Ch.167Chapter 167. The Curse of Oblivion

The Orion Empire is the last land among human territories to maintain its name.

Though said to be in crisis, the capital and imperial family are protected to the extent that no crisis is felt, meaning nothing will interfere with the leader’s plans to be implemented with the empire as its axis.

This meant that the future she had prophesied would likely come to pass.

If so, before that future arrived, there was one thing she needed to do—meet the witch and persuade her.

“Oh, found you, Irie~”

She encountered a familiar face before heading to the library where she was waiting.

Pausing her steps and turning her gaze sideways, Irie saw a white-haired woman with a black cloak approaching.

“Merilyn?”

“Fufu. I heard you came to the imperial palace~ Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you since I got the news?”

Merilyn immediately expressed her delight upon appearing.

Though normally considered an annoying and bothersome rival, when Irie actually faced her, what she felt was a glimmer of hope.

The thought that perhaps the person before her had come here for her sake.

“Could it be you came all this way to save me?”

“No, I came of my own accord?”

“I should have known, you damned demon!”

Well, even if she had come to love humans, she was a demon by nature.

How could she possibly act with altruistic intentions for someone else?

“…Merilyn, what exactly were you thinking coming here?”

“Fufu, I wonder? I think someone like you would understand without me having to explain…”

Merilyn only responded to her question with that characteristically slick smile.

Though irritated by this, Irie ignored her reaction and focused on reading Merilyn’s past.

Meeting another of the Four Heavenly Kings before parting with her companion, and being led by him into the imperial palace.

“Demon Lord… Are you serious?”

The shock on Irie’s face after recalling everything was an expected reaction.

Merilyn merely shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly at such a response.

“Well, I’m not sure myself. I don’t know what I was thinking when I joined this endeavor.”

“Stop deflecting and speak plainly. What you’re trying to do now is…”

“Necessary.”

A single word that cut through the emotional questioning.

Feeling momentarily speechless, Irie stared with a hardened gaze, and Merilyn smiled bitterly as she placed her fingers on the strings of her lute.

“To test how strong my love is… I must be prepared to jump into the fire myself, don’t you think?”

“…Even if this land burns because of your decision?”

“Honestly, I do have some reservations. I don’t care what happens to humanity or the world… but it would be sad if the place he returns to is burned down.”

Merilyn also knew what would happen in this land afterward.

Yet she had succumbed to the persuasion of her detestable kin and joined this plan for one reason.

“But too much has already progressed for me to do anything about it. Even the Crown Prince over there seems prepared.”

Because these events would unfold regardless of her intervention.

Feeling that one of the individuals responsible for this was watching their conversation, Merilyn plucked her strings with a bitter smile on her lips.

“If predetermined fate will flow unstoppably anyway, perhaps the right approach is to ride the current rather than resist it…”

-Ding~

“…Isn’t that why you came here voluntarily too, Irie?”

As if to say she was in no position to reproach others.

As she clutched her swollen belly under that reproachful gaze, Seis, who had been watching the situation from behind, intervened between the two.

“Shall we end the conversation here?”

“Fufu, of course. The great leader shouldn’t waste time on a humble jester like me. Then I’ll take my leave.”

With a light farewell, Merilyn moved away from Seis.

Then she brought her lips to her rival’s ear and whispered in a low voice.

“Hyoseong will be sad when he returns.”

Even without prophetic abilities.

As if she already knew what Irie had resolved to do by coming here.

****

Yes, as she said, the world they knew was already heading toward destruction.

The Crown Prince’s plan was to prepare for that destruction, and Irie had already decided to participate in it.

If it was truly for this purpose that she had received all her clan’s power, and if this would lead to the future where she would be bound to him.

‘But not this child.’

Yes, at least her child in her womb.

All of that was for her, the last descendant of the destruction god, to bear—not a responsibility to be passed down to the child who would follow.

That was why she wanted to meet the witch.

To meet the protagonist directly and modify the future she didn’t want.

“W-who are you?”

But what she actually encountered was a shabby woman in pajamas, trembling among piles of books in the library.

“…Vivian.”

“W-where is this? I…”

“Vivian, can you hear me?”

“Uh, ugh, aah…!”

Vivian trembled with fearful eyes, looking around despite Seis calling her name.

But that lasted only a moment.

What flowed from her mouth as she collapsed to the floor was what could only be called deep despair.

“W-what is this? Where am I? Why am I in a place like this… M-mom… where are you?”

To some, she was a murderer who killed people like trash; to others, she was seen as a hope that could still save humanity; and to those who knew the distant past, she appeared as the most terrible calamity.

But now, none of those aspects could be found in her current state.

“M-mom? D-did I have a mother? N-no…”

“W-who was I… in the first place?”

A voice as empty as her mind.

Unable to bear it any longer, the woman clutched her head and began to sob deeply.

“I-I can’t remember anything. I can’t remember anything…!”

She desperately wanted someone, anyone, to give her a clear answer.

As those sobs echoed throughout the library, Irie’s face turned pale as she listened.

“Your Highness, is she…”

“The curse of oblivion—does that make sense to you?”

Oblivion.

A word that perfectly described her condition from its very meaning.

“It’s a type of magic used by vampires. To vampires who treat their subordinates like livestock, human memories are unnecessary.”

“And they used that on her?”

“She was once the most dangerous being in the world, but a witch with erased memories becomes a convenient tool to manipulate as one pleases…”

Crown Prince Seis trailed off after saying that much.

His unmasked face revealed complicated emotions toward her.

“I only learned about all this after I came of age.”

