"Hehe... She's a pretty child. To target the lives of such beautiful children, what a terrible person." The captain of the boat said.

"Thank you, she is our treasure, and we are fortunate that Lady Kurzina saved her."

"By the way, madam, what is that shining jewel in your bag? It has a very pretty color."

"Oh...It is our family heirloom."

"Huh... I've been sailing for over 20 years, and I've never seen anything like it."

"Is that so?" The woman wrapped her arms around the bag, hiding it from the captain.

"Oh, I'm not coveting it, I'm just curious," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Oh, I shouldn't have said that. You know, when you get older you say silly things."

"Mommy, Mommy, I have something to tell you!" The child tugged at the woman's ear. The captain turned away from the mother and daughter and returned to her seat. And then

The child whispered in the woman's ear. With a childlike smile and an innocent voice.

"Mommy, he wants our jewelry. He's going to kill us while we're sleeping, and then he's going to push our bodies into the sea and put the jewelry in his pocket."

"He will... Really? What should we do then?"

"There's a piece of his hair on the deck. Recite the words I told you and burn the hair. Then his soul will turn to dust and scatter."

"I see! Only our daughter could think of that! I'll go get the hair right away!"

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"You're the only one who uses such grim tactics, Bashme."

Behind Edulis' back stood a masked woman. The woman's mask covered her entire face, and in the center of the mask was a black butterfly and bloodshot eyes. The sight of the mask made Edulis feel terribly uncomfortable.

It was the same with Bosha. Bosha despised Bashme, viewing her like a termite or cockroach, hiding in dark places, laying eggs, and slowly gnawing at objects and people.

Bashme was among the most troublesome of the witches' forces. In fact, bigwigs like Akale tend to keep to themselves unless they're intrigued. In contrast, Bashme, with her high loyalty to Granadilla, is very active.

Even when Bosha was alive, the number of people killed by Bashme was comparable to those killed by Akale.

"Edulis, we need to talk."

Edulis didn't listen. He felt like he was facing a cockroach with eggs, and he had to kill it before it could spread its grim curse again. Edulis raised his sword and leaped toward Bashme.

Boom!

A thick barrier of magic blocked Edulis' sword, but it didn't stop the attack. The terrifying thing about Black Fang swordplay is that every move is seamlessly connected. Edulis' sword spun relentlessly, like a wheel on a waterwheel, slashing at the wall of magic. Then, the cracks in the wall deepened.

It was enough to win. Bashme seemed weaker than the Nekveta he had already defeated.

"Listen to me! You don't have to fight us. Bringing Lutea back to life is also our goal."

"What kind of bullshit is that?"

Even while saying that, Edulis didn't slow down his attack.

Bashme continued, "I'm going to use Lord Granadilla's power to revive Lutea's existence. Lord Granadilla wants to be a close sister to her."

"I shouldn't have listened."

Clang!

Under Edulis' sword strike, the shield protecting Bashme cracked like an egg.

"Think about it, Edulis. You honestly think Lutea's words are nonsense too, don't you? You, who killed a child and desecrated a grave, must think so. Look at the people of Agade! They were blinded by jewels, sacrificed their own child to the altar, and turned them into Wendigos. They hated and suspected their neighbors, so they cursed them at the Wendigo's word, and they did it all voluntarily."

Edulis didn't utter a reply.

"She won't be much different from the Lutea you know, except that she won't believe in humans. Lutea who doesn't believe in humans... We can give you a seat next to her, and you'll be able to talk to her, just like you used to!"

Boom!

The shield was broken. Edulis's sword lunged for Bashme's throat. Bashme stumbled back, barely deflecting it with her staff.

"Edulis, what do you have to gain by fighting for Lutea? Lutea will never forgive you for what you did, and even if you did resurrect her, she won't consider you special!"

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Bosha knew. That making everyone feel special was the same as making no one feel special. The way Ygraine looked at him was no different than the way Ygraine looked at anyone else. He wanted to stand and walk alongside her, and she wanted to stand alongside everyone else in the world.

It was frustrating. He couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if Ygraine were a normal person, and her thoughts then weren't so different from what Bashme was saying now. But...

"What do I gain? Something more valuable than ten thousand carts of gold."

"What? What is that?"

"You will never know what it is."

Only those who meet Lutea will know. Only those who take Lutea's hand will know. What the hell does Edulis get for running toward the abyss?

"Ha! You're not a man of words, are you? Do you know how I feel right now? I feel like I have to use everything I've gathered so far, only to kill you!"

With that said, Bashme raised his staff and chanted a spell.

- I, Bashme, guide your lost hearts and grant you endless freedom, for neither life nor death shall redeem you, children crushed by the shell of Providence.

Then the springs surrounding the altar began to bubble and boil.

As Bashme chanted, Edulis felt a terrible pain in his back. It felt like someone was scratching at his wounds with a dull scythe.

As Bashme finished the incantation, children emerged from the spring. They looked up at Bashme with calm, innocent faces, but with eyes that had lost their light. Edulis recognized them, and as he studied their faces, he realized that they had the same faces as the Wendigos he had killed. These were real human children, sacrificed on the altar of their parents.

"Children, you shall know freedom."

As soon as Bashme finished speaking, hundreds of children opened their mouths in unison and began to speak.

