#116

A heavy silence fell. Everyone was silent at the unbelievable confession. Among them, Cullen quietly replayed what he had just heard. Everything around him seemed to fade away, and Ruena’s words slowly echoed in his mind.

Zarkas… Ruena created it?

His eyes gradually widened. The implications of that fact began to flood in. His fingers started to tremble. Zarkas were the ones who killed his mother. The beings who took away everything precious to him. The ones who took everything he loved. How many people died because of them?

His father, Sasha, his mother, the villagers, Gale, his comrades, and the innocent victims from the territories he had passed through. If Ruena was the one who created such a gathering of people—

Cullen was now facing his greatest enemy.

The moment he realized this, Cullen bent at the waist. He reached out and picked up the sword that had fallen to the ground. His face was reflected on the bright blue blade. His face, reflected in the steel, was marred by anger and shock. This person was his enemy.

His grip tightened on the sword hilt. Bones and veins stood out on the back of his hand. With a face filled with killing intent, he pointed the sword at Ruena. Ruena, having finished his confession, watched Cullen calmly. With a serene face, as if he had expected it.

“Cullen…!”

Ulli, instead of openly stopping him, carefully called his name. Lasano remained silent, and Kiyen merely watched Cullen.

“Are you saying you created Zarkas? Answer me clearly. Your head is on the line.”

Cullen asked again, enunciating each word. Gritting his teeth, he wished Ruena would deny it. Wasn’t he Arne’s teacher?

Furthermore, if he was the origin of Zarkas, Cullen had risked danger to save his enemy. A massive risk that could lead to losing his companions.

“Yes, that is correct.”

However, Ruena answered calmly. Cullen made his decision.

“Then I will kill you. Because you are the one who took everything from me.”

Without hesitation, Cullen readjusted his grip on the sword. A brief, inexplicable hesitation flickered, but he cut it off. An enemy not worth reconsidering. It was the moment to fulfill the reason he had lived until now.

But just as Cullen was about to swing his sword, Kiyen spoke.

“Weren’t you looking for the ones who killed your parents and comrades?”

He turned and looked at Kiyen. Kiyen asked with a calm face.

“Yes. And now I am facing the one who became the origin of it all.”

“This man claims to have created Zarkas, but he said he realized his sin and left them. Depending on when that was, it changes whether he was involved in harming your family and comrades.”

Cullen, unable to understand Kiyen defending Ruena, felt a surge of emotions that were difficult to distinguish clearly within him. For the first time since he had loved Kiyen, he dared to raise his voice towards him.

“It doesn’t matter. Ultimately, it was created because of him, so he is the origin of the sin.”

“But he stated he genuinely repented. You don’t know exactly what he did, nor his intentions when he created Zarkas, do you?”

It felt like betrayal. Even in this situation, Kiyen was calm and rational. From a third-party perspective, without any emotion. He was his lover, yet…

“Lord Kiyen, why are you taking his side?”

“I am not taking sides, I am observing the situation. By that logic, only sinners would remain in the world. Furthermore, if we kill that High Priest now, we will be unable to hear many of the things he knows. Do you wish to commit such a foolish act?”

The last part was correct. Even as his insides churned and anger surged, Cullen acknowledged it. Ruena was someone who needed to die, but if he were killed now, they would be unable to find others connected to him. Moreover, he had said he helped the Duchess of Jenix create Zarkas. That meant she was the ringleader.

Yet, even knowing Kiyen was right, Cullen found it difficult to quell the surge of resentment he felt in that moment. The resentment, mixed with anger, did not subside easily.

He quietly gazed at Kiyen’s face. He wondered if he might come to hate Kiyen, who calmly recited the facts. But hatred did not arise. He was simply sad. He was just sad.

Cullen slowly lowered his sword. Then, he turned his body to look at Ruena. He stood silently, like a sinner awaiting death.

“It would be best to move from this spot for now. However, I don’t think I can allow you to meet Arne.”

Because I will kill him before that happens.

Ruena wore a complex expression, echoing the unspoken words. Lasano quietly opened his mouth and agreed.

“It would be logical to say he died during the rescue.”

Ruena turned his head toward the direction of Lasano’s voice. Staring at Lasano for a long time with unseen eyes, Ruena spoke.

“I have no attachment to my life. My living until now was, in fact, for this day. I wished to tell a little of the truth to the one who will cut out the root of the sin created by my brother. The day has come… so it doesn’t matter.”

Having said that, Ruena pointed to the stairs. As if he could see them, even without eyes.

“As we leave, I will tell you as much as I can.”

