Akuto sighed quietly when he heard this. But of course, it wasn’t nearly enough to quell his anger. He raised his fist and screamed.
“Then don’t block! I’ll end this with a single strike!”
The Demon King’s words were madness. But they were convincing. Marine lowered his guard, without even thinking about it.
“...!”
He was ready to die. If this was Akuto’s final strike, that was okay with him. It was his punishment for allowing himself to be deceived. But...
The shock he was expecting never came.
“Don’t do it!”
A high-pitched voice slid in between them. Akuto’s fist stopped. Marine’s body froze. It was something that no one could have ever expected, and so it easily caught the both of them off guard. Nonimora had slid in between the two of them. And...
She was kissing Akuto.
“What...?”
The feeling of her soft lips drained the power from Akuto’s body. The rage faded from his eyes. Marine was too shocked to move, as well. And then...
Nonimora flipped around in mid-air and kissed Marine on the lips, too.
It all happened incredibly fast.
“Calm down, boys.”
She moved her lips away from his, and then pointed an index finger at both of them to stop them.
“If you want to stop a fight, Muchumuchu is the best way.”
Akuto and Marine were both too surprised to move. Marine recovered first, probably because he had more experience with women.
“Please understand. I want to talk,” Marine said.
Akuto had lost his chance to start the fight again. He stared back at Marine wordlessly.
“You should calm down. When the Faceless Power is used by an evil heart, it becomes an evil power. The important question is who has the evil heart.”
Marine’s expression changed as Nonimora spoke.
“You heard her. I understand your rage. But it’s my people that you’re mad at. If I have to apologize for something, it’s that.”
Marine’s face seemed filled with despair.
“Rage... toward his people?”
Akuto was beginning to calm down, and as he did, his naturally sharp instincts were beginning to return. He was beginning to realize what those words meant.
“Are you telling me that people’s hatred was what scorched the land?” Akuto asked.
Marine nodded quietly.
“Most likely...”
Akuto understood what the look on Marine’s face meant.
“T....” Akuto gritted his teeth, unsure of where to direct his anger.
“The Faceless Power acts based on the mind. The prince is responsible for unleashing it, of course,” Nonimora said.
Marine nodded.
“I believed in my people. If you want to say that that was foolish, go ahead. I know what I’ve done can never be undone. But... I also saved the Empire from nuclear weapons. I want you... to understand that. Understand that it was a good power as well.”
Akuto shook his head.
“I’m not sure what the hell I’m supposed to say to that. So what am I supposed to do, then?”
“We’ll just have to believe... that a good power can be better than an evil one.”
Marine didn’t seem, however, to believe it himself.
○
“Ackie...”
Keena saw everything that happened in the sky from below. Of course, she’d seen Nonimora kiss him as well. She knew that she didn’t have a choice, but it still hurt. She wanted it to be her own kiss that calmed Akuto down. The fact that someone else had stolen that role from her... hurt more than she’d expected.
“Shall I strangle that primitive in her sleep, your majesty?” Korone asked.
Keena knew she was trying to lighten the mood, but it didn’t work.
“You can’t strangle her. You know that...”
“I see. That’s a shame.”
“It’s not a shame at all...” Keena sighed.
The three above them were coming down from the sky. The air was filled with gloom. Both Akuto and Marine had pursed their lips into a frown, and even Nonimora looked stern.
“Ackie...” Keena said as he landed, but all he did was give her a short nod.
“Are we following The One?” Korone asked.
That, Akuto responded to.
“Looks like we don’t have a choice. He stole the Jeweled Branch, and without it, we can’t steal the Faceless Power.”
Akuto glanced in Marine’s direction quickly. Marine didn’t nod, but he agreed with Akuto.
“I think we should. The Faceless Power needs to be sealed as soon as possible.”
“Despite the power it offers...?” Akuto looked at Marine with doubtful eyes. With the Faceless Power, Marine was every bit as strong as Akuto. But Marine agreed with him once more.
“It should be sealed. I’m counting on my people to use it as a good power... but The One said this: He was going to destroy the world in a way no one would ever expect, and for that, he had to continue to use the Faceless Power.”
Marine’s expression was serious. Akuto’s expression didn’t change, but he agreed, at least verbally.
“Then we follow The One. We get back the Jeweled Branch and seal the Faceless Power.”
“I’ll help with that... But there’s a problem. I’ve been given an implant which prevents me from attacking The One.” Marine said, apologetically.
“An implant?” Akuto said. He didn’t know how they worked.
Korone spoke up.
“A type of brainwashing that implants small machines into the body to directly control a person’s mana. It’s very difficult to deal with.”
She took an X-Ray device out of her bag and held it up to Marine.
“Let me take a look.”
The device, which looked like a speed detector, was displaying Marine’s abdomen on its monitor. Inside they could see the silhouette of what looked like a small capsule.
“With my surgical tools I can remove the implant itself. But that may be dangerous to your mind,” Korone explained.
Many implants contained traps to make them difficult to remove. The ones that just exploded were bad enough, but the most dangerous of them all were those that had a magical effect on the victim’s mind.
Nonimora suddenly spoke up.
“If it’s an implant, I can deal with it.”
“What do you mean?” Korone asked, but Nonimora nodded confidently.
“Implants have been a part of the village’s tradition for years. Of course, the ways to remove them have, too.”
“That’s right. Your village has lost technology, doesn’t it?”
“Do you not use them anymore? The best way to remove the trap is to do hem-hem during the operation. It makes it so it can’t affect your mind.”
Nonimora puffed out her chest.
“Truly one of life’s great mysteries,” Korone said, but she seemed sufficiently convinced.
“Okay, I’ll do it! Come with me, Mr. Handsome man!” Nonimora beckoned to Marine.
You wouldn’t guess it from the way she was acting, but hem-hem was this village’s euphemism for sex.
“Are you serious?” Akuto asked. But Nonimora’s face was serious indeed.
“Asking if I’m serious is rude. I’m very serious. Of course, since it’s not a festival I don’t want to let people see it, so we’ll go into those bushes.”
“Um... wait...”
Both Akuto and Marine were hesitant. But Korone and Nonimora each grabbed Marine by an arm and dragged him off into the bushes.