#153

Cullen and his companions picked up speed even more than before. After realizing the situation might be worse than they thought, they reduced even their sleeping time to push forward.

Passing through the County of Linden, they began heading towards the capital. East of the county, the land was desolate and silent. Traces of Demonic Beasts passing through were visible everywhere.

Occasionally, when they encountered people, they all heard stories about Mount Tesnia. They worried that the mountains were still burning and that the entire continent would become a sea of fire. Fear was etched on people’s faces.

Those who hadn’t seen the flames from the Duchy of Jenix seemed particularly fearful. Imagination seemed to amplify their fear.

Every time they heard such words, Cullen blamed himself for not being able to go see Kiyen immediately. However, he had no time to dwell on it. It was right to head to the capital in that time.

A month later, they reached the Marquessate of Grove, just outside the capital. The place, where they stopped briefly to get food, was a scene of utter chaos.

The castle was not destroyed, but bandits were rampant nearby. Smoke was rising from various places. The situation had worsened due to the rampant Demonic Beasts that had ravaged Count Linden’s territory.

He wanted to save them one by one, but there was no end to it. New Demonic Beasts appeared everywhere, and Cullen and Ulli alone lacked the strength. Most importantly, to confront Zarkas in the Imperial Palace, they needed to conserve their strength and avoid injury as much as possible.

If Kiyen were here, it would be different. The thought, which surfaced without warning, made Cullen sigh softly. Perhaps if he hadn’t sent him in the first place, this situation wouldn’t have arisen. As he remembered Kiyen, whom he had forcibly suppressed while running non-stop, his whole body felt heavy again.

He missed Kiyen. So much that it was unbearable.

At the same time, self-loathing, which had been waiting for an opportunity, rushed in and enveloped Cullen. The image of himself sending Kiyen away eventually flooded his mind. Behind Kiyen, who was precariously swaying, he heard a voice.

“Where on earth are all these Demonic Beasts coming from?”

Ulli asked with a bitter expression as they left the Marquessate. After saving a few dying villagers right before their eyes, her and Cullen’s swords were stained with blood. Cullen, snapping back to attention at Ulli’s words, shook off the blood and mounted his horse.

There was no time to be lost in thought. For Kiyen’s sake, he had to focus solely on heading to the capital.

“Considering the timing, it’s similar to when Zarkas started traveling to Dark Island. Before that, we had never seen this type of Demonic Beast.”

“Did they bring them?”

Arne’s question, Cullen couldn’t confirm. It was ambiguous.

“Even one or two, maybe, but so many Demonic Beasts? Do they have some kind of power to command them?”

“They seemed to have found out quite a lot, but there’s still much they don’t know.”

Arne said as she prepared to depart. Cullen agreed. Despite encountering many unexpected secrets, there was still much they didn’t know. As Cullen thought this, the world’s destruction that the goddess had spoken of suddenly came to mind. She had spoken of a guardian and urged him to travel.

What exactly did the destruction she spoke of mean? Did the entire vast continent collapse?

“We’re only two days away from the capital now, right? Then we’ll know.”

Ulli said, gazing at the road to the capital, which had begun to appear in the distance. The buildings of the merchant guilds located near the capital, including those in the Marquessate of Grove, were all empty. Only traces of people having fled somewhere in haste remained.

“Yes. We should hurry.”

By now, they were all in sync. As soon as Cullen spoke, Arne packed their camping gear and they shared a simple meal. Cullen quickly got ready and took the reins of his horse. He knew the horse was exhausted from being ridden so hard, but their destination was just ahead.

Kiyen would have disliked it if he saw this.

Kiyen, who couldn’t bring himself to hate even humans in the end, came to mind again. The face he had tried not to think about throughout the hurried journey surfaced again. As they neared the capital, thoughts of Kiyen kept surging. The hand holding the reins tightened.

Just a little further. Then he would see Kiyen. Cullen felt a moment of fear, unable to grasp what kind of situation awaited him. The image of Kiyen, calling out to Kia in despair, overlapped.

If he had broken down further there, then… what would he do?

Cullen cut off the thoughts that were about to follow. He gently stroked the horse, which was panting from exhaustion, and set off.

He urged the horse on for two full days, his whole body aching. Only when it was absolutely necessary did he dismount briefly to give the horse water. By pushing at such a pace, the group finally reached the capital exactly two days later.

