One of the mounted officers threw something down from the air. The instant it hit the ground there was a massive boom, and the whole carriage rocked violently. Seth, who had been poking his head through the roof hatch, was thrown clear out of the vehicle by the force of the blast. He rolled with the impact and quickly got back to his feet.
Zol stopped the carriage beside him. “Get in! Quick!”
“What was that explosion?! The mana detector didn’t even twitch,” Seth cried as he hopped back into the carriage.
“That was no wizard device─it was a conventional bomb!”
“What, they take all the mana potions for themselves but don’t even give their thugs enough mana to power their weapons…?!”
When a thaumaturgical device was used in combat it always required mana, and it was standard practice to predict an enemy’s attacks by tracking their magic use─but if the constabulary were using conventional weapons, then none of the merchants’ anti-thaumaturgy gear would be effective.
The bombs kept raining down, and the caravan scattered in confused panic.
“What do we do?! Run?!”
“Stick to the plan!” Seth screamed into the communicator. “Bring down the thaumatheria, then take care of the riders one by one! Those birds should be easy pickings!”
“Wait! Looks like they’ve seen something!”
“What kind of something?!” Seth peered up at the sky. The mounted officers were pointing at the ground behind them and shouting. Seth took out a pair of binoculars and focused them where the constables were pointing.
“…It can’t be. Lady Utsuwa?!”
Utsuwa was racing toward them across the wasteland astride a two-wheeled wizard carriage, the hem of her dress flapping in the wind. The mystical crystal horn that extended from her forehead glinted in the sunlight, scattering scintillating rays in all directions.
“Seth!!” As she drew level with Seth’s four-wheeled wizard carriage, Utsuwa waved vigorously to him. “Utsuwa’s sorry! Utsuwa was wrong! Mother and Zaza Ryl are trying to kill you after all, aren’t they!”
“They sure are! As you can see!” Seth shouted back at her, straining to be heard over the wind.
“But if Utsuwa is with you, then they can’t attack! Utsuwa will stay with you until you get where you’re going!”
“We’d be accused of treason! They’d say we carried you off!”
“Don’t worry! Utsuwa will explain everything when Mother comes to get her!”
Seth smiled. The girl was so innocent, so pure─and straightforward to the point of foolishness. She also seemed to think that he and the other Ignas being pursued by the Exinov authorities were powerless beings who needed her protection.
“Do it now! With Lady Utsuwa by our side, they’re nothing but sitting ducks!” Seth cried into the communicator, and an instant later an earsplitting keening sound resounded across the wasteland. The riders lost control of their thaumatheria, which crashed to the ground one after the other.
Utsuwa brought her two-wheeler to a halt and looked at the thaumatheria in surprise. The mounted officers had precautions in place in case of a crash landing, and a simple fall wasn’t enough to kill a thaumatherium, so the armed Ignas leapt from their carriages and went around finishing off the constables before they could even beg for their lives. The fallen birds could be returned to their cages, and, with a few adjustments, brought over to the merchants’ side.
Once it was done, the wasteland sank back into silence. Seth walked quietly over to the dust-covered Utsuwa, who stood staring blankly beside her wizard carriage where it lay on its side.
“You have our gratitude, Lady Utsuwa. It is thanks to you that we suffered no casualties.”
“The constables… They wouldn’t have attacked so long as Utsuwa was with you…”
“Yes, I know.”
“Then why do…this…?” They weren’t resisting, and you killed them, Utsuwa’s innocent eyes seemed to say─but Seth didn’t flinch under her reproachful gaze.
“They came here to kill us. And we couldn’t have taken you all the way to our destination─though even if we could, they would have killed us the moment we let you go.”
“But what if Utsuwa asked them not to…?”
“They would have promised not to, then killed us anyway as soon as you turned your back.”
“I…I suppose you’re right…” Utsuwa stared at the ground, dejected. “Utsuwa…doesn’t want anyone to die… You told Utsuwa to keep what she said a secret, but Utsuwa told Mother… And if Seth were killed because of that, Utsuwa would be terribly upset… But─” She fixed her gaze somewhere in the distance above the scattered corpses and began sobbing uncontrollably. “It’s because Utsuwa came that…that they’re dead.”
“Your Mother will probably scold you.”
“Yes… I expect she’ll be very angry. When Utsuwa told her she had let you know about the invasion, she was very, very angry.”
“Would you like to come with us?”
Utsuwa looked up at Seth, stunned, then shook her head slowly from side to side with a perplexed frown. “Mother is Utsuwa, and Utsuwa is Mother. We must always be together.”
“…Zol,” Seth called out. “Grab a gatekeeper doll. Should be some in the truck.”
Zol had been intent on watching the scene unfold, and his head jerked in surprise at the request. “Huh? Sure, they’re back there, but…”
“Lady Utsuwa came all this way to rescue us, and I want to give her a token of our gratitude.”
Zol rummaged through the cargo and brought over a stuffed toy shaped like a fish. Seth took it and, kneeling down, handed it to Utsuwa.
“Lady Utsuwa, this doll will be your good luck charm. If you wish for help from the bottom of your heart, so long as you have this on your person, divine providence will save you.”
“You mean the gatekeepers will protect Utsuwa?” The girl smiled despite herself, and Seth ruffled her hair as he got to his feet.
“Lady Utsuwa, allow me to make a confession. Lady Danna Ryl’s judgment was correct, and you have done the right thing as well.”
“Wh-What do you mean?”
“We’re heading for the free district, and if we succeed in telling the people there of Lady Danna Ryl’s invasion, it will throw her plans into chaos. We have indeed become traitors to the Keybinder.”
Utsuwa looked at Seth blankly. If what he was saying was true, she had come to rescue a band of traitors and rebels.
“B-But…w-why…? Why do you want to hurt Mother?”
“Because she has hurt the Nurabehn and the Ignas.”
“Ah!” Utsuwa let slip a small cry, then murmured under her breath, “Aha…” as if she had finally understood it all.
“Lady Utsuwa, perhaps someday you will come to realize that you are not like Danna Ryl─you are one of us.”
“What do you…?”
“If you never do come to understand that, you’ll be able to remain happy. But once the realization comes, that is when your battle will begin.”
+++
When Utsuwa got back to the tower, covered in dust and grime from the ride, Danna Ryl and Zaza Ryl were waiting for her.
“Welcome home, Utsuwa. It appears your excursion took you far.”
“Yes,” she answered plainly. “Utsuwa didn’t want anyone to die.”
Zaza Ryl narrowed his eyes and sadly hung his head. Danna Ryl, however, had a broad smile on her face. She slowly walked towards Utsuwa and enfolded her in an embrace, at which the girl breathed a deep sigh of relief.
“Utsuwa’s sorry, Mother. It’s all because Utsuwa wanted to save those people that the constables died.”
“It’s fine. So long as you are safe, what do the lives of a few Ignas matter?”
Danna Ryl’s words were kind, but there was something in them that pricked at Utsuwa.
“Being so pure and kind, I’m sure this trying situation has been terribly painful for you. But that’s all over now. Let us bring this to an end before you suffer any further.”
“An end?” Utsuwa cocked her head.
Danna Ryl took a step back and lovingly looked Utsuwa’s body up and down. “I have decided to conduct the rite of rebirth early. You and I are to become one again.”