The Sacred Sword didn’t merely erase curses—it shattered them with divine force.
But if one couldn’t withstand that power, the curse could still harm them, regardless of the sword’s intent.
The parrot is so small, and so grievously wounded.
Perhaps Theodore, being a sturdy cultivator, could endure the curse’s injury, but it seemed the fragile parrot was beyond its tolerance.
Iris bit her lip tightly.
“...Please.”
Right now, there was only one method of healing she could attempt.
Tears welled up at the corners of her eyes.
At that moment, Theodore placed his hand gently over hers.
“Knight, it’s alright.”
His face was streaked with tears, but he seemed to be holding back as much as possible.
“This isn’t your fault. It’s mine.”
“Why...?”
“If I hadn’t been caught in this from the start. If I had just listened to my father instead of wandering alone, none of this would have happened.”
Even as he spoke, Theodore couldn’t take his eyes off the small parrot.
“So don’t blame yourself. You only tried to help me.”
Tears began to spill again from Theodore’s voice.
“If not for you, Knight, we wouldn’t have seen Parrot’s final moments.”
He reached out, trembling with pain, and gently stroked the parrot’s feathers.
“It hurts a lot, doesn’t it?”
With a sorrowful expression, Theodore pressed his lips to the parrot’s plumage.
“I’m sorry, Parrot. If I’d been a better master, you wouldn’t have suffered like this.”
The tiny bird trembled in response.
“I’m truly sorry. Sorry for not being a better master. In your next life, find someone kinder than me, and live happily.”
Theodore carefully cradled the fragile parrot in his arms.
Even though the curse might transfer through close contact, he showed no fear or hesitation.
Is there truly no way I can help?
Watching this tore at Iris’s heart.
I wish he would blame me instead.
Yet Theodore bore no resentment toward Iris, even now, for being unable to save him fully.
“I’m sorry, Parrot.”
Then, as if regaining consciousness, the parrot parted its golden beak and spoke in a trembling voice.
“Don’t cry, Master.”
“Parrot?”
“Master...”
Hearing the fragile voice, Theodore wept even harder.
But with those words, the parrot’s fluttering feathers stilled forever.
“Parrot! Parrot!”
Theodore called out loudly, but the parrot, having left a final farewell, no longer responded.
Seeing this, tears fell uncontrollably from Iris’s eyes.
I’m sorry.
Why can’t I save them properly?
Why are my powers always so uncertain, failing to truly protect?
I pressed my palm hard against my eyes, but the tears wouldn’t stop.
Why... why?
Now, the black script completely covered the parrot’s body, almost staining it entirely in shadow.
From a distance, it might appear as a single dark mass.
Then Iris’s thoughts drifted to the barrier surrounding the cave.
Why here?
She held her breath and forced herself to think calmly.
What was the enemy’s goal?
To seize power in the East through Theodore?
But the situation wasn’t so simple—too many details didn’t add up.
‘If they truly intended to kill him, there were far easier methods.’
Even if they held the family hostage to ensure death, this was hardly an efficient strategy.
‘They wouldn’t have just let him enter so easily.’
Allowing someone in and then killing them inside was the surest way.
But the opponent hadn’t acted that way.
The barrier before the cave had been opened only by the power of the Sacred Sword.
So, the enemy hadn’t lured Theodore here.
‘Then why place the parrot in such a visible spot?’
And alive, no less.
If not Theodore, the parrot held no value as a hostage.
To anyone else, it was just an ordinary bird, irrelevant and unnoticed.
Killing it early would have been the safest move to eliminate variables.
‘There must be another reason they kept it alive.’
If so, there had to be a purpose for placing both this site and the parrot here.
Iris’s gaze fell on the altar soaked with the parrot’s blood.
What she had thought was black stone was actually covered in faint, dense black inscriptions.
[I hate you.]
The venomous emotion embedded in the script made her skin crawl.
She shone the Sacred Sword’s light over the cave floor.
[I hate and despise all that you pity. I curse this painfully dark heart.]
Every inch of the floor was etched with black lettering.
‘Could it be that the entire cave itself is cursed?’
She had assumed breaking through the barrier was all that was needed.
But what if that wasn’t the case?
What if there was something greater, more vital to eradicate than the words on the parrot?
Closing her eyes tightly, Iris gripped the Sacred Sword with both hands.
“Perhaps you won’t hear my prayers anyway.”
The cold steel against her bare hands sent a chill through her.
“I know begging for your salvation means nothing.”
God had never answered Iris’s prayers—
To make her family like her, or to make herself the person her family desired.
‘My prayers meant nothing to you.’
They had even led Cedric to his death.
Slowly, Iris opened her eyelids.
Maybe this was a foolish act.
The small parrot was already dead, and the whole cave might collapse, killing them both.
“But if there is even a place in your heart for this little parrot—”
Her heart pounded fiercely.
“Have mercy.”
The Sacred Sword, glowing golden, was driven into the altar—but a powerful force repelled it.
Biting her lip hard, Iris struck the altar again.
Fine black stone dust scattered lightly.
Clang! Kaang!
The golden light blazed stronger as Iris relentlessly swung the Sacred Sword.
Her hands ached from striking the unyielding black stone repeatedly.
‘I won’t give up.’
A shard grazed her pale hand, drawing blood, but she paid it no mind and kept hammering the altar.
The word ‘HATE’ deformed beneath her blows.
As the inscriptions began to blur and fade, the black stone trembled.
A spark of life returned to her sky-blue eyes.
