"You again…"
Ethan spoke in a low voice as he swallowed dryly.
Before him, the Golden Knight appeared out of nowhere once again, and just like last time…
It felt as though time itself had stopped moving forward.
Jackson still stood nearby, completely incapable of perceiving anything that was happening.
And likewise…
None of the Hunters or creatures around them could move or react to either of them.
It was as though the entire world itself could no longer keep up with them.
Ethan, wearing a strained smile, stared at the Golden Knight standing before him while tension clearly showed on his face.
"You appear the moment we start talking about you."
"Were you intentionally waiting for this moment?"
In response, the Golden Knight tilted his head slightly to the side while his crimson eyes glowed faintly.
"I know nothing of the conversation that took place between you two."
"I cannot interact with anyone except you."
The Golden Knight answered before noticing Ethan's tension, the latter unconsciously taking one step backward for every step the knight took toward him.
A sigh escaped from beneath the knight's helmet at the sight.
"I did not come here to harm you, boy."
"Nor do I harbor ill intentions toward you or your companions."
Ethan let out a dry laugh before replying with the same strained smile.
"I find that hard to believe."
"How exactly am I supposed to stay calm while the final ruler of this cursed city is standing right in front of me?"
"I thought you would begin trusting me a little."
"Wasn't I the one who warned you before the Iron Demon attacked?"
The Golden Knight spoke with a trace of sarcasm in his tone, causing Ethan to frown in response.
"A warning?"
"You barely gave me a single minute to react!"
"And yet you managed to handle the situation quite smoothly thanks to that one minute."
The Golden Knight walked toward the edge of the rooftop before glancing down at the frozen Hunters below.
Jackson stood directly beside him, yet the Golden Knight never looked at him even once.
Instead, he carefully observed the remaining Hunters before turning back toward Ethan once again.
"You are doing well."
"Your plan most likely succeeded."
"The flame outside has already ignited strongly enough to deliver the message."
Ethan unconsciously clenched his fist after hearing that.
So the Golden Knight was aware of their plan after all…
"Why did you come this time?"
"Don't tell me another monster is coming after us…"
Ethan immediately looked around the area with tension, fearing the arrival of another Iron Demon.
The last time the Golden Knight appeared, he had brought nothing but disaster alongside him.
But fortunately—
The Golden Knight shook his head calmly.
"There are no monsters this time."
"Only me."
The Golden Knight fell silent briefly before continuing.
"I came this time to warn you as well."
"But regarding something different."
Ethan listened silently before asking with hesitation—
"To warn me about what?"
The Golden Knight raised two fingers in response.
"Two things."
"This city…"
"And the curse you carry."
The knight turned his head away, directing his gaze toward the ancient Cathedral not far in the distance.
"Soon, the Mother Flame outside will no longer be capable of suppressing the power of the curse within this city."
"And Old Ashvarn will rise to the surface once again."
"If that happens…"
"The restraints keeping me imprisoned inside the Cathedral will break."
"And I will be able to leave."
"You must stop me and cleanse this legacy prison before that happens."
The Golden Knight's words marked the beginning of a countdown.
At any moment now, the flames would lose against the darkness of the curse.
"How… much time do we have left?"
Ethan asked seriously.
After several seconds of thought, the Golden Knight finally answered.
"One week at best."
"Perhaps less."
"That's worse than I expected…"
Ethan's frown deepened, realizing time was far more limited than he had originally believed.
"If you fail to kill me…"
"And fail to kill the creature currently controlling my body in time…"
"A catastrophe will inevitably occur."
"A catastrophe that will transform every member of the clan above into monsters…"
"Exactly like the ones living within this city."
The Golden Knight spoke while staring upward toward the artificial sky.
Ethan nodded slowly in response.
"I already know that."
"But there's nothing we can do."
"None of us are capable of fighting you."
"Our only hope exists outside the city."
"Then let us hope the one you place your faith in arrives quickly."
The Golden Knight spoke calmly.
"Keep in mind…"
"There is another King-level monster within the Cathedral."
"Alongside several others at the peak of Saint rank."
The knight provided Ethan with even more information regarding the creatures hidden inside the Cathedral, including their ranks.
Which only made Ethan more incapable of understanding him.
"Why are you telling me all this?"
"I thought the ruler of this legacy prison completely controlled you."
"So how are you even capable of appearing before me like this?"
