With a swipe of Tgurneu’s finger, about forty fiends descended on the catlike assassin. Hans snapped out of his momentary reverie and rushed to fight back.
Meanwhile, ten fiends had gathered around Tgurneu. Adlet understood that they meant to defend their commander. There was a spider-fiend that spat silk, a stolid hippo-fiend, a small goat-fiend, a bipedal fiend with a beautiful bird face, a great ape–fiend with four arms, and a few others. Encircling their leader, they kept their eyes fixed on Hans as he fought.
“Tgurneu!” Adlet ran up to it. Tgurneu’s guard didn’t seem wary of him.
Clenching his sword, Adlet stood in front of Tgurneu. This course of events had forced him to cooperate with Tgurneu to take down Hans, but Tgurneu wasn’t truly an ally. “Tgurneu…let me ask you one thing.”
“What is it?”
“What will you do with Fremy once you’ve beaten the Braves?” The only reason Adlet was protecting Tgurneu at all was because Fremy’s death was linked to his. If Tgurneu meant to kill her, they would have to fight, after all.
Tgurneu gently touched its own chest. “[I have no intention of killing Fremy. I won’t allow anyone under my command to touch her, either.]”
Adlet was convinced it was telling the truth. It seemed Tgurneu had enchanted itself with the Book of Truth. “That’s…a relief.” That had been his last worry. Seeing how Tgurneu coldly and mercilessly discarded its own subordinates, Adlet worried it might dispose of Fremy the same way.
“The truth is, Tgurneu, we put together a plan to kill you. Have you figured it out?”
“Oh, I’d predicted you were plotting something, but I hadn’t quite gotten what,” said Tgurneu. It seemed it had already dispelled the effects of the Book.
“That’s not good. They’re ready to pull the trigger at any moment at this stage. I just pushed them to put it on hold. I don’t know when the others will go through with it. I’m gonna tell you what it is, so you have to come up with a countermeasure as soon as possible. If you die…Fremy will…die, too.” Adlet was angry at Tgurneu. Taking Fremy hostage, using her, hurting her—those were unforgivable sins. But her life was more important than revenge.
“Oh, do tell me. But are you sure, Adlet? I’m your enemy, the one who destroyed your home village.”
“Why the hell are you bringing that up? That doesn’t matter. Don’t interrupt.”
“I’ve given orders to a certain fiend to kill all the Braves, aside from Fremy. In about one hour, it will carry out that order. If the Braves are to have any chance at victory, they must carry out their strategy before that fiend kills the lot of them. Simple as that.”
“…So what?”
“You don’t mind? If you leak your strategy to me, the Braves of the Six Flowers are done for. Your chances of victory will be zero. You’ll have a tough time even surviving. The fate of the Braves of the Six Flowers and the world rests on the choice you make now.”
“I’m telling you, I don’t care! The only way I can keep Fremy safe is to kill the Braves!”
“I’ve still got some questions for you. You don’t mind betraying her? She’ll be heartbroken.”
Tgurneu’s seemingly kind tone made Adlet’s heart waver, and the hesitation he thought he’d overcome tortured him again. How angry would she be? She’d believed in him. How much would she mourn the deaths of Rolonia and Mora? Thinking about it made Adlet feel as if his heart would tear to shreds. “…I don’t care. I’m not going to care.”
“Why not?”
“Fremy barely knows the Braves. We only met less than ten days ago. I’m sure she’ll mourn for a while, but she’ll forget us quickly. I’m sure she already hates me now. Humanity being destroyed won’t hurt her one bit. Going back to the fiends will make her happiest.”
“…I see.” Then Tgurneu’s mouse-shaped face twisted into a smile that would make anyone shudder. “But don’t tell me about your plan yet, Adlet. There’s one more thing I have to ask you.” Shivers ran down Adlet’s spine.
“Have you never questioned why you’re the seventh?”
“…Huh?”
“I sent you to the Braves of the Six Flowers to make you protect Fremy. You worked so hard for me. In the Temple of Fate, you deceived your allies for me, and you came to me without alerting any of them to your true intentions. Aside from falling for Hans’s tricks, you have met all my expectations. If you weren’t the seventh, Fremy would have died long ago.
“But isn’t it strange? Why did I think you would protect her?”
When Adlet had discovered he was the seventh, he’d wondered why but had quickly decided it wasn’t important. Finding a way to protect Fremy was his first priority. “That’s…”
“Did you receive any orders from me? No, you did not. Are you on my side? No, you’re my enemy. So then, why did I believe you would protect her? It’s strange, isn’t it? So very peculiar.” Tgurneu studied Adlet’s face.
Suddenly, Adlet’s back began trembling, and he realized he’d been subconsciously avoiding the topic.
“Hey,” prodded Tgurneu, “when you found out that Fremy was the Brave-killer, did you feel wary of her?”
“…What is this about?”
“When seven people gathered within the Phantasmal Barrier, did you suspect her even slightly? When Rolonia appeared, did it ever cross your mind Fremy might perhaps be the seventh?”
“…What are you talking about?!”
“Where did you first meet her? What was the trigger that led to your encounter? What did you feel when you first laid eyes on her?”
Adlet’s blood was boiling with rage—an attempt to smother the fear crawling up from the depths of his heart. “What does that have to do with this?! I’m gonna tell you our plan! Listen! If you die, Fremy will, too! What are you gonna do if they deploy it right now?!”
“This is very important, Adlet. I don’t know where you two met, but I do know what you were feeling then. You wanted to protect her from the moment you crossed paths, and you never suspected her, not even once.”
“So…so what?!”
“I’ll tell you. Because you are under my control, and you have been ever since I chose you as my seventh four years ago.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Let me tell you my ability: It’s the power to control human love.”
A gasp wheezed from Adlet’s lungs. He couldn’t suppress his terror.
“You don’t actually feel true love for Fremy at all. You’re simply under my control. I made you love her.”