#155

Cullen fell silent, looking into Lasano’s unwavering eyes. He was momentarily shaken by the statement, which he couldn’t have guessed from his previously brazen attitude. After a moment of silence, Cullen asked,

“I don’t understand. After killing so many people and even taking their swords, you now intend to betray and kill Zarkas?”

Cullen voiced his reasonable doubt. Ulli agreed.

“If you were going to change your mind like that, you shouldn’t have started in the first place.”

At her cynical voice, Lasano faintly displayed a smile he had erased. It was self-deprecating.

“Unfortunately, this is not what I wanted either. According to the plan, we would have killed the goddess. As is often the case in life… nothing goes as planned. In any case, this is my proposal. I will return your sword and guide you to Kiyen-nim. Yurisis and I can do more than just Cullen-nim’s party of three.”

He still couldn’t understand. Considering all the things Yurisis had done, the idea of self-destruction didn’t resonate. Moreover, the condition for cooperation being the rescue of Kihelene was baffling.

“Why do you want to save Kihelene? Is it out of guilt?”

Lasano lowered his gaze. A somberness fell over his expression.

“I did unspeakable things to her. But it’s not because of that. It’s because Yurisis wants it. You don’t need to know about Yurisis… but he is not who you think he is. He is a life whose ‘purpose’ was decided from birth. He is the child Iris chose to bear for revenge.”

Ulli, also unable to comprehend, echoed Lasano’s last words and asked,

“…Born for revenge? What is that?”

“From the moment he was born, Yurisis was used as Iris’s tool. At first, he did anything to please his only family, his mother, and when he got a little older, a Golden Seal was placed on him so he couldn’t rebel. Enough about myself. It’s best not to dwell on the villain’s story. You don’t need to know it.”

Lasano finished speaking and gave a faint smile. His somber face gone, he returned to his usual glib self.

“All you need to know is that we have committed sins. So, make your decision. Will you cooperate with me to achieve what you want, or will you stubbornly go your own way with your three companions?”

The answer… was already decided. Cullen slowly calmed his suspicion and anger. As he looked with regained composure, Lasano seemed to understand.

“If you’ve made up your mind, perhaps you could let go now? I think I might suffocate and die first at this rate.”

Watching him cough exaggeratedly, Cullen slowly released his grip.

Lasano, his feet on the ground, coughed briefly and then straightened his back with a long sigh. Ulli stopped Arne, who was trying to approach him.

“Don’t get close again. He’s a traitor. He’s no longer one of us.”

Arne nodded weakly, looking at her wary expression. Though she couldn’t stop glancing at Lasano, worried, Ulli let it be. She too had a troubled look.

“Well then, it would be best to move along. We don’t have much time, so follow me.”

Lasano, having composed himself, gestured and turned. Watching his retreating figure disappear into the darkness from which he had emerged, the group began to move.

Lasano skillfully navigated through the narrow gaps of the collapsed buildings. Soon, he stood before a building completely covered in stone. Lasano bent his upper body before the collapsed building, where not even a breathing hole was visible.

“What are you doing?”

Ulli, whose demeanor had softened slightly during their walk, asked. Without looking back, he touched the ground. Then, he suddenly took out a dagger and cut his own hand. Before anyone could stop him, Arne rushed towards him.

“Lasano-nim, what are you doing!”

Lasano looked at Arne, his voice filled with surprise. He glanced at Arne with a slight frown and closed his mouth. Instead, he let his blood drip onto the ground.

Then, a change occurred. The earth began to take shape, and soon, it formed a pitch-black hole that seemed to lead downwards.

“I’ll bandage it for you. You can’t even heal yourself anymore, can you?”

“It’s fine…”

Before Lasano could finish saying it was fine, Arne stepped forward. Ulli, too, could not stop him at that moment.

A bitter sadness settled in Cullen’s heart. The power Lasano was using was undoubtedly Akesis’s power, the one Zarkas used. Seeing him use blood as a medium confirmed it. The form of the red power that had saved Arne was the same; there was no room for doubt.

