406 Chapter 167

Maxi willed herself to remain standing despite her trembling legs. Up in the tribune gallery, she could see the monsters fleeing after their failed attack.

"W-We must go after—!"

Her exclamation was cut off by a violent coughing fit. Acrid smoke burned her throat as flames engulfed the wooden pillars, pews, and altar. Though the blaze did not spread to the other parts of the stone edifice, the air within the sweltering nave was filled with ash. Maxi covered her face with her sleeve and frantically blinked her bloodshot eyes.

In that short time, the monsters were already at the stairs leading out of the shrine. A panicked urgency gripped Maxi. If they allowed the monsters to get away, Riftan's battle with the cavalry of dullahans would not end. Even as she stood here, she knew her husband was engaged in a violent fray outside the city.