The Bastard First Prince Doesn't Want to Die-Chapter 175

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 175

Every time I took a step, I felt the damp mud rising up to my ankles, so I looked down at my feet. The ground was sticky, a mixture of water and dirt.

The swamp, combined with the dark red puddles here and there, presented an unpleasant sight.

"What is that, exactly?"

I asked, covering my mouth with my sleeve because of the musty smell.

Haejung replied, "It seems like there was a fight between the demonic beasts while the moon was up. It's a common occurrence."

"Then is this the blood of the demonic beasts?"

"That's right."

"It couldn't have been much of a fight. It's more like a massacre."

"That's also correct."

I looked at Aro, who was walking ahead of me.

Her pace was slower than usual. And she was hugging herself with her arms. She seemed to be cold.

It was actually chilly. It wasn't just because the path we were walking on was a damp riverside.

The air was moving like a living creature. Cold, damp air seeped into my body, and the chilling energy penetrated to my bones.

Even I shivered from the cold from time to time, but Haejung didn't show any signs of feeling cold.

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Perhaps he's just not sensitive to the cold, but in my opinion, it just seemed like he couldn't feel the chilling energy in the air very well.

As we walked, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu. It was as if I had been here before...

But that wasn't the case. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't find an answer.

Then, at some point, I remembered the severe headache I felt during the subjugation of the demon realm. The air felt similar to that time.

If Gon was nearby, I could have discussed whether the information I had noticed was real... I never thought I would miss that bird-brain like this.

After walking for a long time, I suddenly sensed a change. A suffocating air and an eerie energy overwhelmed me.

Beyond just a heavy and cold feeling, a painful pressure that weighed down on my whole body swirled around me like a living creature.

I glanced at Haejung first. His expression had changed drastically, clearly revealing his tension.

After examining him, I looked at Aro. She wasn't as tense as Haejung, but she had a grimace on her face, as if she was weighed down by the unpleasantness lurking in the surroundings.

And the scenery unfolding before my eyes conveyed a warning not to go beyond this point, no matter who looked at it.

"This is the boundary, I presume."

"Hmm."

"That's right."

Haejung nodded and Aro replied.

This seemed to be the edge of the boundary area. An old rope connected the trees, forming the boundary.

The faded rope had knotted lumps in some places, and some parts were not faded, as if they had been connected with new rope.

However, it still looked fragile and about to break overall due to its age. Nevertheless, they had only added new rope to the existing old one, and there was no sign of it being replaced with a new one at all.

As I reached out to the rope, Haejung shouted, "Don't touch it!"

I nodded and obediently withdrew my hand. Then I examined the rope with my eyes only.

Colorful pieces of cloth were attached to the rope in a disorderly manner. Some of the cloth was old and faded, while some looked relatively new. It seemed to be a warning sign.

"Is it a sign not to cross over?"

When I asked, Haejung coughed.

"Ahem."

It seemed like he was telling me not to ask. Could I get an answer if I asked Aro when Haejung wasn't around later?

Meanwhile, Haejung unpacked the bundle he had brought and handed me a robe.

"Here."

"What is this?"

It was a robe covered in strange patterns. A peculiar energy was flowing from the robe.

"You have to wear this."

I recognized the pattern on the robe and immediately looked at Aro. It was similar to the pattern carved on the stone pillar in that shrine.

Aro put her index finger to her lips.

Was it a secret?

I nodded slightly and pointed to the robe.

"What about you?"

"I don't need it."

Was that also related to the ability the village chief was talking about?

After putting my arms through the robe, Haejung, who had put on the robe before me, said, "Aro, I'll carry you on my back. But I'll cover your eyes."

Why? Was there something I shouldn't see?

My question was soon resolved.

After crossing the rope and moving a little further, a shocking sight unfolded.

Corpses scattered everywhere. The shapes of people and animals who had met their deaths trying to cross this place were vividly revealed in the darkness.

The human corpses were often so badly damaged that it was impossible to recognize their original forms. The skin was festering and discolored to a dark red, and some bodies were frozen in unnatural positions with their bones twisted strangely. It was as if they had met their last moments in extreme pain, struggling to survive.

Their eyes were extinguished and sunken into the darkness, but the traces of their last moments, struggling in agony to survive, remained intact on their faces.

Among the corpses, there were not only human ones but also those of wild animals. They had probably wandered in here after taking the wrong path. And their appearances were even more gruesome. The animals, much larger than humans, were already dead and decaying, but there were still parts of their limbs that twitched slightly as if they were convulsing. Sticky, dark fluids slowly flowed out from their melted limbs, soaking the ground.

