Now, all that remained was to lay low while picking off the six Braves, one by one. That promised to be a very easy job.
The first target—Adlet Mayer. He would be the first to die.
Chapter 3
A Trap and a Rout
An hour had passed since the seven Braves had first gathered in the temple, and Adlet was running through the forest. If his mental map was accurate, then the edge of the Phantasmal Barrier was close by.
“So what’s this Phantasmal Barrier thing? I’ll be laughin’ if we can get meowt of this thing, all easy-like.” Hans, whom Adlet had only just met, was running alongside him. Adlet eyed the other man suspiciously. Not that Adlet was in any position to talk, but Hans seemed like a pretty fishy guy.
As they ran, Adlet marked trees they passed. After a while, they found trees ahead of them bearing the marks they had just left. Without even realizing, they had gotten turned around.
“The barrier really is up,” said Adlet.
“Just like we thought,” replied Hans.
The two of them made one more attempt to escape the fog, but the results were the same. They tried drawing a line at their feet as they walked or throwing a string in front of them and then tracing its path, but they still couldn’t get out. There was one thing they did manage to figure out, however. They only lost their sense of direction when they attempted to exit the barrier. As long as they stayed inside the field, they would not get lost.
“So we have no choice but to deactivate the barrier, after all.” Adlet sighed.
The group had agreed to focus on dealing with the barrier for the time being. That problem was more urgent than figuring out which of them was the impostor. Adlet and Hans were testing the barrier’s boundaries while the remaining five searched the temple for a way to take it down.
“I’m gonna go back to the temple,” announced Hans. Adlet nodded, and they set off again. “Hey,” said Hans as they ran. “So are you the fella who went and barged into the Tournament Before the Divine in Piena?”
“Yeah. You knew about that?”
“Everyone’s talkin’ ameowt it. Adlet, the cowardly warrior. Is it true ya took old man Batoal’s granddaughter hostage?”
“Where’d that come from?” Adlet hadn’t taken any hostages. They had no reason to be calling him “the cowardly warrior” in the first place. “By the way, Hans, I’ve never heard your name before. What have you been doing, and where?” he asked. Aside from Hans, the seven people gathered together here were all famous. Nashetania was a well-known personage, of course, and Mora and Chamo, too, and Goldof. Fremy was famous, too, in a way, as the Brave-killer. This Hans guy was the only total unknown.
“Well, tellin’ ya would only cause me problems,” said Hans.
“What do you mean?”
Hans only smirked in reply.
When Adlet and Hans returned to the temple, the other five awaited them inside. Nashetania, Mora, and Chamo were all gathered around the altar. A little ways away were Goldof and Fremy. Fremy was bound by the wrists. Goldof gripped her chains as he guarded her, observing her every move. Mora carried her pack and gun. Fremy was utterly at their mercy.
Of course Fremy was the first to fall under suspicion. Chamo had insisted that they kill her right away. After discussing it among all six of them, they’d decided that, for the time being, they should keep her restrained. In chains, Fremy gazed at the altar vacantly. There was something resigned about her expression.
“So how’d it go, Mora?” asked Hans. Apparently, Mora was the most knowledgeable among them when it came to the hieroglyphs, the language of Saints, and barriers that amplified Saints’ power.
“Well, we have figured out matters, to a certain extent. But before I speak about that, I suggest we introduce ourselves. I still have not matched names to faces.”
“Meow , you’ve got a bad memory,” Hans chided, laughing.
“As you all introduce yourselves, give us a brief personal history and explain how you came to arrive here,” Mora continued.
“Why?” Hans inquired.
“The information may prove useful in exposing the impostor…the seventh,” she explained.
They all gathered around the altar. Goldof shoved Fremy’s shoulders, pushing her into the circle.
“Now then, who will begin?” asked Mora. At some point, she had assumed the role of their leader, and everyone else had accepted it quite naturally. She was a woman endowed with composure and dignity.
