# Chapter 95
While Devan went to check the forest, Wimu was left alone with the man. It was necessary to keep watch on him until Ludin’s location could be confirmed. Since there was a possibility that the location he revealed was false, they couldn’t take his life immediately. Devan, who had already suffered bitterly over this issue, made the decision cautiously. He promised to send word to Kadilen as soon as he discovered Ludin. Then he planned to return here and move together with Wimu.
Wimu knew he would hurry, but couldn’t hide his anxiety. This space without a single clock seemed to make time flow more slowly than elsewhere. How long would it take for Devan to confirm the location, for that information to reach Kadilen, and then for him to return here? Probably not too long. Yet his uneasy heart continued to tremble without rest.
He looked at the man sitting with his entire body bound. His mouth was gagged so he couldn’t speak, but he didn’t seem to have anything to say anyway. Perhaps he too was enduring maddening anxiety, unable to know the safety of his master. Wimu briefly had such a thought. It was closer to disgust than sympathy.
But then, the man’s gaze moved strangely.
It had clearly been a gaze thrown carelessly toward empty space rather than looking at any specific place. But when that aimlessly floating gaze passed over a particular spot, Wimu saw it momentarily fill with emotion. Wimu’s eyes narrowed. The man, realizing his silent observation, hastily concealed his thoughts. But Wimu pounced on the small detail he hadn’t missed.
“There’s something here, isn’t there.”
“W-what are you talking about.”
Wimu, who had been sitting quietly, stood up and slowly crossed the room. The man’s eyes uncomfortably followed his movements.
“Is it here?”
“…”
“Or maybe here?”
Wimu’s footsteps moved slowly. The man said nothing. Wimu tried to read the truth in his face, stained with worry and fear. And when he became certain, he knocked a few times on the floor that appeared perfectly normal. From below came nothing but ordinary thumping sounds.
This time he quietly observed the carpet he was stepping on. It was stained and worn with friction, with threads coming loose in several places. The once-elaborate pattern had faded at the borders, leaving only shabby outlines. He stepped slightly back from the carpet. After glancing once more at the man’s face, he lifted the carpet. As dust rose, a small door in a rectangular shape was revealed underneath. It was a door leading below the floor.
“This must be it.”
“That’s nothing! That’s…”
Ignoring the man’s uncertain words, Wimu pushed the door open with his foot. With a cracking sound, the old lock broke. Instantly, a gaping hole appeared in the floor. A fairly spacious area appeared below, but it wasn’t what he had expected.
There was nothing there.
Wimu dejectedly put his hand in and swirled it around. But nothing could be grasped. It looked like a storage space, but there wasn’t a single object filling it. Wimu’s face contorted.
“You.”
He turned his head toward the man.
“You try it.”
“…”
When the frightened man remained frozen in a daze, Wimu approached him. Grabbed by the nape of his neck with a rough hand, the man was practically dragged to the hole. Wimu closed the square door again and sharply instructed him.
“Open it!”
The man hesitated. Even feeling the sword tickling his neck, he wouldn’t easily move. But when Wimu pushed Luan’s blood-stained clothes in his face once more, his eyes changed. More terrifying than his own life was the suffering his master would endure. With trembling hands, the man touched the floor. Squeezing his eyes shut, he opened the door with all his might.
This time, even Wimu could feel something was different. Instead of dust, pure white smoke poured out. The smoke enveloped the man’s body as if checking something. And soon it changed to a blue light and spread widely. Wimu roughly pushed the man aside. In that place he checked with desperate urgency, there was something more precious than anything else.
“Ludin.”
The painful name escaped his lips. The bluish swirling liquid meant only one thing. The life of the one he loved most. That there remained a possibility for that life to continue intact. Cold tears flowed from Wimu’s eyes. It was as if the hope he thought was lost forever had circled back and returned to his embrace.
When Devan appeared shortly after, he saw the glass vials that Wimu had neatly arranged. Seeing his blank face, Wimu smiled a little. With one desperate problem solved, hope bloomed for what remained. After a long while, Devan nodded. Wimu knew it was an opportunity to save Ludin. As both approached the doorway simultaneously, the man shouted in great confusion.
