#115

Ulli flinched at the mention of being from the East. She looked back and forth between Tito and Ruena with a confused expression. After hesitating, she asked Tito,

“Are you a survivor?”

Ulli’s voice, tinged with childish doubt, made Tito pause for a moment. He squinted and exclaimed, as if speaking to himself,

“It’s no use pretending you don’t know. That sword is proof!”

While the argument ensued, Cullen tried to head towards the passage, but Tito wouldn’t let him. This time, he pointed his sword towards Cullen. More precisely, towards the head of Ruena, whom Cullen was carrying.

“Try to move if you want. The moment you do, that bastard’s head will fly off.”

No matter how much of a High Priest he was, one couldn’t survive decapitation. If Kiyen intervened, it would be easily resolved, but that would only escalate things further. As Cullen pondered, unable to move rashly, Ulli spoke to Tito again.

“I asked if you’re a survivor. Are there other people from the East who survived besides me?”

“You would know that better than I.”

Tito warily gestured with his chin towards Ulli’s Pantel. She shook her head.

“I’ve heard things about Dark Island, but I don’t know what it has to do with the East. Besides, this is stolen!”

Whether it was a tactic to buy time or not, Ulli’s last statement struck a chord. Tito looked at her with a bewildered expression.

“……Stolen?”

“I am the daughter of Ulyan Linden. My father died betrayed by Ulkaff Linden. I… I thought no one had survived.”

Seizing the opportunity, Cullen moved a little closer to Kiyen. Glancing at Ulli, he saw that she seemed genuinely confused. He could understand that. Cullen himself had been surprised when he heard she was a noble from the East who had survived. How much more so for her.

Then, was Ruena also from the East?

Tito continued to call Ruena a traitor. As if sensing Cullen’s question, Ruena, who was being carried, opened her mouth.

“I told Yurisis this, Tito… what I tried to do, and what you are doing, ultimately amounts to nothing more than killing innocent people. It’s just revenge, in the end…”

“Shut up!”

He, who had seemed shaken by Ulli, turned back with fierce intensity. Angrily, he shouted,

“Even if I die, I will kill you here. I can’t just let you go.”

Tito’s action was instantaneous. As soon as he finished speaking, his blue sword flew.

Cullen, supporting Ruena with one arm, drew the sword he had sheathed with his other hand. In an instant, the blades clashed with a ‘Kaaang!’ He deflected Tito’s sword by a hair’s breadth, but the sword returned to Tito’s hand as if it were alive.

“……Not bad for a despicable royal.”

He hadn’t expected Cullen to deflect his own sword.

“Stop it, Cullen isn’t a bad royal!”

“Shut up, you ignorant girl. You don’t know how we survivors were treated in the Southern Duchies!”

With those words, Tito charged. His blade relentlessly targeted only Ruena, pressing forward. Cullen retreated, focusing solely on defense.

Clang, clang!

With every clash of blades, Cullen gritted his teeth. Carrying Ruena, he couldn’t counterattack carelessly.

Ulli, watching, gritted her teeth and drew blood from her hand. The Pantel, fed by her blood, began to glow red. I didn’t want to make Ulli exert herself, he thought, but it was too late.

“Step back, woman.”

Kiyen’s low voice echoed through the air. Simultaneously, a strong wind whipped up, and a fierce mass of air struck Tito.

Boom! With a resounding noise, he was sent flying. He slid against the iron bars, letting out a choked gasp.

“After succumbing to madness, you are powerless. You become a burden, so it’s better I step in.”

With a mere gesture, Kiyen sent the charging body flying and slowly approached Tito. White feet, stepping on the blood-stained stone floor, looked incongruous in the setting. His white robe fluttered, and his golden hair scattered softly.

Tito, who had been coughing, looked up at Kiyen. He stared blankly at Kiyen for a few seconds, then his eyes widened.

“This… is Magic…?”

He examined Kiyen’s wrist. However, the exposed skin of Kiyen was flawlessly white. Scanning his entire body, he exclaimed as if he had realized something.

“You…!”

At the same time, a killing intent, incomparable to before, emanated from Tito.

“You killed my entire family!”

With a scream filled with resentment, Tito sprang up as if propelled. He charged at Kiyen in an instant, swinging his sword.

“My mother, my brother, my father, all by you!”

Though not as powerful as Kiyen’s, the aura from his sword shook the iron bars with a clank. Targeting Kiyen’s heart, Tito lunged forward in the blink of an eye.

“Lord Kiyen!Despite knowing his power, Cullen reflexively cried out due to Tito’s chilling momentum. Kiyen didn’t move. Standing still, he simply watched Tito charge and then gestured again.

With Kiyen’s hand swung from the left, Tito was pushed back again. He was flung past Cullen and Ruena, but he didn’t give up and immediately got up. He desperately charged again but ultimately couldn’t reach and was pushed back. Helplessness flickered across his face.

“As expected…”

Realizing he couldn’t reach Kiyen, Tito let his sword droop. He glanced around at Cullen, Ulli, and Kiyen, then began to laugh.

“A killer who doesn’t die, is that it? Yes, that’s right. Someone like me couldn’t possibly kill you.”

At the same time, a change came over Tito. His skin began to turn reddish.

Cullen’s eyes widened. He felt a sense of déjà vu. Something was familiar. This, this…

“So I’ll take the rest with me!”

Ah.

No.

A scene from his memory flashed through Cullen’s mind. The moment his Demonic Beast body exploded, and he lost Gale and Roach. The déjà vu turned into certainty. Tito’s skin began to bulge and swell. Ruena’s cry reached Cullen’s ears.

“That’s the curse Junon cast! Deploy a shield, Dragon! Otherwise, everyone…!”

