#114

At the word “High Priest,” Cullen looked at him with surprised eyes. The High Priests he knew, like Lasano, always had long silver hair and red eyes.

But Ruena before him possessed none of those characteristics. His hair was short, and his eyes were brown.

Wondering if one’s appearance changed with age, he recalled past encounters. The members of the Ciel Elders he had met flashed through his mind. Their eyes were hollowed, but their hair was clearly long and silver.

Furthermore, it made no sense for a High Priest to be living outside the temple like this. Those who did not become Elders were known to pass peacefully to the goddess’s side.

“Are you saying you are the High Priest?”

At Cullen’s question, Ruena raised his head. The smell of blood soaked into his clothes pricked his nose.

“I don’t look like it, do I? But, yes. I was once a servant who attended the goddess. And I am also a sinner who betrayed her.”

Betrayed?

He involuntarily looked at Kiyen. He and Lasano had often mentioned in passing that a High Priest who betrayed the goddess would be known immediately… He glanced at Ruena, wondering what proof there could be, but Cullen couldn’t tell.

“But you still have the High Priest’s blessing. Your hair color isn’t a dark black either. What happened?”

“What do you mean, Kiyen-nim?”

Ruena answered Cullen’s question instead.

“A High Priest who betrays the goddess is marked with a changed color as a sign of their sin. They gain the black hair that Akesis possessed, and their divine power vanishes. Instead, they are banished to where Akesis sleeps.”

Only then did he understand that Ruena knew about Akesis.

“That must be why Arne knew about the god Akesis.”

As he said that to Kiyen, Ruena reacted to the name Arne.

“Did you say Arne?”

“Yes, she is your disciple. Do you remember her?”

Ruena nodded and smiled. For the first time, he wore a relaxed expression.

“That poor child has lived well and met distinguished people.”

Cullen met his gaze and sat down.

“Please sit comfortably. I will get you out of here. Arne is worried about you.”

With those words, Cullen extended the piece of glass he had received from Arne through the iron bars, placing it in his hand. Thanks to Kiyen’s presence, they weren’t particularly suspected, but he felt this would be a comfort.

Only after Cullen placed something in his hand did Ruena lower his head. He had felt it earlier, but this confirmed it. He was blind.

“……You still kept this.”

Ruena, as if pleased, caressed the piece of glass and then sat down comfortably, following Cullen’s words.

“As I said, I was banished for betraying the goddess, but later, realizing the weight of my actions, I repented and began to wander the Empire. I didn’t necessarily seek forgiveness, but as I lived that way, the goddess forgave me one day. Not entirely, but she allowed me some of her power.”

“Did your eyes disappear then?”

Kiyen, perhaps noticing as well, asked about his eyes. Ruena shook his head.

“She did not take my eyes. But… in a way, her touch was indeed involved.”

Just as he was about to continue, footsteps were heard again. It seemed the guards who had completed their patrol were returning.

Cullen made a quick decision. Since there wasn’t much time until the shift change, he decided to wait a bit and deal with the next shift as well. Then, they could buy time until the next shift change and escape with him.

“I will return. Please endure for two hours.”

As if to say goodbye, Ruena smiled resolutely.

Cullen and Kiyen, who had slipped away, summoned Ulli and Lasano through the lizards. The passage was quite long, so it took nearly an hour before they appeared.

“I’ve never seen a secret passage like this. Did our castle have something like this?”

As soon as they joined, Ulli and Lasano whispered their impressions of the passage.

“It’s a place where suspicious things are bound to happen. What were you doing inside that took so long?”

“Right. We waited outside for nearly an hour.”

Cullen replied while observing Lasano. He decided it would be better to discuss the betrayal of the High Priest after rescuing Ruena.

“We found Arne’s teacher inside. It was as expected.”

“How is he? Is he okay?”

Remembering Arne’s worry, Ulli asked with concern.

“He seems to have been tortured a lot.”

Lasano chimed in at that.

“I told you my strength would be needed.”

“That doesn’t seem to be the case.”

Kiyen said so, then got to the point.

“We are going to save him. Time has passed quite a bit while you were crawling here, so the shift change will be soon.”

“Ulli, you and I will subdue them. If you draw their attention with arrows, I will strike from behind.”

“Are there not many guards?”

“For now, they seem to be in pairs of two.”

“They seem more careless than I thought.”

Cullen agreed with Ulli’s words. Although it was a hidden passage, Kiyen had discovered it easily, and the number of personnel deployed was less than expected.

However, it was more beneficial to take Ruena and leave than to search the surroundings further, so the group headed back to the underground prison. As if timing was perfect, as they arrived, people were descending for the shift change.

“Hey, Tito. If Duke Junon finds out you’re drinking like this, it’ll be trouble.”

It was a name they had heard before. The one called Tito chuckled and walked towards Ruena’s iron cage.

“Don’t you know I get stronger when I drink? Duke Junon would understand if he knew I was using my strength to torture a traitor. Hey, traitor!”

