“Of course not,” Adlet answered. “If he could kill this many on his own, he wouldn’t be human.” He surveyed the bodies. Most had met their end from teeth and claws, but some had died by fire or acid. The wounds were still fresh, as if they had died only a few hours ago. “Were the fiends killing each other?” he murmured. The ground had been dug up in spots, and shards of shattered rock were strewn about. It told the story of a fierce struggle.
Fremy examined the faces of some of the fiends and said, “The majority were of Tgurneu’s faction, but quite a few of Cargikk’s faction are here, too. We should definitely interpret this to be a falling-out among fiends.” Fremy had told them before that their enemies had a complex and antagonistic relationship. According to her, the fiends were divided into three factions: the largest, Cargikk’s; the second biggest power, Tgurneu’s; and hidden within both those groups, the servants of the traitor fiend, Dozzu, or so it was said.
“Did Cargikk and Tgurneu fight?” asked Adlet.
“…I don’t know,” Fremy replied. “It’s true that Cargikk and Tgurneu do clash, but I can’t imagine they’d be so stupid as to fight right in the middle of the battle with the Braves of the Six Flowers.”
“So then it’s that Dozzu critter?” said Hans. “Not like I neow anythin’ about that one, though.”
“Did Dozzu have enough followers to cause an insurrection like this? It’s hard for me to imagine that.” Fremy seemed to be contemplating the possibilities.
Adlet could tell that something they knew nothing about was going on somewhere. But would these events work to their advantage or not? And how was Goldof involved? “Anyway, if fiends are killing one another, that’s good news for us. But let’s leave this for now and find Goldof,” he said, and that was when a voice came from behind them.
“Oh, my. Have you come looking for Goldof?”
The moment Adlet heard that voice, he reflexively dropped his iron box and drew his sword. The others, aside from Rolonia, all raised their weapons, too. There was no way any of them could forget that high, soft voice or its polite and refined tone.
“I thought for sure you had come to kill me.” At the top of the rim of the pit was a girl. She was sitting calmly on a fiend’s body as she gazed down upon them, clad in a magnificent set of black-and-white armor with a helmet designed to resemble rabbit’s ears.
When had she shown up? Just three seconds ago the place had been totally abandoned.
“It’s been a long time, Braves of the Six Flowers.”
Adlet had known they would encounter her again eventually. It was the first impostor, who only four days earlier they had battled with for their lives: Nashetania.
Chapter 2
The Blade Gem
Three days earlier, at the Bud of Eternity, Adlet had asked his allies a question.
“Hey, after I passed out in the Phantasmal Barrier, what the heck happened?”
After the battle, Adlet, badly wounded, had immediately fallen unconscious. He functionally had no recollection of what had happened between that time and when he had woken up the next morning.
The group had retold in turns to Adlet and Rolonia the events of that night. Hans, Mora, Chamo, and Goldof had followed Nashetania. She had run all over the area, evading their pursuit the entire night. Immediately after being revealed as the impostor, she had deactivated the Phantasmal Barrier, but Mora said that it had remained in effect until the mist dispersed.
Hans and Chamo explained that they’d wounded Nashetania more than once, and a few times they had even been certain they’d finished her off. But still, she had gotten away.
“Nashetania uses some kinda weird power. You think you’ve got her, and then she’ll disappear just like that. Chamo thought she was dead, but then there was nobody,” said Chamo.
“I’ve seen that power, too,” said Adlet. He remembered that after Nashetania had been exposed, Mora had smashed her head in. But then she’d immediately disappeared, and the real Nashetania appeared far away. It really was a mysterious ability, and not one that normally belonged to the Saint of Blades.
“I don’t know how, but it seems Nashetania has the powers of a fiend. I think that’s a stealth-fiend’s ability,” said Fremy.
A stealth-fiend. Adlet had never heard of that type, and he had studied at the foot of the fiend specialist, Atreau Spiker. He was not unfamiliar with the enemy’s abilities and biology.
“Stealth types are incredibly rare,” explained Fremy. “I doubt there are more than five among all the fiends in existence. I’ve only heard of them—I’ve never actually seen one in person.”
“So what is this power?” asked Adlet.