It was early morning. The sky, which had grown darker as they approached the capital, was dim and overcast despite the dawn. A biting winter wind blew under the hazy sky. Exposed skin turned red, and their breath shattered into mist with each exhale.

The capital, located in the center, slightly south of the far north, had never been this cold before. Among the records he had seen previously, there were entries detailing the average precipitation and temperature of each region, and the capital, perhaps due to magic, had always been warm. Therefore, this weather was definitely strange.

The collapse of Mount Tesnia must have had an effect. Cullen thought, gazing north. If all the trees surrounding the mountains, which protected the capital, had disappeared, the barrier that blocked the cold might have vanished, affecting the temperature.

It had been a long time since he felt such cold. It was the kind of cold he could only feel in his hometown. Even though he had lived in such temperatures his entire life, the cold felt strangely unfamiliar today. Perhaps it was because he had been in warm places with Kiyen for nearly a year.

As if agreeing with Cullen’s thoughts, ash particles flew through the sky. Gray powder mixed with the wind tangled in Ulli’s blonde hair. Ash, which had long since accumulated on the ground, lay like dust. Beyond the pitch-black sky, smoke, clearly rising from the north, was faintly visible.

A acrid smell of burning seemed to waft this far. However, no flames were visible. If such a massive mountain range had burned, the flames should have been visible even from this distance.

Winter wildfires are particularly difficult to extinguish. Just last week, Cullen had heard stories of visible flames.

Had his family’s graves also burned? Cullen thought blankly. Things he had deliberately tried not to think about, along with Kiyen, came to mind. He couldn’t be sure without knowing the state of the mountains, but the graves of his companions, including Gale, and his family, were likely gone.

Then, his heart felt hollow. It was foolish to dwell on the dead, but the graves contained items that the deceased had possessed in life. The thought that even those things were gone brought unbearable emotions.

Now, all that remained were his current companions and Kiyen. He couldn’t afford to lose the last important things he possessed. He couldn’t let anyone die. And he had to save the one he loved most, Kiyen. The moment he set foot on the capital’s soil, Cullen could no longer suppress his thoughts of Kiyen.

Would he be alright?

How much would he have been hurt? Would he be able to smile again? Would he even trust me? He would probably scold me for coming too late.

Fear welled up. I couldn’t even guess his reaction, so I was just afraid. Not only had I left behind someone I didn’t want to leave alone, but I had also made them suffer a terrible ordeal.

And separate from this fear, I missed Kiyen so much I couldn’t bear it. I wanted to hold him just once, to tell him I was sorry, no matter what happened to me. I wanted to embrace Kiyen, telling him I loved him, that I was sorry, countless times. I was going crazy missing every part of him.

The pretty face that used to smile at me, his white feet, his sharp, bright eyes, his radiant golden hair—they were all right in front of me. I couldn’t delay any longer.

Cullen felt the thirst he had held back for so long coursing through his veins. He had to get into the Imperial Palace as soon as possible. While Cullen was lost in unbearable longing, Ulli’s voice was heard.

“You know, the capital… was it always like this?”

She was gazing at the capital’s great walls, left wide open and neglected. Following her gaze, I saw only ruined buildings, devoid of any people.

The white stone floor that had been so splendidly laid, the pillars adorned with flowers, the massive buildings that must have been shops, the lush grass and trees—they had all collapsed, losing their forms.

“No, it wasn’t.”

“That’s probably why people were fleeing…”

The two days it took for the party to head towards the capital, they had encountered merchant caravans fleeing. They had warned Cullen, who was heading towards the capital. They had told him it was a death sentence to go there, and their retreating figures now made sense.

“What happened? Could it be…”

Ulli swallowed the rest of her words. She seemed to be thinking if Kiyen had done this. However, the rough, broken shapes of the destruction didn’t seem like Kiyen’s doing. If it were his Magic, it wouldn’t have collapsed like this.

“Gasp, Lord Cullen…!”

Just then, Arne cried out in alarm and stuck close to Cullen’s side. When he looked at her quizzically, Arne pointed south with her finger.

“Is… isn’t that a Demonic Beast?”

“Oh, really… it is?”

Ulli, seeing where Arne’s hand was pointing, also turned pale. A colossal figure, at least a head taller than the Demonic Beasts she had defeated in the territory, was visible. The problem was that it wasn’t alone.

“…There’s one over there too.”

