Shadow's Oath

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 77: The Killing Curse (1)

Ram emerged from the hole near the waterfall after both individuals had fallen asleep.

He landed quietly next to the pool, making an effort to avoid making noise as he approached them.

There was barely any light.

An average person wouldn’t have been able to distinguish the ceiling from the ground.

However, thanks to the faint moonlight seeping in through a small exit partially blocked by stones, Ram was able to check on the two individuals.

Jedrick was leaning against the wall, holding Charlon from behind.

Charlon was asleep with her head resting on his neck, and Jedrick had his head tilted back against the wall as he slept.

To shield Charlon from the coldness of the stone, he had spread clothes on the ground and embraced her to provide warmth.

Still, without proper insulating tools or blankets, it was difficult to fend off the bitter cold of the northern night.

Ram took off his own clothes and covered both of them.

It wouldn’t be enough, but he hoped the shared warmth between the two would help them endure.

Ram scanned the ceiling and walls, his eyes groping through the darkness.

“That” wasn’t there.

The light was insufficient for a thorough search, but “that” wasn’t something visible even under bright light.

‘What was it?’

Charlon wasn’t the only one who had sensed its presence.

Ram had also become aware of it at some point.

Just a while ago, it had been with Ram.

It appeared while he was sitting alone, keeping watch in case the Tagda tribe’s men approached the cave.

It hadn’t been overtly threatening.

But neither was it a pleasant feeling.

Having never experienced anything like it before, Ram struggled to find a comparison, but if he had to, it felt like being watched by someone.

It had no tangible form, only a presence.

Yet Ram knew it was moving.

There was no sound of movement, no scent, no tactile sensation, and, of course, nothing visible.

Still, Ram could feel it moving along the cave. It didn’t head toward the snake cave where the Tagda tribe was stationed but toward the exit where Charlon and Jedrick were.

Charlon seemed to perceive it more clearly.

She was seeing an invisible presence.

For someone like her—an inexperienced, young girl—to perceive something that even Ram, with his heightened senses, couldn’t see was incomprehensible.

An unwelcome word popped into Ram’s mind.

‘A witch?’

Charlon was terrified, and Jedrick comforted her.

The two held each other, sharing warmth, and eventually engaged in intimacy.

Ram didn’t leave to avoid interrupting them, but he tried to track where “it” had gone.

He considered warning them but decided against it.

Would a warning even stop something like that?

Besides, the presence seemed to fade as it approached the two of them.

Not long after, it disappeared.

Charlon said it retreated when Jedrick covered her, but Ram felt it had already started to weaken when the two began talking.

When their intimacy ended, it vanished completely.

Ram thought he was the only one who noticed this, but Charlon made a similar remark.

‘Were they both mistaken?’

The two eventually fell asleep, sharing warmth as they shifted into a more comfortable position.

Once Ram confirmed their breathing had settled into the rhythm of deep sleep, he began surveying the surroundings.

He peeked outside to ensure that the Tagda patrols hadn’t discovered their hiding spot and to check for any approaching snakes or wild animals.

‘I knew they liked each other, but I didn’t expect this…’

For someone like Ram, with sensitive hearing, the intimacy between a man and a woman was never a private affair.

Living in Selken Castle, he had heard countless secret sounds echoing through the night.

The castle, aside from the barns and outer buildings, was built of brick and stone.

To Ram, the stone walls weren’t barriers to sound; they amplified it.

A whispered conversation became as clear as a public speech, and secret scheming sounded like idle chatter in a marketplace.

Since childhood, he had taken this for granted, never considering it a special ability.

He simply knew that others would dislike him if they discovered his ability to hear through walls, so he kept quiet about it.

Through the walls, he heard muffled sighs, whispers, and gasps just as often as he overheard complaints about the lord.

Baron Selken had affairs with other noblewomen, and the baroness had affairs with other noblemen.

The steward of the castle forced himself on female slaves for pleasure, while his wife took turns enjoying herself with the guards.

[TL/N: BRO??? WHAT????]

If Ram wanted, he could have hidden and observed it all.

Had the Baron ordered him to investigate the baroness’s infidelity, Ram could have laid out every piece of evidence on the spot.

But the Baron never did, likely because he already knew and didn’t care.

So, Ram kept his observations to himself.

As a priest vowed to celibacy secretly met with a noblewoman, and young boys and girls played mischievously in alleys, Ram heard it all yet always pretended not to.

So keeping this secret wasn’t difficult.

‘It has to remain a secret.’

Ram couldn’t even imagine the consequences if this were to come to light.