“In a word, it’s like hypnosis.” Fremy explained that stealth-fiends released a vapor from their bodies that drugged their enemies while simultaneously emitting a unique sound wave. Inhaling the drug and hearing the sound would addle your perceptions, blinding you to the stealth-fiend’s presence. She then pointed out that Nashetania’s powers were unique even among stealth-fiends, since she could make you hallucinate her presence.
“…That’s an incredible power.” Adlet broke into a cold sweat. If Nashetania were to approach them in stealth and catch them by surprise, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
But Hans smiled and waved away Adlet’s worries. “Meow-hee. From what I can see, it’s not that meowerful.”
“What do you mean?” asked Adlet.
“I’ve seen the princess’s stealth power a few times. She can probably hide herself for ten seconds at meowst. What’s more, once she’s used it, she can’t use it again for another five minutes. And this is just a guess, but…I think she can only use that stealth ability when she’s runnin’ away.”
Fremy’s eyes widened. “Quite the astute analysis. That’s basically it.” She supplemented Hans’s explanation, clarifying that the stealth ability was exhausting and it was not possible to attack while using it. At most, Nashetania could only run. This was true of all stealth-fiends.
“Now that you mention it,” said Adlet, “my master said that there were a handful of fiends out there that could use hypnotism. But he also said the effects were only momentary.”
“…I’ve been wondering for a while,” said Fremy, “who is this Atreau Spiker? How did he come to know so much about fiend biology?”
“I dunno. I asked him plenty of times, but he wouldn’t tell me anything,” Adlet replied, and Fremy lowered her eyes in thought.
“Atreau Spiker isn’t important. What is important is: Is there a way to trump this skill?” Mora asked.
Fremy replied, “When a stealth-fiend uses their power, they’re surrounded by a sweet scent. You should be able to tell if the ability is active based on the smell.”
“So if she does use her power, what should we do?” asked Adlet.
“You can break the hypnosis by focusing your senses, staring hard, and causing yourself pain. A good bite to your tongue should be enough. That’s how you can beat it.”
“All right. So if you smell something funny, stare hard and bite your tongue.”
“That’s right.”
I’m really glad she’s with us, thought Adlet. Nashetania’s stealth ability wasn’t that formidable. But still, if they’d had to fight her without knowing how her powers worked, it could have spelled disaster. But as with any ability, once you knew the trick to it, it wasn’t anything to be afraid of.
The moment Nashetania was done greeting them, there was a gunshot. A blade sprouted from the ground to deflect Fremy’s bullet, and it ricocheted away.
“You’re quite the violent person, aren’t you, Fremy?” Nashetania said. After blocking the shot, she calmly jumped down from her perch atop the dead fiend. Fremy was reloading, but Adlet stopped her.
“Is that…Nashetania?” Rolonia asked from behind him.
“Nice to meet you. So you’re Rolonia? I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of each other.” Nashetania put a hand on her chest and bowed, and Rolonia lowered her head i
n return.
“What happened to Goldof?” Adlet asked.
Nashetania pointed south. “He’s about two kilometers that way. Once he’s finished a little errand there, I think he’ll come back here.”
“And what is this little errand?” Adlet asked.
“That’s a secret.” Nashetania put her finger mischievously to her lips, acting just like she had back when Adlet had first met her in his jail cell.
Adlet glanced at the back of his hand. All six of the flower petals were there. If Goldof was a real Brave, then at the very least, he wasn’t dead. If he was the seventh, that was another story, though. “Did you use him to lure us out here?”
“Heavens, no. I just wanted him to help me out with something. I didn’t imagine that all of you would come running after him,” Nashetania said.
She was clearly lying, and Adlet was certain this was a trap. Obviously, Nashetania was about to pull something. Adlet eyed their surroundings in an attempt to figure out her ploy. “How did you ask him to come help you?” he probed.
“Our hearts are connected. I don’t have to tell him anything. All I have to do is wish for it, and he’ll come to me from anywhere.”
“What’re you talking about? You betrayed him.” Chamo’s accusation didn’t seem to bother Nashetania.
“Is Goldof the seventh?” Adlet asked.
