Chapter 52

12 It was a strange-looking god, its enormous body a dull gray illuminated by the light of the braziers. It had finely honed muscles and six strong arms that extended from its body. In five of its hands it held a heart, a kidney, a liver, a spleen, and lungs, and in its sixth it gripped a spear, pointing upward as if to pierce the heavens. Its eyes were wide, with a wicked smile so broad it seemed its mouth would tear. Coupled with its imposing height, it looked the very model of wrath, ready to swallow mankind whole. In fact, it was clear now that the statue of the Rust Lord represented all that Kelshinha wished to become. Before that god stood hundreds of monks, fighting for space despite the vast size of the central circular room of the Rust Tower. They threw themselves at the foot of the statue and, of course, repeated their prayers with undivided zeal. “Won-culvero-kelhasha.” “Won-halcuro-kelhasha.” The monks were stacked on top of one another, piled up like wandering dead. Ironically, the sight of that place of worship was like a vision into Hell itself. “Look at all this, Akaboshi.” The idol’s open palms were like a stage, and that stage was stained with blood. Enough blood that it spilled over the idol’s fingers and dripped down its wrists. Atop the stage stood the Rust Lord Kelshinha and the snarling devil who dared oppose him. They had not been fighting very long, but from the way the bloodstained Bisco panted and leaned against the idol’s thumb for support, it was clear it had been a fierce struggle indeed. “Gaze upon my loving worshipers. Over ten thousand of them, all thanks to the Mantra of Control. Puppets, come to offer me their power of evolution.” “Only because you forced them to…! You stole their minds and made ’em chant against their will!” “Exactly. However, they’re all the same… Everybody here has one wish and one wish only: to receive immortality. They believe in nothing else. Very soon, though, this mantra will spread, from these towers to Shimane, and from Shimane to all of Japan. Soon, every last human in the world will bow before the Rust Lord!” “Not if I can help it!” “Ha-ha-ha-ha…! Won!” Bisco gritted his teeth, took up his bow, and fired an arrow toward Kelshinha. The old man grinned and replied with his mantra, causing several polished rust shields to appear in midair, gleaming like mirrors. The arrow bounced off them like a billiard ball, hitting Bisco in the shoulder. “Ghah!!” “Mr. Bisco, sir!!” screamed Amli. “Oh, did that snap your arm tendon?” said Kelshinha. “The Rust-Eater is not so powerful as I imagined. How long does it take to grow back?” Then he cracked his shoulder and tossed her high into the air. When she reached about the height of the statue’s chest, she stopped, frozen in midair, and began writhing. “I know I cannot lose, Akaboshi, but you could at least put up a bit of a fight. Look.” Kelshinha stopped and raised his hand toward his thousands of followers. Streams of rust began flowing from the eyes, ears, and mouths of all those in the front row, swirling up inside the temple. “We are playing out the gods’ victory over demonkind. We should be able to cultivate some very fine quality rust indeed…if you perform your part well, that is.” Eventually, the rust all began flowing into Amli’s body, and she screamed like her throat would tear as the mass of metal entered her. “No-nooo…noooo!! Aaaaghh!!” “Amliii!!!” The rust all disappeared inside her in the blink of an eye, leaving her shaking her head and trembling with fear. “No… So many…people…inside me…” “Stay with me, Amli! Once I kill the old man, I’m comin’ to save you!” “Ha-ha-ha-ha. Now that would be an impressive plot twist. Such a marvelous development deserves to be witnessed by so many more people, don’t you think? Akaboshi, let me show you something.” Kelshinha twirled his fingers, and all the rust inside Amli began flowing back out, through her eye socket. It reared up, like an enormous serpent, and shot outside in the direction of the Metal Tower, wrapping around the building. “I have birthed a lizard. Soon, it will bring us more guests.” “What the hell is that…?!” Bisco stared in awe at Kelshinha’s power, his anger replaced with sheer astonishment. Before his eyes, the Metal Tower bent and flexed and transformed into an enormous golden lizard. The lizard crashed through the outer protective wall of the towers and into the larger city, where it swept up panicking townsfolk in its long tongue