#120

A cluster of light pierced his eyes. A force like condensed air shot directly towards Junon’s head, lying on the ground. A huge explosion sound echoed, and the wind pushed Cullen back. The light that engulfed Junon exploded white, like a bursting star, completely obscuring her.

No longer able to bear the strain, his body swayed. Kiyen, who had been staring blankly ahead, turned his head to look at Cullen. His dry eyes looked sadder than any expression. He couldn’t bring himself to speak to such a Kiyen. He had no strength to bring joy to Kiyen, who had grown solely on sadness. He couldn’t even bring himself to touch him.

As he watched Kiyen motionlessly, he lost his balance due to the approaching vibration. Unable to stand, he fell, but Kiyen caught Cullen. Grabbing him by the waist, he twisted his body.

“High Priest, heal him.”

At Kiyen’s low resonance, Lasano, who had stopped abruptly, rushed over. He approached, parting the swirling wind, and stood beside Cullen.

Lasano wore an indescribable expression. His face was complex, confused, and troubled. Then, as his eyes met Cullen’s, his expression changed. He overlaid it with a blank look and said briefly.

“There might be a scar.”

After saying that, he reached out and enveloped Cullen’s right back with a white, spreading silver light. Pain first surged through his body, but then a calm energy began to wrap around him.

As he was healed by divine power, the cluster of light subsided. Cullen turned his gaze in that direction. He didn’t want to see the gruesome corpse of Junon that might be beyond, as if it represented the wounded Kiyen.

However, contrary to expectations, Junon’s head was intact. Blood was flowing from her entire body, but she was still alive, unlike before. Kiyen, his lips tightened, looked down at her and reached out again. Before he could be stopped, white light began to flow from Kiyen’s hand.

“Stop there.”

Just before the Magic could be cast, a low voice echoed from somewhere, stopping Kiyen. All eyes in the group turned towards Junon’s back. A figure in a black cloak was walking from the direction of the voice. The mask beneath the pulled-up robe had a smiling face, inverted.

Another Zarkas. Tension ran through Cullen’s body, which had just been healed and was stiff. As he prepared himself for defense, Cullen suddenly realized something strange. The voice was familiar. He hadn’t heard it often, but he had definitely heard it before.

Kiyen did not answer him and proceeded to cast his Magic. It would have been more effective to keep her alive to gain information, but there was no one to stop the berserk Kiyen. The same cluster of light as before burst white.

But instead of an explosion, a sound like being hit by a strong barrier and bouncing off echoed with a loud ‘KANG!’. Dust kicked up violently from the recoil. Blinking, Cullen covered his face with his arm. As his body was pushed back by the strong impact of colliding forces, Kiyen embraced him.

The dust storm slowly subsided. The area where Junon had been was not a ruin and looked much the same as before. Blinking, Cullen saw a red barrier. It was similar in shape to Kiyen’s shield, but the color was different. With dry eyes, Kiyen parted his lips.

“An artifact?”

At Kiyen’s words, Zarkas stared intently at him. From within the red barrier, he spoke, enveloping himself and Junon.

“They say dragons know everything, you recognize it.”

A calm voice was heard. At his voice, the wriggling Junon reached out. She weakly grasped Zarkas’s cloak and whispered.

“Yuri… sir…”

The mask tilted downwards. Though the expression beyond it couldn’t be seen, Cullen somehow felt it was one of concern.

“Don’t speak. You don’t have much time.”

“I knew… cough… you would come… Yuri… sir… you don’t abandon us…”

Yuri, could it be short for Yurisis? Cullen voiced his question.

“You are Yurisis.”

To test him, Cullen spoke with deliberate certainty. The mask stared at Cullen. Then, looking far behind, his gaze shifted to Ruena, whose neck and body were barely held together.

“I don’t know how much you’ve heard… but you don’t seem to know much.”

He said that and affirmed it.

“Yes. You’ll find out eventually anyway. However, today’s conversation ends here.”

“Are you royalty?”

At Cullen’s words, a soft laugh escaped from beyond the mask. The gentle voice gave him a sense of déjà vu, but he couldn’t clearly recall anyone.

“Royalty…”

He murmured, then bent down and held Junon in his arms. It didn’t look like lovers. It was a gesture as if towards family. Looking at Junon, from whom blood flowed ceaselessly, he signaled the end of the conversation.

“That is a burden you must uncover.”

“What does that…!”

Yurisis didn’t give Cullen time to ask. Red light began to gather in his hand. The red barrier that had blocked them gradually shrank, and at the same time, intense heat began to be discharged outwards.

“What is that?”

Ulli, who had finally come to her senses, got up with a cough. She approached Cullen and asked in confusion, but he too couldn’t understand. Soon, the red barrier flickered, enclosing only Yurisis. At the same time, the ground began to shake.

“You cannot escape.”

Kiyen swung his hand. His golden wings, larger than before, flapped mightily, and he soared into the air. His eyes turned golden as flames boiled from both his hands. He didn’t waste time and immediately unleashed an inextinguishable fire upon Yurisis.

KWAAANG!

A sound of immense power colliding. As Kiyen’s fire touched Yurisis’s barrier, the heat that had been flickering near the red curtain exploded.

