“Ngh!” Mora blocked the claws of the attacking fiend with her gauntlets, then broke its jaw with a kick and immediately grabbed the barrier stake to recharge it. She was maintaining the barrier, battling with fiends, and observing the area with her clairvoyance, and doing all three at once was deeply exhausting.
It had been ten minutes since she had received word that Hans had attacked Chamo, claimed he’d taken Fremy hostage, and then fled. He’d run toward the center of the ruins, which was outside of the range of Mora’s clairvoyance, so she had no idea what was going on. The others hadn’t come into range to tell her the situation, either.
She’d been informed they were nearly ready to carry out the plan—so then, they couldn’t afford to waste time. In the meanwhile, the fire-starting leaves could be found, their escape route could be blocked, and Goldof or Mora might fail in their defenses and fall.
Mora was impatient, but all she could do was keep defending herself from their enemies.
Goldof came into the barrier to slay a monkey-fiend. There were no other fiends inside now, and for the time being, Mora could rest. But there were still over three hundred more around them.
Then Goldof approached her, leaning in close. “Something…is strange.”
“…What is it?” The two spoke quietly so the fiends around wouldn’t hear.
“The fiends…don’t seem…worried at all. Besides…that monkey-fiend…I just…killed…had an…odd look…on its face.”
“…An odd look?”
“I can’t…read fiends’…expressions. But that ape-fiend…had a…humanlike face. Its expression…seemed triumphant…like this was…according to plan.”
Our strategy can’t have been leaked , thought Mora. It probably hadn’t. If it had, the fiends would have removed the gunpowder leaves or left the area. So their plan was still secure.
So then, why would a fiend have been acting that way?
“…They’re plotting something,” Mora muttered. Quite some time had passed since the Braves had come to these ruins. It was far too hopeful to believe that Tgurneu would just be doing nothing the whole time. This couldn’t mean their enemy had a means to kill them all and was trying to keep them in place until it had succeeded…could it?
“We should…order…a retreat,” said Goldof.
But they didn’t know what was going on with the others, so they couldn’t come to a decision. Besides, a fiendish expression was hardly solid evidence.
“…Let’s observe a little more carefully,” said Mora. “If they’re plotting something, then I’ll discover what.”
As she and Goldof discussed, fiends were still attacking the barrier, and one broke through. Mora hurriedly repaired their defense, while Goldof continued engaging the enemies that burst in.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Thïrty-sëven…möre mïnutes…”
Meanwhile, specialist number thirteen was muttering quietly to itself. Its voice was so quiet and indistinct that it was only audible as a sigh. Even if you were standing right beside it, you probably wouldn’t notice it was talking.
It wasn’t interested in Adlet’s suffering or Fremy’s fight. It wasn’t even considering what the Braves were doing. Number thirteen felt no drive to fight or kill. All it did was carry out Tgurneu’s orders, like a living, moving tool.
“…Thïrty-sïx…möre mïnutes…,” it muttered again. No one was there to hear that time, either.
✦ ✦ ✦
Dozzu and Rolonia were together at the northern side of the ruins, fighting with the wolf-fiend in charge of the fake command center.
“Tgurneuyoufleajustfuckingdie; rottingintothemudistilltoogoodforyou!”
The air was filled with Rolonia’s furious curses and the fiends’ shrieking. Her and Dozzu’s role was to keep an eye on the wolf-fiend and its unit until Adlet, Nashetania, and Fremy returned. There was no need for them to go on the offensive. They would launch a surprise attack and then run, attack again, then run—over and over.
Meanwhile, there was no sign the wolf-fiend was plotting anything. All it did was defend against them. Dozzu served as Rolonia’s backup as it observed. The light gem attached to the leopard-fiend was still there, so the strategy had yet to fall apart.
Even Dozzu was getting impatient now. They had been stuck in limbo for several minutes, ready to pull the trigger at any moment.
That was when they heard an explosion close by, to the southeast. Fremy had killed some fiends that were approaching Dozzu and Rolonia from behind, and Nashetania was coming up to Dozzu’s side.
Did you capture Hans? Dozzu wanted to know. But Nashetania mouthed some words, and Dozzu read her lips.
Keep fighting.
Fremy approached where Rolonia was flailing her whip, grabbed her by the nape of the neck, and dragged her away. When the fiends tried to seize the moment to attack, Nashetania defended herself and Rolonia, and all three immediately disappeared.
“Oh dear, but you only just came back! Where are you going?” The wolf-fiend was still faithfully pretending to be Tgurneu, an act that had long since worn thin. Dozzu didn’t bother responding, continuing the fight alone with the fiends of the fake command center.
It seemed the situation had deteriorated even further. Dozzu could tell as much from Fremy’s and Nashetania’s faces.
✦ ✦ ✦
Fremy dragged Rolonia along with her toward the south. Not many enemies pursued them. Several times, they caught sight of Chamo’s slave-fiends combating the fiends, so she was probably still searching for Hans and Adlet. The fiends were occupied with Chamo and seemingly had no time to bother with Fremy, Nashetania, and Rolonia.
“Calm down, Rolonia. Listen,” Fremy said once they were hidden in a ruin. Rolonia had yet to cool her head.
Fremy and Nashetania told her about how Adlet had strayed away from them, that a white bird-fiend had informed them of Adlet’s capture, and how Tgurneu’s death would lead to Fremy’s—and Fremy’s to Adlet’s.
Rolonia was shocked, unable to absorb the news. “I…don’t understand. If you die, then Addy does, too…? So what did Tgurneu do?”
“It’s a lot of unknowns for us, too, Rolonia. All we do understand is we have to heal Fremy’s red mark,” said Nashetania.
Seeing Rolonia’s shock, Fremy was filled with self-reproach. It was all her fault. Fremy didn’t even know why she was alive. Everything about her life was being exploited by Tgurneu. “I’m sorry, Rolonia. Because of me, Adlet…”
Suddenly, Rolonia slapped both her own cheeks. The befuddlement vanished from her face, and a strong will lit in her eyes. “There’s nothing for you to apologize for, Fremy. I mean, Addy’s alive, right?”
Fremy nodded. She pulled off her glove to show Rolonia the crest on her left hand. It still had all six petals.
“Even if Addy is captured, he wouldn’t give away our plans. He’d find a way to slip away. And obviously, best case, he’ll deceive Tgurneu or something. Don’t worry about it. Focus on yourself, Fremy.” Rolonia smiled. “He’s the strongest man in the world.”
She’s strong , thought Fremy. Though she was always frightened, Rolonia was more steadfast and upright at her core than any of them. The utter opposite of Fremy. “Rolonia…I don’t even know why I’m with the Braves—”
“Please show me your chest, Fremy. I’ll find a way to heal you, somehow. Though…I’m not that confident about it.”
“Please. I’ll be keeping watch, Rolonia,” Nashetania said, leaving the ruins.
Rolonia put her hand on Fremy’s chest. “I’ve never thought of you as a burden, Fremy.”
Then you’re wrong , Fremy thought.
“I mean, it’s because you’re with us that Addy can keep fighting. If you weren’t here, he would have become discouraged long ago and lost the will to fight. That’s why we need you. Absolutely.”
“I understand. I won’t waver over this again.” Fremy forced her lips into a pasted-on smile to encourage herself. Now that she tried it, this habit of Adlet’s wasn’t so bad.
“The plan hasn’t been leaked. We still have a chance to defeat Tgurneu,” Rolonia declared firmly.