Shadow's Oath

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Chapter 79: Ghouls

Jedrick stood looking down at Charlon, who was slumped and gasping for air.

Charlon, wide-eyed, stared at the ghouls. @@novelbin@@

Moments ago, she had been screaming for them not to come closer, but now that they had stopped moving, even she seemed surprised.

Ram, who had been knocked down, pushed away the ghoul that had fallen on him.

The ghoul, being pushed, simply collapsed without resistance.

Even after being pushed away, it did not get back up.

The ghoul clutching Ram's leg remained on the ground without moving.

Even when Ram’s leg slipped out of its grasp, it didn’t try to grab hold again.

The rest of the ghouls just stood there, their empty, unfocused gazes fixed on Charlon.

Even the ghoul that had lost its head still had its body turned in Charlon’s direction.

Ram slowly backed away, careful not to provoke them.

But none of the ghouls targeted him again.

‘Why did they stop?’

Was it because Charlon told them not to come closer?

The real reason might only be known to the mysterious Hak on the other side, but getting an answer wasn’t likely.

Jedrick noticed sunlight streaming onto the area where the ghouls were standing.

‘It’s the sunlight. They didn’t stop because of Charlon’s voice—it must be because of the sunlight. Ghouls are creatures of the night that can’t move during the day.’

It made more sense to believe it was a coincidence that the timing matched Charlon’s yelling rather than crediting him with stopping them.

“Go.”

At that moment, Charlon shouted,

“Return to your master!”

All the ghouls opened their mouths in unison.

It was as if they had coordinated, waiting for a signal to act.

One, two, three—they opened their mouths simultaneously.

And then they let out a scream in unison.

The scream was not the sound of an animal or some monstrous noise typical of ghouls.

It was the scream of an old man.

“Ahhhhhh!”

When the sound ceased, the ghouls collapsed where they stood, as if crumbling into heaps.

Jedrick turned his gaze toward the eastern horizon.

The sun was rising.

‘It’s the sun. The sunlight brought the ghouls down.’

Jedrick thought desperately,

‘It wasn’t Charlon’s doing.’

It had to be the sunlight.

“You need to get up.”

Ram approached and helped Charlon to his feet.

“Why... why did they all collapse?”

“I don’t know. But the sound that came out of them—it was Hak Ainyu’s voice from Tagda.”

Jedrick recognized the name.

Ainyu was a shaman reputed in some places to be even more skilled than Maraka.

“Is that Ainyu’s magic?”

Jedrick asked.

“I’ve heard of something called a killing curse. They say when a killing curse fails, there’s backlash. And when that backlash occurs, someone has to pay the price. Usually, it’s the caster themselves.”

“Then the killing curse failed. It must’ve been because of the sunlight.”

Jedrick said this as if trying to convince himself, and in doing so, also tried to reassure the others.

“I... I think they listened to me…”

Charlon said, as though in a trance.

“That’s impossible. Even among shamans, controlling another shaman’s curse is unheard of. Why would those creatures listen to you? It’s a coincidence—the sun rose just as you shouted.”

Jedrick pointed toward the east.

“But Ainyu must have already known the sun was rising when casting the curse. It’s not like he was trapped in a cave like us, unaware of the dawn.”

Just then, Tagda’s warriors appeared in the distance, running toward them.

There were three before, but now their numbers had grown to about seven.

They were shouting something, but the words were indistinct.

Having just encountered ghouls, these warriors seemed less frightening by comparison.

Yet they were, in reality, far more dangerous.

“We need to run.”

“We won’t get far in this state. It’s better if you and I join forces to fight them…”

“We can escape. Reinforcements are coming. We just need to hold on until they arrive.”

“Where?”

Jedrick quickly looked around.

There was no sign of southern knights on the horizon.

Ram pointed toward a rocky hill.

“Beyond this hill. Take Charlon over the hill, and if you see the knights, signal them. The Tagda warriors just said, ‘Kill them before the southerners arrive.’ It’s certain they’re coming.”

Ram pointed to his ears as if emphasizing the urgency, then handed Charlon over to Jedrick.

Ram gripped swords in both hands and charged toward the advancing Tagda warriors.

“Go.”

Jedrick helped Charlon walk.

“We have to move.”

Charlon muttered something incoherent.

“I heard a voice.”

“What voice?”

