#082

Cullen realized anew that he had dared to ask for too much. Kiyen had always granted him what he wanted. He was diligently fulfilling their contract, and even dealt with the troublesome matters involving Rodiak each time.

It was he who had been unable to distinguish right from wrong, swayed by emotions. It was selfish to hope Kiyen would feel joy because of him. Wasn’t Kiyen also expecting something from Cullen?

Leading him this far when he had been content to remain still.

“Thank you.”

Cullen whispered with sincerity. He wanted to embrace Kiyen, kiss him, hold his hand, and let him know.

But Cullen held back. He knew his touch would be unpleasant to Kiyen. He had been mistaken because Kiyen had touched him casually before. He thought it was just Kiyen being Kiyen.

Now, he had to accept it. Kiyen felt burdened by his feelings. He would maintain this distance. Though his desire to help Kiyen and make him happy remained unchanged… he must not regret it.

“I will definitely keep my promise with Kiyen-nim. I could not have figured this out on my own.”

He had wandered his entire life. Even if he had reached this point, wouldn’t he have died many times over? His life had long been offered to the goddess, so he had no regrets, but there were many souls left unsettled.

“So please do not worry.”

Cullen bowed respectfully, maintaining his distance from Kiyen.

In his lowered gaze, he saw Kiyen’s bare feet. Slowly returning his gaze, Cullen took him in. He was dressed more splendidly than usual.

Translucent lace with a bluish tint peeked through in places, and smooth white silk wrapped around him, revealing his shoulders. Cullen still disliked others seeing Kiyen like this, but it was none of his concern. It was Kiyen’s decision.

Kiyen turned his gaze from the banquet hall. His pupils, just about to narrow into slits, fixed intently on Cullen. He seemed somewhat agitated.

It had been a while since they had faced each other, and he wanted to gaze at Kiyen’s face endlessly, but Cullen composed himself. He sensed movement from beyond the corridor. The sound of multiple footsteps could be heard.

As if Kiyen had also noticed, he glared at the door.

“We need to hide.”

He swiftly turned towards the window, grabbing Cullen. It was to move quickly, but Cullen carefully twisted his wrist and slipped out of Kiyen’s grasp.

“Wasn’t your plan to stay here?”

Kiyen paused. He gestured, quickly opening the window door, and gazed at his now-empty hand. While waiting for an answer, Cullen stood by the window where the curtains fluttered. There was enough space to stand and look at the outside scenery.

“…I never thought Zarkas would actually follow that foolish human. I didn’t even expect him to show himself in the first place.”

Kiyen silently came to the window and closed the door. As the curtains settled, a faint light spread and dispersed from Kiyen’s hand. It looked like magic.

“Just in case, I’ve hidden our presence.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of the door opening was heard. Holding his breath, Cullen peered inside through a gap in the curtains. He didn’t particularly need magic to eavesdrop.

The Young Duke burst through the door and began looking around the room. He was clearly drunk. His flushed face and clumsy movements indicated as much.

“He was supposed to be here…! He just likes wandering, but he’ll appear soon. If I’m in danger, or if it’s my command, Arne will appear and kill you all!”

With slurred speech, the Young Duke pointed his finger at the three people who had followed him into the room. At the name Arne, Cullen looked at Kiyen. Their eyes met. Kiyen was observing him.

“When he asked for a name, I said Arne.”

As if he had understood Cullen’s unspoken question, Kiyen said so. Turning his gaze away, he whispered. It seemed like he was changing the subject.

“Is that mask the one you saw on the intruder at the castle?”

The people who followed the Young Duke had features that smiled upside down, as Gael had said. Overlaying their crests and masks, a hidden connection became apparent.

Cullen examined each member of Zarkas one by one. Apart from the black cloaks that covered their entire bodies, there were no immediately noticeable weapons.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Meanwhile, the Young Duke began his rampage.

“So if you value your lives, stop handing over Cadmium in such meager amounts! The price is ridiculously high too. If this continues, Father will notice soon. If Arne’s power combines with my father’s authority, you won’t even have bones left.”

