Chapter 230: The Cursed Child

One out of every thousand pregnancies had a chance of producing twins. It was so rare that their birth should have been considered a miracle, yet it was not, and that was because of the curse placed upon the very concept of twins.

When twins came into existence, both children carried a hunger inside the womb. It was a primal, insatiable hunger that could only be satisfied by consuming the other sibling.

If one child devoured the other, the survivor gained strength, speed, and talent far beyond those of ordinary humans. Their bodies became terrifyingly powerful, allowing them to exchange attacks with Exalted swordsmen despite being unawakened.

However, if the twins managed to keep their hunger under control and were brought into the world together, that hunger transformed into something else: an unending, inexplicable love for each other.

It was the curse placed upon them.

They had to either kill one another or love each other so deeply that they would never willingly cause the other harm.

Regardless of which fate they experienced, both were called Cursed Children.

And now, one of them stood before Olide and Greta.

Neither needed to wonder whether Himber had a sibling.

The bindings of light and darkness stretched around the knight’s limbs and torso, their strands tightening as he pushed forward. Cracks spread through the formations, and several bindings began snapping apart beneath the pressure of his immense strength.

Himber gritted his teeth and forced another step forward.

Olide’s carefree expression had disappeared. He glanced at Greta, who stood ready with her daggers, then looked toward the four knights retreating behind Himber.

"Take care of the others," he mumbled.

Greta nodded and immediately rushed toward the staircase.

Himber’s eyes widened.

"No, you do not!" he muttered, twisting his body as he tried to swing his enormous sword toward her.

The blade swept across the narrow hallway with a heavy whistle, but Greta had already anticipated the attack. She lowered her body and slipped beneath its arc, allowing the sword to pass above her head before she accelerated toward the fleeing knights.

Himber tried to turn after her, but the bindings tightened around his arms and legs, slowing his movement.

Greta caught up with the four knights before they reached the staircase.

The first turned at the sound of her approaching footsteps and raised his sword, but she shifted to his blind side before he could complete the movement. Her dagger slipped beneath his raised arm and pierced his throat.

Blood spilled across his silver armor as he staggered backward, clutching at the wound. Greta withdrew her blade and moved past him without slowing, allowing his body to collapse against the stone floor.

The second knight lunged at her with a thrust aimed toward her chest.

Greta tilted her torso aside, letting the sword pass close enough to scrape her clothing, then stepped inside his reach. Her left dagger struck beneath his ribs while her right blade swept across his neck.

The knight gasped and dropped his weapon. His knees buckled, and he fell beside the first, leaving a dark smear across the floor.

The remaining two knights turned together.

One raised his sword defensively while the other moved to flank her, hoping to trap her between their weapons. Greta’s eyes narrowed, and she adjusted her footing, keeping both men within her field of vision.

The knight on her right attacked first.

She parried his downward strike with one dagger, redirecting the blade away from her shoulder, then pivoted and drove her other weapon into the gap beneath his helmet. His body jerked as the dagger pierced his throat, and he dropped heavily to the ground.

The final knight hesitated.

Greta did not give him time to recover his courage. She rushed forward, crossed her daggers before his sword could reach her, and twisted her wrists to force his weapon aside. Then she stepped close and thrust one blade into his abdomen.

He doubled over with a strangled cry.

Greta pulled the dagger free and delivered a final strike, leaving him crumpled beside the staircase.

The hallway fell quiet except for the distant cracking of Olide’s formations.

Greta stood among the four fallen knights, her daggers dripping with blood. She briefly checked the staircase to ensure no one else was coming, then turned back toward Himber.

The screams of his knights had reached him.

Fury consumed the Cursed Child.

He let out a roar that shook the narrow hallway, and the bindings surrounding him began snapping apart faster than before. Veins bulged across his neck and face as he forced his body forward, his muscles swelling beneath his armor.

The stone floor cracked beneath his feet.

Himber’s furious eyes fixed on Olide.

The mage’s expression tightened as the remaining bindings strained to hold the knight in place.

Elsewhere in the hideout, Himber’s roar echoed through the corridors and reached the rooms where the women were waiting.

Monica’s eyes snapped open.

She had been lying in her bed, waiting for Elias to awaken from the Lord Trial. The sound made her shoulders tense, and her already gloomy expression turned grim.

’It has already been three days... When are you going to wake up from that trial?’

Monica swallowed her anxiety and looked toward the door.

"Please wake up soon," she mumbled somberly.

In another room, Young Stella sat on her bed while holding a pillow around her head, covering her ears.

Other Stella stood nearby, watching her with a puzzled expression.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Hiding from husband. I am angry, hmph!" Young Stella muttered, squeezing the pillow tighter around her head.

Other Stella frowned.

"Like this?"

Young Stella blinked in confusion and slowly lowered the pillow.

"How else?"

"What about your body?"

"Ah!"

Young Stella facepalmed as the realization struck her. She quickly pulled the pillow down and placed it over herself, covering her body as though that would somehow make her hiding more effective.

Other Stella stared at her for several seconds before shaking her head.

’How did I become like this?’

She sighed and looked toward the door, her expression growing more serious.

"Come back quickly," she mumbled. "Or I will become as crazy as the mad me."

Meanwhile, Natasha sat alone in her room, sewing something onto the back of a black cape.

