Rokka no Yuusha - Volume 3 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 
Reunion 

“I wish to hear all your thoughts,” said Mora. 
It had been fourteen days since the Evil God’s awakening. After escaping Tgurneu’s scheme, the group of seven had proceeded to the Bud of Eternity, the safe zone within the Howling Vilelands. There they waited for the severely injured Hans and Mora to heal. 
There was hardly a fiend to be seen around the Bud of Eternity. They seemed to be lying in wait farther west, in a place called the Cut-Finger Forest. The vast woodland covered about two-fifths of the Howling Vilelands, and it was so named because a thousand years before, the Saint of the Single Flower lost a finger on her left hand in an attack there. 
As they waited for the pair’s wounds to heal, the group discussed various topics—first on the list being who might be the seventh. Each of them presented what clues they had found, and they reviewed their speculations and arguments many times over, but in the end they reached no conclusions. They couldn’t even guess how the fake crest had been created. 
They had discussed in further detail their fight within the Phantasmal Barrier. After finding out Nashetania’s true identity, Adlet had passed out, so he asked his allies what had happened while he was unconscious. They told him Hans, Mora, and Chamo had chased Nashetania in circles, but near dawn she had escaped the barrier and disappeared. They considered why Nashetania had turned traitorous and how deeply the fiends had pervaded human affairs, but they found no answers there either. 
However, Fremy had provided inside information about the fiends. Apparently among Tgurneu’s subordinates were some known as “specialists.” Rather than ordering them to evolve themselves to be stronger in battle, Tgurneu instructed them to focus exclusively on the unique abilities they each possessed. Certain fiends might specialize in pursuit, while others acquired the ability to invade the body of a Saint and block their powers. One was skilled at interrogating humans. Another fiend had an extremely powerful sense of smell; and there was the creature that had gained the ability to give birth to a child through intercourse with humans. Fremy wasn’t informed as to the powers of every single one of these specialized weapons, but she told the party all she knew about their abilities and appearances. 
After that, the group discussion continued to several other points. By the time the night ended, they had exhausted their supply of talking material. But then suddenly Mora asked for their opinions on a certain matter. 
“What do you want to know, Mora?” asked Adlet. 
“I suggest each of us share right now whom we suspect,” she replied. 
“I told you before, we’re not going to throw accusations around.” 
“And I understand that. But telling us not to have suspicions won’t change the reality that we do. Knowing everyone else’s misgivings could help us avoid false accusations, don’t you agree?” 
The suggestion made Adlet uneasy. But Fremy said softly, “I don’t think it’s a bad idea.” 
“Meow-hee, I don’t think there’s meowch point though,” said Hans. 
“Of course, we will kill no one until we find definitive proof,” assured Mora. “This is ultimately just for possible reference in the future.” 
“Well…I guess we don’t have much choice,” said Adlet, deflating. 
“I suspect Goldof.” Fremy was the first to speak. “He served Nashetania. He’s the most obvious suspect.” 
“Oh? Chamo suspects you, Fremy,” Chamo cut in. “It’s so obvious. You were our enemy until just a little while ago. Chamo hasn’t forgotten that fight, you know.” 
“I’m sure. Anyone else?” Fremy seemed unbothered by Chamo’s remarks. 
“…Speaking frankly, I suspect Goldof as well,” Mora said next. “His service to Nashetania doesn’t prove he’s the seventh. However, I sense nothing that suggests he’s truly devoted to our victory.” 
Goldof silently listened to the three speak. With listless eyes, he gazed vacantly at the ground, hunched over where he sat. He had been like that ever since they had arrived at the Howling Vilelands. 
“Goldof, if you aren’t the seventh, should you not contribute more to the group? You must show us with your words and your attitude that you’re not the traitor. It can’t be pleasant to be suspected like this.” But Mora’s concern didn’t reach him. His heart was still closed to her words, if he even heard them at all. 
When Adlet had first met Goldof, he had been far different. He’d been a strong, loyal young knight, slightly arrogant on occasion—or that was the impression Adlet had gotten, anyway. But once Nashetania had left them, it was as if he’d become an entirely different person. 
“What do you think, Goldof?” asked Adlet. But the youth kept his silence. 
Chamo raised her hand again. “Yeah, so Fremy’s suspicious and all, but Chamo thinks Rolonia’s weird, too.” 
“Eeep!” Rolonia, who had been listening quietly thus far, yelped with a hint of hysteria. “Wh-wh-why…might that be?” 
“Hmm, well…’cause who knows what you’re really thinking, you know? It’s just fishy.” 
“I…I see…I-I’m sorry. I’ll, um…try harder,” Rolonia said, trembling like a leaf. 