KU-GUNG, KUNG, sounds of something collapsing began to be heard from beneath their feet. Cullen could see Yurisis inside the barrier, beyond the heat that was encroaching upon them.

He was looking directly at Cullen. It seemed that blocking Kiyen’s Magic was also a struggle for him, as cracks appeared on his white mask from the heat. Beyond the slightly broken and flowing mask, Cullen saw silver hair and burning red eyes. It was the same silver hair he had seen in the Duke Refellon’s territory.

Was Yurisis also a High Priest? If not, it was difficult to explain the color similar to Lasano’s.

Startled by the unexpected hair color and eyes, Cullen turned his head towards Lasano, who was behind him. He wanted to see Lasano’s face for comparison, but he was covering it, perhaps to block the encroaching heat. As he tried to look forward again, he felt the ground beneath him sinking. The entire ground was cracking.

“It will break soon.”

A small but clear voice reached Cullen amidst the explosion sounds. Yurisis was looking at him.

“This castle, this land too.”

It didn’t make sense. Even if nothing else, wasn’t the Duke Renon’s territory currently his main base?

“Why? Isn’t this land your residence?”

At the word “residence,” Yurisis let out a laugh. Looking at the collapsing ground beneath him, he shouted.

“I have no residence. There is only one thing I desire. That all who turned their backs on my father die.”

Yurisis’s lips moved as if to say more, but neither could hear nor see. The ground began to collapse. The foundation, the pillars, one by one, collapsed, and the fissures approached where they stood.

The first to disappear was Yurisis. He plunged into a black, gaping maw, holding Junon. As he vanished into a deep hole where death would not be strange, Cullen cried out.

“Yurisis!”

He tried to grab him somehow, but it was in vain. The ground they stood on also cracked, separating them from each other. Kiyen, who was flying in the air, approached at that moment. He descended and pulled Cullen first.

“You left using a foul power. This place will become ruins. If you don’t leave, you will all die except for me.”

Ulli pleaded at his words.

“Wait, just hold on. I want to take Pantel, please, I beg you.”

Kiyen, who had been staring intently at her desperate plea, nodded. Ulli immediately headed towards Pantel, who was trapped in a pillar of ice.

Cullen gazed at where Ruena lay. To Cullen, he was a sinner, but perhaps not to Arne. At least, he felt he had to retrieve one thing that had been cherished in honor of his master.

“I will go to Ruena for a moment.”

“It’s dangerous.”

At Kiyen’s words, Lasano stepped forward.

“I will accompany you. I can cast a light shield as well. We’ll be quick.”

As soon as Lasano finished speaking, Cullen led him towards Ruena. Crossing the crumbling land that was turning to ruins, the two stood before Ruena’s corpse. The face above the tilted neck bore no expression. Cullen carefully reached out and searched his chest.

Within his chest was a carefully kept sculpture. The moment he took it out, a strange thing happened.

‘Please tell Arne… I’m sorry.’

Both Lasano and Cullen’s eyes widened as they looked ahead. It was clearly Ruena’s voice. His body hadn’t moved an inch, yet a muffled voice spread through the air as if it were diffusing.

‘This is my will, left before I go to the goddess’s side. Soon it will mix with the flow of the world and scatter. Your Highness, and… the young High Priest.’

Ruena’s body slowly began to crumble. The moment his head fell to the ground with a thud, his final voice was heard.

‘Do not lose sight of what is important by being blinded by revenge.’

With those words, a vibration echoed like an explosion. The very ground they stood on began to split. Cullen, staggering to his feet, pulled Lasano. There was nowhere to step. Everything was collapsing too quickly. From the black ground, a red light began to erupt like lava.

Feeling a sense of urgency, Cullen looked up at the sky and saw Kiyen had already arrived. He had flown over, lifting Ulli with Magic, and snatched Cullen, holding him tightly.

Looking at Ulli, she was clutching Pantel. She seemed to have managed to extract him from the ice. Cullen held Kiyen’s embrace tightly and asked,

“What Magic is this?”

“I don’t know its exact name, but the flames he created will melt all the land ahead. If he used that, he would have lost a lot of power to the Artifact himself.”

Before Kiyen’s words ended, a dust storm arose from the direction of the castle. Duke Renon’s castle, which had stood majestically, was seen collapsing from where they were. The massive stones supporting the castle began to pour down. If this continued, they would be crushed by the stones, so Kiyen did not hesitate any longer and soared into the sky. Only after rising high into the air could they look down.

Below them was hell. Duke Renon’s castle, which seemed impossible to destroy by any means, was collapsing like sand in an instant. Screams began to echo from various places below. Seeing that, Cullen thought of Arne at the inn. If the earthquake continued at this speed, it would soon reach Arne’s location.

However, Cullen hesitated, unable to push Kiyen. As if sensing his thoughts, Kiyen, who had been watching the scene on the ground, spoke softly.

“What I saw was like that too.”

Cullen looked up at Kiyen. His eyes, as he looked up, were submerged in deep pain.

“I, too, have seen hell.”

He could say nothing. Perhaps Kiyen hadn’t expected a reply, as he watched the scene for a moment, then turned and began to descend rapidly in the direction of the inn.