and deposited them inside the Rust Tower. There, the confused townsfolk were entranced by Kelshinha’s mantra and began chanting toward the platform along with all the other monks. “Ha-ha-ha-ha… Still not enough. Amli, drive the lizard faster.” “Ah…ah…Mr. Bis…co…sir…please…” “…!!!” “…kill…me…” “Amli…!” “Rrraaah-ha-ha-ha-ha!! The child is completely hollow now. She has nothing left to believe in. Not her father, nor her mother. An empty bowl. Soon her worthless sense of self will be washed away, too, by the grinding rust. She won’t even remember her name.” “…Then I just gotta kill you before that happens…” Even as the blood poured down his body like a waterfall, Bisco seemed more alive than ever, as if each of the wounds Kelshinha inflicted on his body were nothing but more kindling for the fire. “I’m the Rust-Eater, old man… Once the spores inside me awaken, they’ll chew you up…!” “Hmm. Even now you continue to spout drivel.” Kelshinha looked displeased and readied his spear in one hand, thrusting it toward Bisco as he struggled to stand up straight. “Then try it, Akaboshi! Struggle against me, die, and offer me your rust!” I ain’t plannin’ on dyin’ here! Milo…! What should I do? Bisco leaped into the air, readying his bow, and Kelshinha jumped up to meet him. The fervent worshipers raised their voices even louder in prayer as the battle between good and evil reached its climax. Darn it, I’m stuck…! The wounds inflicted by Kelshinha’s whip had been unexpectedly deep, and as Milo fell from the roof of the Rust Tower, he found himself without the freedom to draw his bow and fire one of his trusty parachute arrows. There’s nothing I can do… Somebody watch over Bisco for me…! Milo squeezed his eyes shut and prepared to hit the paving stones, when a giant orange shell swept him up with a Swish! and rolled along the ground to break his fall. As soon as Milo felt the familiar smoothness of his shell, he slipped out and hugged Actagawa’s massive claw. “Actagawa! I knew I could trust you!” The giant crab, meanwhile, urged Milo up into the saddle and behind the reins. “You’re right, Actagawa. We have to save Bisco. He’s inside that tower over there…” Suddenly, an enormous lizard crawled through the wide-open gates of the Rust Tower Milo pointed at and deposited a great number of people there, among them several of Imihama’s iguana cavalry who had been guarding the city. Then the lizard slowly changed direction and headed elsewhere in search of more offerings. “Wh-what the…?! Did a mantra do that…?!” muttered Milo as he trawled Kelshinha’s memories for clues. Meanwhile, the lizard arrived in the outer city and began scooping up citizens in its tongue. “He’s trying to gather more worshipers…! I have to put a stop to that, or Bisco’ll lose! Come on, Actagawa!” he cried, whipping the reins, and the giant crab leaped up and off the tower wall, bounding toward the golden lizard in the distance. “Deputy Plum! The city folk aren’t listening to me!! They’re just muttering…and heading toward the towers!” “Damn, what’s going on…?! What’s happening over there?!” The Imihama Vigilante Corps had recently found their rest and relaxation canceled and been saddled with the task of protecting the townsfolk. A strange purple bubble had recently appeared around the central tower, and at the same time, the people of the city had begun acting strangely, ignoring the guard’s commands. “Is something drawing them in?! …Dammit, if only Pawoo were here…!” “Plum!! Watch out!” “Gh?!” Nuts rushed in and pulled Plum out of the way, seconds before a huge set of fangs dug into the ground where she had been standing, taking an enormous bite out of the earth. “Wh-wh-what?! Aaaahhh…! Wh-what’s that?!” Standing above Plum was a giant golden lizard, its jaws teeming with countless people and its crimson eyes glaring down at the two vigilantes, who’d barely escaped its fangs. “I just saw the Metal Tower turn into that thing! It’s a shape-shifting monster!!” “A monster? Nuts, what can we even do against that thing?!” “I’ve never seen anything that big, even in the Calvero Sea. I don’t think the governor could…” “Then we don’t stand a chance,” said Plum. “What should we do? Wanna make out before we die?” “Don’t be stupid! I’m not going to give up so easily!” As the lizard swept down for another attack, the two leaped aside and ran for their iguana mounts. Hopping atop their trusty steeds, Nuts handed a harpoon to Plum, who shouted, “It’s just like eel