The Bastard First Prince Doesn't Want to Die

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 189

The scream echoed from deep within the shrine, its sharp, trembling sound shattering the silence.

I immediately lifted my head and turned to Aro.

"Did you hear that?"

Aro, eyes wide with fear, nodded. Her small hand clung tightly to my sleeve.

"They..."

"Let’s go."

Without hesitation, I moved past the altar, heading toward the narrow corridor that led further inside. The scream had come from that direction. Aro swallowed her fear and followed close behind.

The corridor was lined with pillars on both sides, their surfaces marred by dark stains that had formed over time.

…It’s not blood, is it?

Shaking off the uneasy thought, I glanced down at the floor. Fortunately, there were no stains there. The ever-present mist still clung thickly to the spaces between the columns.

As we walked along the corridor, a cold wind swept past us. It wasn’t random—it had a distinct direction.

"Uncle."

Aro cautiously nudged my side. I was already on high alert, so I flinched slightly, but I didn’t scold her.

Before long, we found the siblings. They were in another hall on the opposite side of the inner courtyard—and they were in quite the ridiculous state.

"...What are you staring at?"

Hwang Danyo stood stiffly upright, while Hwang Gongyoung had collapsed at her feet, clutching her legs with his head buried against them.

It didn’t look particularly serious.

"What happened?"

Hwang Danyo let out a heavy sigh before responding.

"Nothing much. This idiot just made a scene."

She pointed at the floor.

There, lying just slightly larger than a palm, was a small wooden carving.

A closer look revealed a spider perched on top of it.

With a look of sheer exasperation, Hwang Danyo smacked her brother on the head.

"What have you been doing here? This mess—it’s your doing, isn’t it?"

And just like that, the blame was shifted to me.

…Why me?

"Why does this place look so run-down all of a sudden?"

Hwang Danyo scanned the surroundings. She must have been here before. That made sense—after all, the chief wouldn’t have entrusted her with the key to the archives for no reason.

"Uncle didn’t do anything."

Aro suddenly pouted in protest.

"Then what happened?"

"I don’t know."

I really didn’t know, but Hwang Danyo seemed to suspect that I was manipulating Aro somehow. She narrowed her eyes at me, her suspicion growing.

I couldn’t believe it. Clearing my throat, I changed the subject.

"So, you just wandered around without finding anything?"

Hwang Gongyoung nodded.

I see.

I had no idea where Sannyeong had gone. For some reason, my abilities weakened significantly within the mist that surrounded the shrine, making it impossible to sense her presence.

And it wasn’t as if I knew every hidden path inside the shrine. From what I’d heard, even Sannyeong sometimes got lost in here.

Maybe we should follow the direction the wind was coming from earlier.

I persuaded the siblings to head in that direction with me.

We walked for a while, but as far as I could tell, nothing had changed.

Then, all of a sudden, Aro stiffened, her body trembling violently.

"W-what’s wrong?"

"T-the shadow… the shadow…!"

"Shadow? What about it?"

But Aro couldn’t answer—she just kept sobbing uncontrollably. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to explain; she simply couldn’t.

The moment I saw the terror draining all color from her face, I fell silent too.

"Calm her down. I’ll go check it out."

The siblings tried to stop me, grabbing at my arm, but I was faster.

I moved swiftly toward the source of Aro’s fear.

And that was when I finally understood what she meant by "shadow."

"…Chief?"

A dark shadow swept past my vision.

It had the form of the village chief.

I thought it was just a shadow, but upon closer look, it resembled a pitch-black statue rather than a mere silhouette. It was completely black, yet its features were still discernible.

"Chief?"

I called out with more certainty.

But the chief—or rather, the chief’s shadow—acted as if I wasn’t there. It didn’t even glance in my direction and simply continued forward, eyes fixed ahead.

Hadn’t the chief died?

I wracked my memory, then suddenly realized—Sannyeong had never explicitly said that the chief was dead.

"Chief!"

Damn it. There was no time to think. I hurried after the figure before it disappeared from sight.

"Tsk."

A sudden pain flared across my skin.

What the—? A bug bite?

At first, it was just a sharp sting, like a needle prick. But soon, the pain deepened, turning razor-sharp, as if something was burrowing beneath my skin.

The sensation didn’t fade—it grew worse. It felt as if something was scraping against the inside of my flesh, an icy, jagged touch moving just beneath the surface.

My senses went on high alert. I scanned my surroundings, but all I could see was the chief’s blackened shadow.

Yet… something felt off.

The world around me should have looked the same as before, yet everything seemed distorted, as if shifting and warping at the edges of my vision.

Had I eaten something bad?

The ground beneath me was steady, yet my vision swayed, stabbing into my retinas with a warped, unnatural clarity. The air felt suffocating, thick with an indescribable presence pressing in from all sides.

