The Sword That Split the Sky

Those who fell from the flames were lucky enough to not suffocate from the smoke.

Normally, it wouldn’t be that hard to escape from a building of this size, but when far too many people were crammed into one spot, it didn’t matter how many exits there were—they were all sealed by the person in front of you.

Fortunately, as I was forging a new way out, there was nobody who clogged up the path, besides the smoke that was already burning my eyes. The unsettling feeling of being baked in this oven of a maze was a sign that Timon’s music was losing its effect. I mustn’t let the screams behind me make it worse.

“This way! C’mon!”

I wasn’t yelling it to uplift the spirits of whoever was following behind me. It was to uplift mine.

To think that this could’ve been prevented or at least mitigated should the congregation just listened…They were literally like frogs being boiled in a pot, not realising the danger until it was too late.

My sword arm hacked away at another locked door in front of me. At this rate, I wasn’t sure if I was on the way out of the temple or taking another detour back to the inferno growing in the main hall. In my heart I prayed, not to the deity worshipped in this temple because of how useless he was, but to the Goddess.

However, this door was different.

Thnk.

The gaps left near where I chopped at the hinges pierced with light from outside. For an instant, I felt that I could breathe again, the burning sensation inside my lungs was cooled by the ray of hope.

Thnk.

“The exit’s here…The exits here…”

I shouted for all to hear, but my throat could only manage to croak out those words. The only reply I got was from the crackling of the flames around me and the flat thud of my blade striking against the door.

Thnk! Splak!

The sound of wood stretching and splitting was music to my ears. As the door hung loosely on its hinges, I mustered whatever strength I had left and stomped away at it.

Finally, the door fell. Dust rose. Air never tasted this good.

So good in fact, that the first thing that left my mouth right after escaping were coughs. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I realised that this was the back of the temple, where the villagers used to gather for food handouts.

I looked behind me, begging that I wasn’t the only one who made it out this way. My sense of time was completely warped in the fire. It must’ve only been about fifteen minutes or so, but when your next moment could potentially be your last, every moment lasts forever.

Waiting and hoping that you weren’t alone, however, felt even longer.

And then, an old lady crept out. Followed by a young boy. And his parents. Then another couple.

Before long, people were streaming out of the open doorway, coughing and wheezing.

I’ve never felt happier being coughed at in my direction.

I gestured towards the survivors, pointing them in the direction of safety. Either the old village grounds or the pilgrimage site would do, as long as it was away from the temple.

Seeing the line of people growing longer and longer made me feel that this was the moment. I may never be cut out to be a Hero like Sereya, but at least I was able to save someone. It was yet another near brush with death, but my best one so far.

The survivors must be thinking that I was an idiot, smiling from ear to ear as I face a burning building—their place of worship no less. Regardless, they were probably too occupied with the feeling of being alive.

Thud.

A woman, covered in soot, collapsed right in front of me. Naturally, I helped her up, but she tugged on my clothes, begging:

“My baby! My baby! Please, sir, my baby’s still inside! I’ll do anything for you! Please bring him back!”

Nothing was more gut-wrenching than to see a parent breakdown, unable to do anything for their children. Just the thought of going back into the raging fire was tearing me apart from within.

I really wanted to. I wanted to help her so, so badly.

But I knew for a fact that going back inside, in my battered state was pointless. How in the world was I going to find an infant in nearly zero visibility thanks to the smoke?

How in the world was I going to tell her that her child was gone?

“Please sir! I’d do anything! Save my baby!”

In her current state, she definitely wouldn’t listen to reason. If I could, I wouldn’t want to, too.

I knelt down to her level, but looking at her face mixed with ashes and tears caused the words to get stuck in my withered throat.

I simply shook my head apologetically.

I’m so sorry. I’m sorry, I really couldn’t help.

“No!! Please! Please!”

I’ve already known how it feels to confront the death of a parent. I couldn’t imagine the pain a parent goes through to confront the death of their child.

Then, the cry of an infant emerged from the doorway that I opened up.

“My baby!”

Walking out of the blaze was Phalanx, and in his arms was an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes. The huge black suit of armour cradled the baby so gently, shielding it from the all-devouring flames.

As the mother rushed to her child, I couldn’t be more grateful to the silent warrior. This was a sight and feeling that I’d etch into my brain for as long as I lived.

But if Phalanx was in the temple, then what about—

BAM!

Landing inches away from me was the severed foot of the Wyvern.

“Hurry up! Get them to spread out!” Sereya yelled from a nearby tower. The Wyvern, angered at the loss of its limb, looked hellbent on getting revenge on her.

“Run! Run!”

I waved my arms wildly, desperately telling the survivors to disperse. Even if Sereya defeats the Wyvern, its massive size meant that whatever in between it and the ground was bound to be a goner. The small crater underneath where the severed foot landed was prime proof of that.

Quickly, I rushed to the side of an elderly man, hobbling the best he could out of there. After telling him to get on my back, I carried him towards the entrance of the pilgrimage site.

The whole time, I looked at the sky, witnessing the battle between the winged beast with one foot and the swordswoman with one arm.

Even though Sereya couldn’t fly like Phalanx, the sheer height that she was able to gain in a single jump was insane. She probably could hop over the entire temple if she wanted to.

Despite the fight taking place in the Wyvern’s home field, it was no match against one of the strongest humans alive. A single sword slash from Sereya was able to slice through its fireballs, dissipating them and fizzling them out.

Even if the Wyvern was able to dodge her sword slashes that sprang from the human equivalent of grasshopper leaps, the sheer force of her attacks was capable of displacing the Wyvern midair, leaving it off-balanced for another swing.

Each time she swung, the wind pressure from her blade was enough to cause the flames rising from the temple to dance.

Usually, she went for speed, but her slower, more deliberate strikes were insane…

If this was what she was capable of with just a single arm, I shudder to even process the kind of damage she can do with a two-handed slash.

With the survivors having fully evacuated the church grounds. I screamed my lungs out at the warrior flying above.

“TAKE E’M DOWN!”

As she landed from her previous jump, Sereya simply smiled at me. Her light blue hair glistened under the sunlight, and her face seemed ever so gentle.

Without warning, her jaw suddenly tensed, causing her smile to twist into that of a heartless killer’s. In one swift motion, she threw her sword like a javelin, piercing the chest of the Wyvern clean through.

It was exactly like what I saw in her fight against Remus. Instead of a single streak of light in the darkness, it was a beam that scattered the clouds, leaving a massive gaping hole in the sky.

As I turned to look at the beast, Sereya was already behind its head. What followed was a punch so devastating, it sent the Wyvern crashing into the temple grounds like a meteor.

Dirt and blood splattered the vicinity. There was no way it will be getting up from that, especially since its face was already fused with the ground.

With the battle has been won, only a few of the survivors started cheering and praying, for we know that there was still a war that was raging.

One between the flames and the temple itself.