I glanced at Aro, who was being carried on Haejung's back with her eyes covered.

"Why is it like this?"

"The energy is too strong," Haejung replied. I didn't expect to get an answer, but it was surprising.

"They've gathered it all here."

"Yes? Who?"

Then Haejung looked at me with a reproachful look, as if I had asked something obvious, and replied.

"Well, the village chiefs, of course."

"Village chiefs? Isn't the village chief one person?"

"No, I mean... the previous village chiefs."

"You mean the village chiefs of the village have been gathering the energy on one side for generations?"

"Rather than for generations... Ahem."

Haejung glanced at Aro on his back. It seemed like he was asking for permission to speak.

Was she the hidden power broker in this place?

"You can tell him."

"Ahem."

Haejung looked around once.

"It's difficult to last long in the demon realm. So in the past... umm. I don't know how long ago, but anyway, a village chief put a spell here a long time ago and gathered the energy of the demon realm."

"So everyone died here like this. Because it's an area with dense energy."

"That's right, but..."

Haejung looked at me with a strange expression. It was as if I was saying something strange.

"Didn't you come to our village by crossing this place? It sounds like you're seeing this for the first time."

I came from the opposite side. But Haejung seemed to think that I had crossed this area. Well, I'll just pretend that's the case.

I smiled awkwardly and replied, "When I crossed over, I was too flustered..."

"Hmm, if that's the case."

Haejung nodded. Then he glanced at Aro on his back again.

"Ahem."

Of course, there was also a dry cough.

Then Aro responded. She still had her eyes closed.

"You can tell him."

Did he need her permission?

Haejung continued, "You're alive because you have the qualifications to become one of us. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to keep your life while crossing this place in the first place."

Haejung turned his eyes to the corpses that were melting and sticking to the ground.

"Or you would have ended up like that too."

"I see."

If so... that would be the same for Jawoon as well. He's still alive and well.

And unlike me, it was clear that he had crossed this area.

However, according to Haejung's words, Jawoon, who crossed this area alive, had the qualifications to become a village person. The qualification to be accepted as a village person.

But he was living alone outside the village, and the villagers pretended not to, but shunned him.

What could be the reason?

I still couldn't understand the standards of these villagers. I looked at Aro, hoping for help, but she didn't seem to notice me looking at her because her eyes were closed.

"Well, are you going to look around more?" Haejung asked.

"I don't know."

"For your information, even if you go further, there's nothing worth seeing. If you want to see a less damaged corpse, you can go ahead. But it might be more gruesome because it's rotting without melting."

Absolutely not. I shook my head.

"No, thank you."

"Really?"

"Really, this is enough. Let's go now."

Haejung turned around without a word. And then headed back to the village.

The moment I turned to go back to the village, I suddenly noticed a few shrubs in the tangled thicket.

It was a shrub with one side dark green and the other side purple. It was the same species that I had thought was familiar before. It was a bit drier, but it was definitely the same species.

"What are you looking at? Is there anything more to see?"

"Ah, no."

I glanced at the shrub and left the place, following Haejung.

A few days later, the village chief called me.

"Why didn't you tell me that you went to the boundary?"

I shrank back at the reproachful tone, but the village chief's next words were not meant to reprimand me.

"Obviously. Aro must have set it up. Isn't that right?"

I was a little surprised at those words. The village chief knew all of Aro's intentions. Well, she's not a stranger, but her grandmother, so it wouldn't be difficult to know.

"You must have gone to the shrine too."

"What are you talking about?"

Since we decided to form an alliance, I pretended not to know to keep my loyalty for the time being. But it was no use.

"I'll find out anyway if I go and search. Tell me honestly."

"......Yes. I went. But I didn't do anything there. I just looked around the building."

Then the village chief sighed deeply.

"What did Aro say? Didn't she ask you to take her out?"

I was silent instead of answering.

"She can't go out. Of course, no one can go out, but even if everyone leaves the village, my granddaughter can never leave."

"There's no way to get out anyway, is there?"

"Does that mean you have the will to go?"

The village chief clicked his tongue.

"There's a reason for everything. I've repeatedly told you not to even have the will... If that's the case, I'll show you. Follow me."

With those words, the village chief coughed and set off. The village chief's shoulders heaved greatly with the coughing.

It was an uneasy sight.

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]