#117

Everyone fell silent. The weight of Ruena’s confession pressed down on their shoulders, agonizingly. Cullen stared blankly at the scene in the darkness. This situation where the perpetrator and the victim were entangled like a chain.

Kiyen stopped abruptly, still gripping Ruena’s collar. He was still, as if time had stopped. The air that had been boiling to the point of bursting suddenly felt frozen and cold.

The crimson light of the torch flickered, illuminating half of Kiyen’s face. On it were shock, despair, anger, and a scream, all bundled together.

Cullen could not dare to guess Kiyen’s feelings. No one here could perfectly guess each other’s hearts. They had each experienced different tragedies. And Cullen’s heart, too, would be incomprehensible to others.

It felt like going mad.

Kiyen was the one who killed countless victims, but at the same time, he was a long-time victim of the Imperial Family. Ruena was a sinner who created Zarkas, but he also lost his loved ones due to the Imperial Family. It was despairing that no one could be a perfect sinner, making it impossible to simply resent them.

Cullen needed someone to direct his anger towards.

But when he thought about it, Cullen had also killed many. They were murderers defined as villains, Demonic Beasts, or those who tried to kill him, but ultimately, they must have been someone’s family. Was it because I am a sinner that I have met this outcome? Is everyone around me entangled like this?

Did my mother die because she was the daughter of a sinner, and did my father and Sasha die because they were my mother’s family?

His mind became a tangled mess. Sadness and anger, having nowhere to go, pierced him. He thought that when he met his enemy, these emotions would have a place to go. He thought he would feel a little better then. He thought his heart would be at peace if he died like that.

But if Ruena’s words were true, Zarkas was ultimately a group created by victims. Separate from the fact that their actions could not be justified, there was a reason for their birth. As soon as he knew they weren’t just villains who wanted to kill people, his heart could not find peace. Cullen knew better than anyone the feeling of losing one’s entire family overnight.

As Kiyen’s silence lengthened, Ruena parted his dry lips. His trembling voice slowly flowed out.

“Dragon, you too… I now know you are a pitiable life. An unfortunate being, unaware, put to the test by the goddess. However, the others in Zarkas did not have the leisure or time to think of such things. Family…”

He swallowed dryly, as if struggling. Cullen saw his hand tremble slightly. It seemed to be due to the weight of memory, not Kiyen.

“When the land burned, do you know what kind of life was beneath it? You do not. I am not blaming you. But the scene I witnessed that day was a hell I cannot forget even in death. Everything burned and melted, turning to ash and scattering, without even time to mourn family.”

Ruena then turned his head towards Cullen. As his words continued, he covered his trembling mouth with his hand, and Lasano’s face became expressionless.

“Scenes like that drive people mad, Your Highness. Especially those who watched their loved ones, and the land and lives they tried to protect, melt away and disappear. Iris, my sister, went mad.”

Though there was nothing in her eye sockets, Cullen could see tears of blood. That was an area Cullen could not even imagine. Just hearing it, he felt Ruena’s despair. It was so vivid it sent chills down his spine.

“I was temporarily staying there to treat the injured in place of the Imperial Family, who did not help the Duchy. If I hadn’t been there, Iris would have died. In saving her, I abandoned the Duke of Jenix. While my body melted and regenerated dozens of times, Iris screamed, crying that she wanted to die. Because I saved that child… I am the sinner.”

Even just listening, a horrific moment was painted. Cullen had also felt Kiyen’s fire. Though he wasn’t hurt because magic didn’t work, he had indirectly felt how intensely hot his fire burned. Gale, who burned to death, and his family, must have felt that.

The overwhelming emotions made Cullen suffer. He couldn’t tell where the clear sin began.

Was the root Carias? She, who created the Imperial Family called Larkan and bound Kiyen, was she the mastermind of this entire cycle? But Carias made a contract with Kiyen to protect the people dying under a tyrant. Would she have known about this future? If so, who started it?

Nothing was clear. That was what drove him mad.

As no one spoke, Ruena also fell silent. He looked hollow and exhausted, like a person drained of all energy. As if all his vitality had been spent on this confession.

However, like someone bound by a duty, he spoke again. This time, his words came out a little faster. He seemed anxious.

“Iris… was just pregnant with the child of the man she loved. I had to save her. It was the last request of the Duke of Jenix. He begged me to save Iris and the child. And I could not abandon the request of the lord who chose to die in the castle rather than flee.”

At that moment, Cullen saw a single tear flow down Kiyen’s face. He saw the fleeting tear under the torchlight.

Kiyen released his hand gripping Ruena’s collar. He slowly stepped back. Ruena collapsed to the floor, and Ulli, unsure of what to do, rushed to Ruena. Cullen stared at Kiyen with wide eyes.

He had never thought he would see Kiyen cry.

Kiyen stopped after stepping back to where Lasano was. He heaved his chest deeply. His pale, white face seemed to crumble. His golden eyes flickered with anxiety, and his pupils narrowed so thinly they were almost invisible, indicating extreme tension.

