#085

“……I need to get to the very top. I need you to pull me up from there, is that possible, Ulli?”

Suppressing the surge of emotion, Cullen gestured with his chin towards Kwanu’s head. Ulli responded with a bright laugh to Cullen’s question. She turned her head, took a deep breath, and said to Lasano,

“Draw your sword!”

Lasano, while obediently gripping the sword’s hilt, did not forget to plead.

“I want to go down now…!”

His last words scattered into the air. The moment the sword embedded in the stone was pulled out, Ulli leaped with a strength unbelievable for a human. Her small, slender body shot up into the air.

Using the small and large stones floating in the air as footholds, she rapidly reached near Kwanu’s head. Lasano, much larger than Ulli, clung precariously to her and disappeared into the air.

The stones that formed his face, unlike his body, did not scatter and reassemble. His faintly visible form waved at him from above, and then a loud shout was heard.

“I’ll lower a rope, so hold on tight!”

He let out an involuntary chuckle.

“Understood.”

As a low, deep shout returned, Ulli moved immediately. Entrusting the sword to Lasano, Ulli wrapped a rope around her waist and lowered it. Even knowing Ulli, who had borrowed Pantal’s power, was stronger than him, Cullen hesitated for a moment.

Pushing away the anxiety lurking in his heart with trust, he grasped the rope. Having something to hang onto made him feel much more at ease. With the rope secured around his waist, he pulled out his sword with both hands and kicked off the stone forcefully with his feet. Using the recoil from the sword’s release, Cullen embedded his sword into another nearby stone.

Thus, he climbed upwards little by little, finally reaching the head. Ulli, who had been pulling the rope, extended her hand to Cullen. Cullen, though hesitant, took the small hand reaching out to him. Despite its delicate, fair appearance, the hand was covered in calluses and felt strangely reassuring.

“See? I got you here quickly, didn’t I?”

“Yes.”

Affirming her words, which sounded like she was seeking praise, Cullen looked at Ulli’s wrist. The red markings climbing up her wrist, usually hidden by black cloth, were darker than before.

“Are you alright?”

He asked, concerned about side effects. She replied heartily,

“I’m fine for now. I haven’t even used much power compared to last time.”

As if not allowing time for conversation, Kwanu’s head spun. Lasano swayed at the sudden movement and held onto his sword. As if wanting to escape this situation as quickly as possible, he pleaded,

“What do we do now, two swordsmen?”

Cullen lowered his gaze. The answer was at Lasano’s feet. On a blunt stone corresponding to the back of Kwanu’s crown, a massive marking was etched. Its size was incomparable to the ones before.

“You just need to stab that.”

Cullen acted immediately. He sheathed his sword, dulled from fighting Kwanu, and extended his hand to Ulli. She handed him the sword she had been carrying at her waist from the beginning.

“Let’s finish this quickly so we can rest.”

He nodded. As Cullen took the sword, Lasano reached out.

“It’s an important moment, so I’ll specially heal you.”

He thought it wouldn’t be noticeable due to the dark color of his clothes, but the scent of blood must have given it away. Lasano placed his hand precisely on Cullen’s left shoulder. With a face that looked even more like a patient’s, he quietly exerted his divine power. A refreshing energy, different from Magic, flowed, and soon his shoulder warmed as the wound healed.

There was no time to express his gratitude. As if recognizing the intruder on his body, Kwanu’s head began to move. Ulli held onto Lasano as he slipped, and at the same time, Cullen gathered all his strength into the glowing red magic circle and pushed the blade in.

THWACK! A loud sound rang out. The sword sank in as if piercing the soft part of steel. Simultaneously, a colossal groan, ‘GRAAAH!’, echoed, and his head began to move erratically. The marking flickered as if about to extinguish, then pulsed with a red hum like a final struggle. The sword began to be pushed out.

“S-Slowly! It’s… hard to keep balance!”

Unlike the two markings below, the resistance was immense, and Cullen gritted his teeth, exerting force. His entire body’s strength was drawn in, bending his upper body so much that the recently healed shoulder wound reopened.

“It feels like I’m going to fly off!”

Lasano added. Kwanu swung his head and turned its direction back towards the city. Krrk, he gritted out a groan, applying force until his palms were raw. However, the sword merely prevented it from being pushed out; it couldn’t penetrate further. The voice from that time echoed in his mind.

Goddess, I… need more… power. Receive… power.

Even amidst the chaos, Cullen shouted towards Lasano.

“Bestow your blessing upon me! Ulli, help Lasano…!”

As he lost strength for a moment while speaking, the marking flickered as if to throw Cullen off. Ulli grabbed Cullen’s arm and pulled Lasano. Lasano, who had nearly slipped, barely regained his balance and placed his hand on Cullen’s backhand.

