Chapter 308

What’s the most dangerous disease in the world? Opinions vary between people and experts.

If we’re talking about danger levels, ‘cancer’ could be considered the ultimate boss—the greatest enemy humanity faces.

But if we had to pick the absolute worst of the worst, countless people would single out one disease.

Dementia—a term that best embodies the phrase ‘living death.’

It’s often referred to as ‘going senile,’ which brings immense pain and sorrow not only to those affected but also to their loved ones.

The very idea of losing ‘memory,’ which is so crucial and encompasses most of what makes us human, is akin to a curse.

Humans are social animals, building up precious memories, so the thought of losing them all is devastating.

Especially when that person is someone close to you, the mental anguish can be overwhelming. Yet, you can’t blame them.

The curse manifests as a demon far worse than the worst. Imagining a loved one forgetting me is a thought I’d rather not entertain.

“Mr. Rod, do you remember what you did yesterday?”

“Yesterday…? Not much happened, right? Oh, I heard the Gaia Order sent someone. They said they’re coming to inspect Sivar.”

“Then what about Sivar flying around in those weird boots?”

“What do you mean? Did Sivar cause some trouble again?”

At first, I thought it was just some aftereffects from his brain healing.

But I could accept reality the next day, after consulting with Rize. A reality that I wished I couldn’t accept.

“Could it really be dementia? He’s the grandmaster after all?”

“That’s what I thought. Surely, when you reach the heights of Blue, you wouldn’t even catch a cold…”

Others showed disbelief. Given the situation, we only called close acquaintances.

As they said, those who reach the heights of blue don’t usually fall ill.

Their bodies are free of waste, and blue magic protects them.

Plus, Rod transformed in his youth and aged gracefully, so he shouldn’t be far off Rize’s age.

At this point, I could only think that the purple curse was seriously affecting Rod.

“Everyone else remembers, right?”

“Of course! But is it true that I’m losing my mind? I can clearly recall yesterday.”

“Do you know what day it is today?”

“October 23rd, right?”

And Rod doesn’t even realize he has dementia. Even if you told him, he would forget immediately.

It’s a severe case where he doesn’t even have the awareness of having dementia. No, the symptoms were a bit more peculiar than that.

Did Rize know this? She examined Rod’s body with a serious expression.

The part she scrutinized the most was definitely where the curse was etched into his side.

“Is something wrong?”

“Can you circulate your magic power? If there’s any problem, please let me know.”

“No problem, really…”

“I see. Mr. Sivar, let’s step outside for a moment.”

“Uh… sure.”

I followed Rize’s lead outside. Rod still lay on the bed, looking confused.

He seemed to realize something was off, but it wouldn’t last long.

“What are the results? Is it really dementia…?”

“It’s not dementia.”

Rize answered Grace’s cautious question.

Just as everyone’s expressions began to look relieved, Rize revealed a drastically negative opinion.

“But it’s a curse even worse than dementia. If this goes on, the consequences will be irreversible.”

“What?”

“Worse than dementia?”

“Currently, Mr. Rod carries a curse not on the body, but on the soul. And it’s a purple curse.”

A curse is etched into his soul rather than his body. This was somewhat expected.

Purple attacks often damage the soul rather than the body.

No matter how strong a body may be, if the soul is lost, it’s merely a corpse.

In the Soul World, this was expressed in an instant death format. I avoided other attacks but not those of the purple kind.

“Mr. Sivar.”

“Yeah?”

“Did the False ever say anything while embedding purple into a spear?”

Rize asked me. I pondered her question for a moment.

There was a time when purple slowed down time and tempted me.

Since I wouldn’t be able to return to my warm home anyway, how about going back to a past I don’t remember?

At the time, I couldn’t grasp the meaning of those words, nor can I now. So I stated it plainly.

“Going back to the past… that was the curse.”

Rize looked at Rod’s room with a pained expression. Rod was presumably lying in the bedroom beyond the door.

He would probably hear our conversation. The problem is, he would forget it the next day.

“Have you ever heard the saying that the soul and memory are one?”

“Yes, my teacher used to say that.”

The answer came from Luna. If it was Luna’s teacher, it made sense.

Rize nodded and explained in detail what situation Rod was in now.