Without making a sound, Kiyen was screaming. Seeing him, Cullen felt himself sinking into a maddening emotion.

Kiyen truly believed, at least, that there was a reason for those he killed.

Even if not, he must have wanted it to be so.

“Kiyen-nim.”

Cullen hurried towards him. It was the first time Kiyen had looked so unstable. He seemed so faint that it wouldn’t be strange if he simply evaporated and disappeared. Rushing over, he firmly grasped Kiyen. As he held his hand and pulled, Kiyen looked down at Cullen with vacant eyes.

“I didn’t want to do that.”

Kiyen said softly, like a madman. He saw Ruena looking at him.

“I have never…”

Kiyen’s voice flickered.

“Wanted to harm anyone.”

The moment Ulli’s sob was heard, tears fell again onto Kiyen’s face. His heart tore and tore again. In the pain of shattering into pieces, Cullen spoke to Ruena. His voice was sharp.

“Did you have to say it like that? Didn’t you say you understand now? Kiyen-nim had no choice. But you, Zarkas, made a choice. The choice to return blood with blood, acted upon by will. Conversely, Kiyen-nim was bound by a contract, unable to even refuse.”

Even knowing Ruena had his reasons, Cullen ended up hurling accusations at him again. Then Ruena said.

“But if it weren’t for the Dragon’s fire, the East would have survived somehow. Your Highness, no life in that land was spared from melting away. The few survivors are only those who were away from the land at the time. No one can be a perfect victim in this tragedy.”

“So you’re saying Zarkas was right? Knowing the pain of innocent people dying, your group is ultimately repeating the same actions.”

“Of course, it is wrong. Your Highness, and Dragon, I pity your pain. I regret to death the beginning I brought about. I am so sorry, so sorry, that I could not die. Because if I died, I would simply find peace alone.”

Carefully pushing away Ulli, who was supporting him without direction, Ruena knelt.

“Please, never forgive me. With the greatest apology I can offer, I will provide information to stop them. After that, kill me.”

Kiyen was staring into space. His seemingly empty eyes looked frighteningly hollow. Cullen remained silent, holding his hand tightly. Ulli mediated the situation.

“Let’s go out for now, and talk again. If nothing else, as Kiyen said, we need to keep this… person alive to find out, don’t we? It’s dangerous here.”

Ulli, realizing she shouldn’t keep Cullen and Ruena close, directly supported him. Though she looked small and frail, she hoisted Ruena onto her back, and Lasano, after a long silence, agreed.

“That would be best. After all, this is the enemy’s lair.”

Ruena also added.

“……Yes. This is the basement of Duke Renon’s castle. And Duke Renon is currently in a state no different from a living puppet. You should leave.”

Cullen nodded after a brief hesitation. Killing Ruena was possible anytime, but he held a lot of information that only he knew. Moreover, he wanted Kiyen to escape now. He wanted to return to a comfortable place somehow and comfort him. He felt uneasy.

As soon as Cullen agreed, everyone began to move. Ulli moved faster than before, and Cullen took Kiyen’s hand, leading him, as Kiyen showed no reaction.

The corridor stretched on. Ruena, despite being blind, told Ulli the quickest route.

“If you turn left and go out, you’ll reach a secluded part of the castle. It would be best to look for an opportunity to escape through the back door there. By now, Junon should be investigating the prison where the explosion occurred. If you run into her… someone will die.”

“Who exactly is this Junon person?”

Ulli asked.

“Junon’s curse implants a death device in a person’s body, but her actual specialty is swordsmanship. She is my disciple from Dark Island. And she is also Yurisis’s right-hand person.”

Cullen reacted to the name Yurisis, which had been bothering him for some time.

“Who exactly is this Yurisis?”

Ruena wore a sad expression at his question. As they ascended the stairs and headed for the entrance to the ground level, he opened his lips.

“Yurisis is… a being different from what you imagine. He is….”

Ruena’s words did not finish. The moment the decisive words were about to be spoken, Cullen felt a terrifying killing intent. Ulli seemed to feel it too, as he stepped back. But it wasn’t fast enough.

“That’s far enough, Master.”

A woman’s voice was heard, and then a sharp piece of metal flew through the air. The circular dagger spun and plunged between them in the blink of an eye. At the same time, the smell of blood spread rapidly.

“Ruena!”

Cullen’s eyes widened as he pulled Ruena, who was on Ulli’s back. It was no use. The circular blade flew precisely towards Ruena’s neck, passing through it with a ‘thwack!’ sound.

“N-no!”

Ulli’s scream echoed. For a moment, everything seemed to freeze. The smell of blood filling his nostrils, Ulli’s scream, the night sky with the moon obscured, the shadow against the door, and…

The scene of Ruena’s head, slung over Ulli’s back, slowly separating from his body was caught in his vision.