“When those ghouls died… when the dead could no longer move…”

Jedrick kept his pace quick while listening to Charlon’s words.

She seemed pained by the fast pace but continued to speak.

“…It was the voice of an old man.”

Jedrick asked to keep her talking, hoping it might distract her from the pain.

“A man? Not a woman?”

“A man.”

“What did he say?”

“I don’t know exactly… but he asked me… who I was.”

Charlon’s gaze was unfocused, as if she wasn’t walking forward on her own but merely being dragged along by Jedrick.

“I couldn’t answer… there was no one there to answer to. But the old man’s voice kept echoing… no, it screamed. It felt like he was bleeding from his eyes.”

“Did you see something? Besides the ghouls falling?”

“I just… saw it all… the ghouls collapsing… and the old man bleeding… I saw it together. And he spoke to me…”

“What did he say?”

Charlon hesitated, fear gripping her voice.

Jedrick feared hearing the answer just as much.

After crossing the rocky hill, as Ram had said, knights on horseback became visible on the horizon.

Seeing the dust they kicked up as they rode, Jedrick finally felt a sense of relief.

But Charlon’s words made his heart sink.

“He called me… a witch.”

“You don’t speak the northern language. How did you understand him?”

“No, he spoke in the southern common tongue. He clearly said ‘witch.’”

Jedrick didn’t respond.

Instead, he waved his arms to signal the knights, who adjusted their course and galloped toward them.

Jedrick looked back toward Ram’s direction.

He was alive.

Two bodies lay near Ram, and five warriors surrounded him, trying to attack.

Among them, Halles was not present.

Ram moved nimbly, avoiding being fully encircled.

The five warriors couldn’t keep up and eventually noticed the approaching cavalry.

They began retreating.

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Ram didn’t pursue them but walked toward Jedrick and Charlon, his steps slow and heavy.

He looked exhausted.

There was no need to rush anymore.

It was over.

The reinforcements had arrived, and the enemies had fled.

Yet something weighed on Jedrick’s heart like a heavy stone.

‘Charlon saw something last night. Something I couldn’t see. It wasn’t just fear or hallucination.’

Everything that had happened—the events of the night, the mention of “witch”—seemed to connect.

It explained too much.

Jedrick denied it.

‘Charlon must have been mistaken.’

What truly weighed on Jedrick, however, was what had transpired between the two of them the previous night.

It was faint and sweet like a dream, but the reality of it loomed ominously close.

He had said he would handle it, but could he really?

Could he resolve this without Charlon getting hurt and without Damion getting hurt either?

The best solution that surfaced in his mind tempted him.

‘Hide it.’

Jedrick shouted to himself that it wasn’t the right thing to do, but he couldn’t find an answer sweeter than that temptation.

‘Keep it a secret.’

At the forefront of the cavalry was Charlon’s brother, Rusef.

The moment Rusef stopped his horse, he almost leapt down and rushed toward Charlon.

Before the dust from the twenty horses could engulf the two, Rusef reached her.

Jedrick naturally assumed Rusef would first take care of Charlon, so he released her from his support and stepped back.

However, Rusef didn’t go to Charlon.

He approached Jedrick first and struck him across the face with a gauntleted hand.

Jedrick staggered back nearly three steps.

The impact was so intense that he thought he might lose consciousness, and his mind went blank from the shock.

His ears rang, Charlon’s scream echoing as if from far away.

The heated argument between the two also sounded distant and indistinct.

As his hearing gradually returned, Rusef’s shouting became clear.

“Five men, pursue them! The rest will stay here. Rescue efforts come first! Where’s the horse to carry Charlon?”

Jedrick managed to raise his upper body but lacked the strength to stand.

His legs gave out, and even sitting upright was difficult.

The blow he had received was one thing, but the fatigue from the sleepless night weighed heavily on him.

Once his vision cleared, he lifted his head to see Rusef pointing a sword at him.

“Rusef! What are you doing?”

Charlon shouted, clinging desperately to his shoulder.

“Can’t you see? All of this is the doing of this man, his brother, and that so-called chieftain. If it were up to me, I’d execute him right here.”

“What are you talking about? Put the sword down!”

As Charlon shouted, Ram approached Rusef’s side, speaking in a calm voice.

“Where is Prince Damion?”

Rusef, still glaring fiercely at Jedrick, answered Ram without breaking his gaze.

