Ouka
THE day had changed and the reactivated Dram raced across Neck Bridge. The reformed checkpoint blocked his way. The checkpoint guards lined up in rows with their guns held at the ready.
Ouka leaned close to Dram’s back and had his partner accelerate even faster. Reaching his top speed, Dram was a giant mass of amber loping at over eighty kilometers an hour.
“BREAK THROUGH!!”
Ouka’s holler sent Dram crashing through the checkpoint. He galloped across the rest of the bridge, leaving the Rabbis who instinctively jumped out of the way scattered in his wake.
“H-HALT!”
Ouka heard frenzied shouts and gunshots at his back. He rushed to the Church without batting an eye. He reached the end of the long bridge and saw the main gate, where angry and confused shouts melted into a chaotic uproar on the other side.
What’s with all the commotion? Of course—Erie’s raiding the Church!
“Wowwie! The little lady has spunk!” Ouka whistled, a half smile on his lips.
He might be able to make contact with Kiriko by slipping into the chaos. Ouka confirmed the file was safely tucked under his shirt and stopped Dram near the main gate.
With one look, he saw a Stone Golem on a violent rampage inside the chapel. Stained-glass windows had shattered and the pipe-organ was smashed, marking the chapel as the epicenter of the chaos. The Stone Golem flung objects around, smashing things left and right, so that not even the Rabbis’ Golems could recklessly go near it.
Ouka searched for Kiriko amid the mess. She was nowhere to be seen.
I have no business here then. I’ll look elsewhere, he thought, and was about to run, when he heard a dry crack of air from the chapel.
Gunfire?!
He quickly hid behind the gate.
The crack of gunshots littered the air in rapid-fire succession. Ouka turned his eyes toward the chapel, where the rampaging Stone Golem had ceased moving.
Cracks webbed throughout its body, and it crumbled to pieces. Ouka understood what had happened even from a distance: a bullet had shot through the letters on its forehead.
Ouka leapt onto Dram’s back and left the location as fast as Dram’s four legs could take him. He had firsthand knowledge of the only man capable of instantly destroying a large-scale Golem like that.
“…Spinoza’s made his move.”
Cold sweat trickled down Ouka’s spine. The Church must’ve thrown public appearances to the wayside to deal with this problem if they were using that Golem now. Ouka willed Dram to run even faster.
He made Dram gallop alongside the perimeter fence to the side of the Church, then had him change course.
“Jump, Dram!”
Dram jumped once, landed on a roadside tree, jumped again, and bounded over the five-meter tall fence. He landed inside an area of the Church grounds where the Rabbis were noticeably missing. The majority of Rabbis were likely gathered inside the chapel. Ouka took the chance to break into the church complex.
“Okay, where would Kiriko be?”
Ouka thought through the possible locations while Dram ran through the long corridors. Under these circumstances, Kiriko would prioritize guarding her hostage. Where was Heath then?
The interrogation rooms?!
Ouka had no guarantee that was it, but he couldn’t think of where else to search. With his mind made up, he headed for the interrogation room on the third-floor.
He might not have visited the Church in four years, but he knew its layout like the back of his hand. He avoided the occasional Rabbi traffic inside the corridors until he finally arrived at the interrogation room.
I sure hope Kiriko is alone…
Ouka hopped down from Dram and opened the interrogation room door. But what he found on the other side was Torah Officer Seagal pressing a tranquilizer gun to Lovel. They both stared at Ouka, their eyes bulging.
“Wha-! Aren’t you Ouka Baraki?!”
“O-Ouka?! Why are you here?!”
Seagal panicked and swerved the gun toward Ouka. Ouka closed the gap between them faster than Seagal turned the gun and swung down his quarterstaff.
“ACK!” Struck on the wrist, Seagal dropped the gun. Ouka swiftly circled behind him and secured his elbows behind his back.
“Hey, Seagal, do you know where Kiriko is?”
“Don’t screw around with me after you hit me outta nowhere! Like hell I’d tell yo—OWWWW!”
Ouka squeezed, wrenching a pained groan from Seagal. He constricted the officer’s joints until they began cracking and repeated his question. “Please tell me. I have something important to tell her.”
Instead of answering, Seagal cried out, “OVER HERE! THE INTRUDERS ARE HERE!”
“I-Idiot, don’t cause a scene!” Ouka covered Seagal’s mouth, but that didn’t stop his screaming. He proved to be a surprisingly feisty man. Out of options, Ouka struck the back of his head, knocking him out.
“Well damn, I guessed wrong… Where’s Kiriko at?” Ouka didn’t know how to proceed after his first guess was a waste of time.
