Shadow's Oath

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Chapter 78: The Killing Curse (2)

Rustle, rustle.

Thud, thud.

Tap, tap.

The sounds of something walking echoed.

It wasn’t human.

Humans didn’t make such footsteps.

It wasn’t a four-legged beast either.

Wolves, dogs, cats, or bears—none of them moved like this.

It wasn’t a snake.

It definitely wasn’t a bird.

Ram had never heard such footsteps before.

When Hak Ainyu mentioned the term "killing curse," Ram had vaguely imagined smoke made from powder thrown into a fire—a sinister haze like the one that had infiltrated during the night.

That smoke had made breathing impossible, pained the lungs, and clouded vision, inciting fear.

So, a killing curse must be something that kills you just by breathing it in, or blinds you.

Or perhaps it summons a monstrous being of unimaginable form.

Or, like an invisible ghost, it might kill people in ways no one could foresee.

That was as far as Ram's imagination went.

Or maybe it was a curse in the truest sense of the word?

Like the protective talisman Maraka had invoked to save Mantum, or the curse placed on Mantum’s killer.

‘May you meet the most terrible death imaginable!’

But what was approaching now wasn’t some shapeless curse.

It was something that made sounds as it stepped.

Thud, thud.

The sound echoed down the cave.

And it wasn’t just one.

‘Could it be Tagda warriors? Maybe Halles sent his warriors through the snake tunnels.’

But the sound wasn’t made by human feet.

No matter how many times he listened, it wasn’t human.

And it was speeding up.

It walked on all fours, but it wasn’t a four-legged beast.

Ram recalled Ainyu’s warning again:

‘Once it starts, it can’t be stopped!’

Ram bolted out of the cave hole near the waterfall, almost leaping.

The faint light of dawn seeped through the exit, barely illuminating the interior.

Ram could see, but for Charlon and Jedrick, it was likely still pitch dark.

The two, startled by Ram’s sudden footsteps, sprang to their feet.

“It’s me,”

Ram quickly reassured them, trying to keep them from panicking.

“Ram!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Good thing you’re awake.”

Their relief quickly turned to dread as Ram continued.

“They’re coming.”

Ram didn’t explain what “they” were.

Even saying that Tagda warriors were following them would be enough to terrify the two.

But if he mentioned something worse, they might freeze in terror altogether.

‘I have to hold them off while these two escape.’

For that simple plan to work, the two had to keep moving.

“We need to leave here.”

He turned his head toward the waterfall to listen.

But before any sound reached him, a dreadful stench overwhelmed his senses—a smell like rotting flesh.

It was similar to the stench of the bodies he had killed during the night but far worse.

That smell shouldn’t have been able to follow them here.

And yet, it did.

Things that shouldn’t have been able to move were following.

“Jedrick, first!”

Ram shoved aside the stone blocking the cave’s exit and shouted, cutting off any time wasted on polite arguments over who should go first.

Jedrick, sensing Ram’s urgency, leaped forward and climbed out of the hole in one swift motion.

His body disappeared, followed by his legs.

Then his face reappeared.

“Charlon, your hand!”

Jedrick extended his hand to her.

The hole wasn’t vertical but steep enough that Charlon, injured, couldn’t climb out easily.

Ram didn’t help her up by pulling her hand.

Instead, he placed his hands under her thighs and hips, pushing her up in one strong motion.

Her sides would probably ache terribly, but this wasn’t the time to worry about pain.

Charlon groaned but extended her hand upward, grabbing Jedrick’s.

While Jedrick pulled her up with both hands, Ram turned around and drew his sword.

He couldn’t spare the time to ensure she wouldn’t slip back down.

‘They’ were already right behind him.

Ram swung his sword the moment he turned.

The blade sliced into the nape of the nearest one, nearly severing it.

If it were alive, the injury alone would have halted it, but the thing continued charging at Ram.

According to what Ram overheard from Halles, this one’s name was Houen.

And during the night, Houen had been the first of Tagda’s warriors to fall by Ram’s hand.

Houen had suffered fatal injuries in his fight with Ram.

He had died instantly.

Ram had confirmed his death three times: once initially, then again as he advanced against other enemies, and finally when he retreated.

He even verified it by sound during the night.

And yet, Houen was alive.

Reeking of decay, making unfamiliar footsteps, Houen charged at Ram.

It wasn’t surprising the footsteps were unfamiliar.

Houen was running like a four-legged beast, using both hands and feet.

He made no sound as he breathed because he wasn’t breathing.

And he wasn’t alone.

The other warriors of Tagda, those Ram had killed in the cave overnight, were steadily advancing, following the path behind the waterfall.

Ram gripped his sword with both hands and swung with all his might.

He had rarely ever swung his sword this way; usually, his strikes were minimal and precise, just enough to kill.

The sword cleaved through Houen’s neck, severing his head.

Houen’s head fell to the ground and rolled.

His body hesitated for a moment, stumbled backward slightly, and then started moving again.

‘Barastu!’

Like the legendary berserkers who fought on even without heads, Houen pressed forward, headless, trying to crush Ram.

Ram thrust his sword into its chest, but the creature pushed forward, impaled on the blade.

Its strength was monstrous.

Houen shoved the severed neck toward Ram’s face.

The stump of his neck loomed close.

No blood flowed—just sticky mucus clinging to the wound.

‘He’s trying to bite me.’

