Martial Arts Worlds
Author: Alekzi
Chapter 843: Curse Oâ Death
Kiernan stormed inside Ellieâs room and saw his wife, Aoi, trying to wake up Ellie in a very panicked state.
"Ellie! Ellie!"
"Whatâs going on?!"
Kiernan asked and ran over to the futon and saw that Ellieâs state had deteriorated significantly in just a few moments.
She looked grayish. Her breathing sounded raspy and shallow.
"I-I donât know! W-we need to take her to the hospital!"
Aoi said.
In just an instant, Kiernan took Ellie into a carry and disappeared from the dojo within the blink of an eye.
He crossed the entire city of Montrael in less than a second and appeared in the lounge of one of the best hospitals in all of Celine.
"Ah!"
"Where did he come from?!"
"Wait, isnât he... Yes, itâs definitely him!"
The patients and nurses were equally shocked at the sudden appearance of Kiernan Hunter, but then they saw him carrying a child in his arms.
"M-My child... Is very ill."
Kiernan said with a panic in his eyes.
And at that moment, several doctors came over, checked the condition of Ellie in his arms, and very ugly expressions appeared in their faces.
âWhy the hell are they looking like that? It canât be...â
Kiernan grimaced.
The doctors then took Ellie away, headed straight to the emergency room, and Kiernan watched from the window as they rushed her inside.
"System... Why didnât the healing liquid do anything? It is supposed to work against fever, right? So what the hell is going on?"
[Bzzt... It shouldâve worked unless this is something else. There are some curses that healing liquid canât do anything about]
The systemâs words came in the form of messages in front of him, and Kiernan read through them with a frown.
"A curse? What the hell do you mean? You mean that Ellie is cursed? By whom? Who the fuck would..."
At that moment, his eyes started spinning, and his surroundings changed drastically as he disappeared from the hospital.
He appeared in a nice-looking throne room of a castle. It looked all too familiar. It was the Fair Oneâs place.
"The Fair One, why have you brought me here? I am a little busy!"
Kiernan shouted angrily.
In the throne room, the veiled woman, the Fair One, sat with her long legs crossed. She looked very serious as well.
"I know. Itâs your child, isnât it? The grayish skin tone. The fever, The difficulty to breath. I am sorry to say, but her symptoms will only get worse."
The Fair One said.
"...What? You know what this is? Tell me what it is, and please tell me if there is a cure for that. Iâll do anything."
Kiernan said with a serious look.
"...I know only one person who can do this curse. Mortal medicine canât fix it. You need the person who made this curse to create a cure for it or kill the Master of the Curse.
"Both are the same person. The person who made the curse is the Master of the Curse."
The Fair One said.
"Who is he?"
Kiernan asked coldly and cracked his knuckles.
He was going to go kick down some doors, drag that bastard out on the street, and make him pay for what he had done.
"...Death."
The Fair One said coldly.
Kiernanâs expression fell apart, his fists clenched even tighter, and then his expression turned ever so colder.
"Send me to the afterlife. I know you can."
He said.
"Absolutely not. It is exactly what Death wants. He might not be able to do anything to you outside that realm, but in there, he can do whatever he wants with you.
"And youâll never be able to leave that place again."
The Fair One said.
"Take. Me. There."
Kiernan said coldly.
It was obvious he wasnât going to budge from this, and if she wasnât going to help him, he was going to find someone who would.
"You donât realize your importance. Mercedes is awake, and soon, sheâll head over here, and youâre the only one who can stop her.
"Gods canât intervene with her, and honestly, I donât think even I can defeat her once she finishes with her final preparations.
"You have to stop her."
The Fair One said.
"The only way I can stop her is if I stop by at the afterlife. It is the only way."
Kiernan said.
"...What do you mean?"
The Fair One asked with a frown.
"Iâll need divinity to reach the Transcendence Stage. Iâve wondered where I can get that divinity, but now I know.
