#059

As soon as Cullen emerged outside, he set down the unconscious Gael. Among those who followed were mercenaries who had stayed behind to help him. They had fled from Gael’s mercenaries and rushed towards Cullen.

“W-we’re sorry. We tried to help the woman left behind, but we realized we couldn’t possibly handle it… so we escaped.”

Perhaps feeling guilty for leaving Ulli alone, they spoke with remorseful faces.

“You would have died there anyway. While I distract them, you tie up Lord Gael. Subdue him with whatever you can, then follow the ones who escaped with Lord Gael.”

Cullen said, repositioning himself with his blood-stained sword. The prisoners hesitated.

“You’re staying here?”

He didn’t have the energy to answer. Seizing the moment, the mercenaries charged at Cullen, and he dodged, shouting.

“Go, now!”

At his fierce shout, they quickly obeyed. Muttering apologies, they began to tie up Gael. Only then did Cullen move, luring the mercenaries away as much as possible.

If I drag this out, I’ll be at a disadvantage.

His body burned as if on fire. The urgency of the situation prevented the strange thoughts from completely consuming him, but he was becoming increasingly unfocused. It wasn’t like the moment he was first hit by Rodiak, where he felt like he was going mad, but he wasn’t in an advantageous state for fighting.

Kiyen, where are you?

The thought popped into his head. It was unlike him to wait for someone’s help, yet the thought wouldn’t disappear.

Perhaps if I think of him, I can reach him better.

With that thought, Cullen struck one of the charging mercenaries hard with the flat of his blade.

It wasn’t difficult to subdue them unless they were as skilled as Gael. Especially now, with the formation broken and Gael absent.

Cullen led them as far away from the underground entrance as possible, luring them towards where the escapees had gone. Finally, when he saw the numerous people stopped at a distance, Cullen had completely subdued Gael’s mercenaries. Lana, who had been watching from afar, saw him and ran over.

“Where’s Ulli, Cullen?”

“She’s down there.”

“You left Ulli alone? How can she possibly fight a Demonic Beast like that…!”

Lana’s face turned pale. Cullen suppressed a hot breath and slightly narrowed his eyes. He felt dizzy.

“Ulli is still alright. She’s much stronger than you think, and you have something you need to do right now.”

“Are your injuries that bad?”

Lana asked, looking at Cullen’s complexion. Cullen shook his head. His consciousness flickered between clarity and confusion. It wasn’t just the bleeding, but more so the strange energy that had been rising within him.

“Subdue these mercenaries with the others and get as far away as possible. I’ll bring Ulli back.”

Even though she had asked about leaving Ulli alone, Lana hesitated when Cullen said he was going back. She looked flustered and said,

“Um, I didn’t mean to say that. It’s just that Ulli… Ulli doesn’t talk about herself much, but she’s always been alone… Thinking of her left alone down there made me so sad. I’m sorry. You don’t have to go, Cullen. I don’t think you should die too.”

Cullen was now certain of the sense of kinship he had felt towards Ulli. Whatever unspoken stories she held, she had likely experienced something similar to what he had gone through. Patting his hand as if to comfort him, Lana’s eyes suddenly widened.

“My goodness, your hand is burning! This is no good. Going in this condition is suicide!”

“It’s fine.”

Cullen pulled Lana’s hand away and staggered to his feet. Leaning on his sword planted in the ground, he took a deep breath. This was nothing. At the same time, the ground they stood on shook violently.

Wooooong!

The earth below heaved as if in an earthquake. Seeing the startled murmurs of the people, Cullen gritted his teeth.

This is not the time.

Without giving Lana a chance to say more, Cullen turned and began to run.

Finding the stairs still remaining between the rocks, Cullen hurried down. The ground seemed on the verge of collapse, and as soon as he entered, dust rained down. The Sorcerer was nowhere to be seen. Ulli and the Demonic Beast had also vanished. Then, a sound echoed from afar.

Kiiiiii―!

“Volgmek, no! This damned woman, I’ll kill you no matter what!”

The Demonic Beast’s pained roar and the Sorcerer’s shout echoed faintly. Cullen strained his ears, following the direction of the sound. It matched the direction of the Sorcerer’s bloodstains.

As he hurried to head that way, something collapsed behind him. He quickly turned to see rocks pouring down at the entrance of the stairs leading to the surface.

Does the Goddess Aksha enjoy dramatic moments?

Cullen thought this and shook his head.

Dodging the falling dust and stones that threatened to collapse at any moment, Cullen finally arrived at the vast plaza-like area where they had fallen on the first day. The Sorcerer, with the Demonic Beast shielding him, had retreated some distance. He now held a staff, perhaps having retrieved it.

