Where else could Daru go except forward?

So, forward he went after resting for a few minutes, cautiously advancing along the crimson corridor.

The hidden passage might be the castle ruler's escape path, but there was also a possibility that it isn't, and there could be traps, too.

In any case, Daru wasn't sure what the path was or where it led to.

The wiser approach was to be careful.

His progress towards the end of the corridor was a crawl, but Daru wasn't in a rush. The chaotic chase took its toll on his body.

He had to make sure that he was properly recovered first, as there was always a chance he would have to fight at the end of where the crimson path led.

So, a slow, cautious advance would only be more beneficial than not.

And that's what he did, observing the boring stone walls, the flooring, and even the ceiling, to ensure he wouldn't step into something unwanted.

Eventually, something changed.

The crimson corridor began to widen, insignificantly at first, until it became as spacious as one of the major hallways in the castle.

It was impossible for Daru not to notice at that point.

A burnt smell also began assaulting his olfactory senses at some point, faint at first, until it was impossible to ignore.

Strangely, Daru had no trouble breathing, and he really had nowhere else to go except forward.

He soon arrived at a wider part of the underground hall, where the runic scribbles…letters, momentarily snatched his attention.

Daru observed them for a while before proceeding on his way.

He couldn't understand what they meant — if they even meant something — so it wasn't too difficult to remove his gaze from them.

The deeper he walked into the crimson hallway, the more he saw.

There were now random paintings of demonic beings of varying appearances on the walls.

They looked horrifying, yet strangely, Daru didn't feel that way, despite their hideous forms. It even felt like they leaned more towards divinity than the profane.

Nonetheless, Daru only scanned his eyes over most of them…and then the hallway ended.

He had arrived at an archaic stone hall.

The entirety of its walls was populated by faintly pulsing sigils that looked like a four-legged spider whose hind legs were intricate crosses and front legs were simple circles.

The sigils seemed to be breathing — alive, as they illuminated the hall with soft, crimson light.

Then, at the center of one side of a wall was a mural of the Three-headed Spider King.

Only, unlike the stone statues, the appearance of the monarch was more vivid.

The creature had a tall human torso, the same three heads of a cat, a mix of a human and an imp, and a toad, but instead of spider legs were…bony arms ending in hands with claw-like nails.

The Three-Headed Spider king looked demonic, and yet it radiated the same divine feeling.

At the very least, staring at it didn't feel as vile and hideous as its appearance and was, in fact, a bit comforting.

But Daru didn't buy the feeling. He would never.

After all, he had experienced the deception of the dwellers of the underworld from La Filosa and her dark corridor, who instilled a sense of relaxation in her victims.

He would've probably died there had he not reacted fast enough and snapped out of the bewitchment.

The feeling the Crimson Hall gave him wasn't the same.

However, Daru didn't feel like trusting any of the heretical scribblings around him, so he entered the hall warily.

There was nothing else inside aside from the rather massive stone table at the center.

He walked closer to it, eyes narrowing at the glowing, four-legged spider sigil.

This one wasn't pulsing, unlike the ones on the walls.

Then, he noticed the other items on the table.

There was also what seemed to be a grimoire —at least from its exterior — at the side, and a crimson pill a few inches above the glowing sigil.

Daru touched the black book first.

To his surprise, a notification appeared:

[You have obtained (1) Goetian Abecedarium.]

'An…item?'

Well, it was obviously an item; it was just that he didn't expect to obtain one in such a heretical location.

It felt more appropriate to be cursed here, instead.

In any case, Daru would rather obtain an item than not, and so, he unhesitatingly reached for the other one: the crimson pill placed above the glowing sigil.

But before he could grab it, his hand…was suddenly sucked into the crimson, four-legged spider insignia.

It happened so gently, neither too fast nor too slow, that Daru felt a bit infuriated upon realizing that his palm was now resting on the sigil

…Like he was a kid bamboozled by the promise of a candy.

[You have been cursed!]

Daru froze, quickly pulling his palm away, but the sigil had already disappeared.

Truly…being cursed in such a heretical location was only proper.

He trembled as the realization sank in.

Adding to his fury was the itch of something being engraved in his palm.

"This damned….place!" Daru cursed in utter frustration, gritting his teeth as he turned his hand over and looked at the four-legged spider at the center of his palm.

"Tch!"

He tried scratching it off, and of course, the insignia remained.

How could a curse be removed so easily?

Daru clenched his fists and gritted his teeth harder, and harder still…then he sighed in acceptance.

Fine, he was cursed again.

But so what? What matters is that he's still alive.

With another sigh, he opened the status window, focusing on his curses instead:

Curses: [Yama's Discontent (Soulbound Sword)] [Goddess Fortuna's Frown] [Tainted Soul (Pride)] [Baal's Mark]

Daru then tapped on the newest addition to see what he was dealing with.

==

Curse: Baal's Mark

Description: You have been marked by the Lord of the Flies.

==

"Huh? That's…it?" He muttered, dumbfounded, disappointed, and vexed.

Then he erupted: "There's no explanation as to what this mark does or means? Who is this Baal guy, anyway? Fine, mark me all you want, but I'm taking your book and your pill! I'm not scared of you. In fact, why don't you come to me so I can give you a piece of my mind?"

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