A chill ran down my spine.

But I couldn’t let the chief slip away. Pushing through the unease, I quickened my pace.

"Chief!"

I called out again, my voice ringing through the air.

Or at least, it should have.

But no echo came back.

It felt like my words had been swallowed by the void—like I hadn’t spoken at all. A strange doubt crept in. Had I really called out? Or was that just in my head?

A deeper fear took root—was any of this real?

"Chief! Stop for a moment!"

The figure kept moving forward, never once turning back.

I was sure now—that wasn’t the chief. Or if it was, she could no longer see or hear me.

There was no expression on her shadowed face, but somehow… I felt like it was mocking me.

The air around me stirred unnaturally. It wasn’t the usual kind of movement—this wasn’t just wind. The air itself felt alive, coiling around me with an oppressive weight.

No sound reached my ears, yet a strange humming reverberated inside my skull.

With every step I took, the ground felt soft and sinking—like wet mud. But when I looked down, it remained firm and solid.

The disconnect between what I saw and what I felt sent another shiver through me.

Still, I refused to stop.

"Just wait a second! Can’t you at least talk to me?"

Frustration flared. No matter how fast I moved, I couldn’t catch up.

How was she so fast?

And why was this shrine so damn vast?

Did it really need to be this big?

"At least tell me where you're going—!"

I shouted, my voice rising in exasperation.

But the figure never stopped.

Step after step, I chased the shadow of the chief, unable to shake the feeling that if I hesitated even once, she would vanish—and I’d be swallowed whole by this place.

The icy pain that had been prickling my skin was no longer confined to my body.

It burrowed deeper—into my mind, into my very awareness—stabbing from the inside out with an unbearable sharpness.

"Damn it..."

Then, the chief’s shadow finally left the hall.

It slipped into another building—one that stood alone at the farthest edge of the shrine grounds.

It was the smallest and most dilapidated hall I had ever seen.

So isolated that even Aro might not know it existed.

The shrine itself was already a secluded place, hidden within the mist. But even within that isolation, this hall felt entirely severed from everything else.

What was here?

What could possibly be waiting in a place like this?

I approached the door that the shadow had entered.

"Ugh—"

A thick stench of blood hit me all at once.

I grimaced, instinctively considering turning back.

But I’d come this far.

I couldn’t let the chief’s shadow slip away—not when it was right in front of me.

The moment I stepped inside, I knew something was wrong.

The stench of blood was overwhelming, but beyond that, the atmosphere itself was oppressive. The damp air hung thick and heavy, and an eerie silence wrapped around the entire space.

Even the sound of my own breathing seemed to vanish into nothing.

And in the middle of it all, Sannyeong sat alone, doing something.

"…Open. Please. It has to open…"

The moment I heard her voice, I realized what this secluded shrine was for.

As soon as I pushed the door open, the first thing that caught my eye was a massive map hanging on the far wall. It wasn’t an ordinary map—it was so large that it covered the entire surface.

It depicted not only the Demonic Realm where the village was located but also the surrounding nations, including Mokryeo.

But what truly sent a chill down my spine was the thick, dark line connecting the village’s location to the Demonic Realm north of Wolhan Fortress.

Then, I noticed something else.

This map wasn’t made of paper.

It wasn’t even cloth.

It was leather.

The surface was marred with bloodstains, some old and faded, others fresh and crimson. Scraps of animal hide clung to its edges.

And below the map, atop an altar-like table, lay several dead demonic beasts—small creatures with their feathers, claws, and fangs scattered about. Their spilled blood pooled across the surface, drenching the floor beneath.

Sannyeong knelt before them, staring at the map, utterly lost in whatever she was doing.

I stepped forward, cautiously assessing her.

Was she even conscious?

Her face was slick with sweat, and her bloodshot eyes remained locked onto the massive map.

She muttered something under her breath, absently pointing at a spot on the map with a trembling finger.

It was as if she couldn’t see me at all.

Or perhaps… she was deliberately ignoring me.

Just as I considered speaking, she finally whispered in a slow, hollow voice.

"…Mother considered the Emperor her mortal enemy."

Her empty gaze never wavered from the map as she spoke, her voice distant and detached.

A chill crept down my spine.

Despite the unease prickling at my skin, I knew I had to listen carefully. She had mentioned the Emperor. That alone was enough to make my pulse quicken.

"The Emperor?"

She must have been referring to the Huawei Emperor.

I nodded cautiously.

"Mother wanted to put an end to his tyranny."

"How?"

At my question, Sannyeong’s expression twisted with despair.

Tears welled in her eyes, sliding silently down her cheeks as she continued to stare at the map.

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]