#121

A disaster far beyond anything they had seen was engulfing the south. Whatever power had surrounded Yurisis, it was as if seeds of destruction had been sown in the land, and everything crumbled. On their way to the inn, Duke Renon’s castle had already half collapsed. All the buildings around the castle were clearly going to collapse with it. Not only that. Countless people would die.

As the inn began to come into view, Ulli spoke. Her face was pained.

“Honestly… I understand Zarkas’s actions to some extent. I know what those people are feeling, at least. But this… this isn’t right.”

As they drew closer to the ground, people terrified by fear became clearly visible. People who had fallen and been left behind, families frantically packing their belongings and running as far away as possible, nobles in ornate clothing fleeing on horseback – without exception, they were abandoning their homes to escape the sudden disaster.

“The target of revenge is wrong. Even if the nobles are guilty, the others are not.”

Ulli said, her voice trembling, finding it hard to bear the sight. At that moment, Lasano broke his long silence and spoke.

“But what if everyone in this territory was somehow involved?”

“What do you mean?”

Cullen asked, and Lasano replied expressionlessly.

“As I said before, I believe inaction is also a sin. The wealth and foundation of this territory were built by absorbing the East. According to Zarkas, they endured the crisis of drought by sacrificing the East, and they exploited the refugees from the East who flowed in. Did only the nobles participate in that? At the very least, all the adults who built the current Lenon territory, in some way, stood by and watched that situation.”

Lasano spoke fiercely. He had clearly shown his contempt for bystanders before. Ulli retorted,

“But surely there are people among them who didn’t know! And children are innocent!”

“Ignorance is sometimes also a sin.”

Before their argument could continue, Kiyen landed in front of the inn. Even the inn, being relatively close to the castle, was in a dangerous situation. Travelers who had been sleeping rushed past them beneath a precariously cracked wall. Some were astonished at Kiyen’s wings, but they quickly lost interest at the brink of life and death.

Arne was not among the fleeing people. The disembarked group entered the building, contrary to the people. The innkeeper tried to stop them.

“Get out quickly! I don’t know what’s happening, but the castle is collapsing. This place will collapse too, so run!”

The owner, intending to see everyone out, was still staying behind. Ulli glared at Lasano and snapped,

“So all these people deserve to die too?”

Lasano retorted as he ran up the stairs.

“It is merely one of the consequences. The sin of choosing the wrong settlement. Such is the will of the goddess. She makes even the smallest things on the ground bear responsibility for their choices.”

The atmosphere grew sharp. An aggressive current, born from the shocking truth and the horrific sight, swirled between them.

Leaving them behind, Cullen ran quickly to the room he had secured. Arne was there. With her luggage packed, her face was filled with fear. But by no means did she look like she was about to leave the room.

“Cullen-nim…!”

As soon as the door opened, Arne rushed to him with a tearful expression. Relief spread across her face, which had been full of anxiety.

“Arne, why are you still here!”

Arne flinched at Cullen’s shout. But she didn’t look displeased. Quickly picking up the luggage the group had packed, he replied. He had also taken Cullen’s spare sword.

“I thought you might not be able to find me if I went somewhere else…”

His words sounded particularly sad, and Cullen was momentarily speechless.

“It’s certain something happened at the castle… and if the situation is urgent, I thought it would be okay for you to leave me behind. Still, I’m… happy you came.”

Arne smiled shyly, as if unsure what she was happy about. At that sight, Lasano stared at Arne with an expression that seemed about to erupt with emotion. Cullen also closed his mouth, overcome with a rising lump in his throat. Kiyen urged them, who had paused for a moment.

“There is no time for this now. We must leave this place.”

As he said that, Kiyen reached out his hand. A strong wind blew from somewhere, and the inn wall where they were collapsed entirely. Arne’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You didn’t have to break it…”

“It’s going to break anyway.”

Kiyen said with a voice of resignation. Silently spreading his wings, he walked towards the hole in the wall.

“Let’s go.”

At Kiyen’s words, Cullen gazed at the pandemonium beyond the broken wall. Should they leave these people to die? They couldn’t just leave in the face of this disaster. If they turned away and left without doing anything, they would be no different from other Larkans.

“Kiyen-nim, the people… we can’t leave them like this. At least, we need to buy time for those who can be saved to evacuate. So they can escape the territory.”

Kiyen wore a skeptical expression. He looked, rarely, tired. His eyes held a look of futility.

“I cannot use Magic to save lives.”

“Kiyen-nim, you have saved us many times.”

Despite Cullen’s firm words, Kiyen remained expressionless.

“I am seeing the Artifact’s power for the first time. It is an object imbued with divine power, so my Magic cannot neutralize it.”

Meanwhile, the screams increased. The inn began to sink abruptly. Cullen saw a child crying behind Kiyen’s back, looking for their parents after falling. He shook his head. He absolutely could not leave them.

“You can cast a shield. If it’s Kiyen-nim’s shield, it will at least buy people time to escape from falling stones and other debris.”

“That’s right, Dragon-nim. Please, we’ll help too so people can get out! Lasano-nim can also treat severely injured people on the way!”

Ulli said, looking earnestly at Lasano. Lasano had a skeptical expression, similar to Kiyen’s. It was Arne who rallied them.

“If we all work together, we can save as many people as possible. Kiyen-nim, you definitely won’t regret it!”

Arne said bravely. Her clear voice, devoid of despair or resignation, slightly lifted the atmosphere. Cullen seized the moment and pleaded with Kiyen again.

“Please. If Kiyen-nim dislikes it, I will never force you. But, surely…”

Cullen approached Kiyen. Then, he grasped his clothes. With earnestness and sincerity.

“It will be a comfort.”