The fabric rested across her lap as she carefully guided the needle through it, keeping each stitch neat and even. She paused occasionally to examine her work before continuing, her expression focused.

At the same time, Berlic stood before Mekah.

The old priest sat comfortably in his chair, his expression calm despite the city lord’s cold gaze. The room was quiet, and the distance between them felt far smaller than it should have, given the authority each man possessed.

Berlic’s eyes narrowed.

"Where is that lantern?" he asked coldly.

Mekah simply smiled.

"Are you here to kill me?" he asked.

Berlic’s expression did not change.

The priest’s smile remained, and the silence between them stretched.

Back in the underground hallway, the bindings continued to snap one by one.

Olide’s expression darkened as he watched the Cursed Child advance.

He had already channeled half of his mana into the formations, yet they were still failing to hold Himber. That was hardly surprising. The formations were only Tier I, and their effects barely produced results comparable to zero-circle spells.

They had been designed to restrain intruders, not to imprison someone whose physical strength could rival that of an Exalted swordsman.

Himber took another step.

A binding snapped around his shoulder, and another shattered near his waist.

Olide stopped channeling mana into the formations.

The bindings immediately fell apart, their glowing strands dissolving into scattered particles as the formations lost their mana supply.

Instead, Olide began forming hand signs, flowing mana through his body along specific pathways. The energy gathered in his arms and spread toward his palms, where it churned into a concentrated current.

He raised both hands toward Himber.

Winding Ram!

A heavy gust of wind rushed from his palms, gathering into a powerful stream that surged down the hallway like a charging ram.

The spell struck Himber squarely in the chest.

The Cursed Child stumbled backward, his boots scraping across the cracked stone floor as the force pushed him away from Olide.

At the same moment, Greta attacked from behind.

Her daggers flashed toward Himber’s back, one aimed at the gap beneath his shoulder armor and the other toward his waist.

Himber turned abruptly and raised his sword.

The enormous blade intercepted both attacks, producing a sharp metallic clang that echoed through the hallway. Greta shifted her grip and struck again, aiming for the exposed side of his torso, but Himber blocked her with the flat of his sword before retaliating with a heavy swing.

Greta ducked beneath the blade and moved away.

Olide seized the opening.

Wind Bullet!

Several compressed spheres of air formed before his hands and shot toward Himber. The projectiles struck his armor and burst against it, producing sharp impacts that forced him to shift his stance.

Wind Lance!

A narrow spear of compressed air formed and shot toward Himber’s shoulder. He twisted aside, allowing it to pass close to his body, but the spell still tore through the edge of his armor.

Olide followed with another spell.

Wind Blade!

Several thin blades of air swept through the hallway, cutting toward Himber from different angles.

The Cursed Child raised his sword and deflected the first two, then twisted his body to avoid the third. The final blade grazed his arm, leaving a shallow cut across his skin.

Despite the attacks, Himber continued advancing.

Olide’s expression grew more strained.

He was deliberately limiting the power of his spells. Greta was fighting at close range, and he could not risk striking her with an attack powerful enough to seriously injure Himber.

The Cursed Child noticed.

His gaze shifted between Olide and Greta, and a sinister grin slowly spread across his face.

Then he changed his method.

Himber moved toward Greta, forcing her to retreat, then seized an opportunity to maneuver her directly between himself and Olide. He kept her close, using her body as a shield against the mage’s attacks while forcing her to defend herself against his sword.

Greta’s expression tightened as she realized what he was doing.

Olide’s eyes narrowed.

Himber swung his sword toward Greta, forcing her to block. The impact drove her backward, and he immediately pressed forward, keeping her between them so Olide could not attack without risking his ally.

Olide let out a deep breath.

He could no longer afford to fight carelessly.

Closing his eyes, he activated his Mind’s Eye.

The area extending two steps in every direction around him turned vibrant, while everything beyond that boundary became black and white. The hallway’s walls, floor, and ceiling lost their colors, leaving only the vivid space surrounding the mage.

A gleaming green light appeared beside him.

An Exalted mage could cast a spell whenever they were within the zone of their Mind’s Eye, allowing them to direct mana and form magic outside their bodies.

Himber noticed the light and smirked.

He blocked Greta’s next attack with his sword, then reached into a hidden compartment at his waist and pulled out a throwing dagger.

His eyes flicked toward the green glow beside Olide.

If he threw the dagger at the mage himself, Greta could easily intercept it.

But he did not need to.

When a mage used their consciousness to cast magic beyond their body, the spell could be interrupted by a physical attack against that projected consciousness. If the attack struck the projection, the mage would suffer the consequences.

Himber threw the dagger.

It flew past Greta and passed directly through the gleaming green light.

Olide groaned.

His eyes trembled as the spell collapsed, and he dropped to one knee. Blood surged into his mouth, and he vomited it onto the stone floor.

"Olide!" Greta shouted.

Himber seized the opening.

He slammed his fist into Greta’s abdomen, folding her body around the impact. Before she could recover, he grabbed her by the arm and hurled her across the hallway.

Greta flew toward Olide and crashed into him.

"Ugh!"

Both fell to the floor in a heap.

Himber stepped toward them, his enormous sword dragging against the stone as a sinister grin spread across his face.

"Let’s end th—"

Before he could finish, a heavy pressure descended upon him.

His knees struck the floor.

"W-What?!" he mumbled in disbelief.

The sound of footsteps reached him from deep inside the hallway.