The Demonic Beast writhed in pain. Its tough carapace, which seemed impervious to anything, was broken in places and bleeding. Of its multiple heads, only two remained, and it had only three hands left.

Before the vast Demonic Beast, with the ground soaked in dark red blood, Ulli stood covered in blood, laughing. The red patterns on her greatsword were much deeper than before.

“Volgmek, show me your last strength. I will be behind you!”

The Sorcerer, watching the scene, stood up with his staff as if he had made a decision. A sinister green light flickered and coalesced into smoke, covering the Demonic Beast’s body.

Then, a change occurred. With a loud shriek, the Demonic Beast slowly began to grow in size. One of its dangling hands fell off, and its two heads grew grotesquely large. As its body continued to expand, spikes grew on its tail.

“Kill it!”

The Sorcerer screamed in agony, spitting blood. Ulli’s words, that using the weapon’s power consumed the caster, flashed through his mind. The Sorcerer, spitting blood, soon stumbled and collapsed. His face, now deathly pale and gaunt, turned ashen, and the staff fell from his hand powerlessly.

As if in response, the Demonic Beast moved. With a more threatening and fierce power, its tail whipped around. Large rocks fell towards her.

“Ulli, dodge!”

Cullen ran towards her. At his cry, Ulli looked up, then slammed the side of her greatsword down, using the rebound to leap upwards. After a mid-air jump, Ulli landed directly on the Demonic Beast’s head.

GRAAAAH!

The Demonic Beast thrashed, its red eyes glowing. Ulli, managing to keep her balance, gripped her greatsword with both hands and brought it down with all her might, with all her strength, onto its head.

Its painful struggle intensified. Ulli, from the head downwards, split the Demonic Beast’s back with her greatsword, drawing it down, down.

The Demonic Beast’s hands flailed upwards and, by chance, caught Ulli. A hand the size of a human torso struck her hard. Along with her greatsword, she was slammed into the wall. A choked sound echoed in the air. She was seen spitting blood from her mouth.

The Demonic Beast, seizing the momentum, twisted its long body towards Ulli. Cullen gritted his teeth and aimed his longsword. A dagger wouldn’t even leave a scratch on something this size, so it was his only option. Taking a deep breath, Cullen mustered his last strength and threw his sword towards the Demonic Beast’s eyes.

With a swish, the flying sword pierced one of the Demonic Beast’s heads. The Demonic Beast, roaring in agony, changed direction towards Cullen.

Cullen slowly backed away. But it was a dead end. All areas except the entrance he had come through were now blocked by rocks.

“Why did you come back, you idiot!”

Ulli shouted from a distance.

“Didn’t you tell me to kill you!”

Cullen retorted. Ulli laughed incredulously and coughed up blood.

“I said after killing it! It was almost done, but that idiotic Sorcerer ruined everything. The power allowed to me today… this is all of it. Thanks to him, I’m going to die while still sane.”

Ulli staggered to her feet. Straightening her posture, Ulli said,

“Get out of here! I’ll hold it off, so you escape. If I use my last bit of strength, I might be able to deal with it.”

Meanwhile, the Demonic Beast wildly swung its hands at Cullen. Rolling to dodge, Cullen approached Ulli. Ulli, panting, looked up at him. Her neck and chest were also a mess, not just from the Demonic Beast’s blood.

“Didn’t you want me to kill you?”

Cullen asked, as if he couldn’t understand her. Hadn’t she aimed a weapon at him from the start, intending to kill him?

“Yes, that’s true…! But I don’t want to kill someone who isn’t a bad person…”

“How do you know that?”

Ulli wiped her bloodied mouth and smiled. Aiming her greatsword at the Demonic Beast, she continued,

“Bad people… don’t even care if others die.”

“That’s something one should naturally care about.”

Their eyes met. Her teal eyes, now devoid of red, curved into long slits.

“There are too many people in the world who don’t do that obvious thing. And people like you, who risk danger, are very rare.”

With those words, Ulli charged at the Demonic Beast.

“So, you and I will die together, you monster!”

She screamed as if in agony and swung her greatsword. From bottom to top, the blow, imbued with all her strength, struck. The wide blade, drawn in a diagonal line, severed the one remaining head. As the Demonic Beast struck Ulli, its last head flew off simultaneously.

The Sorcerer screamed.

“No!”

Ulli’s small body rolled pathetically onto the ground. Pushed towards the Sorcerer’s location, she twitched as if to get up, then coughed and lay down, her strength gone.

But the Demonic Beast was not dead yet. The headless monster began to rampage, as if to destroy everything. Cullen narrowly dodged its flailing tail and ran towards Ulli again.

