The force that had been directed at the boy emanated from a distant, unseen realm.

It carried divine energy. The magnitude of power necessary to wield this kind of strength from such a distance was beyond most.

In this world, there was only one entity capable of such a feat.

“You faithless scum!”

The knight spat, slamming his foot down as light engulfed his entire body.

“Not planning to answer, I see.”

If that was the case, Taesan intended to force an answer out of him.

The knight, shrouded in divine energy, charged at Taesan, a golden sword manifesting in his hand.

The blade aimed directly for Taesan’s neck.

Taesan raised his own sword.

Clang!

The sound of grinding metal reverberated as Taesan deflected the knight’s sword and drove his own weapon into the knight’s chest.

Crash!

“Gah!” 

The knight spat blood, stumbling back.

The armor where Taesan’s sword had struck was dented.

“M-my armor…”

“Not breaking, huh?”

The knight was astonished that his armor had dented, while Taesan seemed surprised it hadn’t shattered entirely.

The difference in their power levels was so vast that the knight should’ve fallen with a single blow. Yet, somehow, he managed to endure.

The reason was clear—it lay in the power that had been bestowed upon him.

Taesan advanced, and his form vanished.

The knight’s instincts screamed at him. He twisted reflexively, swinging his sword to parry.

Clang!

“Ugh!”

Taesan applied just enough pressure for the knight to barely block his attacks. The knight was drenched in sweat, struggling to keep up.

“Interesting.”

Taesan observed the knight’s power.

The knight’s own strength wasn’t extraordinary, merely comparable to the swordmasters Taesan had encountered in Vequesseta’s world.

But the divine power bestowed upon him had raised him to the level of someone in the 50th floor of the labyrinth.

“Can an Apostle of a god, not even a Transcendent, bestow this much power?”

Murmuring to himself, Taesan struck again.

Clang!

The ground under the knight’s feet caved in from the force of the blow.

‘Monster!’

The knight was in shock.

Even while fully utilizing the power granted by His Majesty, he couldn’t muster any real resistance and was being driven back.

‘But…!’

He noticed Taesan’s guard slip.

He lunged at the opening with fierce determination.

Clash!

Taesan effortlessly blocked the knight’s attack, who, undeterred, took a step forward, eyes blazing with defiance.

“Die!”

A radiant light, like the sun, enveloped his sword. This was the knight’s ultimate technique, channeling all his power into a single blow.

The sword drove toward Taesan’s chest.

Screech!

But it didn’t pierce him.

The golden light from the blade splintered and eroded upon contact with Taesan.

“What? What…?”

“There’s a difference in our levels.”

Taesan seized the knight by the throat and slammed him into the ground.

Even with bestowed power, the knight couldn’t obtain a higher tier of strength. No matter how much he exerted himself, he couldn’t even drain Taesan’s nullification skill.

“I have questions I need answers to. So, are you going to talk?”

Three proofs activated simultaneously.

Taesan’s aura manifested in a tangible form, pressing down upon the knight.

“Ah…”

The knight’s face turned pale as his spirit began to yield, his body trembling like a leaf in a storm.

He was utterly powerless.

A gulf in strength prevented him from even moving.

As Taesan was about to extract information from the knight—

A beam of light descended from the sky, searing through the ground with a force even Taesan couldn’t ignore.

[You have activated Limited Blink.]

Swiftly, Taesan moved out of the column’s range. The light pierced through the knight.

“Aaahhh!”

The knight screamed, disintegrating as the energy within him was drawn back along the pillar of light to an unknown destination.

Once the light faded, nothing remained.

“Cold-hearted.”

They clearly preferred eliminating their own soldier rather than letting Taesan extract any information.

Taesan returned to the boy. Dismissing the wolves, he looked down at him.

The Emperor was determined to capture this boy.

It wasn’t mere interest—it was an unrelenting obsession, a promise to acquire the boy by any means necessary.

Taesan took out the leaf stained with the boy’s divine blood.

This divine blood held the key to everything. Now that he understood that, there was no reason to hold back.

[You have activated Beyond the Boundary.]

