Chapter 18

Garou got the details of the druid from one of the Arachnid warriors, their queen gave the order for them to track down and keep an eye on the mortal. However, when Garou asked about him, they were more than willing to inform him of his location. "Due east, he's there in a shoddy wooden shack. We dare not go near him for he takes the souls of any and all who are in the area. I would wait for the Shadow King's return if I were you,"

Garou smirked. "But you aren't, thanks, I'll handle it from here." With that, he began his solo journey. The path wasn't hard to follow, Garou could smell the blood from his trek and it only grew stronger the closer he got to the location. Yet, he also knew he was being followed.

Garou sighed aloud as he turned and saw Death lingering just behind him. "What the hell is with you?" he demanded.

Death however was stoic, he then sniffled and the tears began to fall. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"Huh?"

Death approached him cautiously. "I am… so sorry for what is about to happen…"

Garou froze, realizing what he was hinting towards. "Fuck!" he cursed, a low growl escaped from him as he stared down death. "Of all the times… of ALL the times when I wanted to die… and yet, you were never there… but NOW!" he demanded. "I don't want to die anymore! I got something worth living for!" he protested in anger.

Garou turned his back on him until he heard something strangely familiar. "Ojisan…."

He froze.

Slowly, he turned and there was the kid, Tareo. The one he had kept saving time and time again during the Monster Association battle. Garou stared down at him, perplexed to say the least. "Kid… wait… No, this can't be!" he protested.

"I've been watching you… ever since you tried to curb your thirst with monster blood. Even then, despite it's power over you… you managed to maintain yourself… you could have killed me, an easy target… yet time and time again… you saved me."

He watched in horror as the kid grew, plumes of black smoke followed as Death appeared once more.

"It was you? That whole time… YOU where that damn kid!"

He merely nodded his head. "I had to see for myself… how far you had fallen. I was about to give Saitama permission to end you if you couldn't hold yourself together. Despite the battle against your guardians, you never killed any of them." He explained. "Saitama saw it too, he knew you were still in there. He chose to save you as well…"

Garou shook his head to it all. "No… No this isn't fair!" he protested. "I have a son damn it! I have someone worth protecting… someone I love…" he said and then the tears fell. "Why… why am I to die?"

Death sighed. "Your dreams, you still recall them?" he asked.

"The ones about my father, yes, what of it? How would you know for that matter!"

"It's because I am having you see them." Death came closer to him. "I wanted you to see the man who is responsible for your curse… is the one who you are about to confront."

He suddenly froze stiff. "What?"

"Adus… the Druid, was seeking out your son to bind himself to him, to ensure he stays in this world should something happen to you, for as of now. The Curse of the Crimson Plague is bounded only to you and you alone. Should you die, the curse dies, when that happens, Adus can be killed for that is his last thread that binds him to this earth. Your bond with Bad is strong, however, since he became the Shadow King, he is impervious to curses. Making yours unable to move to a new host. Not even your son will be affected."

"What are you saying? This asshole is alive because I am?"

Death nodded. "He has lived for so long through various means, one of them is through curses for some of his own essence is attached to them. The Plague is the last curse he cast and the last that remains… Garou… I don't want this to happen either… If there was another way I would certainly take it, but at the moment…"

Rage began to fill him, his eyes turned blood red as Garou gave out a demonic hiss. His fist tore through the closest object, a bolder of all things. It shattered upon impact, yet it wasn't enough to channel his anger. He wept at the notion, it was truly the only way wasn't it?

"What… what will happen to Bad?"

Death fell silent for a moment, until he took a deep cleansing breath. "He will be heart broken. Devastated to the loss of you, but he will know you didn't die in vein. You died a hero, and I will be sure your son knows that."

He cleared away the tears, Garou tried to look at the bigger picture. The longer this druid is alive, the more he will kill. He will constantly go after Bad and the family until he gains what he desires. His son would be in danger each and every day because of the bastard. He took a deep, cleansing breath before he turned to Death once more. "How do I have to die so the asshole dies?"

Death himself was shedding tears over this, but he regained his composure as he explained everything…