hunting, right?” “You sure you can handle it?” “Sure can!” The two veered their iguanas around and took off after the lizard, who was trampling vigilantes underfoot. They overtook it, running beneath its eyes to distract it, and as they dodged its teeth and claws, they slowly entangled the beast in the long, sturdy ropes that extended from the rears of their weapons. “Now we’ve…” “…got you!” The two leaped from their mounts and drove their harpoons through the lizard’s front feet, pinning it to the ground. “That’s Calvero fisherman eel hunting. Easy as pie.” “Easy, my foot. I saw you back there peeing your pants.” The other vigilantes erupted into cheers when suddenly the lizard detached its arms and legs, transforming into a golden snake. Then it swallowed the Shimane citizens into its gaping maw and launched them toward the Rust Tower. The screaming townsfolk became caught in the violet force field surrounding the tower, where their thoughts were immediately erased, and they all began to chant in unison. “D-dammit! That monster can do anything!” “Nuts, we don’t stand a chance! Let’s fall back for now and—” In the short moment Plum yelled to her partner, the massive snake whipped back around and snatched the young girl out of her saddle, taking her high up into the air in its fangs. “Eeeek!! Nuts!!” “Plum!!” As his precious friend was snatched away before his very eyes, Nuts clenched his teeth and groaned. Hadn’t he been training so that he’d never have to suffer this feeling again? As the tears started to well up in his eyes, he suddenly spotted something above. Silhouetted against the sun, casting a shadow down on the snake’s body, a giant orange something was streaking toward the creature like a meteor. “Th-that’s…!” “Go, Actagawa!!” The giant crab’s claws tore through the snake’s snout, freeing Plum from its jaws. As she screamed and fell to earth, the man in the saddle caught her in his arms. “Plum, is that you?” he said. “I-it’s you…!” “I almost didn’t recognize you! Oh, sorry, now’s not the time for catching up!” “Wait! Don’t you know how much I… Milo!!” Milo dropped her into the saddle of her waiting iguana, then launched Actagawa toward the snake once more, tearing through the cut in its face and ripping skin and flesh apart. As the serpent cried out in pain, millions of gold coins spilled out of its body in place of blood, scattering throughout the streets. Actagawa continued running along its body until he reached the base of the towers, by which point the enormous serpent had been sliced cleanly in two. The creature, of course, did not rise again, and so Milo leaned over in the saddle and gave the giant crab a high five. (High two?) “Phew! Nice work, Actagawa!” The crab raised his pincers in triumph as Milo gazed up at the tower. Although the golden serpent was slain at last, in that time it had gathered so many townspeople, they could hardly fit inside, and now they flowed out of its doors, still chanting fervently in its direction. “Darn it, there’s already so many…! Come on, Actagawa, let’s go!” Actagawa crouched as if to leap toward the central tower, but noticing something strange, he stopped. “Actagawa, what’s wrong…? Wh-what the…?!” The two halves of the fallen snake suddenly started wriggling, and shot off toward the Fire and Earth Towers. Coiling around them, the snakes seemed to take on the forms of those elements, with one becoming wreathed in flame and the other gaining thick scales as hard as steel. “…Just how strong can Kelshinha’s mantras get?!” cried Milo as the two snakes descended upon Actagawa, worming their way through the buildings of the city. Every time Raskeni launched a spear at Pawoo, a swift swing from her iron staff snapped it in half. Yet the battle was showing no signs of wearing down as the spears of rust seemed to be capable of endlessly re-forming themselves. I can’t keep fighting with this wound in my side. I need to end this, quick! “Give…up…” “You’re pretty strong for a woman. Did you teach Amli to fight like that, too?” “Don’t…speak…my…daughter’s…name!!” Raskeni conjured a spear of rust from the roof and, using it as a distraction, hurled her own spear at Pawoo. Pawoo just barely managed to dodge, the spear grazing her neck, and grinned. She grabbed Raskeni by the throat and pulled her close with fearsome strength despite her slender arms. “So you remembered she was your daughter. Perhaps that string avoided Kelshinha’s puppetry? What if I tug on it instead…?” “Ah… Ah…?” “Do