It was contradictory for someone who served the goddess to wield Akesis’s power. It was even more so, knowing the goddess’s arrangement that had driven him to this.

Lasano’s memories, which Cullen had glimpsed, surfaced without a chance to stop them. Where did it all begin?

Arne, her face holding back tears, stubbornly wrapped a bandage around Lasano’s hand. Lasano remained silent, watching her bandage his hand for a long time. Ulli, after a period of silence, asked,

“Did you make a contract with the weapon?”

Lasano replied, without taking his eyes off Arne bandaging his hand.

“Yes.”

“Why? If you betrayed and ran away, you should at least live well. That’s cutting into your life.”

Ulli, bound by weapon regulations herself, knew the cost. At her words, Lasano gritted his teeth, then forced a smile. He then pushed Arne, who had just finished bandaging his hand, away. He turned his body.

“If you go down here, you’ll find a passage leading to the castle. It’s a place Junon and I made. You should hurry. When night falls, Iris will awaken soon.”

Without giving them time to ask more, Lasano jumped down into the pitch-black hole first. It didn’t suit his former appearance as a priest. Arne hesitated, then followed him, and Ulli slowly headed towards it.

Cullen, left at the very back, looked up at the sky. As Lasano had said, there wasn’t much time left. The sky was darkening.

Cullen suddenly remembered what day it was. Though he lived forgetting dates, it strangely came to him.

Today was the last day of January. The beginning of February, which followed after this night… was a very rare day.

Tomorrow, he would turn exactly thirty. Cullen had never seen it, but his mother often spoke of what his birth day was like when he was young. Holding him with his father, as if he had received a great blessing.

“Do you know how wondrous your birth day was, my child? I had never seen such a full moon in my life. Strangely, it happened even though it wasn’t a full moon night. Then, for two days after, the sun did not set. You could see a white sky even at night. That day was also a blessed day, the founding of the Empire.”

Cullen blinked and looked at the gray sky, where the sunset was beginning to appear. The ashes flowing from the burning mountains covered the entire world, and Cullen thought that even at day zero, the world would be dark.

He hoped it wouldn’t be so.

He wished that the world Kiyen, once freed, would see would shine white and beautiful.

Before jumping into the hole after the vanished party, Cullen made such a wish. Without giving any thought to the day he was born.

They walked for a long time down the long passage. The tunnel, which seemed to have been magically carved where it didn’t exist before, was unstable. The air was damp, and there was no light.

They moved forward, guided by the red light Lasano had created. The uncomfortable silence was broken only when they reached the end of the passage, where light began to leak out. Cullen, having sorted out his doubts while walking, voiced them.

“What happened to the capital?”

Lasano replied without looking back.

“Junon brought it about. There was no other way to drive out all the humans who tried to stay inside without leaving.”

“Why? To use this place as a base?”

Ulli asked sarcastically, and Lasano chuckled lowly.

“While most of them were greedy merchants, Yurisis did not want them to die. So, it was necessary to evacuate everyone inside before the capital was blown away.”

The words “the capital was blown away” struck him. It was strangely unsettling.

“What do you mean the capital will be blown away?”

“Ah.”

Lasano seemed to have momentarily forgotten and said casually,

“I said Yurisis and I would kill Zarkas, right? That’s why.”

“What does that mean?”

Ulli, sensing something, probed further. After a short silence, Lasano continued,

“The core of Zarkas is essentially Iris Jenix. If she dies, everything ends. However, she is difficult to kill. If she dies, the Golden Seals of the many artifacts she has planted will trigger, and the land will be blown away.”

“The land… will be blown away?”

This time, Arne asked back in a trembling voice. Lasano, still as nonchalant as before, replied,

“Yes. The entire capital will be blown away. She lived with so much power, so fiercely. Using Yurisis’s life as a host…”

“Wait, wait a minute.”

Arne urgently grabbed Lasano.

