All humans possess Cursed Energy. This was an undeniable fact I learned after gaining the attribute of a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
Unless a Binding Vow is imposed on the body and soul itself from birth, there are rare cases where a human has 0 Cursed Energy, but such unique cases were extremely rare.
However, at least that child I saw just now wasn't one of them.
Therefore, by maximizing my senses using my Cursed Energy to find the trace of minute Cursed Energy emitted by that child, finding out where she is currently or how far she went was supposed to be a simple task.
[The Fable, 'King of Curses', interferes with your use of Cursed Energy, saying it's unpleasant.]
Until I obtained this strange Fable.
"…Are you crazy?"
[The Fable, 'King of Curses', sneers while looking at you.]
"Do you think I can't do it just because you do that?"
[The Fable, 'King of Curses', smirks and gestures for you to try it.]
At the bastard's words, I crumpled my expression violently and began to draw up Cursed Energy slowly.
However…, unlike my thoughts, the enhancement of senses through Cursed Energy didn't proceed easily.
-Pajijik—!!!
"…This bastard."
[The Fable, 'King of Curses', sneers while looking at you.]
Just like holding a hose in the middle to suppress the water coming out, Cursed Energy barely began to flow only when I used about twice the amount I usually use.
…Why is this really like this? Should I make a suggestion to the Dokkaebi, that guy? But I don't want to owe him anything.
[The Fable, 'King of Curses', asks if you don't have things to do.]
"You are interfering with that right now. So stop interfering and get l—"
[The Fable, 'King of Curses', shakes his head asking if you are really doing this to save a kid you've never met.]
"…None of your business."
[The Fable, 'King of Curses', picks his ear and ignores you.]
"…."
Are Fables usually all like this?
Weren't they just something similar to titles, like attributes or achievements? Why is the self-ego so strong?
[The Fable, 'King of Curses', looks at you pathetically.]
"Get lost."
-Whooosh….
There is no answer returning.
However, neither the technique nor the use of Cursed Energy returned to normal easily.
"…Wasted time only, rotten."
I clicked my tongue, scratched my head vigorously, and looked up at the sky.
The empty, pitch-black sky.
"…."
Come to think of it, the words of the Fable that spoke to me had a point.
That child I met just now was a child I met for the first time today.
Returning the blanket just because she dropped it and left was definitely a stupid act.
And anyway, not returning this would be a benefit, not a disadvantage to me.
[Several Constellations await your choice.]
[The Constellation, 'Secretive Plotter', looks at you meaningfully.]
[The Constellation, 'Demonic Judge of Fire', looks at you with a profound expression.]
"…The direction was definitely that way. She's still young, so she couldn't have gone far."
[The Constellation, 'Demonic Judge of Fire', smiles brightly at your monologue.]
[The Constellation, 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband', nods with a faint smile.]
….
I wish they would shut up.
"Haa, haa. Haaaa…!!"
A young child who started running with all her might continued running even though her breath reached the tip of her chin.
She couldn't know why she was running so desperately. Not even the young child herself.
'I killed it.'
First scenario, Proof of Value.
The child killed the puppy she raised to survive that scenario.
'I'm sorry.'
During the second scenario, she stole a coat from an old man who had already been attacked and collapsed.
In the third scenario, she abandoned the woman who always took care of her to protect her Green Zone.
Reaching now, she handed over a man chased by someone to a group and obtained food.
'I'm sorry.'
The deeds the child committed were all absolute evil deeds that no one could refute.
However, those actions in the perished world were merely struggles to survive.
'I'm sorry.'
But even that was ultimately just an excuse, and the child's heart was too tender to rationalize with such words.
'I will be punished.'
Enduring and enduring in such hellish guilt, she coincidentally met a man.
Hair blacker than a shadow, dark eyes deeper than the abyss.
Seeing that appearance for the first time, the child evaluated the man like that.
A Grim Reaper who came to kill her, who committed too grievous sins.
'I have no worth to be alive.'
Therefore, the child finally resigned herself obediently, thinking the time had come.
…No, she thought she resigned herself.
-Kwa-a-a-ang—!!!
When the stone that flew towards her smashed the wall of the building with a tremendous sound of destruction.
-Crunch, crunch—!!
When that man killed monsters one by one without any change in expression.
-Whooosh—!!
When naked killing intent she had never experienced was directed at her, and the blood from the wound on her cheek caused by it flowed slowly down her cheek.
'…I want to live.'
It was selfish, it was too ugly, but.
She wanted to live more than any other moment. She wanted to live so desperately.
She didn't want to die like this. Therefore, she desperately ran away from him at his warning.
"Heu, heue…. U, ugh…."
