The loop-shaped mark on Fremy’s chest was definitely that same chain-death ability, and it had yet to be fully activated. But that meant if a certain fiend died, Fremy would, too, at the same time.
Adlet was about to inform Fremy and Dozzu but suddenly remembered what that aerial fiend had yelled not long ago—its message intended for the seventh.
“Betrayal will not be fórgiven! If you réveal even part of the truth to the Braves, pünishment from Cómmander Tgurneu will be instantaneous!”
That hadn’t been meant for Hans. It had been for him.
Tgurneu was warning him not to reveal even part of the truth. That must have meant he shouldn’t reveal the chain-death ability to his allies. If Tgurneu’s intention was to kill him, Adlet wouldn’t have cared. But if Tgurneu’s target was Fremy…
Adlet couldn’t tell the others about the chain-death ability. He didn’t want to endanger Fremy—not even in the slightest.
“So Tgurneu implanted a parasite or something inside my chest beforehand in case I ever got in its way. This must mean it’s been activated… So what Tgurneu means to say is that if I continue to fight now, I’ll die. And if I surrender, I’ll be saved?” asked Fremy.
“If that’s the intention, that’s rather strange,” said Dozzu. “Why didn’t Tgurneu use it before?”
Ignorant of everything, Dozzu and Fremy speculated as to Tgurneu’s intent. Once more, Adlet recalled what the aerial fiend had said. “Prótect Cómmander Tgurneu! Prévent the Braves’ attacks and kill them all! You should underständ that if by any chänce something happens to Cómmander Tgurneu, your loved one will die!”
Adlet understood then which fiend’s death would kill Fremy: Tgurneu’s. It had to be.
Adlet was frozen—unable to move. Tgurneu had forced him to see that if they slayed Tgurneu, Fremy would die, too. He could no longer kill Tgurneu, and he wasn’t allowed to reveal the existence of the chain death to the others, either.
His brain couldn’t keep up with all these sudden sharp turns. A voice that had sounded like the Saint of the Single Flower had told him he was the seventh. Fremy had been taken hostage, and only Adlet was aware of it.
What do I do? Adlet was in agony.
✦ ✦ ✦
Tgurneu was certain that this plan, built over the course of fifty years, had borne definite fruit. Tgurneu’s manipulation of Atreau had all been for this moment, when it took the Black Barrenbloom hostage to threaten the seventh.
There had been two requirements for this accomplishment: first, teaching the seventh about the existence of the chain-death ability beforehand. Adlet had to understand that Fremy was a hostage, or there would be no point. And the most important thing was that only the seventh ever know about the ability. Secretive Atreau had hidden most of his research from everyone but his apprentices, just as Tgurneu had induced him to.
None of the Braves were aware that Fremy had been taken hostage. Adlet couldn’t tell them.
If they realized Fremy would go down with Tgurneu, one of the Braves might save her. Fremy might even kill herself to keep from becoming a burden. But that wouldn’t be a concern if nobody else was even aware of her predicament.
Tgurneu liked taking hostages. No—you could say Tgurneu was obsessed with it. Why? Because it was a ploy that capitalized on love. The suffering and agony on human faces when Tgurneu took hostages was always so satisfying.
“Now then, Adlet. You’ll understand what you should do now, won’t you?”