight of Taesan blocking the path.

“Y-You didn’t leave?”

“I heard from those guys about you.”

“Ah… So you didn’t know about me.”

Only then did the child make a face of understanding. Since Taesan didn’t know about the curse, he stayed close. That was the conclusion the child reached.

“I bring pain and death to everything around me just by existing. So, please stay away from me.”

Saying so, the child walked forward.

And Taesan followed behind.

“Um…”

“Where are you headed?”

“Huh?”

The child stammered, startled by the question.

“…The vast forest. I’m heading to Lekrezen.”

“Then I’ll go with you.”

“What?”

The child freaked out.

“If you stay near me, you’ll be cursed! You need to get away from me quickly!”

“I’m strong.”

Taesan spoke calmly.

“At least in this world, there’s nothing that can curse me.”

“Uh…”

The child didn’t seem to believe him.

But Taesan truly meant it. Unless it was a battle, he could shake off curses easily.

“So let’s go together.”

From then on, the child desperately tried to shake off Taesan.

He tried words, tried hiding.

But nothing worked. Taesan ignored the child’s words and found every hiding spot with ease.

In the end, the child gave up.

“If you get cursed, don’t blame me.”

Taesan walked alongside the child. The child did his best to keep as far from Taesan as possible.

It was a fairly wide road, and there were quite a few people coming and going.

“Huh?”

“The cursed child…”

And those who recognized the child recoiled in fear.

They looked at the child as if they were some kind of monster, not a fellow human.

The child accepted those gazes without reaction.

The child kept walking, and night came. Stumbling, the child entered the forest.

He lay down on a patch of soft grass.

From the child’s stomach came a loud growl.

The child’s face turned red in embarrassment.

Taesan, who had been watching for a moment, walked into the forest.

“Ah.”

The child instinctively called out to him, but stopped.

If Taesan left, it was for the best. Thinking that, the child tried to calm himself and lay back down—only for Taesan to appear.

“Huh?”

The child’s eyes widened.

In Taesan’s hand was a deer.

He threw it down and waved his hand. Flames engulfed the deer. With a crackling sound, the meat slowly began to cook.

“Ah…”

The child stared blankly at the deer.

His body was slow and weak. He had no ability to catch swift wild animals. So he usually ate grass or fruits to fill his stomach. At most, he’d had fish.

Before the child’s eyes, the meat was slowly cooking.

Taesan spoke to the child who was staring holes into the deer.

“Eat.”

“…Really?”

“I brought it for you in the first place.”

“Th-Thank you!”

The child buried his face into the meat in a rush. It was freshly cooked and very hot, causing him to recoil with a start, but he didn’t give up and began blowing on it, tearing into the meat.

Seeing this, Taesan waved his hand.

A breeze wrapped around the meat, cooling it to an easier temperature.

The child hurriedly devoured the meat.

Only then, perhaps because sleepiness washed over him, the child staggered and collapsed.

The child fell asleep as if fainting.

Taesan gathered wood and lit a campfire.

He summoned a gentle breeze to help the child sleep comfortably.

The child’s face looked more at peace.

The next day, the child opened his eyes wide at the sight of Taesan, completely unharmed.

“Huh? Huh?”

Every place the child had stayed for more than a day had always fallen into ruin.

But Taesan had been by his side for over a day and was completely fine.

“How…”

“I told you. I’m strong.”

Taesan spoke calmly.

“I won’t be affected by your curse.”

“Uh, uh…”

The child was flustered.

It was something he was experiencing for the first time, and it confused him greatly.

But life returned to the child’s eyes.

As he walked again, the distance between the child and Taesan had grown shorter than the day before.

The child kept talking to Taesan, and Taesan answered moderately.

“So back then, I was so happy because I caught a squirrel and was able to eat meat, but then its babies came out of the nest. I was so hungry but had no choice but to let it go.”

“Honestly, I still don’t know much about mushrooms. I can’t really tell which ones are safe to eat.”