"Iâll take it from Death."
Kiernan smiled coldly.
The Fair One backed away to lean against the back of the throne, and she looked at Kiernan as if he were some kind of lunatic.
"You just got pardoned by the Gods. If you go and take Deathâs divinity... Theyâll take it back, and once you die, youâll end up in purgatory... Without a doubt."
The Fair One said.
"...A small price to pay."
Kiernan said.
"I canât stop you. Can I?"
The Fair One asked with a sigh.
"No, you canât."
Kiernan said with a serious look.
With a deep sigh, the Fair One waved her hand, and Kiernan started to slowly disappear from the throne room.
"As soon as you enter the afterlife, Death will notice you. He wonât attack you immediately. He will send his most trusted minions to retrieve you.
"They are known as the Reapers, and they will come for you soon."
Swoosh!
...
Rumble~ Rumble~ Rumble~
The thunder rumbled across the depressing skies, and the lifeless-looking landscape seemed to stretch on forever.
Between the mountains, tired-looking souls stumbled down the seemingly endless-looking road.
They were heading for the Halls of the Judgment, where they would get sentenced for their crimes.
"The Fields of the Judgment... Itâs been a while since Iâve been here."
Kiernan said.
He was standing on top of the cliffside, looking down at the souls, and saw the river of reincarnation flowing below.
The tired-looking souls looked at the river with a look of desire, but some hesitated, and others thought about it.
"...If Kiernan Hunter could do it... So can I!"
In that moment, one of the souls left the line and started running towards the river with the wind whipping his hair around.
Before they started walking down the Fields of the Judgment, they appeared at the Chamber of the New Beginning.
In there, there were many soulsâold and newâtalking about the afterlife, and one of the conversations was about Kiernan.
The man who managed to steal the gift of reincarnation by tricking Death and jumping into the river of reincarnation!
It gave hope to some of the souls.
To steal that gift for themselves, but ever since that fateful day ages ago, nobody else had succeeded in it.
Instead, they would be sent to suffer in the fires of purgatory for all eternity.
âItâs close! The gift is mine!â
The soul looked thrilled as he was almost close enough to smell the river, but in that moment, a chain hook pierced through his chest.
"Where do you think you are going?"
The chain hook pulled the crying soul over to a robed manâhe was one of the Reapersâhe looked straight into the eyes of the crying soul with a penetrating gaze.
"The attempt to steal the gift of reincarnation is a cardinal sin. Therefore, youâll be sentenced to a million years of misery!"
"Noooooo~"
The crying soul screamed, but in that, he vanished into flames, and nobody knew where he went, but they could only guess that somewhere painful.
The rest of the souls calmed down in the lineâthey gulped loudlyâand continued walking down the dark, eerie road towards their inevitable fate.
"...Nothing has changed, I see. It looks like Death himself isnât the one overlooking the souls anymore.
"Was it just a coincidence that he was watching over me and the other souls back then? What a shitty coincidence indeed."
Kiernan thought aloud.
In that moment, he noticed that for some odd reason his Martial Ability wasnât working over here, but his martial soul did.
âItâs like this whole place is a prison that can nullify the abilities of the martial soul. Just like in the Downed Prison.
âI wonder if the two of them are somehow connected, but I highly doubt it.â
He thought.
In that moment, he heard rustling of robes, and behind him, three black-robed individuals landed with chain hooks in hands.
"The Reapers, I assume?"
Kiernan turned around.
"The criminal has returned to home, I see."
One of the Reapers said.
"...Death is expecting you."
The second Reaper said.
"...You will not escape justice this time."
The third Reaper said.
"Yeah, whatever!"
Kiernan lifted his right knee and kicked through the air.
It looked to be an innocent-looking kick, but then, a shockwave rippled outwards, and the Reapers were swept away by the enormous force of the kick.
SWOOOOOOOOOOSH!
"Celestial Scythe..."
Kiernan whispered under his breath.
