#142

Divided by the ice wall, a dark silence settled around them. In the stillness, where even the sound of breathing was inaudible, Cullen tried to devise a plan.

Lasano was clearly hesitating. If he had been truly determined, this conversation wouldn’t have happened. Perhaps he could be persuaded if I pushed a little more.

I truly hoped so. He didn’t want to harm Lasano, nor did he want to fight Kia, who was the reason for Kiyen’s happiness. If they clashed, someone would surely die or be gravely injured. I had a premonition of that.

“What is this sword that… you’re going this far for? Is it so precious that you would abandon us, who have shared hardships together?”

Cullen asked with genuine sincerity. He was actually quite puzzled. They had only followed clues and collected artifacts, and they didn’t know what this was. The goddess had only told them to make the sword, not its purpose in detail.

All he knew was that it was an item important enough to change the world’s balance. He really disliked the goddess’s existence, but at least he didn’t doubt the reason she told them to bring it safely to the Imperial Palace. It was, after all, the word of a god.

“…It is a sword that makes the impossible possible, quite literally.”

Lasano opened his mouth slowly. He didn’t know why he was telling me, but it felt like he was trying to persuade me.

“If you’ve seen Zarkas’s mark, you’ll know. The ancient language clearly signifies one thing: to cut off the goddess’s head.”

His red eyes stared blankly at Cullen.

“We will kill the goddess. The goddess is not a savior of humanity, nor a righteous being. She merely watches, like the negligent Imperial Family. Too many have been toyed with by the goddess.”

Kiyen flinched at his words. As confusion spread beyond his golden eyes, Lasano turned his gaze to him this time.

“Kiyen-nim, this is good for you too. We will kill a god with the sword. Then, the bloodline of the Imperial Family, who receives the goddess’s favor, will lose its power. If you wish, you could even kill other Imperial Family members yourself… Then you can find freedom. Above all, the goddess has turned her back on you. She made you live a life worse than a slave, even after giving you such power.”

At the mention of killing Imperial Family members, Cullen and Kiyen’s gazes met. Cullen looked at Kiyen with anxious eyes, knowing he wouldn’t act that way.

What Cullen feared was not death. It was whether Kiyen truly wanted to kill him. Even though he knew Kiyen had saved him earlier, Lasano’s words were emotionally resonant even to his own ears, which made it worse.

However, Kiyen turned his gaze away from Cullen and refused.

“I do not want to kill Cullen. Moreover, I have no reason to believe your words as they are. If you turn back now and leave, I will not harm you. Go.”

Kiyen’s voice became more resolute as he spoke. Lasano let out a tired laugh at his words and shook his head.

“So it ends up like this. It’s not much different from what I expected. That’s why I liked you both…”

A faint sigh escaped him, and Lasano raised his head. Gazing at the sky above the chasm, Lasano opened his mouth slightly.

“Kia, kill.”

At his small but firm voice, Kia’s eyes welled up with tears. However, even with the expression of a child who had done wrong, he moved to obey Lasano’s command. Kia, placing Ulli beside Lasano, spread his wings. Then, Kia’s form slowly began to change.

Sharp scales, similar to the tips of white wings, gradually sprouted on his body. His eyes elongated, his face gradually transformed, and blade-like claws and talons emerged. In an instant, Kia, who had become a small dragon with white scales, rose slightly into the air.

Although he was ridiculously small compared to the size Kiyen had described, he was still large enough to exert pressure on humans. As he flapped his wings with his much larger body, the wind swirled into the chasm. The moment I saw that sight, a scene flashed through my mind.

There was a reason Ulli and I felt a sense of déjà vu. I had seen this white wyvern-like form when chasing Zarkas in the Exion Spirit.

Zarkas with silver hair disappearing into the snow, the name Yuri, and Yurisis who appeared when confronting Junon.

He was someone I had encountered multiple times from the beginning. Then, the one Lasano calls Yuri is…

“Cullen, dodge!”

Kiyen shouted at Cullen, who was watching Kia manifest in his true form. As soon as his shout was heard, Cullen hastily retreated. By a hair’s breadth, a sharp, needle-like ice shard embedded itself at Cullen’s feet. Cold sweat trickled down. My body, sensing danger, tensed up.

It was strange. Magic didn’t work on me, yet this physical magic felt incredibly threatening.

“Cullen-nim, give me the sword!”

Kia cried out as if pleading. Kiyen shielded Cullen and stood in front of him.

“Kia!”

Ignoring Kiyen’s raised voice, Kia cast magic again. The speed at which Kia, now in his true form, cast magic was incredibly fast. Swooping down, Kia, who had come towards the direction Cullen had dodged, now created hundreds of ice spears.

“Please, give me the sword, and we can all be happy. Yuri, Mom, Dad, everyone…!”

The sharp ice tips rushed towards Cullen. Kiyen waved his hand, splitting the ice with his magic.