“How long do you think it took to build such a big road? A lot of people must’ve worked hard on it, right?”

The child didn’t stop talking. As if he was finally unloading words he had held back for so long, he kept chatting as they walked.

They continued moving forward, and night fell once again. The child struggled to keep his eyes open, bobbing hi head sleepily.

“If you’re sleepy, you should sleep.”

“Ah, I can’t. I still have so much to talk about…”

The child desperately fought off sleep.

They tried to share everything they’d experienced while wandering alone, all the amazing and strange things they had seen.

They were starved for conversation and didn’t want it to end.

Unlike Annetsha, the princess of Vekeseta. Annetsha was also a child, but as a princess, she had been trained to accept and analyze reality calmly.

But this child was just that—a child.

That’s why, even when he tried to push Taesan away, he couldn’t do it properly. Once they realized that Taesan wasn’t affected by hi curse, he opened up to him right away.

Taesan asked,

“You don’t have to risk your life, do you?”

At his question, the child closed his mouth.

“No.”

He shook his head.

“I… I’m someone who shouldn’t be alive in this world. The only way for the world and I to be saved is to offer myself to His Majesty.”

The conviction in his voice made it clear he believed there was no other choice. Taesan spoke.

“Why offer yourself to the emperor?”

“Because only His Majesty can contain my curse.”

The child spoke bitterly.

“I went to the temple to understand my curse. They said His Majesty prayed directly to the god and found out what I am. That I was cursed from birth and can’t even die on my own terms.”

If he died, the curse would scatter into the world and torment everything. But even if he lived, the curse would ruin everything around him.

“The only one who can resolve this is His Majesty. I shouldn’t exist.”

The child clenched his fists.

His arms were trembling slightly.

“This is a journey for him.”

The child fell asleep with a gloomy face.

Taesan fiddled with the campfire.

‘A choice, huh.’

What kind of ending did the God of Choices hope for?

Taesan looked up at the night sky. The vast heavens were filled with countless stars.

Staring blankly, Taesan spoke.

“Get lost.”

[You have activated Declaration of Blocking.]

Crack.

With the declaration, the space twisted. The watching presence was crushed and blocked.

What was crushed was filled with rage and confusion.

No more presence could be felt. Taesan stirred the fire.

“We’ve arrived…”

The child murmured as he gazed at the massive forest. It was a truly beautiful forest. With a gloomy face, the child stepped inside.

“The vast forest. Lekrezen. Do you know what kind of place this is?”

“No.”

“It’s a very beautiful forest. Many plants and animals have lived here for a very long time, and people love it dearly. I… I wanted to…”

The child clenched his fists and stepped deeper into the forest.

As he went where no human hand had reached, the path grew rougher. Eventually, the child’s arm was cut by a sharp leaf.

“Ouch!”

Blue blood splattered from the child’s arm.

With a somber expression, the child kept going deeper.

Taesan plucked the leaf stained with blue blood and kept it.

“When I said I would offer myself, a divine message came down. To become a sacrifice, I must pass trials. I have to fully understand what I am and how grotesquely twisted I’ve become.”

At the center of the forest, the child sat down.

“To stay in Lekrezen for a full day. That’s the first trial.”

If the child stayed in one place for over a day, that place would be cursed and fall into ruin.

The child spoke with a sad expression.

“Please step away. I don’t know how you haven’t been cursed so far, but this time, it really won’t end well.”

Even the child didn’t know why Taesan was unaffected.

But this time was different. Every place he stayed for over a day had always been ruined. There was no reason this time would be any different.

“No.”

Taesan shook his head. The child looked conflicted by his decision but was also thankful.

“…Thank you for staying with me.”

The child quietly lowered his head.

Time passed.

The child dozed in and out of sleep. He nibbled on the meat Taesan had brought and quietly closed his eyes.

A full day passed like that.

Birds chirped and the sound of flowing water echoed.

The scent of grass filled the air, and leaves rustled in the wind.

The forest was peaceful.

“Huh?”

The child’s eyes widened.