‘They said they’d confess to Damion themselves. I must wait. Even if they don’t, I must stay silent.’

Ram confirmed once more that the two were sound asleep, then returned to his post.

He slipped into the hole by the waterfall, returning to his position at the second fork in the path.

It was a spot from which he couldn’t hear their breathing but could hear them call for help if they were in danger.

It also allowed him to detect footsteps should enemies pass through the snake cave.

Ram stared into the darkness for a long time.

Occasionally, he dozed off but quickly woke, alert for sounds.

Once, he slept so long that he wondered if it had turned to morning when he awoke.

Spending so much time in the darkness made it hard to sense the passage of time.

The still air and lack of movement made it impossible to notice the subtle temperature changes that accompany morning.

No sound came from the snake cave.

The last noise had been when Halles instructed the patrols.

‘Could the shrine be entirely deserted? If they’ve retreated, that would be ideal.’

They were likely concerned about reinforcements from the south as well.

At that moment, a faint old man’s voice broke his expectations.

Ram walked toward the snake cave to hear more clearly.

As he reached the first fork in the path, he began to hear a heated argument in loud voices.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

"…That’s not allowed, Halles."

It was the voice of Hak of Tagda, Ainyu.

"Do it, Ainyu."

"I can’t. Don’t you already know why I can’t? It’ll be disastrous."

"No, the real disaster would be failing to achieve anything when things have escalated to this point. If we fail this time, do you think we can handle the aftermath?"

"Once a killing curse is cast, it cannot be undone. If the power sent to kill someone fails to kill its target, it will inevitably kill someone else."

"Hah, usually, it kills the caster themselves. Isn’t that right? So now, you’re saying you fear death more than the mission itself."

"I am a warrior of Geron, even before I am a Hak. I do not fear dying in battle. I am not even afraid of dying for the right cause. But I do fear dying by my own curse. I cannot know what kind of death it will bring."

"Where’s all that pride you used to flaunt? Didn’t they say that no one is more skilled in killing curses than Ainyu, not even Hak Maraka? But now, when asked to cast one, you hesitate. If you’re so afraid of dying by your own magic, I’ll kill you myself. After all, if we fail this mission, we’ll all end up as slaves to those filthy southern knights. A clean death is better than that."

"Do you truly not understand why the killing curse is so frightening?"

"It’s because even the caster cannot predict its side effects… I’ve heard it a hundred times. But so what? What side effects could there be here?"

"Fine, Hama! But don’t regret it later. Once a killing curse is set in motion, there’s no stopping it, no matter how much you beg."@@novelbin@@

"Enough talk, Hak Ainyu. If you’re going to do it, do it now. If not, then sit in a corner like a drenched dog. We’re going back into that cave one more time."

Ram recalled what he had heard from Kura and Kaimule, the two mages.

Whether it’s magic or curses, once cast, it cannot be stopped.

It’s like an arrow released from a bowstring.

Ainyu’s voice began to echo eerily, like a song chanted under his breath.

Moments later, a bursting sound echoed.

Although the smell hadn’t arrived yet, it sounded like the crackling of powder tossed into a campfire.

Then came the sound of steam escaping from a kettle.

The ‘smoke that makes everything invisible,’ which had filled the place earlier, had been slow-moving, even slower than a walking person.

But this time, it was fast—tearing through the cave like a racing hound, heading straight for Ram.

It was clear where that unknown killing curse was heading and who it was targeting.

Ram turned and began to run.

Though the ground was slippery and uneven, he had grown familiar with it after crossing it several times.

Even as he ran, he strained to hear the sounds.

The hissing sound, as if air was moving along the walls, stopped at a certain point.

Because the sound echoed off the walls, he couldn’t pinpoint the exact location where it had stopped.

But it seemed to be near the passage leading to the entrance of the snake cave, where Ram had first clashed with the warriors of Tagda.

The place where the corpses still lay.

Why did it stop there?

What exactly is a killing curse?

Did someone arrive?

What are they doing among the corpses?

Ram resolved to fight even if a hundred men came charging in.

As long as it was a straight path, he was determined to hold them off until his strength gave out.

But he didn’t know what a killing curse was.

He couldn’t fight or endure against something unknown.

Ram changed his plan.

Instead of “holding them off so the other two could escape,” it became “escaping together.”

He came to an abrupt halt at the second fork in the path.

Just before he turned to run again, he heard it—the hissing sound of steam escaping had ceased.

In its place came the rustling sound of something moving.

It was different from before.

This time, it was clear—something with a distinct form was moving!

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]