“He arrived at the camp at dawn and explained the situation immediately.”

“Then he didn’t come here?”

“He couldn’t. He fainted and is currently resting.”

“Then this talk of betrayal didn’t come from Prince Damion, did it? Nor would he have ordered an execution.”

Rusef shifted his sharp gaze to Ram, who remained unmoved by the hostility.

The bloodied sword from the Tagda tribe had long been sheathed, and Ram made no move to draw it.

Yet his voice was firm.

“Lower your sword. Execution is the prince’s prerogative. Captain Rusef has no authority to execute the great chiefs of the three tribes allied with us.”

Rusef sheathed his sword.

“I know that. Bind him immediately.”

“No!”

Charlon screamed.

Ram stood in front of her, speaking calmly but firmly.

“Miss Charlon, please stand by Captain Rusef.”

His voice remained composed, yet he spoke exactly the words Jedrick needed to hear.

“Your safety must be ensured so I can focus entirely on protecting Jedrick.”

Charlon looked down at Jedrick, who was still struggling to regain his composure.

“Promise me you’ll protect him. Please.”

Ram shook his head.

“You don’t need to ask me for such things, Miss.”

“That’s right. You’re ‘our’ shadow.”

Reluctantly, Charlon stepped back to stand beside Rusef.

She seemed to urge Ram silently, ‘Now, do your job.’

Ram turned to Rusef and said,

“Miss Charlon has a severe wound on her side. It may have festered overnight and needs immediate attention from a healer.”

Rusef, somewhat calmed, asked in a composed voice,

“What caused the injury?”

“She was cut by a sharp rock. Thankfully, it wasn’t metal, but the condition is not good. She’s numb to the pain, which is why she’s able to move, but it’s no minor wound.”

“Understood.”

“How did you find us here? The path isn’t easy.”

“We brought someone from Elum Village who knows the area well.”

Rusef pointed to a man standing awkwardly at the back—a young man from the village named Dit, known for running errands quickly and joking cheerfully.

However, his face now carried a look of unease, as though he feared being caught up in the chaos.

“You brought fewer reinforcements than I expected.”

Rusef sighed heavily.

“Most of the knights have been dispatched to rescue Archbishop Aikob.”

“Archbishop Aikob?”

Ram echoed, puzzled, and Jedrick felt the same confusion.

He hadn’t thought of Aikob’s name even once during the night.

“So the knights remaining with the main camp are all we have.”

“That leaves the main camp virtually defenseless. We need to return quickly. If the Tagda cavalry learns Elum is empty, they’ll head there.”

“I’m aware. We’ve been receiving such reports since yesterday.”

Rusef barked orders to the knights.

“We retreat. As for this savage…”

“I’ll take Chief Jedrick with me. We need to move quickly, so I won’t bind him.”

Ram preempted Rusef’s words as though delivering the first strike.

The knight who had approached to seize Jedrick hesitated and looked to Rusef for orders.

Rusef, though annoyed, wasn’t hostile toward Ram and nodded reluctantly.

“Do as you wish.”

Rusef returned to the horse Charlon was seated on.

“The carriage is following behind. Hold on until then.”

Charlon obediently nodded but kept looking back at Jedrick.

Ram approached Jedrick and whispered,

“Can you stand?”

“Yes.”

Jedrick grabbed Ram’s hand and stood up.

“Don’t worry. Prince Damion knows the truth, so the misunderstanding will soon be resolved.”

‘The truth… Can I really tell Damion the truth?’

Jedrick’s heart grew heavy under the weight of his worries.

“Is there anyone in the camp who can treat Charlon’s wounds?”

“There was a healer for the soldiers near the main camp, but I’m unsure about the smaller camp.”

“Olga is skilled in such treatments.”

Ram groaned softly and said,

“You mean to take Charlon to Hag? The woman who set us up?”

“Yes, that’s right…”

Even as he thought it was a question better left unasked, Jedrick spoke.

“Was the sound the ghouls made as they died truly Hak Ainyu’s voice?”

“Yes.”

“Are you certain?”

“By my standards… yes.”

“Did he say anything else?”

“When?”

“When the ghoul died—when it stopped moving.”

“I only heard screams.”

“No other ‘words’?”

“What words?”

Jedrick thought of the word “witch” but shook his head.

“Never mind.”

He could only hope that what Charlon had said was a fear-induced illusion.

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