It was over.

Jackson had kept his promise and protected Ethan until the very end, while Luna managed to suppress the curse at the perfect moment.

The presence of a King-level tank knight had changed everything.

It gave them the overwhelming force they had desperately needed from the very beginning.

Jackson himself did not look tired in the slightest despite fighting monsters the entire time.

Luna, on the other hand, felt utterly exhausted the moment she finished suppressing the curse.

Unlike knights, mages lacked physical endurance and stamina, making them far more vulnerable to exhaustion.

As for Ethan—

He was still asleep.

Unconscious after being forced to hear the voices of the dead once more and experience their suffering, sorrow, and fury.

Ever since arriving in the world of Ordeal, Ethan had already begun adapting to pain in all its forms.

Pushing his body beyond its limits.

Enduring wounds and injuries of every kind.

His demonic body had helped him immensely, making survival possible for him.

But unlike physical pain—

Ethan could never adapt to mental torment.

Every time the curse activated, he lost himself.

Drowning in darkness once more, Ethan immediately understood that he had lost consciousness again.

The sea of darkness had already become familiar to him.

Whenever the curse caused him to faint, he always found himself here.

In this strange, bleak place.

Slowly sinking deeper toward the abyss.

Drawing closer to its bottom every single time.

And as always—

He heard it again.

The crying.

The voice of the infant that never stopped weeping.

The cries of a newborn child.

A mournful sound overflowing with unbearable pain.

"I can feel you..."

"You child born from darkness..."

"The sound of your crying echoes inside me as though it’s piercing my soul."

Ethan spoke quietly while staring into the abyss, exhaustion clear within his gaze.

"I’m truly curious about you."

"What do you look like...?"

"What kind of face do you have...?"

"And why do you cry endlessly as though you were born in hell carrying the burdens of the entire world?"

"I know I’ll see you once I reach the bottom of this abyss."

Far below, the crying still sounded incredibly distant.

Which meant he would not reach the bottom anytime soon.

That saddened him slightly.

And relieved him just as much.

"To be honest..."

"I’m curious about you."

"But I’m afraid of whatever exists at the bottom of this place."

"So I hope I never see you."

"And never hear your crying again..."

Ethan felt strange emotions forming inside him toward that crying child.

A sense of familiarity.

As though he had known him for a very long time.

As though...

That child belonged to him.

A part of him.

An immense mystery surrounded the crying infant.

The endless dark abyss.

A mystery Ethan understood perfectly well he would not uncover anytime soon.

Soon afterward, he awakened once more, opening his eyes within the real world far removed from the delusions of darkness.

The moment he woke up, he found himself lying out in the open.

A long coat carrying a familiar scent covered his body.

He slowly sat up—

Only for a rotten smell to invade his nose, completely overpowering the pleasant scent of the coat.

It did not take long for him to realize it was the smell of blood.

The blood of hundreds of monster corpses piled up nearby.

"You’re finally awake, Ethan Heart."

Ethan found Jackson standing close by, casually dragging the corpse of one of the giants away while his usual broad grin stretched across his face.

Luna was nearby as well, examining the monsters.

She was no longer wearing her long coat.

Which made Ethan realize the one covering him naturally belonged to her.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Not long."

"About half an hour, maybe?"

Jackson replied, while Luna approached after collecting several items from the monsters’ corpses.

"Your curse went through an unprecedented frenzy."

"I barely managed to suppress it."

"I’m honestly surprised you regained consciousness this quickly."

"I’m just as surprised."

Ethan answered with a dry smile before slowly standing back up.

"I’ll return this to you."

"Thank you."

He tried handing the coat back to Luna, but she politely refused.

"Keep it."

"Wrap it around your wounds... or throw it away afterward. I won’t need it anymore."

After being refused, Ethan stared at her silently for a few moments, momentarily unable to speak.

At first, he assumed she felt disgust toward him.

But after noticing his blood completely soaking the coat, he realized her refusal was perfectly reasonable.

So he simply wrapped it around his wounds exactly as she had instructed.

"Let’s return to the others."

"We’ve already wasted enough time."

Ethan spoke seriously, making it clear they could not afford further delays.

Both Jackson and Luna nodded.

Yet doubts remained in their minds regarding the plan.

Especially Jackson, who voiced his concerns immediately.

"I know it’s late to say this..."

"But relying on your curse to lure monsters carries enormous risks." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Those words held considerable weight after witnessing what the Blood Eclipse curse was truly capable of.

Its influence could draw every creature affected by the Curse of Darkness directly toward Ethan.

And Ethan himself could barely defend properly while enduring the devastating mental assault caused by the curse.

In other words—

Every time Ethan allowed it to activate, he was effectively committing suicide.

"There’s no other choice, Jackson."

"And I don’t want to have this discussion again."

Ethan replied with a frown.

"But I won’t deny your words."

"I really do need to do something about this curse."

The monster-attracting effect was dangerous.

But the true problem...

Was the mental attacks.

"If I keep losing consciousness every time those voices appear, surviving in the future will become impossible."

Ethan understood now that he had simply been lucky every time the curse activated.

His companions had always saved him.

But that also meant certain death if he ever entered the Land of Curses alone without Luna’s barrier active.

Nothing troubled Ethan more than that realization.

Because it meant he would never be able to move independently in the future unless he dealt with this fatal weakness.

"You have no choice except adapting to it."

"Because purifying it is most likely impossible."

"We’re talking about the Blood Eclipse mark here."

"That would require the only High Priest on the continent who has reached the rank of God."

"And even then... he still might not be able to purify it."

Luna spoke quietly, unable to recall ever reading about a case where the Blood Eclipse curse had truly been cleansed.

Hearing that, Ethan laughed unconsciously.

He remembered all too well that priestly Incantations did not work on him because of his demonic body.