“How cruel of you to say that, Adlet,” Nashetania said. “To suspect my dear Goldof! He’s a genuine Brave of the Six Flowers. And this guarantee is coming from me, so there’s no question about it.”
Did she show up here just to tease us? Her nonchalant attitude was getting under his skin. “By the way, we’re going to kill you now.”
“Oh dear, I’m so scared.”
“When is your precious Goldof going to come running?”
Nashetania giggled. “Save me, Goldof! I’m over heeere! They’re going to kill meee!”
Adlet scowled at her weak attempt at a joke. He shot a look to Fremy and Hans beside him. The two of them nodded, and he gave the order.
“Kill her.”
Fire burst from Fremy’s gun, and Hans darted straight toward Nashetania while Adlet turned around. It was just as he’d expected. Thirty fiends were now on the slope with red-hot boulders at the ready, about to throw.
“I’ll get behind her!” Adlet yelled as he pulled a flash bomb from his pouch and hurled it. The powerful light overwhelmed the fiends, but they still launched the scorching rocks. His attack had ruined their aim, though, and the Braves dodged easily.
But then one of the fiend corpses moved. A tentacle reached out from the ground toward Adlet’s neck.
“Watch out!” Rolonia cried, and her whip sliced through it just barely in time. Strange-smelling blood spurted from the tentacle, and the fiend wailed. One after another, the apparent corpses began rising to attack.
“Rolonia! Mora! You help me slow down these guys!” Adlet yelled. A blade stabbed up at him from the ground, but Rolonia’s whip broke it off.
“Hrmeow-meow! You leave the princess to me!” Hans called as he rocketed through the air for a swipe at Nashetania. In response, she summoned another wave of steel from the rock below.
“I’ve got your back, Hans!” said Fremy, and she threw a bomb and fired a shot at Nashetania. The former impostor rolled away from both attacks. Hans and Fremy were stronger than her. Two-on-one, there was no reason they could lose.
“Be careful of her stealth meowers, Fremy!” said Hans.
“You don’t have to tell me that.”
Nashetania ran from them both. With the hilt of her slim sword, she blocked Fremy’s shots while keeping Hans at bay with her conjured blades.
“You need Chamo’s help?” the youngest Brave asked, having already vomited up her slave-fiends.
But Adlet shook his head. “Nashetania must be planning something. You keep an eye on the situation and be ready for the next attack, Chamo.”
“Gotcha.”
The melee continued for a few minutes after that. Fremy and Hans fought Nashetania, while Adlet, Mora, and Rolonia held back the fiends flooding in to support her. Chamo cautiously observed the area under the watch of her slave-fiends. The situation was clearly to the Braves’ advantage, as there was no indication of incoming enemy reinforcements.
Adlet slammed his sword down on the crown of a charging fiend. When it recoiled, Rolonia whipped it to shreds, until blood spurted from it like a fountain and it was dead.
There were about thirty fiends. It was more than a few, but with these numbers, the Braves could certainly keep them at bay. If fighting continued like this, they would beat Nashetania.
“…No way…Is this it?” Adlet muttered as they fought. He couldn’t imagine that this was the full extent of what Nashetania had planned. Her scheme back in the Phantasmal Barrier had been so meticulous, he found it hard to believe she would challenge them to a battle like this without something more.
“Meow-ha!” Hans’s sword swept toward Nashetania. Frantically, she blocked it with her signature Saint technique. One of the fiends slipped past Adlet’s team to guard Nashetania, and somehow she managed to slip away after nearly being cornered.
“I’m not letting you get away,” Fremy said as her bullet pierced Nashetania’s leg.
The princess grimaced. “I’m sorry! Come save me quick, guys, okay? Eek!” She no longer looked so composed. But that didn’t make Adlet relax at all. Nashetania clearly had something lying in wait. Was there another ambush? Or would she use Goldof as a hostage? Or maybe Tgurneu was going to appear and come after them?
“Hey, Adlet.” Chamo, still spectating, spoke up. “Can I just kill Nashetania now?”
“…All right. Do it!” Adlet made the decision. This was probably some kind of trap. But beating the enemy in front of them was more important than worrying about that.
