#204

The road to the Central region was arduous. Despite not being that far in distance, Demonic Beasts appeared almost daily.

Near the mountain range, they had appeared with some time between sightings, but now they materialized without a sound twice a day. The intensity of the battles also escalated sharply, as if previous encounters had been mere child’s play.

“Damn it!”

The mercenaries’ curses could be heard from afar. Many of the Demonic Beasts from Dark Island were of forms never seen before, and the most frequent type appearing recently was the flying Demonic Beast that had attacked Cullen last time.

Because their attack patterns differed, people had begun to give them names. The bird-like Demonic Beasts were called ‘Arus,’ meaning ‘disaster from the sky.’

There were few combat personnel capable of dealing with Arus. Not only were they unfamiliar Demonic Beasts, but they also flew into the sky when at a disadvantage. Therefore, only those who could use Magic, like Junon and Lasano, Ulli who could leap freely, a small number of skilled archer mercenaries, and the Dragons could handle them.

And in reality, most Arus were dealt with by the Dragons.

“Move.”

With Black’s small but clear voice, a black spear, formed not of a weapon but of condensed energy, rained down on a young Arus that the mercenaries were struggling to fight. Without even a chance to scream, the small Arus trembled violently and then plummeted to the ground. The falling carcass made a ‘thump!’ sound, kicking up a cloud of dust. The mercenaries, who had narrowly dodged, hesitated as they looked at the Arus’s corpse, then turned their gaze to Black, who was floating in the air.

Over the past few days, the Young Dragons had grown noticeably each day.

Cullen’s guess that they had grown when Kiyen was in danger had not been mistaken. As the children used their powers, they gradually grew physically. Their proficiency in wielding their strength also advanced rapidly, and now, most of the time, the Young Dragons alone could handle threats before Kiyen had to intervene.

And it seemed these developments appeared bizarre to humans. Instead of expressing gratitude, the mercenaries glanced at Black and then turned away, leaving the area. Cullen, watching this scene, subtly stiffened.

Cullen, who had just helped Lasano and Ulli defeat an adult Arus, shook the blood off his sword and walked towards Black. Ulli and Lasano followed behind him.

“Sorry. They all seem scared.”

Ulli apologized first on behalf of the mercenaries. Lasano, following behind, responded cynically.

“They have a lot of complaints even when their lives are saved. When will they learn?”

Lasano had openly shown his dislike for the mercenaries since two days ago, when White had saved some of them and whispers of “monster” were heard directed at the child.

It wasn’t that the mercenaries were entirely incomprehensible. Until then, with their beautiful features and small stature, and even with wings, they had considered the children cute.

The turning point came after the Arus appeared. After encountering the destructive flying creatures, a sense of animosity began to extend towards the Dragons who could fly alongside them.

Furthermore, the atmosphere became even stranger after someone spread rumors about Kiyen, who had appeared in Mount Tesnia, being neither human nor monster. This led to discussions about the Dragon that burned the mountain, clearly isolating Kiyen and the Young Dragons.

Cullen felt a bitter sense of witnessing firsthand the division between races that Kiyen always spoke of.

“Ah, but everyone came with good intentions. Thanks to them, we’ve gained strength. Isn’t it thanks to people like them, rather than those who don’t help, that this journey is possible? Right, Cullen?”

Ulli asked, seeking agreement. While Cullen had initially thought the same, experiencing the current situation made him feel doubtful.

“If the Central region wasn’t adjacent to Dadin’s desert, they might not have come.”

He spoke his recent thoughts, and Ulli’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected that.

The Central region, to be precise, referred to the capital city itself, which surrounded the Imperial Palace. Directly below the capital lay the desert stretching from Dadin. The East was far away and the path treacherous, so if the Demonic Beasts changed their course, they were more likely to move towards the desert and head west.

“I hadn’t thought of it that way…”

“After going through so much, Ulli, you’re still quite naive.”

Lasano lightly chided Ulli.

“Aren’t you the one who’s too corrupted, Lasano?”

“If you look at my hair color, you’ll know I am indeed corrupted.”

As Lasano casually brushed off Ulli’s remark, Black descended. White followed shortly after, and finally, Cat came running from behind.

“Cullen-nim!”

Cat’s clear voice rang out as she clung to Cullen’s waist. They had all grown taller; the children, who had once only reached Cullen’s legs, now reached past his waist. Even Ulli, the shortest, was about to be caught up.

“I defeated the most today! Three of them!”

Cat then stuck out her tongue at Black and White.

“You only killed one each?”

“This isn’t a competition, Cat.”

White calmly explained, but Cat didn’t listen. Black, instead of joining the conversation, silently looked up at Cullen and asked.

“Several people were injured today. Will you heal them? I couldn’t gather them because they would be scared if I approached. Ulli should probably do that.”

Cullen nodded, watching Black report calmly. Although Cullen, who was always with the Dragons, was also somewhat ostracized from the group, people didn’t avoid him as much as they did others, perhaps because they knew he could heal.

“You don’t necessarily have to. You aren’t the High Priest, are you, Cullen-nim?”