Running for a long time without setting a destination like that.
-Thud.
"…Ah!"
The child's stamina reached its limit.
-Flop!
Breathing, which she had forgotten for a moment due to survival instincts, proceeded roughly, and due to that, a large amount of oxygen rushed into her lungs without hesitation.
"Cough, cough…!!"
Because of that, coughing burst out, and unknown liquids, whether tears or snot, flowed continuously.
Trying to wipe them off, she curled her body round.
Because if she didn't do at least this in this vast and cold perished world, she would be too lonely.
"Heu, heuk, heuu…, heuaaang…!!"
She hated dying, and hated proceeding with the scenario.
However, all a child who had lived under someone's care for over 10 years could do was cry.
How long did she repeat crying like that?
-Thud, thud….
"…!!"
Sound of someone's footsteps was heard.
It could be that man she mistook for a Grim Reaper.
Or it could be others.
Whatever it was, it didn't matter. The fact that she was currently in danger was clear.
'R, run away…!!'
-Tremble tremble…!!
"…!!"
But the child could not move easily.
Because she ran such a long distance desperately with such slender legs, and the anxiety that she might die soon began to slowly cover her body.
"…What is this, a brat?"
"It really is a brat."
"…!!!"
The voice belonged not to one person, but to many.
In other words, it wasn't that man she saw just now.
However, does that mean the situation has improved?
"…Hey, how much can we earn if we take her to the Farm?"
"Well. Never thought about it?"
"Slurp…, before that, there's something I want to try first, can I do it?"
"Ah, this bastard, f*ck. Look at his eyes rolling. Don't you remember you ruined two last time? We suffered so much because of that."
"Hey, in the end, we filled them with better b*tches. Am I wrong?"
"…Ah, aaah…."
To the child's thinking, and to anyone else looking at them, it wasn't like that at all.
"Ah, aaaaah…!!"
"Stay still, brat. We won't do what you're thinking yet. Well, of course, if you cooperate well?"
She wants to run away from that man in front of her right now.
That hand reaching slowly towards her, those eyes revealing ugly desires towards her clearly, that mouth revealing the intention to enjoy using her clearly.
She wants to tear them all apart. If possible, she wants to eliminate them from her sight.
However.
"U, uuu…!!"
The child did not possess the power to protect herself.
Before the world perished, she had existences called parents, but after the world perished, she killed the woman who always took care of her with her own hands.
"…Ah."
When her thoughts reached there, the child no longer trembled.
She wasn't engulfed in anxiety, nor did she have the will to live.
Just, accepting all this as her karma, she accepted it obediently with eyes full of despair.
-Crunch.
At that moment.
"…U, uaaaa…!! Uaaaaaak!!!! M, my aaaarm!! Aaaaaarm—!!!"
"…."
A small flame rose again in the child's will, which was about to go out completely.
"Is the arm precious even if you are trash?"
"Ah, aaaah…."
A man grabbing what used to be the arm of the man reaching towards her and throwing it somewhere.
Hair blacker than a shadow, dark eyes deeper than the abyss.
She rubbed her eyes and looked again, but it was unmistakable.
That man, it was exactly that man.
"F, f*ck!! What are you doing! Kill him quicklyyy—!!!"
"…!! R, run awa…!!"
The man whose arm was cut off shouted at his companions.
The opponents are 10. And the one facing them is the black-haired man, only one.
Even if the surprise attack succeeded just now, the difference in numbers was clear, so he was definitely in a disadvantageous situation.
Therefore, she tried to shout at that man to run away, but.
-Crunch, snap. Kwa-ga-gak—!!!
"U, uaaaa!!! Uaaaaak—!!!"
"Why that reaction? You must have seen people's necks bursting quite often."
As if mocking that worry, the man pulls out the necks of those rushing towards him as is.
-Splatter—!!!
Yes, literally pulled out the necks.
Several remaining heads roll on the floor with flustered expressions, and headless bodies spray blood and collapse as is.
"R, run. Must run away…!!"
"Do you really think you can run away?"
-Crack—!!!
"K, kuaaaak!! Leg, leeeeg!!!"
"Sorry about this. I can't use Cursed Energy properly right now. So I hope you endure it even if it's quite painful. And."
"K, kuruk…, kack, kuaaaak…!!"
"Even dying like this is a quite merciful death for you bastards."
Even their legs are twisted bizarrely, and their necks are strangled strongly, foaming at the mouth as they die.
A scene very inappropriate for an 11-year-old child to see.
However.
"So, who's next?"
The young child does not take her eyes off that scene.
No, to be precise, not from that scene.
"…."
From that man she thought was a Grim Reaper.
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