That was when it happened. A fiend slipped past Rolonia’s whip and Mora’s fists to rush over to Nashetania: a giant lizard-type fiend with rocky skin. Nashetania dodged a slice from Hans and leaped astride the stone lizard-fiend, which never broke its pace. Was it going to carry Nashetania and escape?
“Where ya goin’, meow?!”
The stone lizard-fiend was not moving terribly fast. Hans chased after Nashetania and tried to leap on its back, too, but a moth-fiend swooped in to knock him off. Fremy shot at Nashetania’s back, but the moth blocked the attack with its body. With the bullet buried in its chest, the moth-fiend fell to the ground in a shower of fluids.
But as this was going on, Chamo’s slave-fiends had circled around to block Nashetania’s way. Ten slave-fiends all in a row attacked in unison. They got her, Adlet thought, but the moment he was certain she was done, Nashetania replied to Hans’s question.
“Where am I going? I’m running away.” As the slave-fiends leaped at her, Nashetania smiled boldly. “Since I’ve done what I came to do, after all.”
All the slave-fiends suddenly stopped. No blades had pierced them. Nothing had attacked them. What happened? Adlet wondered, and while he searched for the cause, the fiends took full advantage. A lion-fiend swiped at his neck from behind. He ducked and whipped around, throwing a poison needle into the creature’s face.
Nashetania took the opportunity to escape the crowd of slave-fiends surrounding her and flee. “Let’s go! Hurry, hurry!” She hit the stone lizard-fiend’s back, and it kept thudding along. Nashetania repelled a shot from Fremy with a blade, while another of her fiends rushed in to hinder Hans’s pursuit. Rolonia and Mora’s opponents had repositioned to serve as a rearguard for Nashetania’s flight, preventing Fremy and Hans from chasing after her.
For a moment Adlet hesitated, wondering if they should try to follow. But they had something more important to deal with. “What happened, Chamo?!” he cried, running up to her.
She didn’t seem right, clutching her stomach with an expression of shock. She stared at her hands and her body and muttered, “…Huh? What…?”
Then she cov
ered her mouth. The next moment, blood began pouring from between her fingers. She collapsed without even a cry, and as she did, all of her slave-fiends immediately rushed back into her mouth. Adlet couldn’t see any visible; he had no idea what had hit her.
“Chamo!” Mora cried as she and Rolonia rushed to the fallen girl. Mora held the young Brave while Rolonia tried to stop the bleeding. But when they attempted to treat her, they were left speechless and confused. They couldn’t find any wounds.
“…What’s wrong, Chamo?” asked Adlet.
Trembling, the girl held her hands over her mouth. It had to be the first time ever that she’d been afraid for her life. “There’s…swords…inside…my stomach…” She gasped, and then she vomited up another gush of blood.
Fremy and Hans tried to pursue Nashetania, but the fiends fended them off, and Nashetania gradually widened her lead. Then she was past the slope and out of sight.
Nashetania knew exactly what had happened to Chamo—of course she did. She was the one who had meticulously, painstakingly set the trap for her in the first place.
Some Saints possessed a certain ability: They could imbue an object with their abilities to create tools with special powers. These tools were generally referred to as hieroforms. The Saint of the Single Flower, who had devised the original Crest of the Six Flowers, had been the most powerful creator of hieroforms in history. In more recent times, Mora of Mountains and Willone of Salt were known to often utilize this skill. Chamo and Rolonia could not do it at all, and Fremy did not seem very proficient at it, either. The typical target objects for this infusion of power were stakes inscribed with hieroglyphs, or written texts, or any sort of gem. It was said that giving a crest power, as the Saint of the Single Flower had, was an extremely advanced technique.
Publicly, Nashetania hadn’t been able to create hieroforms—but that was a lie. If her capabilities were widely known, she wouldn’t have been able to fulfill her role in this scheme.
About two years earlier, Nashetania had left Piena to visit All Heavens Temple. More than twenty servants accompanied her: guards, a coachman for each carriage, maids to handle her meals and clothes, and even someone to care for Nashetania’s pets. At the time, acting Temple Elder Willone, who had been managing the shrine, seemed quite displeased by the flaunting of luxury.
Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers, Vol. 3 Page 4