you know how lonely that girl feels in Kelshinha’s hands? How much she needs someone she trusts?” “No…! That means nothing to me…! Stop!” “She wants her mother…” “SHUT UUUP!!” Raskeni made a sweeping motion with her spear, slicing Pawoo’s chest, splattering droplets of blood on the ground, like red paint. Pawoo leaped backward to retreat, but Raskeni chased after her, pushing her against the edge of the tower, looking down over the city streets far below. Pawoo ducked and weaved to avoid Raskeni’s spear, stepping back ever closer to the ledge. Dammit! I underestimated her! There’s nothing I can do now! As Pawoo fell and landed on her back, Raskeni climbed atop her and lifted her spear for the final blow. Suddenly, a single tear flew from her face and fell onto Pawoo’s cheek. “I am…” …?! “I am…a demon. All I gave that child was misery. I am no longer worthy to hold her in these tainted hands. Now…I know not what to pray for…” She’s going to…! Just as Pawoo saw the glint of sanity in her tear-filled eyes, the entire tower shook, throwing Raskeni from the rooftop and toward the city depths. “Rrraaargh!” Pawoo stuck out her staff, and Raskeni instinctively caught on to it. “Don’t let go! I’ll pull you in!” cried Pawoo as blood dripped from the corners of her mouth and her open wounds, wetting her clothes as she tried desperately to hold on. “Dammit! I’ve lost too much blood…!” “Why? Why would you spare me?” cried Raskeni from the other end of the staff as tears streamed down her face. “Why didn’t you kill me during that fight? You had the opportunity so many times! I am evil! Nothing more than a demon who would resurrect her dark god just to satisfy her own lust!” “Even so, you’re still her mother!!” Pawoo’s voice cut through the rumble of the towers. “Your sins will be judged by tribunal, and you’ll have all the punishment you seek… But I cannot allow you to die here! I, and my brother, cannot ever allow another child to be orphaned without doing anything to stop it!” “…! Actagawa! To the right!” Displaying the climbing ability his species was famed for, Actagawa leaped onto the tower to avoid the shape-shifting twin snakes of fire and steel. But he was on the defensive. Against his foes’ perfectly coordinated attacks, Actagawa could not bring his deadly claws to bear. Darn it all! At this rate we won’t even be able to help ourselves, let alone Bisco! Taking advantage of Milo’s indecisiveness, the steel snake seized Actagawa in its huge jaws. As the crab struggled to escape, there was a horrific creaking noise until at last his enormous claw was torn off. “Aaagh! Nooo!!” Deprived of his ultimate weapon, there was no way left for Actagawa to fight against these monsters of mantra. Next, the fire serpent attacked his legs, and those not being as tough as his claws, Actagawa let out a fearful screech. “Actagawa!” cried Milo, letting go of the reins and drawing his bow. Though he was weaker than Bisco, all he could do was hope that his mushrooms would work against this new foe. I have no choice! Or else Actagawa’s going to die! Motivated, he drew an arrow from his quiver, then suddenly felt something strange. He looked down at his hand. “…?! Wh…what the?!” Floating above his palm was a small shining green cube of…something, whistling as it spun in the air. It shrank and grew with Milo’s breaths and continued to spin as though waiting for his commands. “The Rust is the fulcrum of evolution.” “Those who can adapt, and harness the Rust, survive.” “…A mantra? Am I doing that…?” Milo looked at Actagawa’s crushed-up claw and got an idea. He took a deep breath and whispered to his friend. “Actagawa, you could defeat them if you had your claw, right?” Actagawa blew a single bubble in response, which popped in front of Milo’s eyes. Milo smiled to shake off the stress and focused all his mind on Actagawa’s arm. “Won/shad/add/viviki/snew! (Grant target desired weapon!)” In response to Milo’s mantra, the green cube started spinning faster and flew over to Actagawa’s arm, leaving an emerald trail. The particles flying off it stuck to the joint and began restoring the broken claw…only stronger than ever before. Even then they showed no signs of stopping and gushed forth in ever-increasing amounts, until Actagawa wielded an enormous emerald claw even larger than his own body, glinting in the dazzling sunlight. “Wh-whoa…!” Even Milo trembled at the magnificent sight, but Actagawa brandished his new weapon immediately