The limit had arrived for Cullen too. His body felt like it was burning; it wouldn’t be strange if he exploded. His brain felt hot. He needed an antidote.

Kiyen,

His beautiful Kiyen…

Cullen gritted his teeth, evaded the Demonic Beast, and barely reached her. Pulling Ulli as far away from the Demonic Beast as possible, he collapsed, staggering. Ulli, perhaps not dead, spoke in a cracked voice.

“You said it so coolly, but it’s all ruined.”

He heard her muttering. Cullen raised his head and looked up. The Demonic Beast’s shadow fell over them. There was nowhere left to hide.

“It will be alright.”

“You’re surprisingly optimistic for someone who doesn’t look it. That’s like royalty. Naive, and ignorant of the world…”

Ulli said this and coughed. The moment the Demonic Beast’s tail struck them, Cullen shielded Ulli. He braced himself for the impact and pain that would follow.

Suddenly, a terrifying vibration was felt from above. The dust clinging to the ground began to rise upwards. As if the world had been turned upside down, everything went upwards, upwards.

It wasn’t just dust and stones. The earth covering the ceiling, and the Demonic Beast’s body that was about to strike them, began to float.

“…What is happening?”

Cullen’s embrace, Ulli, who had been keeping his eyes half-closed, peeked his head out and spoke. Cullen knew the answer. Without realizing it, he let out a faint smile and lifted his head.

Finally…….

Cullen’s wish came true.

The sky began to appear. And the giant moon, situated in the vast purple sky.

Small and large rocks were floating in the air like stars. Except for Cullen, no one understood this strange and wondrous sight that felt like a miracle.

The Demonic Beast flailed, not knowing what had happened to it, and Ulli’s eyes widened. Still alive, the Sorcerer watched the scene with wide eyes and whispered.

“Th-this… such Magic, could it be….”

His whisper was soon drowned out by the scene that followed.

White light poured down towards the Demonic Beast floating in the air. Like a goddess’s sword piercing the heart, like a light that erases the wicked, a great wave and flickering power exploded silently.

For a moment, nothing could be heard.

After a heavy silence that deafened the ears, Cullen spotted someone floating in the sky. White feet and a robe fluttering above them, and beautiful golden hair scattering.

The moment he saw the wings on his back, a roar erupted.

WHOOOOOSH!

The wave circled and blew everything away. The floating Demonic Beast’s body melted into white light and vanished.

Not even dust remained. By the white power, the Demonic Beast, the rocks, everything was swept away. The white light covered the desert, which had been shrouded in the purple night’s shadow. Like a white night.

Everyone was speechless. Ulli’s mouth hung open, watching the scene in disbelief, and the Sorcerer stammered, trembling, “O, oh, this…”

Only Cullen watched the sky silently. The moment he saw his presence, something within him that had been tensely pushing forward snapped.

Now, only Kiyen caught his eye. He wanted to grab him, hold him, and feel his scent immediately. His body, his soul, wanted it. He knew it was the effect of the curse, yet it was so. Cullen looked at him with longing.

Finally, their eyes met.

White wings fluttered, descending rapidly. He arrived before Cullen at an unbelievable speed, landing without a sound.

His massive wings, large enough to cover a person, spread out. Feathers scattered.

They looked less like Dragon wings and more like bird wings.

“I knew you’d end up like this.”

Kiyen’s deep voice echoed. Cullen was not given time to reply. He immediately bent down and scooped Cullen up. Holding the tall, sturdy man as if it were nothing, he looked down at Ulli with indifferent eyes.

“Others will come to save you.”

Cullen burrowed into Kiyen’s embrace. He couldn’t control himself as he smelled the lily scent he had missed so much.

Heat rose, and Cullen panted, pressing his lips to Kiyen’s neck. He knew it was unlike him, but he reached out and hugged Kiyen’s white neck with suffocating force. Kiyen’s hand touched his back.

“You’re hurt again.”

He murmured low and turned. Kiyen, gazing emotionlessly at the trembling Sorcerer looking up, delivered his judgment.

“Human who inherited my fragment, was all this worth risking death for?”

“Y-you are, indeed, that person… Please, help me… Help me… this, this rotten city…”

The Sorcerer’s words cut off. The life in his eyes vanished without a trace. His emaciated body instantly withered like a skeleton, and then he bowed his head.

Kiyen didn’t even watch the Sorcerer’s end. He leaped up again, spreading his wings with Cullen in his arms.

A great wind swept across the desert above the ruined wasteland before his wings began to flutter. Kiyen, soaring into the air, carried Cullen away from the collapsed place.