“Wait, Ouka. Why’re you looking for Kiriko?” Lovel asked him.
“It’s got nothin’ to do with you, kid. Go ahead and leave while you can.”
“Oh? You sure it’s okay for me to leave?”
“I’ve lost my reason to apprehend you. I’m a wanted man now. They’ve falsely accused me of a crime because of Jair.”
“Aw, you poor thing!” Lovel laughed, sounding like she was having the time of her life. Ouka knew it; she was one cheeky girl. “So,” she said, teasing him when he was in a pinch, “why has a wanted man come to the Church?”
“I’ve got something I have to show Kiriko no matter what. Once I do…” Ouka’s thoughts went to the file inside his shirt. Various things would come to light if he shared the information with her. And that wouldn’t be all. “…Lovel, I might be able to clear your name.”
“You can? Really?”
“Yeah. But I dunno where Kiriko is, and it’s not like I can just search for her willy-nilly inside the church…”
“I know where she is.”
Ouka blinked. “You do?!”
“Well, you could call it an educated guess. I’m pretty sure of the location, because I overheard them talking about it.”
“Tell me! Where is she?!”
“I’ll tell you—under one condition. Once I tell you where she is, you have to take me with you.”
Ouka’s mouth fell open. “Huh? What do ya want to do that for? Get outta here.”
“Cliff’s here. Along with Erie.”
“What?!”
“He came to rescue me. I can’t leave on my own now.”
Ouka was flabbergasted. If Cliff was an idiot for challenging the Church to save a girl, then Lovel was just as stupid for wanting to go back for him.
They were as naïve and ignorant as they came. But the exact same thing could be said of Ouka. Realizing that brought a self-derisive smile to his face.
“I can’t fight you on that one… Let’s go, girl!”
“That’s how it’s gotta be!” Lovel rejoiced. They left the interrogation room together.
Ouka mounted Dram and pulled Lovel up behind him. “So, where’s Kiriko at?” he asked.
“The Great Bell Tower. Kiriko locked Heath up and is lying in wait for Erie there.”
“The Great Bell Tower, huh!”
The tower was some distance away, but Dram’s legs would carry them there in no time. Ouka drew on his memories of how to get there as he launched Dram into a swift run.
✦ ✦ ✦
Cliff
CLIFF and Erie sprinted down the corridor leading to the Great Bell Tower. A Rabbi and an Iron Golem blocked their passage.
The enemy Golem had a similar build to Gandolf, but it stood no chance. Gandolf slammed a fist into the Iron Golem’s face with the force of his rapid dash.
“What?!” the Rabbi cried out when his Golem crashed into the wall. Cliff dropped in close and drove a punch into the side of his face with a battle cry.
Though it was a hasty surprise attack, the punch was a clean hit and sent the Rabbi toppling over. Erie cheered for Cliff as he shook out his tingling fingers. “Nice shot! You rock, Cliff!”
Cliff answered her compliment with a sheepish grin and increased his speed. He contemplated their steady advance as they accelerated toward their destination. The last encounter marked the fourth Golem Gandolf had defeated since invading the church.
A few days ago, Cliff never even considered opposing the Rabbis. They had tyrannized him and his people for ages, and the mentality not to fight back was deeply ingrained in him. But now, Cliff overpowered the Church’s Golems. He felt refreshed to win on the one hand, and yet found it strange on the other.
The Rabbis’ arrogance and free, domineering reign over the people prevailed due to one reason. Their possession of the Great Bell Tower was no more than an extension of that reason.
No one could oppose the Rabbis because they were strong. They maintained governorship over the archipelago because they Tamed and controlled Golems better than anyone else in the land.
For all that bravado, Gandolf tore through the Rabbi created Golems like they were made of tinfoil. Their enemies were dumbfounded in the face of Gandolf’s abnormal strength. It shouldn’t have been possible for a piecemeal Illegal Golem powered by a young student’s Engrave Incantations to be this outrageously powerful.
“…What’s wrong, Cliff? Why the sudden silence?” Erie seemed worried by his abrupt reticence.
“It’s nothing,” he said.
Cliff snapped back to his senses and put aside his thoughts for now. He had more important things to do than make wild theories. He focused on running instead.
At long last, the end of the corridor came into view. Gandolf slammed through the giant iron door blocking their way.
The central courtyard lay on the other side with a tower looming over them at its center. It was the Great Bell Tower that brought God’s divine protection to the archipelago, transforming its isles into the Islands of Golems.
“Let’s do this!”
Cliff and Erie dashed across the courtyard and barged into the tower.