With bloodied faces, the Reapers fell back to the ground, and their chain hooks fell beside them, defeated and broken.
"Ellie! Ellie!"
"Whatâs going on?!"
Kiernan asked and ran over to the futon and saw that Ellieâs state had deteriorated significantly in just a few moments.
She looked grayish. Her breathing sounded raspy and shallow.
"I-I donât know! W-we need to take her to the hospital!"
Aoi said.
In just an instant, Kiernan took Ellie into a carry and disappeared from the dojo within the blink of an eye.
He crossed the entire city of Montrael in less than a second and appeared in the lounge of one of the best hospitals in all of Celine.
"Ah!"
"Where did he come from?!"
"Wait, isnât he... Yes, itâs definitely him!"
The patients and nurses were equally shocked at the sudden appearance of Kiernan Hunter, but then they saw him carrying a child in his arms.
"M-My child... Is very ill."
Kiernan said with a panic in his eyes.
And at that moment, several doctors came over, checked the condition of Ellie in his arms, and very ugly expressions appeared in their faces.
âWhy the hell are they looking like that? It canât be...â
Kiernan grimaced.
The doctors then took Ellie away, headed straight to the emergency room, and Kiernan watched from the window as they rushed her inside.
"System... Why didnât the healing liquid do anything? It is supposed to work against fever, right? So what the hell is going on?"
[Bzzt... It shouldâve worked unless this is something else. There are some curses that healing liquid canât do anything about]
The systemâs words came in the form of messages in front of him, and Kiernan read through them with a frown.
"A curse? What the hell do you mean? You mean that Ellie is cursed? By whom? Who the fuck would..."
At that moment, his eyes started spinning, and his surroundings changed drastically as he disappeared from the hospital.
He appeared in a nice-looking throne room of a castle. It looked all too familiar. It was the Fair Oneâs place.
"The Fair One, why have you brought me here? I am a little busy!"
Kiernan shouted angrily.
In the throne room, the veiled woman, the Fair One, sat with her long legs crossed. She looked very serious as well.
"I know. Itâs your child, isnât it? The grayish skin tone. The fever, The difficulty to breath. I am sorry to say, but her symptoms will only get worse."
The Fair One said.
"...What? You know what this is? Tell me what it is, and please tell me if there is a cure for that. Iâll do anything."
Kiernan said with a serious look.
"...I know only one person who can do this curse. Mortal medicine canât fix it. You need the person who made this curse to create a cure for it or kill the Master of the Curse.
"Both are the same person. The person who made the curse is the Master of the Curse."
The Fair One said.
"Who is he?"
Kiernan asked coldly and cracked his knuckles.
He was going to go kick down some doors, drag that bastard out on the street, and make him pay for what he had done.
"...Death."
The Fair One said coldly.
Kiernanâs expression fell apart, his fists clenched even tighter, and then his expression turned ever so colder.
"Send me to the afterlife. I know you can."
He said.
"Absolutely not. It is exactly what Death wants. He might not be able to do anything to you outside that realm, but in there, he can do whatever he wants with you.
"And youâll never be able to leave that place again."
The Fair One said.
"Take. Me. There."
Kiernan said coldly.
It was obvious he wasnât going to budge from this, and if she wasnât going to help him, he was going to find someone who would.
"You donât realize your importance. Mercedes is awake, and soon, sheâll head over here, and youâre the only one who can stop her.
"Gods canât intervene with her, and honestly, I donât think even I can defeat her once she finishes with her final preparations.
"You have to stop her."
The Fair One said.
"The only way I can stop her is if I stop by at the afterlife. It is the only way."
Kiernan said.
"...What do you mean?"
The Fair One asked with a frown.
"Iâll need divinity to reach the Transcendence Stage. Iâve wondered where I can get that divinity, but now I know.
"Iâll take it from Death."
Kiernan smiled coldly.
