As Angelina nodded, Hisame his took position in front of the keyhole, dagger in hand.
“Ready whenever you are,” Hisame confirmed.
Angelina and Ryuho met each other’s eyes, giving each other the go-ahead.
I’m sorry for all your suffering up ’til now, Angelina thought. Please forgive us.
“Eas pa vichi!” Angelina and Ryuho cried out in unison.
As they yanked out the wedge, momentum caused them to slip off the platform. At the same time, Hisame stuck the dagger in the keyhole and twisted it around. The lock opened with a click, but upon seeing his friends falling, Hisame removed his hands from the drawer and created a cushion of snow. When the pair fell onto the cushion with a soft thud, snow swirled up into the air.
Rachiel shone like a beam of light once free of the wedge. The plaster-like material covering him crumbled away with a series of sharp cracks. Now free, he flapped his black wings. At long last, he flew away from the tree he’d been bound to, soaring towards the top of the tower. He rang the bell while hanging from its rope, the loud peal echoing throughout the castle. All the while, he sang a song of joy, his midnight black wings turning as white as snow.
With Rachiel’s magic no longer in effect, the protective sorcery around the castle started to dissipate. Sporadic holes opened in the rainbow-colored film, allowing water to flow in. The entire castle would flood in no time at all.
Hisame continued pulling on the dagger with all his might in an attempt to open the drawer. Unfortunately, the drawer didn’t budge.
“Angelina!” he shouted. “This probably won’t open for anyone but the queen!”
In a flash, Angelina raced over to Hisame and began pulling on the dagger with him. “Eas pa vichi!” she cried. “Eas pa vichi! Eas pa vichi!”
Despite her repeated invocations, the drawer remained firmly in place.
“I’m sorry!” Angelina wailed, still pulling on the dagger as if her life depended on it. “Please forgive us! I beg of you!” Unease gripped her heart as the drawer remained as stubborn as ever. “Is this because I didn’t inherit the secret arts?”
I might have failed, she thought. I won’t be able to save Father because I got too greedy!
“Don’t give up, Lina!” Ryuho shouted, unleashing a stream of flame magic. “If you can’t open it, I’ll burn it down!”
Unlike before, he could now control fire in his human form. Even so, he couldn’t suppress his panic. His flames were much weaker in human form than in feline form. Clinging to a small ray of hope, he tried transforming into a tiger again. To his great dismay, he failed. He’d lost his power as a holy beast.
“Damn it!” he swore. “I should’ve practiced magic more as a human!”
Ryuho launched fireballs at the marble recklessly. Though the marble glowed red when tinged with heat, it showed no signs of breaking. Even greater panic seized Ryuho. He could no longer do something that would have been so simple as a tiger.
“Stop!” Hisame cried. “Recklessness won’t accomplish anything!”
“Then what should I do?!” Ryuho shouted.
“Aim lower! Heat the dagger until it’s as hot as magma!”
“Got it!”
Though Ryuho didn’t understand Hisame’s orders, he still followed them. Hisame was smarter than him, after all. He’d studied sorcery at length and had very delicate control of magic. When Ryuho first met Hisame, his control had been so poor that he’d nearly frozen himself to death. Yet now, he could create something as fine as a snow cushion. Thus, Ryuho unleashed his hottest flames on the Dagger of Mercy.
Hisame focused his full attention on the blade, which had begun melting into a reddish-black substance. I’ll use my and Ryuho’s power to cause a phreatic explosion, he thought. But anyone standing in the way might get caught up in the blast. I need Angelina to run away!
“Take Angelina and run, Ryuho!” Hisame ordered. “I’m about to cause an explosion!”
“What’ll happen to you?!” Ryuho shouted.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll protect myself with an ice barrier.”
“No!” Angelina cried. “You have to come with us too, Hisame!”
If Hisame doesn’t flee with us, he might get hurt, she thought.
Regardless, Hisame ignored Angelina and continued giving orders. “Grab the sheet music if it flies up out of the drawer! Then we can meet up on the ice bridge!
“Let’s go, Lina!” Ryuho shouted.
“But…!”
“One of us needs to grab the sheet music! Have some faith in Hisame! He says he can do this, so he’ll do it!”
Angelina gasped. “Y-Yeah, you’re right! We’ll meet you up above, Hisame!”
Smiling, Hisame nodded and waved at them.
Ryuho took Angelina’s hand and exited the tower. Unlike before, they climbed up the tower’s outer stairs rather than down. After climbing up one floor, they looked inside the tower from a window.
“We’re ready, Hisame!” Ryuho shouted.
“Hit the dagger with your flames one last time!” Hisame cried.
With a nod, Ryuho launched an enormous fireball at the dagger.
Hisame looked back up at them with a smile. “Duck and cover!”
Angelina obeyed, lying face down on the stairs. Ryuho laid down on top of her to protect her. Meanwhile, Hisame melted the ice in his hands into cool water. He blasted the water onto the dagger, which had melted into a magma-like substance. A roar thundered across the tower, and the dagger exploded in a phreatic eruption. Fire magic, ice magic, and Angelina’s magic mixed in a chaotic jumble, destroying the marble. Miraculously, the sheet music blew upwards along with the blast. As Angelina leaned through the window and held out her right hand, Ryuho held onto her waist to prevent her from falling.
“Fodder!” Angelina cried. “Please return to normal, Fodder!”
Upon hearing this plea, Rachiel turned around. He dove into the blast, grabbed the sheet music, and handed it to Angelina.
“Angelina,” he said.
“…Mishter Rachiel?”
“Thank you.”
Afterward, Rachiel soared toward the top of the tower and took to the skies. Back on the stairs, Angelina peered down at the bottom of the tower. She wanted to confirm Hisame’s safety, but due to the blast, a mound of collapsed rubble obstructed her view.
“Oh crap,” Ryuho said. “If the tower collapses, the bridge will break too.”
“Hisame!” Angelina cried.
She and Ryuho could do nothing but wait.
Please, please be okay, Angelina thought. If you’re still here, please save Hisame, Mother! After taking the matching amulet from her waist, Angelina gripped it in her folded hands as she prayed.