“I’ll do it. My name’s Adlet Mayer, and I’m the strongest man in the world.” Adlet started off the introductions, giving them an abridged history of himself and talking about how he had met Nashetania and then Fremy, and then the sequence of events leading up to his arrival at the temple. Of course, he repeated many times over that he was the strongest man in the world.
Once his story was done, Mora was the first to respond. “Er…Adlet, was it? What a strange man to have been chosen.” She shrugged.
“Yer the strongest man in the world? Meow-ha-ha-ha! What an idiot. What a complete moron.” Hans laughed raucously.
Adlet ignored him. “I was the closest when the barrier was activated. Should I talk about that, too?”
“No, you may tell us about that in detail later,” said Mora. “Who’s next?”
Beside Adlet, Nashetania raised her hand.
“Meow , I wanna hear some details from this bunny girl,” said Hans. “And preferably alone…”
“Hans , is that your name?” Goldof cut in. “Know your place. This is the crown princess of the royal family of Piena. Under normal circumstances, you would never be permitted to speak to someone of her stature.”
“Meow? She’s a bunny girl and a princess, too? That just makes me even more interested.”
“May I speak?” groused Nashetania, looking annoyed.
Her description of the events leading up to her arrival at the temple was not so different from Adlet’s. What was news to Adlet was that after the two of them had been separated, she had immediately encountered Goldof. That had been right after Adlet and Fremy left, around the time the two of them had been at the fort speaking with Private Loren about the Phantasmal Barrier.
Next, Goldof told his story. He spoke of tracking the Brave-killer and how, when he had been marked with the Crest of the Six Flowers, he had been alone in the Land of Holy Rivers. Goldof also recounted his reunion with Nashetania. That part Adlet already knew.
Next was Mora. “My name is Mora Chester. I am the Saint of Mountains and the current elder of the All Heavens Temple.”
“The All Heavens Temple?” Adlet interjected. He’d heard that name before but didn’t know anything about it.
Nashetania filled him in. “The All Heavens Temple is the organization that supervises us Saints.”
“Yes,” said Mora. “Though we are not terribly active as an organization. We merely observe the Saints to ensure that their powers are not used for evil. In any case, I have memorized the faces, names, and abilities of all seventy-eight Saints.”
“When people like Chamo get our power as Saints, we have to go see Auntie Mora,” said Chamo.
“However, I knew nothing of Fremy over there,” Mora commented. “The Saint of Gunpowder, you say? I have heard naught of such an individual. I would hazard that she is a new Saint.”
“Is it possible for there to be a new Saint?” asked Adlet.
“It is not unheard of, though it has not occurred this past century. Let us get back to the topic at hand.” Mora continued, “It was about ten years ago that I took over the role of elder of the All Heavens Temple from the previous elder, Leura, Saint of Sun.”
Leura. Adlet had heard that name multiple times throughout the course of his journey. She controlled the light and heat of the sun and had the power to burn down whole castles. They said that, though she was old, her powers over the sun had not waned one bit. But still, her body was frail, and she could not move from her easy chair. And then, about a month earlie
r, she had disappeared.
“I believe I have fulfilled my duties for the past ten years without serious error,” continued Mora. “Though keeping Chamo from getting out of control has been a trial.”
“I think you’ve been doing a wonderful job,” said Nashetania. “My father said that no Saint could commit evil deeds as long as you’re around.”
“The king of Piena said that? An honor.” Mora nodded in satisfaction. “When the Evil God awoke, I was in the Land of Crimson Peaks. I departed immediately for the Howling Vilelands, and two days ago, I arrived at the place where we would gather. At the fort, Private Loren told me of the Phantasmal Barrier, and on the very same day, I resolved on my course of action. I concealed myself and waited alone, until yesterday, when Hans came wandering by. Not long after that, I saw explosions occurring from the direction of the temple, and I hurried here.”
“You didn’t know about the Phantasmal Barrier until two days ago? Isn’t it your job to govern the Saints?” asked Adlet.
“I knew of its existence, but no more than that,” she said. “I first learned how to activate it and the location of this temple two days ago, from Private Loren. Had I known this would happen, I would have had a proper discussion with Uspa of Fog and Adrea of Illusion.”