“Then what happens to you, Lasano-nim?”

Lasano, unable to ignore the strong grip, twisted his body slightly. He was smiling.

“Naturally, I will die. Even the High Priest would find it difficult to survive that explosion. So, you should go to Kiyen-nim with Kihelene-nim. Then you will survive.”

Lasano spoke of death calmly, as if he had thought about it for a long time. Arne’s eyes widened, and she stood frozen. Lasano, seizing the moment, quietly removed Arne’s hand and stopped walking.

“Well, we have arrived. The passage is not far from the Imperial Chamber where Kihelene-nim is. I will go to retrieve the sword, so you all go to the Imperial Chamber. I will bring the sword to you.”

“No!”

Arne cried out then, grabbing Lasano and sobbing. Her eyes, shocked, turned to Cullen and Ulli. As their desperate faces met hers, Cullen also fell silent. Lasano’s words echoed in his head, making his chest heavy.

He would die.

The word “death” made Cullen feel suffocated. His breath was choked.

It was Lasano, of all people. Despite being treated so cruelly, despite not forgiving his betrayal, the thought of him dying left him speechless. Though he resented him, he didn’t wish for his death.

This was not the ending he wanted. He never wanted this. For someone he once cared for, or perhaps someone he still… might care for a little, to die.

“Please, please come with us. After saving Ki, Kiyen-nim… we can go together. Then everyone can live.”

Ulli also spoke, hearing Arne’s desperate voice.

“…You don’t have to go that far. Just save the person you need to save, and find another way to kill them…”

Lasano cut her off. He said firmly, without losing his smile,

“You don’t need to pity me. I know you are kind-hearted, but this is a choice I made. If Iris dies, Yurisis also dies. I have no intention of leaving Yurisis behind.”

“But what about us?”

Arne asked, tearfully. Lasano paused.

“I, we are also comrades, aren’t we? I thought so… Lasano-nim, did you truly never consider us comrades? Who in the world would want their comrades to die? I can’t, I can’t do that. Please, Cullen-nim.”

Arne pleaded, looking at Cullen. She stared at Lasano, her fists clenched. His eyes were resolute.

“I am a traitor, not a comrade. I used you from the beginning. Do not try to justify me. Arne, you have other comrades.”

Lasano pointed to Ulli and Cullen, then began to ascend towards the surface, as if he had no more desire to converse. Arne, her eyes brimming with tears, stood looking at Cullen and Ulli. Like a lost child, her face pleaded for them to do something.

“Cullen-nim, I beg you… I, I don’t want to see the people I care about die anymore.”

Arne, finally shedding tears, grabbed Cullen’s hand. Ulli covered her mouth with her hand, then punched Arne with her fist.

“Who said we’re abandoning you? Don’t cry!”

“B-but…”

Arne glanced at Cullen, as if seeking permission. Cullen turned his gaze to Lasano, who had already ascended to the surface, and spoke.

“I also wish for him to live. However, I don’t know if he will listen. Yurisis… means a great deal to him. He was the one who first saved Lasano.”

Arne bowed his head at his words. It was clear that deep sorrow was pressing down on him.

“If we are precious to each other… isn’t it better for the other person if the one who is precious lives? Am I being selfish…?”

Arne’s words were not easy to answer. Because Cullen knew the pain of those left behind.

Sometimes, certain losses remain, indelible no matter what one does. There are times when it is better to die happily than to live as if dead.

But Cullen could not say that much. That was Lasano’s matter. After contemplating, Cullen opened his mouth.

“For now, we will act together, and I will leave the choice to him. Arne, you try to persuade him. I don’t want him to die… either.”

As soon as Cullen finished speaking, Arne smiled as if delighted. He quickly nodded, wiping away his tears.

“Yes, Lord Cullen!”

“You really are soft-hearted.”

Ulli lightly hit Cullen as she spoke to him about a matter that was not unrelated to her. Her eyes, glimpsed briefly, were as red as Arne’s.