[64.7] The Embrace of an Eternal Flame

[Author's note: This chapter is from no one's point of view.]

Cyrus was suddenly startled awake, coming face to face with the group who were all looking back at him with a grim expression. He turned his head, seeing every other person rubbing their head while staring at the ground despondently.

Cyrus stood up, looking over the horizon as the realization of what had happened sunk in.

His expression stiffened as he watched Reika in a beastly form, moving farther into the continent, completely devoiding the land of life.

No one dared state the obvious.

After the last of them returned back to consciousness, Astra fell back into the arms of Billy who caught her with his trained reflexes. Zephyr woke up from his trance, blinking rapidly as his bright red eyes faded to a deep crimson. He looked at his sister in a panic, "Is she okay?!"

Billy held her, "She's fine. She just fell asleep."

The Headmaster turned to Zephyr, "It didn't work."

Della bit her lip, "Did she let… Anyone in?"

A silent hush came over the group as a heavy feeling weighed on their chests.

Cyrus ignored them and watched as "Reika" continued to go out of control, trudging the land and leaving behind nothing in her wake. From rebirth to death, everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The Swordmaster broke the silence, "She will destroy the world. We tried getting her under control, but it didn't work. We only have one option left…"

The Headmaster shouted, "Absolutely not! There must be another way!"

Zephyr nodded in agreement, "T-That's right! M-Maybe I can try again!!!"

His eyes flickered again as smoke crawled around him. However, a gush of blood suddenly poured out from his nose. He fell to the ground, holding his head, "OW OW OW!"

"Zephyr!" Hazel rushed to hold him, pulling him close to her chest, "Stop… It's no use. She doesn't want us to help her."

Zephyr whimpered in her arms, too weak to even raise his own head.

The Swordmaster let out a heavy sigh, "Don't worry. I will kill her so you won't have to."

"Wait-"

They all shouted after the Swordmaster, but she had already jumped forward with such powerful velocity, that the Earth crumbled from her original position.

They all scrambled to stare in panic and disbelief as she flew towards the Beast with her sword drawn. As she came within striking distance, she lifted her sword and swung it.

There was a blinding white light and then-

*BOOOOM*

A powerful gust of wind threw their bodies back, spraying sand and debris with it.

When the dust settled, they all looked forward and saw that at the foot of the Beast…

Cyrus's and the Swordmaster's swords were locked against each other.

The Swordmaster's eyes widened, "What do you think you're doing?!"

Cyrus used his strength to push the Swordmaster back. He confidently stood with "Reika" behind his back. His expression darkened as black, throbbing veins surfaced near his chest, "I won't let you hurt her."

The Swordmaster blinked in disbelief, "Don't you understand the seriousness of this?! She's not just going to destroy this Kingdom! She will destroy this entire world!!!"

Cyrus sneered, "So?"

"Haah!?" The Swordmaster looked at him incredulously and quickly launched another attack, "Did you forget you were in a competition to become a King?! A KING! What kind of King would just throw his people away for a woman who doesn't even want to be saved?!"

Cyrus blocked her attack, his feet forced to slide back from the pressure. As he struggled to hold her attack back, a purple color flashed in his blue eyes, "A King who can't live without his Queen."

Cyrus pushed her off and launched his own attack, aiming at her throat.

The Swordmaster's face darkened as she knocked it back, "Kid. I've been going easy on you. Do you really think you can defeat me as you are? I've been training for thousands of years."

She launched herself forward at him.

Cyrus continued to block her attacks as he answered, "I WILL protect Reika… Or I will die trying."

The Swordmaster clicked her tongue, "Have it your way."

She launched her next attack, each strike and blow growing more dangerous than the last.

Cyrus could barely hold her back, surprised by their vast difference in skill.

But when had she ever displayed such skill?

Had she been holding back this entire time?

As "Reika" rampaged, Cyrus was soon covered in wounds and bruises. It took his entire willpower just to remain standing. He stared at the Swordmaster with one eye bloody and closed.

Cyrus's mind swirled as he tried to think of a possible move to get out of his current position. He couldn't win against her sword… But…

What about illusions?