The Fair One backed away to lean against the back of the throne, and she looked at Kiernan as if he were some kind of lunatic.
"You just got pardoned by the Gods. If you go and take Deathâs divinity... Theyâll take it back, and once you die, youâll end up in purgatory... Without a doubt."
The Fair One said.
"...A small price to pay."
Kiernan said.
"I canât stop you. Can I?"
The Fair One asked with a sigh.
"No, you canât."
Kiernan said with a serious look.
With a deep sigh, the Fair One waved her hand, and Kiernan started to slowly disappear from the throne room.
"As soon as you enter the afterlife, Death will notice you. He wonât attack you immediately. He will send his most trusted minions to retrieve you.
"They are known as the Reapers, and they will come for you soon."
Swoosh!
...
Rumble~ Rumble~ Rumble~
The thunder rumbled across the depressing skies, and the lifeless-looking landscape seemed to stretch on forever.
Between the mountains, tired-looking souls stumbled down the seemingly endless-looking road.
They were heading for the Halls of the Judgment, where they would get sentenced for their crimes.
"The Fields of the Judgment... Itâs been a while since Iâve been here."
Kiernan said.
He was standing on top of the cliffside, looking down at the souls, and saw the river of reincarnation flowing below.
The tired-looking souls looked at the river with a look of desire, but some hesitated, and others thought about it.
"...If Kiernan Hunter could do it... So can I!"
In that moment, one of the souls left the line and started running towards the river with the wind whipping his hair around.
Before they started walking down the Fields of the Judgment, they appeared at the Chamber of the New Beginning.
In there, there were many soulsâold and newâtalking about the afterlife, and one of the conversations was about Kiernan.
The man who managed to steal the gift of reincarnation by tricking Death and jumping into the river of reincarnation!
It gave hope to some of the souls.
To steal that gift for themselves, but ever since that fateful day ages ago, nobody else had succeeded in it.
Instead, they would be sent to suffer in the fires of purgatory for all eternity.
âItâs close! The gift is mine!â
The soul looked thrilled as he was almost close enough to smell the river, but in that moment, a chain hook pierced through his chest.
"Where do you think you are going?"
The chain hook pulled the crying soul over to a robed manâhe was one of the Reapersâhe looked straight into the eyes of the crying soul with a penetrating gaze.
"The attempt to steal the gift of reincarnation is a cardinal sin. Therefore, youâll be sentenced to a million years of misery!"
"Noooooo~"
The crying soul screamed, but in that, he vanished into flames, and nobody knew where he went, but they could only guess that somewhere painful.
The rest of the souls calmed down in the lineâthey gulped loudlyâand continued walking down the dark, eerie road towards their inevitable fate.
"...Nothing has changed, I see. It looks like Death himself isnât the one overlooking the souls anymore.
"Was it just a coincidence that he was watching over me and the other souls back then? What a shitty coincidence indeed."
Kiernan thought aloud.
In that moment, he noticed that for some odd reason his Martial Ability wasnât working over here, but his martial soul did.
âItâs like this whole place is a prison that can nullify the abilities of the martial soul. Just like in the Downed Prison.
âI wonder if the two of them are somehow connected, but I highly doubt it.â
He thought.
In that moment, he heard rustling of robes, and behind him, three black-robed individuals landed with chain hooks in hands.
"The Reapers, I assume?"
Kiernan turned around.
"The criminal has returned to home, I see."
One of the Reapers said.
"...Death is expecting you."
The second Reaper said.
"...You will not escape justice this time."
The third Reaper said.
"Yeah, whatever!"
Kiernan lifted his right knee and kicked through the air.
It looked to be an innocent-looking kick, but then, a shockwave rippled outwards, and the Reapers were swept away by the enormous force of the kick.
SWOOOOOOOOOOSH!
"Celestial Scythe..."
Kiernan whispered under his breath.
With bloodied faces, the Reapers fell back to the ground, and their chain hooks fell beside them, defeated and broken.