Ruena’s words were drowned out by the surging heat. Sensing that, Cullen instinctively put Ruena down and climbed on top of her. Just like the day he saved Arne. Then, he tightly shut his eyes. Darkness spread.

Kuaang!

A massive explosion shook the musty, dark underground. Flames, no different from lava, surged, engulfing stone and iron bars. The space where something once existed melted away, enveloped in boiling heat. A heavy silence settled where the roar had passed.

Even after the silence arrived, Cullen couldn’t open his eyes. The darkness that enveloped him plunged him into panic. Unlike when he blocked Kiyen’s flames, what he faced now was the fire that killed Gale. He hadn’t known what it was then, but it was another Magic created by Akesis’s power. Therefore, Kiyen might not survive either. Like Gale. Like Roach.

“Cullen! Wake up, you’re okay!”

The moment Ulli’s voice was heard, Cullen gasped for air like someone pulled from the water. Only then did he realize he wasn’t breathing properly. He was panting, covering Ruena. Sweat, whether from cold or the flames, soaked his back.

“Lasano, why is Cullen like this? Is he hurt?”

“I don’t think so. He’s shown this reaction before.”

Voices buzzed around him. Since there were no signs of pain, everyone seemed to be alright.

But he was still afraid to open his eyes. He feared the sight that would unfold would be as brutal as what he saw that day. He just couldn’t, he just couldn’t…

“It’s alright.”

At that moment, a cool hand touched his cheek. It was cool, yet affectionate, and incredibly gentle. The moment he caught the faint, familiar scent he loved most, Cullen opened his eyes.

Beneath his lightly trembling eyelashes, purple eyes appeared. In eyes filled with the fear of loss, Kiyen was reflected. He was unharmed. Just like when he pushed Tito away, he looked out of place in this black, ruined landscape.

“I deployed a shield, so no one was harmed.”

He nodded. Relief washed over him. But he was speechless, not knowing what to say immediately. As he parted his lips, Lasano spoke.

“Um, if you don’t want to suffocate the person beneath you, you should probably get up.”

“I’m fine.”

Only then did Cullen check on Ruena. Fortunately, he too was unharmed. His clothes were stained with Cullen’s blood and in disarray, but his wounds only showed a pinkish hue, as if healed. As Cullen stepped back, Kiyen helped him up. He felt a strong force, and his body was suddenly lifted.

“If you fear this much, how did you endure my flames?”

Reality returned. Hearing the quiet, chiding words of concern, Cullen embraced Kiyen. Burying his face in his chest, he held him tightly. Kiyen flinched. Though he couldn’t see his expression, he seemed flustered.

“……Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

Kiyen said so, then awkwardly patted Cullen’s shoulder. He didn’t push Cullen away. It’s because we’re lovers that he’s letting this slide, Cullen thought.

Feeling Kiyen, Cullen thought. His warm body spoke of Kiyen’s life. He was not dead. He was not hurt. He was alive. Unlike the precious people who had left him. Thinking that, he couldn’t contain his overwhelming emotions. Relief quickly turned into joy.

With that feeling, Cullen burrowed deeper into him. Kiyen let him be until he calmed down. Cullen only broke the embrace after hearing Ulli’s chiding.

“Um… I know you’re not feeling well, but shouldn’t we get out of here? By the way, we probably can’t go back the way we came.”

Ulli pointed behind them.

The underground passage they had entered through had collapsed along with the prison when Tito self-destructed. Except for the space they were in, only the stairs where the guards had descended remained precariously intact.

“We should head there for now.”

Cullen slowly moved away from Kiyen. A sense of regret washed over him, but he felt sufficiently recharged. As he picked up his fallen sword and moved to help Ruena again, Lasano’s voice was heard.

“How did you recognize the state of that person?”

Lasano’s red eyes were sharp, not smiling. In reality, Cullen suspected Lasano, but he was curious about his question. The man he had only thought of as Arne’s teacher was very different from what he had imagined.

Ulli also looked at Ruena, puzzled. Even Kiyen wore a curious expression. Receiving everyone’s gaze, Ruena chuckled. Then, he opened his mouth.

“I told you I had forsaken the goddess, didn’t I?”

He turned his head towards Cullen and said. When Cullen nodded, Ruena slowly brought his hand to his eyes.

“As you might have guessed, I am also from the East. All High Priests are sent to the temple at birth and live regardless of their families… but our family had particularly strong bonds. My younger sister always visited me and was proud of me, her High Priest. Then…”

Ruena, with his hand on his eyes, glanced towards Kiyen.

“The incident in the Duchy of Jenix occurred. Countless people died. Even those who were lucky enough to survive lost their families and were taken to the Duchy of Lenon as slaves. The Larkan Imperial Dynasty would not know this.”

This was a story he had never heard in history books. Ulli’s face contorted at the shocking content. Lasano listened silently to his words, then retorted,

“That doesn’t explain how you recognized the curse.”

“You are an impatient young man. The virtues of a High Priest should be forgiveness and patience…”

Saying so, Ruena began to poke his fingers into his eyes. As Cullen tried to stop him in horror, an eye fell from Ruena’s hand. Ulli let out a small gasp. As he had guessed, Ruena had no eyes, let alone the ability to see.

His empty eye socket stared at Lasano. He smiled bitterly.

“I will answer. Yes, I know what curse Tito is under. It is I who helped Junon obtain that curse, taught them, and told them about Dark Island and Akesis.”

As Kiyen’s eyes narrowed, Ruena spoke.

“I was a High Priest, but before that, I had the name Nesis Cassia. I am also the brother of the Duchess of Jenix. I helped her create Zarkas… and to atone for that sin, I gouged out my own eyes.”