The Seat of My Heart

13 To Return Unhurt

Susha Unhuor stood on the steps for the palace for a moment, looking down the main street of En. Without any people present, this place looked quite strange. Usually, the streets should be filled. Especially one as important as the main street. There should be carriages rushing about, people lingering in the streets, talking, vendors showcasing their goods, children playing at the side of the street ... But now, everything was empty.

Even when he closed his eyes, there was a silence hanging above everything that just didn't want to fit this place. He only heard the faint murmur of the high priest's singing coming from the temple.

Susha Unhuor opened his eyes again, took a last look at the main street, and then turned to the temple. He went over to the main hall where the high priest was still sitting, chanting incessantly.

Susha Unhuor lightly knocked on the door when he stepped in, nodding at the man. "Su anqeng, the demon has been vanquished. You can take a rest now."

The high priest immediately fell quiet, the fatigue showing on his face. Yes, this man had been working on keeping the demon and shadows at bay for all these weeks since Jusha Lale had gone to travel around to find a zhireng willing to vanquish the demon. It wasn't wrong to say that he probably had expended much more energy than he actually had. If not for the fact that there were still groups of other priests outside the city supporting him, it definitely wouldn't have been possible to go on like this. He could imagine how relieved he was that things had been dealt with.

Susha Unhuor looked over his shoulder before turning back to the priest. "I will go and tell the priests outside that they don't need to worry anymore. After that, I will go back to the city and inform the king that it is safe again. I will tell him to wait some time before letting the people return so that you have enough time to deal with the darkness that has started to infect the palace."

Yes, while the demon was gone, the traces it had left behind were still there. It wasn't safe to let people get too close to that. Those who did not have the blessing of the gods, strong mental fortitude, or were without desires would have a hard time not losing themselves if coming into contact with this. Thus, it was better to cleanse the palace and the city first and only then let the people return. Otherwise, he might have to vanquish several minor demons soon enough.

The high priest inclined his head. "Thank you, zhireng Susha, the city of En owes you."

Susha Unhuor shook his head. "This is why I have been given a blessing by the gods. Since I have the power to stop it, I should do so." His gaze turned a little subtle when he said so.

Originally, he had gone to the temple of Sundang because he felt that being a zhireng was not worth it. After vanquishing demon after demon and still seeing more of them turn up at every corner, he just felt that there was no use in it anymore. He doubted that there would ever come a day when the demons would be completely defeated because the human heart was ugly.

Even if things were going well like in a kingdom like Alo, there would still be those who were dissatisfied with their lot. Those who wanted more, who wanted things that weren't meant for them, things that would actively harm others. They knew but they desired it so they wanted to take it. They were willing to take great risks to obtain whatever it was. After observing that time and time again, he had felt resentment build-up toward the whole world.

At this moment, Susha Unhuor actually had a bit of hope though. Not only had he seen how far Jusha Lale as the king was willing to go to save his land and his people, but he had also found out that despite summoning a demon, Shaun Reng actually hadn't been such a bad person. Yes, there had been some darkness hiding in his heart. Yes, he had done things wrong. But at the last moment when it really counted, he had not given in to the darkness. He had resisted. Resisted until the point where he lost his own life because he was not willing to harm somebody else.