- I resent the father who offered me as a sacrifice. I wish for my father to crawl on the ground with severed limbs and die in agony."

- I resent my mother. The one who bore me shall not stop vomiting until she spews 999 nails."

Each word was a curse of epic proportions, and heating them, a steady stream of black pus poured from Edulis's back. Flesh-crushing, soul-twisting curse.

"What? How is he still alive? With all these curses at once, even a saint's soul would be twisted and they would lose their mind!" Bashme said in a panicked voice.

"Knowing that I would meet you, did you think I would not cast a protection?"

Mermaid's scales. A charm second only to the Hair of the Seven Sages. Mermaids are a race of people who are resistant to curses and magic. Otherwise, they would lose their minds to their own songs.

Before reaching the final island, Edulis called upon the mermaid Ramu to give him scales. Hundreds of them. The scales were now woven into a thread and worn like a belt, but judging by the pain he was feeling, this was no ordinary curse from Bashme.

Edulis bit the insides of his mouth, fighting the pain. He channeled white magic into his blade, lengthening it. Then he stomped his foot on the ground and leaped toward Bashme in a single bound.

Boom!

But it didn't break. Bashme's shield was even stronger than before.

"I can't retreat now that I've used all of my tricks..this is a siege, and your life will be cut off before the curse is lifted!"

Edulis saw hundreds of children rising from the water. Souls corrupted and twisted by Bashme.

The only way to capture Bashme is to kill the children. It's a decision he's already made. There was no other way.

With that thought, Edulis swung his sword as fast as he could so that, at the very least, the children could die before they cursed others.

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"Another dead end."

"Enri, do you think we can't turn around?"

"The landslide is too solid, we might be able to break it if we combine our forces, but it would take time..."

Enri and the children followed Edulis' trail. It was almost certain that Edulis was in the ruins of Rekabi but they couldn't get there. The bridge was broken and the detour was blocked by a large mound of earth.

"Is Edulis fighting something by himself again? Like when he snuck out at night without us."

"With even Lady Kurzina turning her back on him, we're the only ones who can give him strength, and we have to do it somehow..."

Neither the child's body nor the bloodstained ground could dampen their faith. Edulis saved their lives. He gave them hope. He brought light to a life they thought was nothing but darkness.

They had to believe. Even if the path to trusting Edulis is a dark one, they have to believe there will be light.

"Well, this is the closest we've come to the ruins, so is there anywhere else we can go?"

The children looked up from the landslide and sighed.

"Ouch!" Harsh groaned. Looking up, he stepped on something sharp. It was a chestnut.

"Ugh…" Harsh kicked the chestnut, which he did without thinking, and it went flying and hit Enri's heel.

"What are you doing, Harsh, uh... is this…?" Enri looked down at his feet. He saw a strange pattern on the ground next to the chestnut.

If the chestnut hadn't been there, if Harsh hadn't kicked it, and if the chestnut hadn't hit Enri's heel, Enri wouldn't have looked down at his feet.

Enri swiped at the dirt on the floor with his shoe, and a text appeared. Methena stepped out and read it.

"May Lord Urukagina's blessings spread like rain.'"

Then the floor rumbled and moved, and a space appeared. The children shouted, not sure who was first.

"A secret passage!"

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Edulis thought, How did this happen?

The source of Bashme's curse had been found and destroyed. Blocked all passageways so that no one could enter the Rekabi ruins. Defeated all those who spoke the words of the curse, and broke the shield that surrounded Bashme.

Edulis's body was ravaged; pus from the wound in his back soaked his shirt, and his face was lifelessly pale. Blood trickled from his ears as a result of hearing the curse words over and over again. In such a state, he had managed to defeat Bashme.

Bashme's head rolled on the ground. With only his head left, Bashme said "You... you! I will curse you with my entire being, and I will inflict endless pain on you-"

Just as Bashme was about to utter the words of his curse, something happened. A corner of the pool, a tile on the floor, opened and a familiar face stepped out. Methena...

At the sight of it, Bashme's head broke into a grin. "No, that won't be necessary."

Bashme's mask clung to Methena's face. There was no time for Edulis to swing his sword. It happened in an instant.

"You say you have a special place in your heart for the descendants of Ygraine, is that true?"

A voice emanated from the eyes drawn on the mask.

Why were these children here? Why was there a passage here? Why had it opened now?

In that brief moment, numerous 'whys' flashed through Edulis's mind.

Bashme is the mask. It takes a moment for the mask to swallow a soul. A soul swallowed by Bashme is never laid to rest but becomes a part of Bashme.

What would Ygraine have done?

'It's a futile idea.' There is no Ygraine in this place. There is only one thing Edulis can do. Only Edulis can do it. What Edulis must do.

Following Methena, Enri climbed the ladder from underground. His face was still innocent, his clear silver eyes reflecting his trust in Edulis.

- I wanted to say thank you, and this...

Edulis remembered Enri sneaking out at night before the Feast of Saints and handing him bread. Enri's face was the same as it had been then, and he hated it now. It was heavy with faith, a faith that hadn't wavered until now. He feared he might find it pleasing.

It should have been shaken. It should have been twisted. It should have been crumpled up and thrown in the trash.

Edulis turned away from Enri's gaze and, dragging his battered body, took a step toward Methena.