His long silver hair stuck to his forehead, beaded with sweat. Lasano’s red eyes began to flicker.

“Grace upon your humble servants, peace through blood-calling justice…”

The silver light flowed into the sword. The refreshing energy flowing through his body felt like it brushed past his heart, and his mind cleared.

At the same time, Cullen lowered his entire body and pushed the sword in. It was a power he had never felt before. The blade, which had been stuck as if blocked somewhere, finally sank deep.

“Goddess, let your judgment descend here!”

As Lasano’s cry burst forth, the red marking shattered. Small, crystal-like lights scattered in all directions. As he took a deep breath he had been holding, a change occurred in Cullen’s body as well. It was a familiar sensation. That heat that erupted whenever he encountered Akesis’s power.

I… am falling asleep.

Just as he was about to curse, Kwanu spoke. Cullen felt his words through his skin. The solid head supporting his feet began to shake.

“It’s collapsing, we need to get down!”

Ulli’s words were drowned out by Kwanu’s subsequent speech.

Thank you, child of Aksha.

He spoke with slightly more fluent words than before. Hearing that, Cullen felt strange. To call him a Demonic Beast… the voice clearly conveyed emotion.

If we… exist… humans… always die. Kwanu… dislikes that…

“Cullen, let’s go!”

To Ulli, who urged him again, Cullen said. He felt he had to hear Kwanu’s words to the end.

“You go first!”

He felt the ground beneath him slowly giving way. Ulli tried to say something to him but, to avoid the colliding stones, she ran elsewhere. Kwanu’s body was collapsing at high speed, returning to the earth. The stones floating high in the air began to descend without reassembling.

The stone… above my eyes… take it. Father’s… stone.

“Stone? What do you mean?”

Kwanu’s words were his last. His red eyes gradually lost their black light and returned to stone.

“Call Kiyen, or someone, or we’ll…!”

As Lasano said this, the ground beneath his feet gave way. Reflexively, Cullen grabbed his arm. Lasano’s robe was ripped off, and his long silver hair scattered completely.

Their gazes turned downwards. The falling height was enough to instantly kill any human. In the past, Lasano had fallen in a cave in Exion territory and emerged unharmed, but…

“Oops, today might be my funeral.”

Lasano glanced down and said with a smile. Cullen took a breath and tightened his grip on the arm he was holding. His grip kept slipping. Along with the power he had completely expended breaking the magic circle just moments ago, the heat of Rodiak, which descended like a law, was interfering with him.

He hastily re-gripped his slipping hand. But his limit had been reached. Even Kwanu’s head, where the sword had been embedded, began to crumble. There was nothing to support him. Lasano looked at Cullen and put on his usual smile.

“It’s okay to let go.”

Cullen gritted his teeth and retorted.

“You’re too confident.”

“I am the High Priest. I don’t die from ordinary injuries. I survive even if I’m beaten until all the bones in my body are broken. As Kiyen said, you must cut off the head…”

His fingers slipped. Damn it, a desperate curse escaped his lips. Unlike Cullen, Lasano’s expression was calm, even in a situation where he might die. As if he were very accustomed to such situations.

“Only then will you die.”

With those words, he let go. No, Cullen cried out and reached out, but it was in vain. The small, disintegrated stones rained down from the sky and slammed into the ground. Cullen’s body followed suit. Lasano’s silver hair, which had slammed into the black ground, quickly disappeared from sight. His heart began to pound like crazy.

Hadn’t he sworn never to watch someone he knew die again?

He didn’t want to get attached. He only made people who were passing by. He could no longer bear to witness the death of someone to whom he had given even a sliver of emotion. He had no strength left to endure loss.

Yet, this moment had finally arrived. After passing through the moments when they tried to kill each other without pretense, a certain bond, built over a considerable amount of time, finally pierced Cullen’s heart.

This was why he didn’t want to make companions.

“Lasano—!”

He cried out with a cracked voice. Even as his bones were about to shatter upon impact with the ground, Cullen called his name. Panic set in. Heat surged, his heart pounded as if it would burst, and fear washed over him.

Like a terrified mortal, Cullen sought his god. He sought his one god and purpose. He pictured Kiyen’s wings, his blue eyes looking at him, and the brilliant golden light. Before his exhausted and worn body slammed onto the sharp stone fragments.

No, it had almost happened.

With a fierce strength, his waist was caught. Roughly embraced in someone’s arms, Cullen soared into the air once more. Long arms held him so tightly he could barely breathe. His face was buried against a firm chest. He knew who it was without seeing.

Instinctively, Cullen let out a sigh of relief and inhaled. An elegant, calm scent wafted to his nose. His savior, his heart. Two words rolled around in his mouth.

“You’re determined to drive me mad every time.”

Kiyen’s chest heaved more than Cullen had ever seen.