[You have activated Magic Overlap.]

[You have activated Focused Detection.]

He unleashed the full power of Focused Detection.

Previously, he hadn’t been able to decipher the information within the divine blood. But now, he had gone beyond mortal limits, accessing a realm of power that even exceeded his own.

Even if the force surpassed his current level, he could still comprehend it.

The information and power within the leaf flowed into Taesan’s mind.

“I understand now.”

He pressed his hand to his forehead, stifling the throbbing pain. Using power beyond his limits meant absorbing knowledge his mind wasn’t fully equipped to process. It took a mental toll.

This was why he’d avoided activating Beyond the Boundary until now.

But it had been worth it.

He didn’t uncover everything, but he’d gained all the information he needed.

“So it really is divine power.”

Divine blood, in the truest sense, was the power of a god.

A force beyond mortal comprehension flowed through his veins.

However, possessing divine blood didn’t necessarily grant godlike power. Most bearers of divine blood lived ordinary lives and died ordinary deaths.

In essence, it was more of a seal on divine power within their bodies.

Thus, most divine-blooded individuals lived and died without fanfare.

But it was still a force beyond mortal limitations. If someone surpassed a certain threshold, they could forcibly wield it, just as Helia had done.

Helia, standing on the edge of mortal limitations, had become powerful using her blood. For someone even stronger, the power would be even more accessible.

Someone like Taesan.

“Divine blood” meant straddling the boundary between mortality and immortality.

Stronger than mere mortals but weaker than true immortals, it was an ambiguous state.

And for one at the boundary to acquire divine blood…

They might just be able to cross that boundary.

Taesan looked at the sleeping boy.

The boy had said that when he could no longer bear the pain, he sought the temple, where a divine decree was given: He was cursed by all creation, and only the Emperor could lift this curse.

And the way to lift it was for the boy, as the bearer of divine blood, to offer himself as a sacrifice to the Emperor.

“A sentient being sacrificing itself… that only works if it’s a voluntary choice, right?”

[Yes. The spirit of a true offering is in the self-sacrifice. Both the one offering and the one receiving the offering must agree. Mutual acceptance is crucial.]

The ghost replied. Taesan shook his head slowly.

Now he understood why the God of Choices had sent him to the boy’s side.

And he had a good idea of what she wanted him to do.

---

The boy and Taesan moved to the next trial site. Even after a full day passed there, the curse had no effect, thanks to Taesan’s intervention.

“Haha… what in the world…”

The boy shook his head in disbelief.

“Why?”

In his long despair, he had finally given up and accepted becoming the Emperor’s sacrifice. That was the purpose of the seven trials.

But the curse had suddenly vanished as soon as he’d begun the trials.

He was utterly confused.

“Maybe… maybe it’s because I resolved to die. Could the curse have disappeared because of that? Then… does this mean…”

The boy mumbled endlessly to himself.

They continued walking and eventually arrived at a small village.

“What?”

The boy’s eyes widened.

The village was bustling with activity. People laughed and chatted, while market stalls displayed a variety of foods and trinkets.

“A village festival.”

It seemed to be a small local celebration.

“…”

The boy stared at the festivities in a daze.

Taesan asked him a question.

“Do you want to join in?”

“Huh? N-no. I’m a cursed child. If I join a festival…”

The boy trailed off, lowering his head.

“B-but I…”

“Your curse takes a full day to activate, doesn’t it? And right now, it’s not even working. So there’s no issue.”

“But…”

The boy clearly wanted to join but was still terrified of his curse. He took a step back. Taesan spoke softly.

“It’s your choice. Do you want to enjoy the festival?”

“…Yes.”

“Then let’s go.”

Taesan led the boy into the festival.

The boy looked around with fascination. With his cloak on, the villagers likely assumed Taesan and the boy were travelers.

“Hey there! Is he your son?”

A burly man laughed, addressing Taesan. Taesan nodded, and the man laughed heartily, handing a skewer to the boy.

“Welcome, kid! Here’s a treat on the house! Enjoy the festival!”

“Th-thank you!”