However, there was another strange point. Kiyen’s Magic couldn’t completely shatter the ice spears. The remaining dozens of ice spears rained down on Cullen. He only became safe after hastily retreating and Kiyen dealt with the rest. Questions surged.

How could little Kia, of all people, use Kiyen’s Magic…?

As if realizing the doubt Cullen felt, Kiyen looked up at Kia with a grave expression. His wavering golden eyes held a trace of anguish.

“I forgot to mention one thing. Kia can also use Akesis’s power. For some reason, Kiyen-nim cannot reach his power. In any case, you won’t be able to completely subdue Kia.”

As soon as Lasano finished speaking, Kia cast Magic again. Perhaps he decided to forget hesitation as he began his attack, Kia charged as if he wouldn’t hesitate to harm Kiyen. Kiyen did not try to completely subdue Kia. He merely defended against Kia’s attacks.

The chamber was dyed blue by the Magic. Perhaps because it was a place created by a god, it did not collapse, but traces of Magic began to appear in various places. The standoff continued. Kiyen blocked Kia’s attacks with his lips sealed, while Cullen was gradually pushed against the wall, evading Kia’s Magic that Kiyen hadn’t completely eliminated.

“Kia, now!”

Seeing Cullen cornered against the wall, Lasano shouted. Kia looked at Cullen and bit his lip tightly. Kia’s yellow eyes turned white. Along with that, white light filled the chamber.

Woowooong—!

A powerful vibration, incomparable to before, spread with a “KABOOM!” Cullen was caught in the wave and slammed into the wall. The impact, as if his ribs would break, struck his body, and simultaneously, damage was inflicted upon the chamber that had remained unyielding.

The wall he hit cracked with a creak and collapsed with a rumble. Cullen lost the sword he had been gripping tightly, determined not to let go.

Seeing this, Kiyen tried to approach Cullen, but as if not to give him time, Kia once again dyed his eyes white. Power that seemed like condensed light poured towards Kiyen like an arrow. He wanted to call Kiyen’s name, but only a cough escaped him, struck by the impact to his chest.

To avoid being crushed by the collapsing stones, Cullen barely managed to roll away. As he coughed and escaped, a part of the wall collapsed. If he had been crushed, he would have been severely injured before Kiyen could do anything.

Moreover, now… there was no High Priest to heal him.

The moment he felt that, a true sense of loss washed over him. He had grown quite fond of him. He had become one of the people he cherished. He liked his sarcastic remarks and his complaints, and he found solace in the one who would automatically help people and heal them without being ordered. He had lived in such a sense of security since forming a party with Kiyen, Lasano, and the others.

“I want to heal you, but I think I’ll die if I get close…”

Lasano said, with the collapsed stones between them. Whether Arne had been knocked unconscious or caught in the Magic, Arne lay fallen beside Ulli.

Kia was desperately holding Kiyen back. At Lasano’s feet lay the sword he had been so reluctant to let go of. Lasano slowly bent down. His white hand grasped the sword’s hilt.

In case something happened, Cullen watched him with wide eyes. But as soon as he grabbed the sword, nothing like bursting into flames or dying occurred. Amusingly, Cullen felt a brief sense of relief that Lasano was not in danger.

Yet, he was now the enemy.

“Lasano.”

Cullen called his name sadly. After picking up the sword, Lasano gazed back at Cullen with a similar expression.

“Do you really have to go?”

At those words, Lasano’s lips tightened.

“Cullen-nim will undoubtedly be a good Emperor, but…”

Lasano lowered his eyes.

“It was Yuri who saved and helped me. During the fire in the East, he was the only one who came all the way to find me, hearing that my uncle, who burned to death, might have had children. If it weren’t for him, I would have died.”

Lasano, sheathing his sword, slowly stepped back.

“I cannot leave him alone. I must share the pain and pressure, the guilt that Yuri endures. He is more precious than companions I’ve known for less than a year.”

Cullen leaped over the stones to stop Lasano, who was slowly moving away. Fortunately, his bones weren’t broken, so he could move. However, seeing Cullen move, Lasano ignited fire in his hand. He warned Cullen, moving his hand towards Ulli’s head.

“If you move again, I’ll detonate it.”

“Lasano!”

“The goddess chose the wrong High Priest. It was the worst choice for each other. If she was going to make me a High Priest, she shouldn’t have let me be born in such a hell. Do you know what a High Priest who hasn’t received the goddess’s ritual before entering the temple is like? They don’t die, but they have no power. They can only heal themselves pathetically, with no strength to resist, no Magic, no divine power.”

Lasano smiled wryly and moved further away. With sunken eyes, he glanced at Kia and Kiyen, then turned to Arne and Ulli in turn. His last gaze returned to Cullen.

“You’ll find out soon enough, so I’ll tell you one thing. This is the last favor I can offer. Yuri’s ability is mutation and brainwashing. Unlike others, he possesses multiple artifacts and weapons. Perhaps…”

Before completely disappearing into the darkness, he whispered.

“Cullen-nim has surely met him before.”