Did that mean he had nothing to do with it?

Even as he prepared to inherit the empire, aligning with vampires and using her abilities?

‘No, that’s not enough.’

But what concerned Irie wasn’t the empire’s dark side or the Crown Prince’s psychology, but that Vivian’s past she needed to read was unclear.

‘The past is the trail one has walked… an individual’s memory is just one part of expressing that trail.’

Even if an individual’s memory is lost, others’ memories of that person don’t disappear.

Similarly, the memories of others that she reads aren’t so fragile as to be erased by a mere curse of oblivion.

So if she couldn’t read the past of the person before her, it meant something more intricate was involved.

“Vivian.”

As Irie tried to gauge what that might be, Crown Prince Seis moved past her and approached Vivian, calling her name.

“Vi-Vivian…?”

“Do you remember the name Hyoseong Woo?”

And following that, he mentioned another name.

Someone suffering from the curse of oblivion should rightfully forget it even at this moment.

“Hy-Hyoseong…?”

But was there something about that name that caught her attention?

Vivian tilted her head, then soon looked up at the prince with wide eyes.

“Hyoseong, the h-housekeeper…”

“…So you remember.”

“Y-yes. I remember. I’ve n-never forgotten.”

Yes, a name she had never forgotten for even a moment.

As Vivian gradually began to smile at this realization, the prince put his mask back on and prepared to leave the library.

And quietly turning to Irie, he said:

“Handle the rest as you see fit.”

He was leaving without any further control over her.

Was it because he trusted her that much? Or because he believed she wouldn’t interfere with his plans now that she had come this far?

“Thank you.”

No, whatever the case, he had provided her with an opportunity to guide the future correctly.

After expressing this minimal gratitude, Irie turned to face Vivian, who was sitting in the library after the prince had disappeared.

“Nice to meet you, Vivian. My name is Irie… I’m the wife of the person you’re indebted to.”

“W-wife… Hyoseong’s?”

“Yes. And inside me is his child.”

Irie carefully presented her belly to Vivian.

Nearly half a year into carrying life, her belly was visibly swollen.

“The housekeeper’s… child.”

Vivian stared blankly at that belly.

As Irie watched her with an anxious expression, a bright smile soon formed on Vivian’s lips.

“Ca… can I touch it?”

“…Yes, of course.”

The prophesied appearance hasn’t shown itself yet.

Not yet.

“S-something’s moving…”

“That’s the baby kicking. The child in my womb is happy to meet you, Vivian.”

“Really? It’s happy to see me?”

“…Yes. Really.”

The affection gradually visible in her gaze directed at Irie’s belly.

Irie’s expression darkened at the implication that this emotion might be forgotten again due to the curse of oblivion.

‘Don’t worry, Hyoseong…’

But it was still too early for that time to come.

During the remaining period, she had a duty to persuade this woman who relied on his memory and guide her toward the right future.

‘No matter what happens, I will protect this child.’

Everything was for a path where both love and mission coexisted.

With this renewed determination, Irie firmly grasped Vivian’s hand as it caressed her belly.

****

And then, half a year later.

-KYOAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

In the Linea Great Forest located in the western part of the empire.

At that roaring cry echoing through the vast woodland, the expedition members traversing the area trembled in fear.

“H-Hero! It’s finally appeared!”

“The ruler of the Great Forest, Linea Saurus… a monster listed in the wanted bulletin.”

The tense cries of expedition members securing the perimeter.

Where their attention was directed stood a massive reptilian monster with a long neck that couldn’t be hidden even by the forest trees.

True to its name, a being worthy of being called a “dinosaur” rather than a mere monster.

There must be a reason why a monster created from dimensional distortion had a bounty on it.

“Wow… I had my doubts when I heard about it, but there really is a dinosaur in the forest.”

While all the expedition members hid themselves upon recognizing the giant monster, only one hero in black armor was steadily advancing toward it.

Without showing any fear despite facing a being dozens of times larger than himself.

“B-be careful, Hero! They say that monster’s breath can turn everything to dust!”

“Haha, that’s perfect.”

As the monster began to inhale and the hero confidently raised his spear before it.

Soon he narrowed his eyes sharply, focusing all his attention on the monster’s mouth that was about to launch an attack at him.

“A strong opponent means there’s more to exploit.”

The fighting method of the weak begins with using the opponent’s strength against them.

-KWAAAAA!!

Toward him who recalled this teaching, compressed air began to burst from the monster’s mouth.

The moment the air compressed with pressure equivalent to the length of its neck that soared above the trees was released.

Its power was devastating enough to sweep away everything in its path, but the hero simply swung his spear forcefully along its trajectory without concern.

Calmly, without a hint of wavering.

Creating a path through the incoming attack with the magical power flowing through his body, redirecting that flow from himself to his opponent. He prepared to precisely return the attack.

-SHWIRK!!

A dangerous technique where the slightest mistake could pulverize his body, given the strength of what he was trying to redirect.

But he wasn’t worried.

The spirits that gathered around his existence would guide any power he couldn’t fully control onto the right path.

-KWAAAA!!!

The pressure blast that returned along the trajectory of his swung spear struck the monster’s neck along with the thrown spear.

The moment the neck was torn apart, separating the head from the body, cheers erupted from the expedition members.

“H-he did it! The Hero did it!!!”

Hero Hyoseong Woo.

The hero who achieved the most accomplishments during the subjugation mission before the Crown Prince’s succession ceremony.

His achievements would culminate today with the taking of the head of the tyrant that ruled the Great Forest.