The boy accepted the skewer with a quick, grateful bow.

Taking a bite, he murmured in awe.

“It’s… delicious…”

He had lived alone, fending for himself. The flavor of the seasoned food overwhelmed him.

After a moment, he held out the skewer to Taesan with

 a resolute expression.

“It’s really good. You should try it.”

“I’m fine. You eat.”

“T-thank you!”

The boy eagerly finished the skewer.

The festival continued.

There were jesters, and even a talking bird that captivated the crowd. The boy’s eyes sparkled as he watched, weaving through the people with wonder.

But he never let go of Taesan’s hand.

“…It’s nice.”

It was a simple statement, but it held a world of emotion.

Taesan spoke.

“Do you long for a normal life?”

“Yes.”

The boy’s gaze drifted toward a boy around his age, holding his parents’ hands, smiling and laughing.

“If I’d been born normal… if I didn’t have blue blood… would things have been different? Could I have been happy, too?”

There was a depth of despair in his voice unusual for someone his age.

Taesan asked.

“What if you could live that life?”

“What?”

“What if your blood is simply blue, with no other consequences, and you could live your life without fear. Even if people rejected you for your blue blood, you could still live among them. Would you have made the same choice?”

“What do you mean?”

The boy looked at Taesan, puzzled.

“You’ll understand soon enough.”

Taesan looked to the sky.

A force surged from beyond, emanating powerful waves that sought to manifest here.

The ground began to crack.

Space warped.

“Huh?”

The boy’s face froze. From his past experiences, he knew exactly what was coming.

“T-the day isn’t even over yet!”

“Getting desperate now that the boy has hope? Disgraceful.”

“We have to get out of here, or this village will—!”

The boy clung to Taesan’s arm, but before they could move, a deafening roar filled the air as space twisted and the earth trembled.

Villagers screamed and fell to the ground.

“Aaahhh!”

Despair filled the boy’s face.

People were going to die.

Because of him.

Taesan stamped his foot.

His power surged forward, colliding with the divine force.

The twisted space quickly stabilized.

The power beyond clashed with Taesan’s strength, each pushing against the other.

“…Huh?”

The boy’s eyes widened. Until now, he’d never noticed the force beyond. Taesan had always dispelled it before he could sense it.

But this time was different. The two forces clashed visibly, creating a disturbance even the boy could perceive.

Taesan sneered in the direction of the opposing force.

“No matter how much power you send from afar, it’s useless against me.”

The divine force struggled, resisting Taesan’s strength, but it was slowly crushed.

“Wait a bit longer. I’ll be coming for you soon.”

Snap.

The space sealed shut.

The villagers groaned, slowly getting to their feet.

“What… What just happened?”

“What was that?”

No one had died. The ground had shaken, but it hadn’t crumbled. The worst of the damage was a few toppled stalls.

The boy stared at Taesan, his hands trembling.

“…Taesan?”

“Let’s go outside the village.”

---

Outside the village, the boy sat, trembling, in the grass.

He bit his nails, hands shaking.

“…What… What was that?”

This time was different.

The curse had activated before the day had even passed, something that had never happened before.

“And…”

The force beyond the space…

This wasn’t a curse.

The boy was deeply shaken.

“You’re not cursed. Having blue blood doesn’t mean anything like what you’re experiencing.”

“Huh?”

The God of Choices had said she respected all choices, even those leading to death.

But when the choice was denied and forced upon someone by others, she despised it.

Taesan began to speak, explaining everything to the boy.

---

Several days later.

The boy stood before the golden temple, his face pale and void of life.

His expression was heavy with every negative emotion imaginable.

“Everything is your choice.”

Taesan’s words echoed in his mind as he took a step toward the temple. Guards at the entrance raised their spears, blocking him.

“Halt! This is the Emperor’s holy temple! Who goes there?”

“I am… the cursed child.”

The boy removed his cloak, revealing his identity. The guards’ faces twisted in shock.

Suppressing his emotions, the boy spoke.

“I have completed the trials bestowed by His Majesty, and I have come to meet my end.”