Erie
CLOAKED in the darkness of night, Head Island was illuminated only by gas lamps. Getz strode through the still town, allowing his footsteps to echo. Erie and Heath stealthily followed close behind him.
…He warned me about the number of Rabbis on Head Island, but…
Erie had a hunch that Getz didn’t want her going with him for another reason. Concerned by what that might be, she tailed him.
The leg that had pained her so much yesterday had recovered enough to let her walk normally. Her heart ached knowing she was spying on the man who had treated her wounds. But she had to confirm his true intentions because he was the first person she felt she could trust.
The long walk eventually led them to the front of the Academy’s dormitory. Erie saw Navarov sweeping the stone pavement beyond the gate. She stopped following Getz and took cover behind a gas lamp to spy on them.
“Mister Navarov.” She heard Getz speak to him. Navarov lifted his head and his eyes widened.
“Oh, why if it isn’t Professor Getz. What in the world happened to make even you take a day off from school?”
“A bunch of things came up. Enough about me. I have a question for you.”
“What might that be?”
“I’m sure you know. It’s about that.”
Navarov’s expression darkened. He considered the matter for a moment before answering. “…We don’t want to stay and chat in the cold. Join me in the caretaker’s room for a talk.”
Getz nodded and they went inside the dormitory together.
What are they talking about? Curiosity urged Erie forward, but she hesitated despite it. I’ll sneak into the dorm and try to listen in on their conversation.
She suddenly heard several pairs of feet approaching while she tried to work out a plan. She looked over her shoulder to see three people coming out of the darkness. Even in the dark, she could tell they were wearing vestments.
It’s the Rabbis! Getz’s warning had come true. Flustered, Erie hurried closer to the far end of the road. …Please, pass by.
Heath was hard to tell apart from a normal person with his hat on. The Rabbis wouldn’t address them as long as they weren’t conspicuous. Or so Erie had hoped, but the footsteps came to a stop right beside her.
No way! Her heart lurched. One of the Rabbis, a Rabba wearing glasses, scrutinized their faces.
“Heath Coleman and Erie Reyer, I presume?”
How does she know my name?
“Wh-Who might you be?” Erie asked nervously, failing to conceal her apprehension.
“Torah Chief Kiriko Strife. We have been looking for the both of you.” Kiriko took a deep breath before launching into a description akin to a news report. “Three days ago large amounts of blood were discovered at the old school building of St. Rollins Academy, the school you attend. Two students and one security guard have vanished since that night. Our initial thought was that the security guard kidnapped the students and disappeared.”
Erie couldn’t understand what she was getting at and had no adequate response.
“But a man’s corpse washed up on Head Island’s shores last night,” Kiriko went on. “The face was crushed, but the autopsy proved, beyond a doubt, that he was the missing security guard.”
Kiriko’s voice grew harder and colder the longer she spoke. Anxiety unfurled in Erie’s gut.
“This flipped our original theory on its head… The person we believed was the culprit turned out to be the victim. What position do you suppose that renders the people we believed were the victims, then?”
Two Rabbis sidled closer to Erie.
“Heath Coleman and Erie Reyer, we ask that you come with us as suspects in the security guard’s murder,” Kiriko announced, the gravity of the charge weighing heavier with every word.
“How can that be?! Don’t jump to conclusions!” Erie shouted defensively. “The security guard had already been killed by the time I saw him! Jair did it!”
“You haven’t been confirmed as the culprits yet. We just want to hear your account of the incident in detail.”
“Never!”
Erie normally wouldn’t have minded assisting with an investigation. But right now she had Heath to worry about. It’d be all over if they ran a body search on him!
She tried to flee with Heath to prevent that from happening. But Kiriko pulled a gun from her holster a second faster and aimed it at Erie.
“A g-gun?”
“It’s called the Umbilical Cord Cutter. Whoever is shot by this gun will enter suspended animation and won’t awaken from slumber for at least a year, if not longer.”
“…!”
“You’re a smart girl, you should understand what this entails. I would hate to shoot you, since I wouldn’t be able to obtain your testimony for the records, but any resistance will be met with force.” Kiriko signaled the other Rabbis to act. They closed in on Erie and Heath.
“You’re coming with us, punk!” one of the Rabbis yanked on Heath’s arm, but he didn’t even flinch. “What’s the deal with this twerp…?”
Heath shook off the suspicious Rabbi’s hand. But that simple movement sent the man flying.
“Whoa!”
“Guh!”
The Rabbi he blew away crashed on top of the other Rabbi, and they collapsed in a heap on the ground. Kiriko gasped.
“What was that?! Don’t tell me this boy is a—” Kiriko rushed at Heath and swept her arm out to knock off his hat. The letters spelling “emeth” glowed on his forehead. “Fresh Golem!” She kicked Heath away and scowled at Erie. “Erie Reyer! Are you his Tamer?!”
“Don’t you dare use that term on me!”
“I assumed you had some form of Golem on you, with the state of damage done to the school building, but did you kill them? Did you kill the security guard and Heath Coleman?!”
“I didn’t!”
“You can’t talk your way out of this, no matter what you say now! Only a select few members of the Torah Church are permitted to use banned Golems.” Kiriko glanced over her shoulder and shouted, “Come, LEGION!”
Something came swaying from the depths of darkness at her command.
A misshapen silhouette emerged as it stepped closer to the yellow light of the gas lamps. The something stood just under two meters tall and wore a cloth. It was probably a Golem, but it moved in a bizarre, jerky way as it sluggishly tottered toward Erie and Heath. Its unnatural, aberrant quality set off warning sirens in Erie’s head.
She didn’t need to know what it was to know it spelled danger. Legion—or whatever it was called—was already before her.
“Heathy! Defeat him!” Erie shouted. Heath drew the knife from its scabbard and slashed at Legion.
It only took one hit.
The blade sliced through the cloth covering Legion’s body and ripped whatever was inside to shreds. Legion splintered into pieces.
Isn’t that too fragile?!
“1st, 2nd, restrain his legs!” Kiriko shouted, just as Erie became suspicious. Two of the fragments on the ground moved swiftly, grabbing hold of Heath’s legs. “3rd, 4th, put pressure on his elbow joints!”
Another set of splintered pieces jumped into the air and twisted Heath’s arms behind his back.
“5th, 6th, subdue him!”
The final two fragments yanked Heath to the ground and brought their sharp claws to the “e” on his forehead. The six splintered fragments—or rather, the tiny, human-shaped Golem pieces—had utterly overpowered Heath in a mere few seconds.
“How…?” Erie muttered, blankly staring at the tiny army pinning Heath down.
Legion—that was the name of the body composed of six Bronze Golems. Each individual Golem was no taller than eighty centimeters. But every Golem’s fingers were armed with sharp, long claws, which they dug into Heath’s limbs.
I never knew a Golem like this existed! I can’t believe there’s someone other than Jair who can control six Golems at the same time!
“This is my trump card, Erie Reyer,” Kiriko stated in a frosty tone.
Erie promptly took the knife from Heath’s hand and held it out in front of her. “P-Please let us go…! We can’t get caught now!”
Kiriko silently shook her head and pulled back the tranquilizer gun’s hammer. “Come with us peacefully. I will hear everything you have to say.” She precisely trained the muzzle on Erie’s heart.
Erie couldn’t make Heath move. It was plain as day that Legion’s many claws would rip his body to pieces if he did.
The Rabbis he had knocked over clamored to their feet and resumed closing in on them. Erie gripped the knife with trembling hands.