His eyes began to swirl a deep, purple shade, but it was soon suppressed by a blinding pain shooting across his body from his heart. He let out a muffled cry, falling to his knees as he clutched his chest.

He grit his teeth, "Now?! That d*mned curse chooses this moment to interfere!?"

The Swordmaster raised her sword with an innocent look on her face, "Ah! I almost forgot… If I kill you, I will also kill her."

"You…" Cyrus spat out a mouthful of blood while he ignored the fading light in his periphery, "To think I once respected you."

The Swordmaster frowned bitterly, "I'm sorry. I really am… But death isn't so bad. Humans die all the time… But this world… I can't let it perish just because one chaos arriver went out of control."

The Swordmaster swung her sword down at the defenseless Cyrus who glared back at her without fear.

Just as his eyes closed to prepare for the blow, a gust of air blew past him.

His eyes widened as he saw a shadow-like barrier covering him. Cyrus turned his head and noticed he was next to the Beast's chest…

And in that chest…

Was a throbbing blue flame.

Cyrus's eyes reflected the flame, never daring to blink lest it was extinguished. Smoke poured out from the flame, covering everything, but leaving Cyrus untouched.

Cyrus slowly reached out his hand to the flame, "Reika?"

The large shadowy creature turned its rounded head to stare at Cyrus. His figure reflected in its pure white slitted eyes. The Beast blinked slowly before turning its attention to the one who had been attacking.

The Beast screamed an ear-splitting cry, and following the cry, smoke burst out, blasting the Swordmaster away.

The Swordmaster held her ground, enduring the blast of smoke that caused everything to decay around her.

She grit her teeth, "Do you really think I don't have anything up my sleeve? My body is impervious to time… Not to mention-"

She suddenly threw out a strange jewel that shone with a bright light.

The jewel went flying straight to that burning flame, completely impervious to the corruption and smoke.

The explosion that followed seemingly rocked the entire world, sending Cyrus flying from the impact.

Once he landed, all he heard was a painful ringing noise, drowning out all the other noise around him. In his bloody and bruised state, he slowly raised his head in horror.

The beast that was towering over the entire world, now lay collapsed on the ground. In the center of its chest, the eternal flame burned without any smoke protecting it. Slowly, it took the form of a woman, curled up into a ball as if holding something to her chest.

The Swordmaster heaved painfully as she raised the sword, "Forgive me."

A sword flew through the air at that body now visible.

Cyrus screamed in desperation, "REIKA! DODGE IT!"

*thuunk*

The sword passed through flesh, embedding deep into a firm body.

The Swordmaster's eyes widened and raised, "...You."

The dirty body of the "trashy" tutor…

Marx Gauzer.

Having appeared from thin air, he held the sword that was dug deep into his chest.

"Mademoiselle Maupin… That's enough."

The Swordmaster's gaze trembled, "You… Why are you…"

He pulled out the sword painfully slow, "Please put down your sword. The Maupin I know would never kill a defenseless woman."

"Why... Why now..." Watching Marx pull out her own sword, her hand fell limply at her side. Her eyes clouded over, "Even when they came and killed everything… When they killed Abadi… You stood by and let it happen… You never so much as raised a hand to stop them… So why… Why are you protecting her?"

Marx smiled helplessly, "Because I saw something in her that reminded me of someone I knew."

Thanks to the distraction, everyone gathered to stand in front of Reika, protecting her from any more attacks.

The Swordmaster stared at all the determined faces of Reika's comrades, silently musing over something in her own mind.

Marx spoke in a low voice, "Well?"

The Swordmaster groaned and held her forehead, "You are all insane… To think you would choose a single person over the entire world."

Ignoring the clamor around him, Cyrus painfully crawled toward the burning flame. His nails bled from the gravel, but his eyes remained on the figure's closed eyes.

He finally made it to the body and reached his hand out to touch it, "Rei…Ka…"

As his hand touched the flame, instead of being burnt, the flame embraced him.

It suddenly faded into a physical body and stared back at him in a daze, "Cy…"

Cyrus stared back at her eyes, surprised to see the familiar woman with different eye colors. Her once green eyes were now black and her light brown hair now had streaks of black.

But it was still-

"-Reika." He pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear with a gentle smile, "Welcome back."