Then, he shouted, looking towards the window. Though he thought it was the act of someone not in their right mind, Cullen flinched.

“Arne, come out!”

Silence fell. Zarkas watched the Young Duke as if observing a clown show.

A few seconds later, the ground began to shake. A vibration strong enough to shake the mansion spread from afar.

Cullen looked up at the night sky. The moon had not yet fully risen. Kwanu had moved earlier than promised.

“Kwanu is clearly revealing itself.”

It was a bizarre coincidence, but it served as a signal for Zarkas to move. The masks, which had simultaneously shot towards the window, began to glow. Someone among them spoke.

“At least the talk about the golem seems to have been true.”

It didn’t seem directed at the Young Duke. The tallest among them nodded.

“It seems they’ve made a move. I need to investigate.”

He turned, naturally condescending. The other two bowed slightly and replied.

“We will handle this place.”

Even in his delirium, the Young Duke seemed to realize he was being ignored and shouted.

“Aren’t you scared even feeling this vibration! Arne, who follows my command, will soon…!”

His words were cut short. A dagger shot out from the sleeve of one of the Zarkas standing near the Young Duke with terrifying speed. A long gash was drawn across his throat. The Young Duke’s blood splattered.

“……!”

He hadn’t expected him to be killed so abruptly. He was a Young Duke, after all, and they were using him because he had transactional value. But he had misjudged.

“The knights are dead too. I don’t know when they joined, but there’s one more outside. It seems they used Akesis’s power.”

At the same time, the smell of blood wafted strongly. Seeing the blood flowing in through the gap in the door, Cullen drew the sword he had prepared for tonight.

“I must intervene. We might lose them.”

As Kiyen nodded, Cullen burst inside. The moment the window opened, three masks shot their gazes at Cullen. More precisely, their eyes were drawn to Kiyen behind him.

“……Block them.”

As the one who seemed to be leading them gave the order, two of them charged.

The tall one used them as a shield and moved. The door burst open. Stepping over the fallen, bleeding knights, he quickly lunged towards the corridor window. Seeing the black cloak disappear, Cullen tried to follow him, but the one who had killed the knights in the corridor blocked his path.

A Zarkas with twin swords drawn lunged at Cullen. A crest was visible on his wrist, revealed for a moment. It was a crest he had seen on a Sorcerer. The rushing double-edged blades aimed precisely at vital points. He was skilled.

Dodging the onslaught, he tried to retreat. But his ankle wouldn’t move. Feeling something strange crawling up, he looked down and saw vine-like things indeed constricting his ankle. It felt like the power of a weapon.

The opponent didn’t give Cullen time to idly examine his ankle. Twisting his body, the Zarkas sprang forward, pushing off the wall.

‘Duck.’

As Kiyen’s voice was heard, Cullen ducked. It was as if he was presenting himself to the opponent, but Cullen trusted Kiyen.

CRASH!

Soon, with a blinding light, the Zarkas was slammed into the wall. Seizing the moment, Cullen cut the vines with his sword.

Then, he quickly approached the fallen Zarkas and stepped on his wrist. As a movement to stand up was visible, Cullen’s sword pierced his calf.

Even though the long sword dug into flesh, no groan escaped from beyond the mask. He tried to move his other hand, but Kiyen’s magic struck him. With magic that was more refined than before, Cullen’s mind briefly flashed to his clone in the Imperial Palace.

“Who are you people? Why are you doing this?”

Without waiting for an answer, Cullen reached for the mask. But before he could remove it, something hot grazed the back of his hand. He quickly pulled his hand away and twisted his body. It wasn’t Kiyen. It was one of the two he was fighting.

The blue fireball transferred to the subdued Zarkas’s mask and instantly began to melt the metal, burning through. The smell of burning flesh stung his nose. Cullen gritted his teeth at the action of killing a comrade so readily.

‘It seems I won’t be able to find out their identity easily.’