and crashed it into the serpent’s skull with all his might. The blow struck so hard that the steel snake’s eyes leaped out of their sockets, but Actagawa wasted no time and immediately stuck the claw down the creature’s throat, expanding it with an ominous creaking sound until the snake’s neck split wide open. “A-Actagawa…! Th-that was amazing!” As the huge snake cried out in pain, Actagawa lifted the steel snake’s entire body and lashed it like a whip against one of the nearby towers. Then, to finish it off, he launched it toward the Rust Tower, breaking down the wall and revealing the enormous temple as well as the statue within. “Bisco!!” cried Milo as he spotted his partner standing atop the idol, and as the fire serpent rushed in to enclose the boy in his jaws, Actagawa held them open with his emerald claw. “Don’t get between Bisco and me!!” Milo yelled. The green cube in his hand, apparently interpreting this as a command, clung to Milo’s hand as he drew back his bowstring, coating the arrow in emerald dust. Milo loosed the arrow through the snake’s wide-open mouth and into the crown of its head. The arrow sped up like a rocket, launching the fire snake back, away from the Rust Tower and far off into the distance, where—with a Gaboom!—it exploded like a firework into a brilliant green mushroom Milo had never seen before. The snake’s body transformed back into the Fire Tower and crashed into the ground, sending a shockwave throughout the land. “Hahh…hahh…! We did it!” Milo gazed in wonder at the glorious mushroom when he suddenly heard a familiar voice from up above. “Milooo! Catch me…!” “…! Actagawa!” Milo immediately spurred the crab into action, catching the two women before they hit the ground. “Pawoo!” “Are you trying to kill us? Thanks to your rumblings down here, we nearly died!” “You’re hurt…! I’ll give you an injection right away. And Raskeni is…” As Milo administered his lurkershroom medicine, Pawoo looked between the woman and her brother and gave a small nod. “Kill me, Milo…,” muttered Raskeni in a voice barely audible over her tears. “Now, while Kelshinha is distracted by his fight with Bisco, while my mind is my own. Once it is over, he will make me his thrall once more…” “…Raskeni. Look this way, please…” Raskeni did as she was told and turned to face Milo. He steadied his breathing and raised his hands as if in prayer. Soon, the green cube in his hands began to spin and float. “A mantra?! How do you know…?!” asked Pawoo. “B-but I’ve never seen this glow before… Is this the Rust?” asked Raskeni. Milo placed his fingers to his lips and quieted the two before pressing the cube into Raskeni’s rust-covered brow and muttering: “Won/shad/amrit. Won/shad/amrit/snew. (Extract mantra from target.)” At Milo’s order, the cube became green dust and covered Raskeni’s forehead, turning the infected parts bright emerald. Raskeni simply stayed still, shocked, and before even ten seconds had passed, her forehead had returned completely to normal…albeit with a peculiar green glow stretching around her brow. “That was…Amli’s Mantra of Extraction. How did you…?” “The mantra itself, I stole from Kelshinha while he was inside my head,” explained Milo, slipping the cube back into his pocket. “But I don’t know what this green thing is. I don’t think it’s rust, and it’s not a Scripture. I think I received it when I was given Bisco’s Rust-Eater blood. It’s something altogether new, a perfect balance between the Rust and the Rust-Eater. At least…that’s how it feels to me.” “…To steal the mantras from Kelshinha’s mind and take them one step beyond… What a genius!” said Raskeni in awe. “I’m not a genius,” Milo replied. “I just went to school.” “Akaboshi turned my little brother into a magician,” said Pawoo, climbing atop Actagawa and pointing farther into the temple. “I’ll have words with him later for this, but for now we must stay calm. He and the townsfolk require our help.” “You’re right! We’ve gotta go help him right now! Actagawa, are you okay?!” Seeming almost annoyed by the large number of people atop his back, Actagawa nonetheless headed for the Rust Tower. Even now, with the tower half destroyed, the brainwashed citizens flocked toward it in droves, and beyond those crowds was the giant idol in whose hands Bisco fought for his life. “There he is! Bisco!!” yelled Milo, but Actagawa had already leaped above the sea of people, climbing the walls of the tower toward the battlefield where his sworn brother stood.