The names probably belonged to the Saints who had created the bafflement. So, Mora’s acquainted with the people who made the barrier. I’ll remember that , thought Adlet.
“Now then—next, Chamo,” instructed Mora.
Chamo nodded. “Sooo, Chamo became the Saint of Swamps at around seven years old, which was seven years ago. Chamo’s a little too powerful, so Auntie Mora always gets mad. A long time ago, in the martial tournament in the Land of Golden Fruit, a guy died in the first round, and all the other competitors bailed out of the competition.”
Adlet knew that story, too. It was a well-known anecdote used to describe how powerful she was.
“So anyway, getting here was nothing special, really,” she continued. “When the Evil God woke up, everything was normal at home. Mom and Dad helped pack. Then Chamo got a map and headed out for the Howling Vilelands. Traveling here didn’t take long, but Chamo got lost and ended up coming late. While walking along, killing fiends and stuff, Chamo noticed something was going on and went to the temple and saw Fremy there. It was so surprising! And that’s about it.” Chamo finished her story.
Goldof added some supplemental details for Mora and Hans. He told them that in the past, Chamo had fought with Fremy, and that Fremy was the Brave-killer.
“Meow. So she’s the Brave-killer. I can’t believe it.” Hans sounded doubtful.
“She admitted it herself. It’s the truth,” replied Goldof.
It seemed as though Hans was preoccupied with some thoughts on the matter, but he wasn’t sharing.
“We shall ask Fremy to tell her story later. Next, Hans,” Mora prompted.
“All righty,” Hans began.
Adlet figured he should pay close attention. Hans’s entire image—his appearance, his mannerisms, his nonchalant demeanor—made him the most suspicious of all, though Adlet didn’t want to judge too quickly.
“My name is Hans Humpty. I’m from…well, it don’t meowter. I’m an assassin.”
“Assassin?” Nashetania cocked her head.
“Your Highness, an assassin is someone who kills for money. Someone whose occupation is to murder people.”
Goldof’s explanation surprised Nashetania. It seemed she had never heard of assassins before. “A man like that is one of the Braves of the Six Flowers?” she exclaimed.
“Meow? Somethin’ wrong with an assassin bein’ a Brave?” Hans scoffed at Nashetania’s naïveté. “My job history has got nothin’ to do with bein’ chosen as a Brave. If you can defeat the Evil God, then yer chosen to be a Brave, assassin or not. Ain’t that right?”
“Y-yes, but…”
“Princess, the world ain’t as righteous as ya think. A lot of notable people from yer kingdom come to meow with requests.”
“That can’t be!” Nashetania sounded scandalized.
“Well, none of this goin’ on about assassins meowters. I’m continuin’ my story. Meow? ”
Adlet nodded. He felt bad for Nashetania, but this assassin business was a separate issue.
“When I was chosen, I was pretty close to the Howlin’ Vilelands,” Hans continued. “First, I got meowself an audience with the king of this country and negotiated pay for killin’ the Evil God. The king’s a pretty generous fellow. He offered a big chunka cash in advance. So then I hid the money and came out here to the Howlin’ Vilelands, and that’s when I ran into Mora.”
“You negotiated pay? Before fighting?” asked Adlet.
“I don’t kill nothin’ unless I’m gettin’ paid for it. You folks ain’t doin’ this for free, are ya?”
Adlet had never even considered getting paid for defeating the Evil God.
“So you didn’t know about the barrier?” asked Goldof.
“Meow? The king said somethin’ about the fort, I guess. Well, I figured that stuff had nothin’ to do with me, so I ignored it. I first heard about the barrier from Mora.”
That’s a little weird , thought Adlet. It’d be important to know about the barrier, wouldn’t it? He didn’t find Hans’s explanation for meeting up with Mora without going to the fort convincing. For the time being, though, he decided to keep his doubts to himself and hear Hans out.
“I got nothin’ to say about what happened after that. I saw there was an explosion, so I came to the temple,” he finished.