As Kiyen’s words echoed, the Young Duke’s room erupted with loud noises as Akesis’s power and magic clashed. Kiyen appeared blurry due to the flickering light and shattering fragments.

Cullen looked at the corpse whose face had melted away, leaving only the skull, and then snapped back to reality. The ground vibration was fading.

He had said he needed to investigate the one who disappeared. He was surely heading towards Kwanu. But it was difficult to follow easily. How had they encountered these people? Hadn’t he wandered his whole life searching for them? He felt a surge of desire to deal with them and interrogate them.

To Cullen, who stood hesitating with clenched fists, Kiyen said.

‘Follow as planned. I will follow soon.’

‘Will you be alright?’

‘I am immortal.’

With those words, Kiyen lifted the two Zarkas into the air as if to display his power. Despite knowing, his lips bit together with worry, and then he nodded. Sheathing his sword, Cullen lunged through the broken corridor window.

Blood-stained footprints were sparsely visible on the frozen garden soil. Following them, Cullen ran. The footprints stopped at the stables.

“Come out!”

The shout echoed back to Cullen. Drawing his sword and cautiously surveying the inside, he heard the neighing of horses from afar. Turning sharply, he saw it beyond the Duke’s mansion.

“Cullen!”

Just then, Ulli and Arne ran into the stables. In their haste, both had confused expressions.

“Cullen-nim, it’s been a while. Ah, that’s not it. Did something happen?”

“Isn’t it earlier than scheduled?”

To their questions, Cullen pointed at a horse instead of answering. As he grabbed a nearby horse and mounted it, Ulli and Arne also got on horses.

“Things have gone awry. I’ll explain the details later, we need to go to the agreed-upon location.”

With Cullen in the lead, they exited the main gate and began to run. Recalling the knights who might be blocking them, he drew his sword, but at the main gate, only the knights, now corpses, lay scattered. Things were unfolding completely differently than he had imagined.

“What about Kiyen-nim?”

Arne asked, her face pale as she looked at the corpses. A cold wind howled. As if responding to Arne’s question, a light that shook the mansion was visible. Ulli glanced at it and then moved closer to Cullen.

“Nothing is easy.”

“I agree.”

Without even a moment to catch their breath, the three galloped through the frozen duchy. As they finally reached the vicinity of the west wall, Cullen was met by a colossal shadow that had spread that far. Kwanu had revealed itself on the plain like a statue of a god.

A horse was seen speeding through its middle. Seeing the end of a fluttering cloak, Cullen shouted.

“Stop!”

Ulli, who had quickly assessed the situation at Cullen’s shout, seemed to understand. She slowed the horse’s speed just enough and drew her bow. With one hand skillfully holding the reins, she pulled the bowstring. Despite the horse and ground shaking, she maintained her balance and shot an arrow.

The arrow shot out fiercely and grazed the cloak. It didn’t hit Zarkas, but it lodged in the horse’s hindquarters.

Heeeing! With a sound, the horse reared. The black cloak tumbled to the ground. Seizing the moment, Cullen urged his horse forward with all his might.

The fallen Zarkas rolled and landed. Despite the speed that should have been fatal from a fall, he landed safely, proving his skill was extraordinary. The mask looked at Cullen. However, instead of fleeing, he reached out towards Kwanu.

Kwanu turned its head towards the commotion. The red eyes that had courted death seemed to gaze at Cullen, then a change occurred. The red eyes began to turn green.

Grrrroooowl!

With a pained roar, Kwanu writhed. The stones that formed its body scattered, and then, with a CRASH!, they merged. The solidly formed stone giant turned towards Cullen’s group.

Not only that. The snow, which had stopped for a while, began to rage. A fierce blizzard, the kind seen in Tesnia, blocked the horses.

With the sudden onset of snow, Kwanu began to head towards the duchy. Each step it took shook the earth.

Cullen pulled his horse back and gritted his teeth. His gaze shifted to Zarkas once more. In the meantime, he had stood up and was staring directly at Cullen.

As if certain of his failure.