chapter 05
“No… no!”
Without a moment to think, Skyler rushed into the orphanage.
The fire had already spread rapidly, and the building was filled with choking smoke.
Coughing, Skyler threw open every door she could find.
“Director! Rozel! Everyone!”
“Big sis!”
Thankfully, a reply came quickly. Skyler, who had been on the verge of panic, was pulled back by a small hand clutching her clothes.
A disheveled Rozel grabbed onto her. Dropping to her knees, Skyler checked her condition.
“Are you okay? What about the director and the others?”
“I don’t know… There was a loud noise… then I heard screams! So I hid.”
The moment she saw Skyler, Rozel burst into tears.
Skyler quickly hid her in a room near the stairs.
“Big sis?”
“Stay hidden here for now. Don’t make a sound. When everything goes quiet, go down the stairs and run away.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll go find the director and the others.”
“But it’s dangerous for you too!”
Shaking her head, Rozel clung to her.
“Just stay here with me, please?”
“I’m strong. I’ll be okay.”
Perhaps because of her holy power, Skyler was stronger than most grown men.
That didn’t mean she could defeat monsters—but she thought she could at least help the director and carry the children to safety.
“Shh. It’s okay. They’ll pass by this place. It’s okay…”
“Waaah!”
Rozel, who had been holding back, finally burst into tears. Just as Skyler hurried to cover her mouth—
Bang!
The door burst open, and something charged in.
Two pairs of frozen eyes turned toward it.
“B-big sis…”
Rozel trembled uncontrollably. Skyler pulled her behind her.
What stood before them was something she had never seen before.
A monster with the face of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a snake.
Just looking at it made her legs weaken and her body go cold.
Skyler’s gaze shifted to the creature’s blood-soaked mouth.
“Rozel.”
“….”
“When I give the signal, jump out the window.”
“What?”
“It’s okay. This is the second floor, and there’s a garden outside.”
Locking eyes with its crimson glare, Skyler picked up a sharp fragment from the shattered door.
The monster growled and lowered its body before lunging forward.
“Now!”
At the moment Skyler raised the shard toward it—
Baaang!
Instead of being torn apart as she expected—
nothing happened.
There was the sound of something crashing against a solid barrier and being pushed back.
Rozel, pressed against the window, stammered,
“B-big sis?”
Skyler slowly opened her tightly shut eyes.
The monster was still there, burning with rage—
but between them stood a translucent barrier, shielding them like a wall.
She felt it then.
A power from long ago, resurfacing.
A power she had deliberately ignored and pretended didn’t exist.
“…It’s not just healing magic?”
In that brief moment, the monster shifted its target—to Rozel behind her.
Skyler spun around.
Too late—
—or so she thought.
Paaaah—!
“GRAAAH!”
With a metallic, ear-piercing shriek, the monster shattered into pieces.
Chunks of bloodied flesh splattered across the room.
Shielding Rozel’s eyes from the gruesome sight, Skyler turned toward the man who had stepped into the room.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
He stood there like an angel in a place that resembled hell.
Behind him, priests in white uniforms poured in.
Closing Rozel’s eyes, Skyler silently spoke his name.
Soleon.
The damage to Syclen Orphanage was severe.
Most of the building had collapsed. Many children died without even being able to scream. Some were left crippled. The director had injured her leg and would never walk again.
While the aftermath was being handled and a joint funeral was held for the deceased children, Skyler was barely in her right mind.
She replayed that night over and over again.
If only she hadn’t tried to run away… would no one have been hurt?
If only she had created the barrier sooner…
“Miss Skyler.”
At the gentle voice, she looked up.
“Ah, yes…”
They were in a temporary interrogation room at the guard station.
Sitting across from her at a small desk was Soleon Decameron.
He set down his pen and neatly tapped the papers together.
“Let’s end the report here. You’ve done well.”
“Thank you…”
Half-dazed, Skyler bowed her head.
As both a witness and a survivor, she had been in this state the entire time.
Her mind was filled with the image of the monster.
A horrifying creature one could never forget—and worse, it was only one among hundreds, thousands.
The man before her—and Declen Krauss—faced such monsters every day.
“Now, shall we talk—not as part of an interrogation, but as a conversation?”
“…Pardon?”
“As friends.”
“Friends…”
The word felt unfamiliar. As she awkwardly repeated it, he smiled.
“I thought we’d grown close. Was I mistaken?”
It was the same warm, disarming smile that put people at ease.
Skyler shook her head.
“No. Thank you for helping us.”
Soleon had done so much.
He didn’t just defeat the monster—he led priests and townspeople to transport the injured, and he stopped the fire from spreading into the forest.
He was even the one who carried the unconscious director out.
“If it’s alright, may I speak to you more casually? You’re four years younger than me.”
“Yes… that’s fine.”
He was the benefactor not only of her, but of the entire orphanage.
If that was what he wanted, it was nothing.
As she nodded, he clasped his hands and leaned forward on the desk.
“Then, Skyler.”
“…Yes?”
“Why were you trying to run away that day?”
“…Because I didn’t want to go to the temple.”
“I thought so. You were eavesdropping outside the director’s office.”
“I thought you were talking about me…”
She trailed off, avoiding his gaze.
“When did you find out? You must have known that anyone with holy power must be reported to the temple—no exceptions.”
His previously gentle eyes turned cold.
Swallowing hard, Skyler lowered her head and pleaded.
“Please… just overlook it!”
Her heart sank. Declen had warned her never to let anyone find out.
Clasping her hands as if in prayer, she begged,
“The holy power I have is nothing special—just a common, insignificant healing ability…”
Her hands trembled as she clutched her skirt.
She expected a harsh rebuke.
Instead, his voice was softer than she expected.
“Why are you lying, Skyler?”
“….”
“What I saw that day was completely different.”
She hurriedly denied it.
“That was the first time for me too! It’s never happened before. It just… came out by accident…”
“Priests with more than one type of holy power are rare.”
Skyler slowly raised her eyes.
His sharp gaze seemed to pierce straight through her.
Even though he was smiling, it sent chills down her spine.
“Especially those specialized in both defense and healing.”
She pressed her lips together and looked away.
Unclasping his hands, Soleon leaned back and crossed his long legs.
“Let me rephrase the question.”
“….”
“Where were you planning to go?”
“….”
“Don’t want to say?”
Declen. She couldn’t casually speak the name of her benefactor.
“…Anywhere. As long as it wasn’t the temple.”
“You hate the temple that much?”
“It takes away your freedom.”
“….”
“But I’ve changed my mind. Running away isn’t the solution.”
Once again, she had tried to run.
Even if fighting wouldn’t have changed the outcome, at least she might not have been left with such regret.
If only she had learned how to use her power…
“However, I do have a proposal.”