Ruena was so calm that it cooled Cullen’s heart, which was about to burst with anger.

As they ascended the stairs, they emerged into what appeared to be the castle’s basement. The prison seemed to be at the very end, and above it were storage rooms for food and other supplies. The ground seemed solid, as it didn’t appear to have been significantly affected by the explosion.

However, the sound likely carried. So, it was better to get away quickly.

“Why did you create Zarkas?”

Cullen was dragging Ruena, having bound him to his side. Though Ruena seemed to struggle to keep up with Cullen’s rapid pace, he followed without complaint.

To Cullen’s question, Ruena responded with a question.

“How much do you know about what happened in the Duchy of Jenix?”

“I heard they rebelled and were annihilated.”

Cullen replied coldly. If that fact had bothered him before, now he felt no personal stake. At his words, Ruena let out a small laugh.

“The Imperial Family always hides unfavorable truths.”

“What do you mean?”

Kiyen asked. The Duchy of Jenix was where Kiyen had brought ruin, so he was also involved.

After a brief silence, Ruena spoke. His calm voice echoed softly in the dark corridor.

“From 65 years ago, when I was born… Demonic Beasts began to appear in large numbers. It was something that hadn’t happened before. Strangely, they only appeared in the East. They came endlessly, including enormous ones we had never seen before.”

Cullen had heard stories about unseen Demonic Beasts appearing even when he was a mercenary. Before he could ask what that had to do with anything, Ruena continued.

“The first prophecy I heard from the goddess was that a disaster would soon arrive when the appointed time came. The goddess’s instruction was that human strength must be gathered for it. I immediately conveyed this to the former Emperor Belemyr, but he took no action whatsoever.”

“Belemyr was that kind of person.”

Kiyen, uncharacteristically, agreed with a threatening voice. Belemyr was the Emperor before Sigmund, the one who ordered Kiyen’s massacre.

“The East suffered greatly. Iris, my younger sister, had just married Liera, the eldest son of the Jenix family she loved since childhood. They loved each other dearly. She knew Liera’s love for the East and wanted to help him in any way she could. The young couple relied on each other and pooled their strength. Your Highness, Liera was truly, truly a good man.”

Cullen flinched at the story he had never heard before. Ruena’s voice, which had been calm throughout, grew moist. He was lost in regret.

“Liera did everything he could to prevent his subjects, and by extension, the people of the East, from dying. When the power of the Duchy alone was insufficient, he allied with other Eastern nobles to build a frontline to defend against the Demonic Beasts. He was always at the forefront. He protected the East, risking danger so that even one less person would die. While Emperor Belemyr did nothing, he tried to save the people of this land in his stead.”

Then, Ulli, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. Her voice also held moisture.

“…My mother also said that my father did honorable work helping the Duke of Jenix. Count Linden always insulted my father, calling him a sinner, but my mother always told me my father was a hero. I never understood why…”

Ruena glanced at Ulli and nodded.

“Ullian was a good young man. It was truly tragic how the nobles who supported the East at the time were such rare, good people. Your Highness, the people of the East… did not commit treason.”

The matter of the Duchy of Jenix, which had always felt unsettling but not deeply considered, held an unexpected secret history. Cullen paused. He moved his lips.

“We were framed. By Duke Renon, who coveted the land of the East, and by Emperor Belemyr, who fell for his sweet talk. Your Highness, tens of thousands of innocent lives…”

Ruena’s voice finally trembled.

“They committed no crime. Those who died then were all ordinary lives, or lives that merely tried to live. Duke Renon lumped them together, claiming Duke Jenix was gathering troops for rebellion. The South desperately needed water due to a prolonged drought, and the East was the land they had long desired. People disappeared because of the Duke Renon family, who sought to seize the land.”

Another sob broke out. It was Ulli’s choked breath. Cullen’s mind also went blank for a moment at the shocking confession that fell from Ruena’s lips. At that moment, Kiyen spoke.

“Now—”

Kiyen strode toward Ruena.

“Did you say innocent lives?”

Kiyen’s voice was as cold as frost and simultaneously boiling. His pupils had become sharp and elongated, unlike anything seen before, with gold consuming all the blue. He grabbed Ruena by the collar.

“Innocent?”

Kiyen asked lowly, as if seeking denial. To Cullen, it strangely sounded like a scream.

“Yes, Dragon.”

Ruena said, closing his empty eyes.

“You burned tens of thousands of innocent lives to death. My sister’s husband, his family, the good young men who tried to protect people, all of them…”

They died without a trace, consumed by the Dragon’s flames.

Ruena’s final words filled the air.