Calling Ruena a traitor, the man thrust his sword into the iron bars. The sharply honed sword gleamed blue. Ulli whispered, looking at the pattern that ran up the man’s wrist.

“That sword also seems to have come from the island.”

The others had no markings, but the man named Tito did. Perhaps he was the main operative, which is why he was equipped this way.

“Are you ignoring me?”

Tito, displeased that Ruena didn’t respond, began to open the iron bars. The others standing behind him frowned. He was likely the most autocratic one here.

“The traitorous bastard acting so noble!”

He opened the iron bars and dragged Ruena out, throwing him to the floor. Seeing the old man being treated so carelessly, their expressions naturally stiffened. Ulli and Lasano also looked displeased. Ruena remained still, not even groaning. This seemed to provoke Tito, who raised his sword.

“Shall we do what we did last time today? He seemed to hurt quite a bit then. I’ll slice your flesh into sashimi and feed it to the dogs. Then maybe my dogs will gain regenerative abilities.”

“Tito, that’s enough.”

“We have to find out where the artifact is by beating this bastard anyway, right?”

Tito immediately took action. With his blue sword, he tore Ruena’s tattered robe and brought the sword to his exposed arm. The blade dug in instantly.

“I will make you pay for daring to betray Lord Yurisis. You, who suffered the same pain, betrayed us?”

Blood began to flow. Ulli pulled Cullen and said. She was speaking cautiously, but her small voice clearly conveyed worry and anger.

“Cullen, are you just going to let that happen?”

Kiyen answered Ulli’s question.

“That man has regenerative abilities. He won’t die if left alone. It’s better to endure now, or we’ll ruin the plan.”

“But it’s too cruel. He’s been through this many times already!”

Ulli was distressed. She couldn’t stand seeing the weak suffer, so it was understandable. Cullen also felt uneasy just watching.

“Did you say regenerative abilities?”

Lasano asked something else. Kiyen replied in a dry voice, looking ahead.

“Yes.”

“Self-healing is only permitted to High Priests……”

Lasano’s whisper was cut off by Ruena’s groan. As flesh was deeply cut away, he finally seemed to let out a groan. Cullen made a decision. If he hadn’t known, perhaps, but he couldn’t stand by and watch the situation unfolding before his eyes.

Moreover, since the man named Tito would be guarding this place from now on, he had to be dealt with anyway.

“Ulli, I’m going in.”

At Cullen’s words, Ulli assumed a combat stance as if she had been waiting. She drew her bow and aimed.

“Let’s see if I can take off that bastard’s head first.”

“I will subdue everyone except him first, so please draw his attention.”

The others, lacking weapons from Dark Island, would be easily subdued. There was no need to kill them, so he would knock them unconscious, but he intended to kill Tito.

“Cullen!”

Kiyen called him in a low, muffled voice, displeased, but small and powerful.

“We have to kill the one named Tito anyway, Kiyen-nim.”

Then, before Kiyen could stop him, he signaled Ulli. As soon as the signal was given, Ulli aimed at the space between Tito’s eyebrows and shot an arrow. The arrow flew with fierce speed. Just as the arrow was about to hit Tito’s face, who was bowing his head under Ruena’s threat, he raised his head and deflected the arrow.

“Who is it!”

Whether it was the power of his sword or his skill, his reaction speed was exceptional. Deflecting the arrow with his sword, he pushed Ruena aside and shouted towards their direction. Ulli silently reloaded her bow and shot again, and taking advantage of the opening, Cullen charged in.

“You…!”

Tito, who was at the forefront, shouted upon spotting Cullen. Recognizing him, he tried to rush at Cullen, but Ulli’s arrow stopped him. Cullen used the opening she created to charge directly at the others.

Despite the sudden situation, the other guards reacted quite well, but they couldn’t defeat Cullen. He kicked the first one who charged at him hard, pushing him back, and then struck the one who drew his sword on the jaw with his elbow.

Thwack, with a sound, the man stumbled back, and Cullen subdued the last one who charged with his sword. With a heavy thud, he fell unconscious.

Following that, he struck the ones who charged again on the back of their necks with his sword. Applying force just enough not to break bones, the subjugation was complete. Everyone except Tito was unconscious.

Turning back, Ulli was facing Tito with Pantel drawn. She had also exerted her strength, as her greatsword was red and the pattern on her wrist was burning like vines. Seizing that moment, Cullen rushed to the fallen Ruena. Tito noticed the movement and turned around, but Ulli didn’t let him.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

“Damn woman!”

Tito roared, bursting with rage. He looked back and forth between Cullen, who had Ruena on his back, and Ulli, and shouted with a face full of hatred.

“Seeing you wield the sword of Dark Island, you’re another bitch from the East! And yet you dare to oppose us. How can you associate with the Imperial Family bloodline that massacred our people from the East? You, and this traitorous bastard too!”