Then Chamo asked what Adlet had been wondering this whole time. “Hey, why do you talk like that?”
“Ma-meow! So you’ve been payin’ attention,” Hans said, stroking his head with a fist just like a cat. Then he did an aerial somersault and said, “My style o’ combat is based on cats. I came up with my techniques by imitatin’ how they move. I guess you could say that cats were my meowsters. As a sign o’ respect, I make a habit of imitatin’ them in how I talk, too.”
“This set of Braves is a strange lot,” Mora grumbled.
“No kidding.” Adlet nodded.
“Look who’s talkin’, Mr. Dumbest-in-the-world,” said Hans, laughing.
Now that Hans’s story was over, eyes gathered on their final member. Having been chained up by Goldof, Fremy had been listening in silence as the others talked.
“So then…Fremy, is it?” asked Mora. “You won’t get away with saying you don’t want to speak. If you hold back, know that it will worsen your position.”
“How could it get any worse than this?” Fremy spat, and then she fell silent. The silence persisted for short while, but eventually, she slowly began speaking. “I’m the child of a fiend and a human.”
All present, aside from Chamo and Goldof, gasped.
“Goldof, remove my eye patch and the cloth from my head,” she said.
Goldof complied, exposing Fremy’s bright-pink right eye. In the center of her forehead, there was a mark left by the horn that was proof she was a fiend. It had been broken off at the root, though, and all that remained was a scar.
“Oh yeah, your horn’s gone. Did you break it off yourself?” asked Chamo.
Fremy did not reply, relating her history instead. “About twenty years ago, a band of fiends left the Howling Vilelands to infiltrate the human realm. They decided to create a pawn to oppose the Braves of the Six Flowers in preparation for the revival of the Evil God. That was me.”
“…”
“My father was human. I never knew his face. Once my mother conceived, she killed him. I was born from a fiend mother and raised as one of them. My mother and the other fiends abducted large numbers of humans and forced them to construct a new temple for the worship of the Spirit of Gunpowder. That was where I got my power as the Saint of Gunpowder.”
“So…,” commented Mora.
“I lived up to my mother’s expectations and became a powerful warrior,” Fremy continued.
“And then I went around killing powerful humans on my mother’s orders. It was for the sake of the revival of the Evil God. I felt no remorse. Though half human, I thought of myself as a full-fledged fiend. I believed the Evil God was a great being that would protect and guide us.”
“So then, why are you here? Why have you decided to defeat the Evil God?” asked Mora. The answer to that question was the crux of her story.
“Even if I were to tell you, I doubt you’d believe me.”
“If you don’t speak, we can neither believe nor disbelieve.”
Mora and Fremy glared at each other, and then Chamo cut in. “She doesn’t have to say anything. Chamo’s gonna kill her anyway. It’s all true, right? We know the impostor is Fremy.”
“Don’t, Chamo. We don’t know that,” said Adlet.
Chamo gave Adlet an innocent look, but there was muted anger behind her eyes. “What’s your name again? You’re a pain in the butt. Didn’t your mom ever tell you that you don’t tell Chamo what to do?”
“Whatever, who cares?” said Adlet.
“You should. You can’t talk back to Chamo,” she snapped.
“Chamo! Listen to Fremy’s story now!” Mora scolded the girl, and Chamo obeyed. Adlet was grateful for Mora’s presence. He didn’t even want to consider what would be happening if she weren’t around.
“Please tell us, Fremy. Why did you end up opposing the Evil God?” asked Nashetania.
But Fremy just gave them all a cold stare. “You heard Chamo. She said I don’t have to tell you anything. I don’t want to talk about it, either.” With that, Fremy shut her mouth entirely. Even when Adlet asked her to speak, she wouldn’t meet his eyes.
Ultimately, Mora seemingly grew impatient and changed the subject. “Wasting our time any further on self-introductions is meaningless. The more important matter at hand is how are we to escape from here?”
Adlet wanted to protest and insist that the conversation wasn’t over, but he dropped it. Mora’s plan was more constructive.
Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers, Vol. 1 Page 9