“Keep your promise!”
Devan’s eyes, which had not even acknowledged the man’s existence, turned toward him. The man faltered at the cold gaze. But he soon demanded his reward in an unstable but high voice.
“I gave you everything. Now guide me to where he is.”
“Why are you so loyal to Luan?”
“That’s none of your business. You haven’t forgotten our deal.”
“You asked to be sent to your master…”
Devan looked the man up and down.
“I’m happy to do so.”
Then he walked straight to Wimu and took the sword he was holding. Wimu yielded the sword without resistance and left the tower first. The surprised man’s eyes widened.
“What are you doing…”
The sentence remained unfinished. The sword Devan swung cleanly cut off his neck. Without even having time to close his widely opened eyes, the man’s head rolled to a corner of the room.
“Go. To where your master is.”
Ignoring the blood gushing out, Devan muttered quietly.
* * *
Kadilen directed all armies to one place. The search parties from the five towers and the soldiers protecting the royal palace were all mobilized. Arzel’s petty tricks no longer worked. Under Kadilen’s orders, the nobles lured Arzel to Mekina. While they detained Arzel under the pretext of cooperating with his rebellion, Kadilen planned to head to the forest where Ludin was imprisoned. An hour after the order was given, Kadilen received confirmation of Arzel’s position. Word that the lure had succeeded was quickly delivered to Kadilen. From there, he drew his sword. It was the moment to recover the most precious thing in his life.
On his galloping horse, Kadilen recalled all kinds of memories. The wind tousled his hair, and the hooves struck the rough stone path. Each time, countless scenes poured down like a waterfall, tormenting his mind. The moment he realized his feelings for Ludin, the moment his heart ached for everything about him and the world wavered, the moment he finally came to love him. A heavy rock suddenly fell into a life he believed would flow quietly like water. The water’s path split and he was swept away in confusion, but now he knew painfully how precious that rock and its weight were. So Kadilen rode. To where Ludin was. With each step, his desperation and tenderness only grew deeper.
The once-desolate forest was now filled with fully armed soldiers. Following directions, they formed ranks around one central point. Arzel’s space beneath the mysterious tree was instantly surrounded. Kadilen rushed to the front and flung open the door. He cut down several soldiers who were struggling to overcome their fear with a single stroke. His sword was running straight ahead. Warning that anyone in his path should be prepared for death.
The soldiers poured in like a flood. Kadilen swung his sword without rest. There was no one who didn’t fall to his smooth yet sharp movements. Vivid blood gathered on the blade that had been dormant for a long time. The deeper he went following the passage, the darker and dirtier the surroundings became. He tried not to lose concentration, but the tip of his sword cutting through the air trembled faintly. His heart sank at the thought of Ludin being confined in such a place. Several soldiers rushed in, not missing his momentary vulnerability. Kadilen swung his sword widely and saw Ludin’s phantom among the spattering blood. Staggering forward, he found only more soldiers rushing in instead of the person he so desperately wanted. He swung his sword once more. Soon his clothes were a mess with blood flying from all directions, and thus Kadilen advanced endlessly.
Arzel’s army collapsed miserably over a long period. Even well-trained soldiers were useless against the overwhelming numbers of the royal army. Kadilen, advancing fiercely, gradually sensed the end was in sight. Just one more door to pass through, and he could meet Ludin. He could embrace Ludin and wipe away his tears. It was the final path where the battle that had continued without rest would end, and he could finally grasp the breath of his beloved.
Kadilen quietly opened the door. His heart was beating too fast for words to come out. The soldiers following him also held their breath. In the underground filled with the stench of blood, the old door opened with a creaking sound. Too easily, without any locks. Kadilen raised his head. He couldn’t think of anything. Only the expectation of meeting Ludin’s clear eyes dominated his dizzy mind.
But what lay before him was a small chair.
A wooden chair covered with scratches from being dragged here and there. On it sat a person with pale garments flowing long. A somehow detached complexion, and eyes hiding burning anger. Arzel sat motionless, casting his gaze as if he had been waiting for everything.
Soon his mouth opened calmly.
“I see Your Majesty.”