The entire situation was confusing.
The Golden Dawn Knight remained silent for a while before slowly turning slightly, revealing his shoulder to Ethan.
Then, as though by magic, a piece of armor covering the knight's left shoulder vanished, revealing his pale skin for the very first time.
Previously, the armor had concealed him completely from head to toe.
But Ethan had no luxury to focus on his skin or anything else.
His eyes remained fixed entirely upon the dark symbol the knight had revealed to him.
A complete dark eclipse mark radiating strange darkness.
"The Mark Curse…"
The knight nodded.
"I carry a Fourth-Level Mark Curse."
"The Complete Eclipse."
"A curse of the same type as yours."
"That is precisely why I am capable of communicating with you in this manner."
"By sending my mana to activate your curse…"
"I can temporarily manifest before you like this without the creature controlling my body noticing."
Ethan finally began understanding what was truly happening.
Realizing Luna's barrier suppressed the mana of the Night Lords, yet did not completely protect him from other cursed monsters.
If an extremely powerful cursed being attempted to activate Ethan's curse—
It would succeed.
Exactly as Mathius had done in the past.
"I already told you before…"
"I am not a monster."
"And I am not the man who slaughters the members of his own clan."
The Golden Knight spoke with a quiet sigh.
"If I can help, even a little…"
"Then I will do so without hesitation."
"I have no desire to watch myself slaughter even more people…"
"Not after all those I have already killed."
The knight concealed the curse mark once more while Ethan instinctively touched the curse resting behind his own neck.
"You said you came to warn me…"
"About the curse…"
Ethan pointed toward the second matter the knight had mentioned earlier.
The Golden Knight nodded.
"The Mark Curse is not what you think it is."
"It is not merely an ordinary curse that places certain effects upon you."
"It is far more than that."
"What do you mean?"
Ethan asked hesitantly.
"This curse has brought me nothing except misery ever since I obtained it."
"Are you telling me there's even more about it that I still don't know?"
"That is correct."
"High-Level Mark Curses originate from the Night Lords themselves."
"I received mine from Gladius…"
"The Wisdom of Night."
"As for you…"
"It appears yours came from the Devil of Balance."
The Golden Knight spoke while slowly approaching Ethan once more.
"The mark is a curse."
"But at the same time…"
"It is proof that you were chosen."
"Chosen by them…"
"To undergo the Ordeal."
Ethan's frown deepened further with every word the Golden Knight spoke.
'I'm hearing about things I know absolutely nothing about now…'
'Even the game itself never truly explored the subject of Mark Curses. The entire storyline surrounding them remained vague until the very end…'
"And what exactly is this Ordeal you're talking about?"
Ethan asked with a frown.
The Golden Knight answered him calmly.
"The Ordeal…"
"Is a trial imposed by the Night Lords."
"The moment you inherit a Mark Curse, you become prey for the Wild Hunt."
"Bearers of the Mark Curse go through countless ordeals throughout their lives, and most of them die during one of them."
"But something special happens to those who endure until the very end…"
"Something beyond imagination."
"That is why Mark Bearers are considered special."
"We are akin to the chosen."
Ethan found himself unconsciously staring at the curse mark behind his neck with every word the knight spoke.
"What happens to those who survive until the end?"
"And what exactly do the Night Lords gain from us?"
In response, the Golden Knight slowly shook his head.
"I do not know."
"I barely survived the Wild Hunt myself…"
"And afterward, I became trapped inside this city."
"In the end, that creature managed to take control of me."
"So I assume I failed the Ordeal."
Ethan let out a quiet sigh after hearing that.
There was yet another thing he was now forced to think about.
"This is unbelievably confusing…"
"And it's not helping me at all."
"It may seem that way to you now."
"But if you survive this city…"
"It will benefit you greatly to remember everything I've told you."
The Golden Knight paused briefly before continuing.
"And you should also be wary of the messenger belonging to the Night Lord who marked you."
"He will appear around you sooner or later…"
"Disguised."
Ethan's eyes lit up slightly the moment the knight mentioned the messenger, immediately recalling the old woman serving Balance whom he had encountered back at the Hunters' residence.
"Did something similar happen to you?"
He asked.
The Golden Knight nodded.
"Yes."
"One of Wisdom's followers came to me."
"And the moment I discovered him…"
"I killed him."