The creature didn’t seem to realize it no longer had a head and was attempting to bite Ram.

With his sword still embedded in the creature’s chest, Ram kicked it in the stomach.

The sound of ribs scraping against the blade echoed as the thing staggered back.

Its strength was overwhelming, but its weight hadn’t increased.

The creature stumbled before charging again.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Its movements weren’t as agile as they had been in life.

It lumbered forward clumsily.

Had it not been headless, it would have been easy to handle.

Ram chose not to stab or slash it again.

Instead, he ended it with a well-placed kick.

There was no point in killing something already dead.

The real problem was the other corpses closing in.

‘So this is the killing curse… How could something like this exist?’

Ram was more incredulous than afraid.

“Ram!”

Jedrick’s voice called from outside the hole.

He was reaching out a hand.

Ram hurled himself toward the exit.

Jedrick grabbed his hand firmly and, instead of climbing up the steep incline, pushed his body into the hole as if jumping off the ground.

The corpses rushed to grab Ram’s feet but missed.

Ram and Jedrick emerged from the hole almost simultaneously, rolling backward.

Ram hit his head on the ground, leaving him dizzy, but there was no time to rest, even for a moment.@@novelbin@@

“Take Charlon and run, Jedrick. Make sure she doesn’t look back!”

Even for Ram, watching headless bodies move was horrifying.

For a young girl who had likely never seen a single corpse, it would be unbearable.

“What on earth is…?”

Jedrick started to ask something but glanced toward the hole and stopped.

The creatures were already trying to crawl out.

Fortunately, their impatience to emerge first caused them to get stuck, delaying them.

“This way.”

Jedrick grabbed Charlon’s hand and pulled her along.

“Don’t look back. Just run.”

Charlon obeyed without question.

Ram stepped back.

He had thought of holding the exit and pushing them back as they emerged, but it was already too late.

One creature came out, then two, and soon three followed.

Ram turned and ran after Jedrick.

Although the sun had not yet risen, it was bright enough to see the surroundings, making it easy to identify a path forward.

But this also made their location all too obvious.

“There they are!”

Shouts rang out from afar—it was the warriors of Tagda.

They were headed in the direction Jedrick and Charlon were running.

The two quickly changed course and headed toward another rocky mountain.

That path offered no guaranteed hiding spots, but running aimlessly was their only choice for now.

“Don’t get too close. They’re ghouls.”

The voice was quiet, barely audible to Ram.

There were three of them, and they weren’t mounted.

“What, ghouls? Why are they here?”

“Hak summoned them.”

The warriors started toward Jedrick but stopped.

Even they hesitated upon seeing the corpses rushing forward, unable to approach any closer.

Ram continued chasing after Jedrick and Charlon but looked back.

He had killed countless people before, yet the sight of corpses running en masse was nearly unbearable.

Still, Ram had no choice but to confront the horror head-on.

Charlon was running far too slowly.

‘I just need to hold them off long enough for those two to escape.’

It was the simplest, and the only, solution.

Ram targeted the ones in the lead, stabbing their hearts and slashing their necks.

Yet, like the others, these creatures couldn’t be killed by stabbing their throats or severing their necks—they kept moving.

There was no way to stop them.

Ram adjusted his approach, disabling them by severing tendons or cutting major blood vessels.

Against ordinary foes, this method would render them immobile, allowing him to win by being faster and more precise.

But none of that worked on these creatures.

No tactic Ram knew could halt their advance.

‘I just need to hold them off so they can escape….’

It was the simplest solution, yet even that hope was slipping away.

“Aaaaaah!”

Charlon’s scream pierced the air.

Ram turned to see her frozen in fear, unable to run as she stared at the horror before her.

Jedrick tried pulling her along, but she wouldn’t budge.

Her expression wasn’t just one of terror—it was something else entirely.

“It’s death. My death is coming for me. Those dead things have come to take me away. That’s my death!”

She began muttering the same words over and over, almost in a fit.

Jedrick kept trying to persuade her.

“Get up, Charlon. You can’t stop here.”

But Charlon dropped to her knees, screaming faintly but desperately.

“Don’t come. Don’t come. Don’t come.”

Ram, distracted by Charlon’s outburst, was suddenly pushed over by two corpses.

One creature climbed on top of him, baring its teeth as it went for his throat.

Ram jammed his blade into its mouth to stop it, but in the meantime, another had grabbed his leg.

He could see how this would end.

One would bite his leg.

His strength would fade.

The one on top would sink its teeth into his face.

Then the third one would strike.

There wouldn’t even be a fourth or fifth—they’d already be after Jedrick and Charlon, who couldn’t move….

From a distance came the sound of hooves.

Judging by the weight and rhythm, reinforcements had arrived at last.

But they were too far away.

Even if they galloped at full speed, by the time they arrived, the ghouls would have devoured the three of them, leaving no trace behind.

Charlon screamed again.

“Don’t come!”

Ram wished he could tell her to use that time to run instead.

“Don’t come!”

As he thought this, Ram realized something strange.

The ghoul holding his leg should have started chewing long ago.

The ghoul that had overpowered his weakened grip should have bitten his throat.

But none of that happened.

“Don’t come!”

Charlon kept screaming.

The ghouls stopped moving.

They neither advanced nor retreated.

They stood completely still, as if obeying Charlon’s command.

[Translator - Night]

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