“Furthermore, the body and soul exist in harmony. When the body grows, the soul grows too. And if the soul grows dramatically, the body will grow accordingly. In the Eastern Empire, this is often referred to as transformation.”

As experience piles up, the soul matures. Hence the saying that memory and soul are one.

In a sense, it’s a philosophy somewhat close to Buddhism. It’s indeed a true statement and quite an important truth.

Moreover, there are cases where, after going through transformation, a person appears physically younger.

The prime age for a person’s body is in their 20s to early 30s. That’s when it aligns perfectly for the body to become younger.

“But the curse that Mr. Rod is bearing is turning the soul back to the past. Therefore, the body forcibly returns as well. Brain included, which is why memories gradually fade.”

“So if he goes all the way back… what happens?”

Eli asked with a trembling voice. Everyone else’s expressions were equally tense.

A disease like dementia brings a person to ‘death.’ It’s a brain-destructive disease, making death certain.

So what lies at the end of forcibly returning the soul to the past? Could it be beyond imagination?

Rize pondered whether or not to say this. She sighed deeply, a nuance of not wanting to say it.

“You probably won’t die. However… it will be akin to experiencing death. The body and soul will revert to their primal state.”

“To the primal state…?”

“It could revert to a fetus.”

“…”

I closed my eyes tightly, my mind spinning. A life on borrowed time.

Even if he turned back into a fetus, the Rod I knew wouldn’t exist in this world anymore.

So, there was only one hope left: a cure.

If there’s a way to heal him, I’d pursue it no matter the means or methods.

“What’s the treatment?”

“The purple curse can only be healed by a being that possesses purple. To put it differently, it must be ‘directly’ healed.”

Rize emphasized the word ‘directly’ particularly hard. Kara opened her mouth to say something but then shut it tightly.

For something to be healed directly means a god must descend to our world— a ‘manifestation.’

Moreover, Gaia is currently absent, and Gulrak isn’t the type of deity suited for healing.

Most importantly, if a direct manifestation were to occur, Kara might have to risk her life. It could be pointless.

“…There are only gods, including demons, that embody purple in this world, right?”

“No. There are beings residing in the East, but… it might be better for your safety not to go there. Another one wanders around like a ronin, making it hard to find.”

Purple is determined by one’s birth. Or it might be a being vastly different from the world’s standards.

The Eastern purple peers into the former category, while the ronin belongs to the latter. In any case, both transcend the category of humans.

“My personal opinion: it’s best not to ‘ask’ the purple beings for anything. One mustn’t expect humanity from them.”

“Is all purple similar to that demon?”

“Yes. They are like soulless beings, purely doing their tasks without the slightest hint of compassion for others.”

To put it plainly, all purple beings are sociopaths. They’re the type that ignores others’ feelings while only concerned with their own needs.

Getting their interest would be fantastic, but igniting interest in a monster from the East is a death sentence.

“They follow you from start to finish.”

This could be used strategically to make the demons face the purple beings. But that’s a last resort.

So the best option would be not to get entangled with the Eastern purple. Rize couldn’t defeat them even with force.

“So are you saying there’s no method…?”

“For the time being… there’s no effective way.”

“…”

“As time goes by, the condition will worsen… I’m sorry.”

Rize had no reason to apologize. I was the one in a situation that deserved an apology instead.

Guilt weighed heavily on my chest, and my head spun. Rod was facing a life sentence because of me.

And not just any life sentence—he was in a state under the worst curse imaginable. As time passed, Rod would forget about me.

In some respects, it felt like punishment. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to live as a sinner for the rest of my life.

“I need to… I must find a way…”

Yet I hated it. The mere thought of Rod leaving was terrifying.

Initially, I treated him as simple backup, but now he was someone who cared for me more than anyone.

The bond we had deepened excessively. He’d warmly embraced me like a parent every time I made a mistake.

At times, he’d firmly chastised me if I did something particularly reckless. I absolutely didn’t want this to end like this.

“Uh… you said the soul suffered damage, right?”

Luna cautiously spoke up amidst the gloomy atmosphere. I turned my gaze towards her.

Luna quickly averted her eyes once they landed on me, looking a bit flustered.

“What are you trying to say?”