Iris’s hand slipped through the small cracks, relentlessly swinging the Sacred Sword.
Bang!
Finally, a large fissure appeared in the stone.
Iris drew a deep breath, gazing at the momentarily still cave.
Crack—
The altar shook slightly and split into two pieces. At the same time, a brilliant golden light bathed the entire cave.
The shimmering golden aura enveloped the small sky-blue parrot, erasing the black runes that had covered it.
Like a miracle, the parrot’s blue feathers regained their vitality and twitched softly.
The golden energy passed over the parrot, healing it far beyond its previous state.
Where it had once hung pale and lifeless, its feathers now gleamed with fresh vigor.
Iris and Theodore exchanged hopeful glances, their eyes shining as they watched the parrot.
Flutter—
It began with a single sky-blue feather.
One small feather twitched, causing a slight flutter of wings.
Neither Iris nor Theodore dared speak first; they simply watched in silence.
The wing trembled faintly, paused, then moved again.
Theodore carefully lifted the parrot with both hands. Warmth radiated through his palms.
“Parrot...?”
Whispering softly, Theodore brought his face close to the still unconscious bird.
“Parrot, are you coming back to us? Open your eyes.”
Tears dripped from beneath his eyes.
The parrot gave a light flap and narrowed its eyes, then blinked wide open with round, glossy black pupils.
“Master?”
The parrot tried to flap its wings as usual but struggled, opening its beak sharply in frustration.
“Master! Master!”
It looked up at Theodore with a disgruntled expression.
“Master, what is this?”
“Parrot!”
Overwhelmed, Theodore let thick tears fall as he embraced the bird tightly.
“Cough! Master!”
“Parrot, how’s your body? Feeling better now?”
“Master, don’t cry.”
The sky-blue parrot pecked Theodore’s shoulder with its golden beak, glaring playfully.
“You’re getting spoiled!”
“Sniff... Parrot, you’re back.”
“Don’t cry! You’re getting spoiled!”
Despite the teasing pecks, Theodore laughed through his tears.
“Parrot, thank you. Thank you for coming back to life. I’ll do better.”
“Master, you’re getting spoiled! Don’t cry!”
“Parrot! You really are alright now.”
At last, the parrot was strong enough to squirm out of Theodore’s arms.
It spread its bright sky-blue wings and circled playfully above his head.
“Don’t cry. You’re getting spoiled—!”
“Parrot!”
Theodore wiped his tears but reached out his hand.
The parrot shook its head stubbornly, refusing to come close.
Watching this heartfelt reunion, Iris shed a few tears herself.
Thank goodness.
The shock from smashing the black stone still tingled in her hands.
But now, that pain felt less like suffering and more like a badge of pride.
They had saved it. They had revived it.
Iris hugged the Sacred Sword, now in the form of a precious dagger, close to her chest.
Thank you.
Without the Sacred Sword, none of this would have been possible.
The Sacred Sword trembled faintly, as if responding to Iris’s words. It shifted gently in her hand, pointing steadily in one direction.
The place it indicated was beneath the shattered black altar.
‘What is that?’
Following the sword’s guidance, Iris brushed aside the scattered black stone dust.
Beneath it lay a faint, glowing light.
She glanced at Theodore, moved, but it seemed nothing was visible to his eyes.
‘Why am I the only one who can see this?’
Unease fluttered in her chest, but gripping the Sacred Sword tightly, she focused intently on what lay beneath.
‘A book…?’
There was a single tome resting there.
Sacred Sword II.
It was the next volume of the mysterious book Iris had found in the Imperial Library.
Her heart thumped loudly—resonating like a drumbeat through her entire body.
Enthralled, Iris slowly laid her hand on the book.
The tome emitted a halo of light, like the Sacred Sword, and gradually began to vanish.
‘The title is the same. Can this be mere coincidence?’
Hurriedly, Iris withdrew
Sacred Sword I
from the sword’s sheath.
The cover’s color brightened slightly, and the title had changed—
Sacred Sword I-II.
As if two pieces of a puzzle had been joined together.
Iris flipped to the page where “Hunting Festival” had been written before.
‘It’s gone.’
The words that had been there were completely erased.
‘Is this a sign that I did well?’
As Iris puzzled over the book, the black cave around them began to melt away, dissolving slowly.
It was as if the dark cavern enclosing them had never existed.
“Oh—”
Theodore looked around in wonder, then paled upon seeing what remained in place of the cave.
“W-What is this…?”
Where the black cave walls had stood now floated the badly mutilated corpses of humans.
Faces covered in scars twisted in eternal screams.
“Ugh—”
Overcome by the gruesome sight, Theodore covered his mouth and staggered. The parrot gently pecked at his head, as if offering comfort.
Iris shared the revulsion.
‘I knew the cave was built through profane means.’
She had guessed that some kind of corrupt sacrifice was involved.
But she hadn’t expected so many lives to be lost.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“How… could they do this?”
Bowing her head, Iris carefully touched one of the desecrated bodies.
‘How is this possible?’
With tears streaming, she slowly laid the corpse down and examined another.
Each one bore clear marks of a painful death.
‘If only I had been a little faster.’
Could she have saved them somehow?
Her heart quivered with sorrow.
“I’m sorry.”
There was only one chance to turn back time.
Unlike when she had saved the parrot, she couldn’t rescue them all.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t save everyone.”
With a heavy heart, Iris took in each of the fallen, determined at least to remember them—to never forget.
“Theodore Gongja.”
Chapter 74