Cullen spotted a head wandering along the western wall of the capital. It was an ogre with four heads. Besides that, there were many Demonic Beasts with bizarre appearances. There were giants like Kwanu, covered head to toe in something resembling a turtle’s shell, and wyverns with three long necks stretching out…

The deeper they cautiously ventured inside, the more the number of Demonic Beasts increased. Cullen decided to dismount for now. If they continued on horseback, it would draw attention, and he knew the horses were nearing their limit. It was better to set them free to find their own way to survive.

“From now on, we’ll have to go on foot. I think we should let the horses go.”

“Yes! I felt so sorry for them anyway.”

Arne quickly dismounted, following his lead. Ulli also agreed.

After Cullen dismounted as well, they gathered their belongings. Once the reins were loosened and the saddles removed, the horses turned and fled as if they had been waiting. Beasts relied on instinct; they must have sensed the danger before them.

“Go well, kids.”

Ulli waved goodbye to the disappearing horses, then looked ahead again with a sigh. Her expression was one of despair.

“Even if I use Pantel, I don’t think I can kill all the Demonic Beasts here. The numbers… are overwhelming.”

“I agree. We can’t kill them all and go in.”

Even if Ulli had become better at using Pantel, the side effects from the weapon remained. Ulli’s power had a time limit, and the more she used it, the more she would be affected by the curse, so Cullen didn’t want her to push herself.

It would be easier if I could handle it myself, but dealing with dozens, not just a few, Demonic Beasts would take too much time. The risk was also great. Even if his Magic didn’t work on his body, Cullen was still only human, vulnerable to injury.

“But look… isn’t that the Imperial Palace? It’s surrounded by Demonic Beasts. How do we get in…?”

Arne pointed to the Imperial Palace, located in the center of the capital. The golden spires and roofs of the towering palace gleamed dully.

Cullen looked up at the sky. There were no dragon shadows circling overhead.

Was Kiyen in the palace? If so, where in the palace? Impatience began to rise.

“Nothing is easy.”

Ulli looked ahead with a look of despair. For the first time, Cullen felt lost too. He needed to find a way, but with Kiyen and the Imperial Palace so close, his impatience blinded him.

Moreover, there was no way to reach the palace without killing any Demonic Beasts at all. Even if it were inside the palace, Cullen didn’t know the exact routes through the capital.

“For now, it’s best to blend in with the ruins and approach, avoiding their eyes as much as possible.”

It would take time, but it was more realistic than killing all the Demonic Beasts.

“There’s no other way.”

Ulli agreed reluctantly. Having made their decision, they chose paths that would keep them out of the Demonic Beasts’ sight as much as possible. Silencing their movements, the party merged into the collapsed buildings. Since most of them were massive, they reacted less to small disturbances.

The buildings were barely standing, their frames maintained as if they could collapse at any moment. Arne, with a terrified expression, huddled between Ulli and Cullen.

It was around the time they had barely passed the capital’s entrance. A Demonic Beast could be felt stomping towards the fourth building they had entered. The ground began to vibrate. Dust and debris rained down on Cullen’s head.

He looked up. He saw a wooden pillar, half-broken and supporting the ceiling, about to snap. The structure, precariously maintained, seemed to have shaken from the recent impact.

“Everyone, get back.”

Cullen said, his voice small but clear. Ulli reacted first. She quickly retreated, but the problem was Arne. Upon hearing his words, Arne tried to follow but tripped over a wooden pillar at his feet.

The moment Arne fell, the precarious pillar snapped with a crack. He saw stone blocks falling towards him in the blink of an eye.

“Arne!”

Cullen called his name and rushed forward. Ulli also hastily drew Pantel and ran, but the stones were falling faster. Large, sharp rocks fell fiercely onto his fallen body. Seeing them, Arne closed his eyes tightly, a look of impending death on his face.

“No!”

Just as Ulli let out a small scream. The stones, which had been falling as if to impale him, stopped in mid-air. A red energy, like a whip, shot out and wrapped around the stones.

Cullen turned his gaze to where the vine-like red energy was directed. In the darkness, Cullen saw red eyes.

“If you continue like this, you’ll lose your lives before you even reach the Imperial Palace.”

A familiar voice murmured softly. Ulli’s eyes widened. Arne, who had been lying on the ground, lifted his head, his lips trembling in disbelief. As silence fell due to the unexpected appearance, someone walked out of the darkness.

“Lasano.”

Cullen softly spoke his name, seeing black hair instead of silver.