“If you say something weird, I’ll cut ties with you.”

Everyone knew how destructive Luna’s mouth could be. Thus, they warned her in advance.

Fortunately, it seemed Luna had no intentions of saying anything outrageous, as she shook her head vigorously. Still, she couldn’t help but be cautious.

“My thought is… if the soul is damaged, wouldn’t it be possible to find a potion or herb that influences the soul…?”

“A potion or herb?”

“Yes. Since curses corrupt the soul, wouldn’t it be possible to cleanse it, like doing laundry?”

“…”

Everyone wore similar expressions at Luna’s suggestion.

So it seems she wouldn’t just say something strange. It made a certain kind of sense.

Yet it didn’t sound utterly absurd either, so I didn’t reprimand her. Luna offered her best idea.

“…Wait a second. Laundry?”

I felt a tingle of familiarity, and suddenly it struck me like lightning.

If, as Luna said, the soul was tainted by a curse, wouldn’t cleansing that soul be the solution?

More accurately, it felt similar to restarting a computer. You refresh and reset when issues arise.

“Eli! Book! Book!”

“Huh, what? Wh-what book?”

“The herb book! Is there a herb book?!”

Eli, flustered by my urgent request, hurriedly brought a book. In the meantime, everyone looked at me in confusion.

The herb I wanted does exist in the Soul World, at least on a conceptual level. It’s a herb befitting ‘legend.’

Finally, when Eli brought the herb dictionary, I hurriedly flipped through its pages. I could clearly remember the name of the herb.

-Pallak. Pallak.

Most herb dictionaries are primarily text-based. Even if there are pictures, they’re hand-drawn and often inaccurate.

It’s just a limitation of its time. However, I knew the name of that herb.

When I first arrived at the Academy, Eli handed me a book that contained the herb dictionary.

So I could avoid any suspicious glances. Even if someone doubted me, it mattered not.

I’d do anything to save Rod. My intention was clear.

“Here! This one! This one!”

“C-calm down… what is this?”

Eli stared closely at the tip of my finger with a puzzled look.

Among us, Eli knew the most about herbs. Everyone waited for her to speak up.

“Sehon…Ice…Grass? (洗魂氷草)?”

“What does that mean? It sounds like it’s from the Language of the Eastern Empire?”

“It’s a herb that cleanses the soul.”

“W-wait, can we use this?”

Everyone seemed to realize what I sought, just from the herb’s explanation.

However, when it seemed like hope was rising, Eli alone remained serious.

She scrutinized the herb’s description before opening her mouth ambiguously.

“However, this herb… apparently, it only appears in legends? It’s discovered roughly once every hundred years…”

“R-really?”

“Yeah. Plus, I have no idea where the herb is found either. The only description is that it’s on the world’s highest perpetual snow mountain.”

“The world’s highest perpetual snow mountain would be…”

There’s only one place where it can be found.

“Frozen’s Olympus.”

“Olympus?”

“It’s the highest mountain in the world.”

The higher the altitude, the lower the temperature becomes. Hence the term perpetual snow mountain fits perfectly.

Just like how the peak of Everest is always covered in snow. Unless it’s a volcano, most mountains are indeed perpetual snow mountains.

So the chances of finding the herb I wanted on Olympus are quite high. It’s a legendary herb, but I just want to clutch at straws.

But surprisingly, a contrary opinion arose.

“No way.”

“Saint?”

It was Rize. She declared her disapproval with an unprecedentedly firm expression.

Everyone looked at her in confusion, and I wore an equally baffled expression.

Why was Rize denying it? Finally, the reason spilled from Rize’s lips.

“Absolutely not. I can’t guarantee my safety there.”

“Ev-evn you can’t?”

“Yes. The mountain’s height pierces the clouds, and the cold is the coldest place in the world. There are hardly any monsters, but if any do inhabit, they’d be catastrophic.”

Rize was right. If you don’t have the right gear, survival rates on a perpetual snow mountain approach zero.

Moreover, there’s no need to elaborate on the skills of monsters that have survived there.

“So?”

“Uh?”

So what does that mean?

“I can survive.”

I survived hell.

“I’ll adapt.”

Even in another hell, I’d just adapt.

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