This bonus chapter Is dedicated to the Reader DespinaNY for gifting Dragon to the Novel.

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She hurried inside that chamber and found herself surrounded by shelves filled with old tattered books. It reminded her of the abandoned archive of ancient history books in the royal library. Now the question was which book was the one that she needed, but to her surprise, a certain book kept on top of a reading stand opened on its own and flipped its pages as if beckoning her to come closer.

It was as if this chamber and this book knew exactly why she was there.

The moment she saw the words on the paper, her heart skipped a beat.

The words “The Devil’s Curse”  were written on top of the page.

Esther went through the book without hesitation.

The page started with a brief narration explaining what the Devil’s Curse was all about, which was something she already knew, and then it proceeded about the way to lift the curse.

Summoning the Devil.

Described on the next page was the preparation needed to summon the Devil, a ceremony which requires blood as a medium. It mentioned how in exchange for lifting the curse, the Devil would demand the summoner pay a satisfactory price, which Esther was already aware of. She flipped the page, skipping the lines about the past demands made, and at the bottom of the page, it was mentioned how there were recorded instances when the summoner refused to obey the wish of the Devil.

Esther furrowed her brows, as the lines of the book spoke with caution. She anxiously read each word, and the more she read, the worse her feelings grew. While the instructions on the summoning only covered two pages, the alternative path took a dozen. Yet Esther kept reading until she found a certain line.

[Only when the person who had summoned the Devil surrendered himself to the curse will it be lifted from its previous carrier. Be warned, however, accepting to bear the curse does not eliminate it but merely transfers it to the summoner.]

‘Transfers to the summoner? To Theron?’ Esther mumbled in disbelief. ‘Theron will be cursed? I-I cannot let that happen… If he accepts this alternative option, it resolves nothing and his body will become a vessel for the curse. To carry a curse for eternity, how can any human suffer such a cruel existence?

‘No, no, I cannot let Theron do this. Why would he bear the curse when I am the one at fault? I should be the one to bear this curse as I am the reason this happened in the first place. I brought disaster to this kingdom. Is there no way to shift it to me?’

She continued to flip the pages in hopes of finding a way to transfer the curse to another person than the summoner, but all that was noted were the horrible consequences awaiting those summoners who dared to think of taking the alternative path..

Esther was shaken to her core seeing what exactly Theron will go through.

“No…If he sees this, he will surely—I can’t let Theron accept the curse! I can’t let his soul be tormented till eternity! This…is cruel…I need to do something before he even reaches here and summons the Devil again. I know he won’t hesitate from sacrificing himself.” Her eyes turned moist. “Theron…why do you have to love me this much? I don’t deserve it. If only you know that I am the one to put you in such a situation, that I am the one to be blamed…”

Seeing that there was nothing more the book could offer, Esther gritted her teeth in frustration.

“I will not let you sacrifice yourself for me. I will do whatever it takes to keep you away from this nightmarish future. I won’t let your soul be tormented till eternity.”

Esther came out of that chamber and saw the old priest still sitting in the same chair as before, as if he hadn’t moved a single inch since she came.

Hearing her footsteps, his murky eyes turned to her. “Did the Lady find the answers she’s seeking?”

“Your Holiness, I believe you are aware of what is written in that book. Can you tell me if there is any way to receive the curse in the place of the person who had summoned the Devil?” she asked, hoping to hear something positive.

“The Lady must be aware that the summoning is in fact a form of a blood sacrifice ritual. The moment the summoner had sacrificed his blood to summon the Devil, he had created a connection between himself, the Devil and the curse. The connection is a chain of the laws that govern our world, and there is no way to break that connection unless you destroy our world itself.”

The lights in Esther’s eyes dimmed…

The old priest shook his head. “Only the summoner himself can bear that curse in his body. If he doesn’t wish to give the Devil what he asked for and also refuses to be the vessel of the curse himself, then the only thing left is to simply wait for the curse to finish its mission and watch the end of the kingdom afflicted by the curse.”

“So there is no way…?” she concluded helplessly.

“Alas, being a supernatural being yourself, you should be aware that this is simply nature taking its course. There is no such thing as coincidence, and there is nothing to gain if there is nothing sacrificed. That is the law of this world which no one, not even the Devil himself, can break.”

“I understand,” Esther said in a bleak tone as if she had lost her soul. “Pardon for taking your time. I will take my leave.”

Just as she turned to leave, she heard the old priest’s hoarse voice behind her.

“Always remember, great things happen only through great sacrifice. Though it seems difficult and unfair at the moment, the future holds a deeper meaning that we humble existences simply cannot see yet. In time, you will understand this might be one of the pieces set in place for the greater cause. We are children of this world, after all, and the world will not make us suffer for no reason.”

Esther didn’t know what he meant and neither did she bother to understand. At the moment, she didn’t wish to think about any future or any greater cause because her present seemed to be in the dark.

‘What ‘greater cause’ is there to look forward to when Theron will be sacrificed along the way in order to get that future?’

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