Lasano interjected.

“With that much healing power, they are a High Priest, regardless of what they are not.”

Ulli retorted, and Lasano replied smoothly.

“High Priests cannot use wide-area Magic like Cullen-nim, which utilizes divine power. A High Priest’s Magic is usually small-scale, for self-defense. Besides, the title of High Priest was given to the helpers of the Imperial Family who served the goddess. Now that there is no Imperial Family or Great Temple, it’s a title that should be abolished.”

As Lasano and Ulli’s debate continued, a shadow fell over them. Cullen knew who it was without looking and quietly raised his gaze. There, floating in the air, was Kiyen, looking down at him.

“Did you come here while I was momentarily distracted?”

Kiyen’s voice was not as forceful as before, but it weakened Cullen’s resolve in a different way. Seeing his face, which wore a quietly sorrowful expression, made him feel like he had to comfort him.

“Welcome.”

Due to the unusually high number of Arus appearing today, Kiyen had to leave Cullen briefly to deal with the leader. It was Cullen himself who had persuaded Kiyen, who wanted to stay by his side, to go.

“Ah, then we’ll be going!”

Ulli quickly said as Kiyen appeared. She had recently made a habit of leaving them alone for the sake of the two of them.

“Am I going too? I’m staying here?”

As Ulli dragged Lasano, who refused to leave, away, the remaining three Dragons stared blankly at Cullen and Kiyen. Kiyen slowly descended and looked at the Young Dragons.

“Do not carelessly give your heart to those who are wary of you. And be even more cautious with promises.”

At Kiyen’s words, White calmly shook his head with a smile.

“It’s alright, people avoid us anyway.”

“But Ulli and Lasano are with us!”

Cat, who had initially been very wary of Ulli, had become quite close to her since Kiyen rejoined them. Black nodded silently at his words.

“Not all humans are like that.”

Kiyen looked at Cullen and remained silent at his words. Then he said to the children.

“Kiyen and I will go to the injured, so you stay with them.”

He pointed in the direction Ulli and Lasano had gone, and White and Black nodded. Only Cat resisted weakly.

“I want to stay with Cullen-nim! You’ve only been with Kiyen-nim lately…”

Her rebellious voice grew quieter under Kiyen’s cool gaze. Cat pouted her lips, shouted “You’re mean!”, and ran towards Black and White.

Even so, seeing her face smiling softly eased his heart a little. Despite her words, she seemed happy to see him and Kiyen together.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

As soon as the children disappeared, Kiyen immediately examined Cullen. He seemed to have no intention of touching him unless he allowed it, but his gaze swept over his body, searching for any trace of injury. He looked as if he would check for even the slightest scratch, making Cullen’s body inexplicably flush.

“I am fine. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I am fine.”

Even though it was just a simple confirmation of each other’s well-being, his fingertips tingled. Looking into his eyes, which never left him, Cullen found it strangely difficult to meet his gaze directly. In the past, they seemed to have looked at each other often, but lately, it had been particularly so.

“You don’t need to heal all humans. No priest can do that, so it’s better to take care of yourself first.”

Kiyen spoke as if he didn’t particularly like Cullen going to heal. It seemed he knew that his body, unaccustomed to it, grew tired whenever he used his divine power intensely.

Since he had first opened his heart to him, Kiyen had begun to observe Cullen with remarkable attention. Now, it seemed he even noticed things like this.

“Still, it’s better to treat those we see immediately.”

As Ulli’s companion, he felt it was his duty, even if Kiyen didn’t like it. Kiyen, who had been listening quietly, spoke after a brief silence.

“Do you have no intention of acting for your own sake?”

“What?”

“I mean, do you have no intention of living for yourself, doing what you want, rather than for others? When I hear you talk, you always acted for your parents, for your colleagues, for those around you. It was the same when you loved me.”

The last sentence sounded bitter, but Kiyen continued.

“However, you never acted for yourself.”

Kiyen’s words made Cullen’s mind go blank for a moment. He had never thought in those terms. He believed that the happiness of those he loved was for his own sake, and avenging those he cherished held the same meaning.

“Protecting the people I love is acting for myself.”

At Cullen’s words, Kiyen raised his eyebrows, then let out a shallow sigh. His expression seemed indifferent, but his gentle eyes reached out to stroke Cullen’s hair as if to comfort him, then stopped, realizing it was an unconscious action, and lowered his hand.

Ah.

The moment his hand lowered, Cullen let out a small, silent sigh of regret. A subtle silence hung in the air for a moment.

“I have no intention of stopping what you want. However, after the healing is done, would you be willing to go somewhere with me for a while?”

Kiyen, who had lowered his hesitant hand, whispered softly. Cullen, who had been staring blankly at his descending fingertips, nodded belatedly at his words.

“I understand.”

As the answer fell, Kiyen gave a faint smile and turned first towards the place where the injured people Black had mentioned were gathered. Watching his tall, upright back, Cullen clenched and unclenched his fists.

You can touch me.

He had meant to say that, but it was a little too late.