Chapter 5: Amidst the Chaos
The sting of fire was an
unforgettable one, a damaging touch that made you quickly pull your body away,
and even when it burned at a distance, its sting had an impressive reach. It
came with a toxic stench, poisonous smog that’d seep into your lungs with unimaginable
difficulty, and choke you so that, suffocated and confused, you crawled into
fire’s embrace and meet a torturous end. It was a sting Sakuya had felt
before, and as it moved in and choked her, and nipped at the skin of her right
arm, it pulled her from her sleep just in time for the door to fly open. The
stench of fire was creeping in from the hallway, and obscured the face of an
already blurred figure that raised a knife above his head the moment he saw
Sakuya’s face. He charged and she threw herself at her sword, grabbing it only
moments before he was upon her, and stabbing it through his chest. As she
pulled her sword free and turned to wake Aeriane, she saw her shocked friend
standing in the corner as three more men slid into the room. Sakuya charged
with her blade held low and stabbed through the neck of one before he was ready
to react, and blocked a downward slice of another at her side. She knew that
behind her the last man was about to attack, but had no need to turn as she heard
a voice boom down the hall, and saw from the corner of her eye a powerful fist
go forward and crash into the attacker’s face. He buckled and fell as the
scarred arm knocked him aside, and Sakuya ducked as his machete was taken and
swung to cut the final man’s neck. Arty looked down upon the men he slew, and
seemed to hold back a hurl before his hand came up to point at their window,
and several more man began to rush down the hall.
With Aeriane and Arty behind
her, Sakuya jumped through the window with a blanket wrapped around her arm,
and rolled and threw it aside as the others landed behind her. Behind them, the
men entered the room, and one yelled an order to someone in the back as Sakuya
and her group began to run and some began to climb out after them. With fury
and speed, Arty and the young bodyguard slice through the men who stood in
their way, and the ones that trailed behind received arrows to their chest,
courtesy of Aeriane. When they reached,
the main road Sakuya’s jaw dropped and she cursed herself, as her eyes spun
around the road and saw a festival of flames.
“What happened?” She asked as
she turned to Arty.
“I don’t know. Bell and I
decided to explore the town some more and then it just happened.” The man was
stressed and ambivalent to the blood that stained his head as he held it. “It
started with some blast, and then fire started raging. I rushed back to the inn
when I thought about you and your group but it was already too late. Whoever
these people are, they work fast!” He said and Sakuya shook her head.
“Do you know where everyone
went?” She asked.
“Y-yeah, some of the people told
us to head to the school, that’s apparently the safe house.” Arty took a deep
breath as Sakuya calmness reflected.
“Aeriane,” She turned to the
young mage who remained entangled in awe. “Head to the school, Arty and I will
hold off the town stealer’s troops.” She said and Arty grabbed her shoulder.
“Whoa whoa, the town stealer?”
He barked and she nodded.
“I can’t explain but I know that
they’re the town stealer.” She said. “Arty I need you to stay focused; where is
the school?” She asked and the man after a bit of denial, calmed down again.
“Its north of here, just go and
you’ll be able to find it easily.” He said and Aeriane was off, leaving Sakuya
with the troubled man as several more people emerged from the woodworks.
With her back to Arty, Sakuya
stood at the ready, her sword firmly held in front of her and her eyes jumping
from form to form. It was two against about ten who stood a good distance away
with knives and machetes at the ready, almost as if waiting for someone else to
move. Battle instinct called out to her as she turned her body around and held
her sword above her head as a machete swung down. Around them, the troops were
moving, running after Aeriane with their silent order given, but Sakuya
couldn’t chance chasing them with Arty pushing his sword down above. She pulled
in and let the machete fall to the ground, and thrust her sword at him only for
him to pull to his right and watch her keep going. Arty spun and swung the
machete hearing a clink through roaring fire as Sakuya brought her sword around
and defended again. He swung the blade down and Sakuya blocked it again, but
this time she drove his arm down and thrust forward in his lapsed defense,
tearing through his retracting side. In the moment of pain, Arty wrapped his
left arm around his body, and felt pain surge through it as Sakuya’s sword came
down. His arm swung back as the pain resonated and as Sakuya moved in to drive
her sword through his heart, it arched around and crashed into her shoulder.
She was thrown aside by the might of his fist and cringed as she felt her arm
welt, but threw herself out of the way, as he swung his machete down. As she
rose, Sakuya was knocked back by and thunderous head butt, and was barely there
enough to block his machete with her sheath. His left arm arched up and
collided with her chest, knocking the air out of her and blowing her senses
away, as the machete swung around and dug into her side. Sakuya let out a
shriek as it cut into her, and struck with fury as she swung her sheath around
and hit Arty’s face. The strike mimicked his strategy and stunned him as she
stabbed, bringing the battle to a swift end as the blade cut with ease through
flesh and bone. Arty gasped as he felt the blade slice through his lung and
smirked at Sakuya as she pulled it free.
“This…was bad…” He struggled as
he hit the ground and Sakuya stood unaffected overhead. “I…didn’t think y-you
were trouble… If… If you didn’t know…I’d still be alive…” He panted his dying
breaths and Sakuya listened.
“So what were you going to do
then, just add me to your ‘collection’?” She asked and he forced himself to
nod.
“That was the plan… you’d get
off lucky… but that girl… that little girl from the diner… there was no way.”
He laughed and Sakuya’s eyes turned sharp.
“What are you saying?!” She
roared.
“She’ll die…” He laughed and
Sakuya’s face twisted with fury as she left the man to die and rushed toward
the school...
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