Kiyen looked down at him briefly with a blank face. His once brilliant golden light was hazy, like the sun hidden by clouds. He spoke softly.

“For you…”

Kiyen spread his wings.

“You have so many precious things.”

Having finished speaking, Kiyen left them behind and soared into the sky, flapping his golden wings. Kiyen, who quickly moved away from them, was seen ascending into the sky. He had not given any definite answer, but Cullen knew. He would grant his request.

His premonition was correct.

The falling stones, like a landslide, were blocked by a spreading white light. After a burst of light so bright it made one’s eyes close, a transparent hemisphere began to expand. A barrier protecting the people rapidly grew in size. White light also fell upon Cullen’s face.

Kiyen’s last words lingered in his mind, but Cullen decided not to waste the favor he had bestowed. There was no time.

“Let’s go. We need to help the people and evacuate them quickly.”

At Cullen’s words, everyone except Lasano nodded.

Cullen and Ulli took swords from Arne. As they headed for the stairs, the interior was already a mess, having collapsed. As the group descended, they heard a small cry from the collapsed first floor, begging for help.

Hurrying there, they found the innkeeper. He had sent the people out but apparently hadn’t managed to escape himself.

“No, you were… still up there?”

He was pinned beneath stones. Yet, seeing Cullen’s group concerned, Arne rushed forward. After removing the smaller stones, she called for help.

“Help me!”

“Understood. Lasano, please provide healing.”

Cullen said as he ran towards him. Lasano followed silently behind him. His face was a mix of reluctance and distress, showing confusion.

Approaching the owner, Cullen lifted the heaviest stone. His right shoulder, which had just been healed, felt stiff, but there was no difficulty in exerting force. Gritting his teeth, he lifted the stone, and Ulli pulled the innkeeper out. The man looked at them with a face mixed with bewilderment and surprise. As Lasano approached and used holy power on his broken leg, he expressed his overwhelming gratitude.

“Thank you so much. I thought I was going to die without being able to move…!”

“Go out quickly. Everyone should have evacuated by now, so it’s best to save your own life.”

“Yes, and you, my benefactors, please escape this place quickly too!”

He thanked them repeatedly, then looked back a few times before running out. His family, who had been waiting anxiously outside, supported him and looked back towards Cullen. Voices of gratitude echoed multiple times.

Following him out, the group also went outside. Kiyen’s shield was effectively blocking the stones. He couldn’t do anything about the ground splitting, but the reduction in falling debris alone would lessen the damage.

“Cullen, over there!”

Ulli pointed to the child who had fallen and was crying earlier. Cullen nodded and instantly ran towards the child. As a signal, the group scattered and rushed to those in need of help. Lasano treated those who had fallen injured, and Arne began running, carrying an elderly person. Ulli ran, holding the hands of other children.

As Cullen approached the crying little girl, a burning wooden pillar fell and covered her. Cullen, kicking off the ground quickly, cut down the pillar with his sword. The pillar, cut diagonally from above, exploded with a ‘bang!’ Fearing she might be injured by the debris, Cullen quickly scooped up the child.

Her tear-stained face looked up at Cullen. Though her face didn’t resemble Sasha at all, her face made his heart ache as if he were looking at his own sister.

“Th-thank you…”

“Where are your parents?”

Cullen spoke kindly so the child wouldn’t be scared, and the child, though tearful, pointed ahead.

“Ov-over there. My dad was coming, but there were too many people… he disappeared.”

“I’ll find him for you, so don’t cry.”

As he held her close, the girl nodded. Clutching his clothes, the child asked as Cullen began to run.

“Excuse me, are you a hero?”

Cullen wore a troubled expression at the word ‘hero.’

“I’m not.”

“But you look like a hero. You saved me too…”

Sniffling, the child seemed to be calming down, saying such things. Listening to her pure voice, Cullen bit his lip. The thought that innocent lives might have just died struck him, causing him pain.

It was agonizing, all of this.

Beyond the complex web of cause and effect, Cullen felt a faint resentment towards the goddess. Was this the despair Ruena had felt? That the god she served offered no help in the face of disaster?

Swallowing his pain, Cullen ran with all his might. He stopped where the fissures, which seemed to swallow all people, finally ceased. He wiped the sweat from the heat.

Everyone in the group was gathered where Cullen had stopped. People stood at the edge of the city walls, gazing blankly at their collapsing homeland.

Just then, someone shouted.

“Rica!”

A voice mixed with relief and tears grew closer. The child’s head shot up at the sound, and she waved her hand. Cullen quickly put the child down.

“Mom! Dad!”

At the child’s cry, her parents ran over. Their faces had been as pale as the dead, but the moment they saw their child, they burst into tears. The girl’s mother collapsed, hugging her child. The man who had run over with them saw Cullen and, taking his hand, knelt down.

“Thank you, thank you… I, I let Rica go, and I thought she was going to die… truly…”

His voice, choked with tears, could not finish the sentence. As the group gathered beside them, expressing their gratitude. Lasano and Arne, who had been treating people, also headed towards Cullen, and people surrounded the group. And they all expressed their thanks.

“I don’t know who you are, but thank you so much. Thanks to you, many lives have been saved.”

At his words, Cullen looked up. Kiyen, blocking the wind and stones, floated above, until the very walls of the fortress had crumbled. It was a golden light, like the sun rising at night.

“Rather than for us…”

Cullen said, with all sincerity.

“I would be grateful if you would thank the one who protected you from up there.”

Then, the people looked up. As they saw the fluttering white robe and the golden hair scattering in the wind, they let out gasps of amazement.

“Is it the goddess’s grace?”

Someone asked. At that, Cullen shook his head. Then he said,

“That is your Guardian Dragon.”

Not a murderer…

Cullen swallowed the rest of his words. He wanted to tell Kiyen this, once he descended.