“Oh, but maybe it really is Fremy, after all. Yeah, my money’s on Fremy,” Chamo declared flippantly. 
Mora sighed. “What about you, Hans?” she asked. 
Hans put a hand on his chin, considering for a moment. “Me…? I’ve got my doubts about Adlet an’ Chamo, meow.” All present, aside from Goldof, looked at Hans with surprise. “I’m not thinkin’ about who’s fishy. What’s important to me is who we’d have to worry about most if they was the seventh. If one of us is the seventh, the most dangerous’d be Adlet and next’d be Chamo. That’s why I suspect ’em.” 
Adlet was a bit impressed. That’s one way to think about it. 
“So what about mew, Rolonia?” Hans passed the question on to her. Rolonia examined the faces around her, seemingly reluctant to speaking. 
“Just say it,” Fremy advised her. “Chamo just said she doesn’t know what you’re really thinking, didn’t she?” 
Very quietly, Rolonia said, “I suspect…Goldof. It’s…for the same reasons as Lady Mora.” 
Three of the five so far had chosen Goldof. The situation didn’t bode well for him, whether he was a real Brave or the impostor. But still he showed no sign that any of this had affected him. 
“What about you, Adlet?” asked Fremy. 
“I won’t say. I’m the leader. If I announce who I suspect, it’ll damage trust,” Adlet said flatly. 
“Well, meowbe that’s fer the best,” said Hans. 
All eyes turned to the final member, Goldof. He raised his head, and his empty gaze wandered over the others. 
“Goldof,” said Hans. “Whaddaya think? You’re listenin’ to our talk, ain’tcha, meow?” 
“…I’ve been listening,” Goldof said after a pause. 
“So who d’ya suspect, meow?” 
“…Nobody.” His declaration confused them all. Should this have been taken as a confession that he was the seventh? “I don’t…care who’s the seventh. I don’t care…at all.” 
“Goldof. That attitude is the very reason Rolonia and I are suspicious of you.” Mora was finally getting angry. “Why will you not think about who the seventh might be? Why will you not tell us what you know about Nashetania? Do you really want to protect the world?!” 
“…Protect…the world?” Just for a moment, life returned to Goldof’s eyes. He looked at his palms and then clenched his fists. “Yeah…Mora…I’ll…protect the world. I have to…protect it…I’ll…protect the world…That was why I…” His fists began trembling with a strange creaking sound. His grip was so tight the bones in his hands were grinding together. 
“That’s right, Goldof. You’ll keep everyone safe. Are you with us again?” Mora put her hand over Goldof’s, but he coldly shook her off. Then, once his head dropped down again, he wouldn’t reply no matter what the others tried. 
“Well, that was pointless,” said Fremy. 
“So it seems. I’m sorry,” Mora apologized. 
“Enough about this,” said Hans. “I care meowr about Tgurneu.” 
“Right,” Fremy said. “The Cut-Finger Forest is ahead of us. Tgurneu is probably waiting to ambush us there.” 
Even once the conversation turned to other matters, Adlet kept watching Goldof. I’ll protect the world. For some reason, Goldof’s claim had not felt promising to him. In all honesty, though Adlet hadn’t said so, he suspected Goldof, too—he just didn’t seem to be a part of the group. 
Even amid the paranoia smothering the party, they’d still been building a sense of unity. Hans, Adlet acknowledged, was sharp and skilled. Despite his remarks just now, Adlet knew the assassin trusted him. Chamo was a handful, but Adlet had discovered she was surprisingly tractable sometimes, and even cute. Mora had betrayed them once, but her desire to protect her family and her allies was real. He was glad to have Rolonia with them, since she trusted him from the bottom of her heart and would always back him up. Fremy was always at odds with him, but still, in his eyes, she was the most important of all. 
But Goldof was different. Adlet had simply been unable to communicate with him. There was nothing inside him that Adlet could understand; sometimes the young knight seemed like an alien beast to him. He still had no idea who Goldof Auora really was. 
It was the fifteenth day after the Evil God’s awakening. Hans and Mora were all patched up, and Mora’s broken armor had been repaired. The party set out once more, late at night this time, while Fremy’s bullets and Chamo’s slave-fiends killing all the enemies observing the Bud of Eternity before the troupe made their way to the vast forest. 
They all covered themselves with black cloaks courtesy of Adlet, keeping low to the ground as they advanced. Melting into the darkness of night, they forged ever westward. 
They weren’t thinking about killing Tgurneu, nor uncovering the seventh. They only concealed themselves and evaded potential battles. 
“Any enemies behind us, Mora?” Adlet called from the front of the group. 
“No,” Mora replied while bringing up the rear. She was walking backward, her fists raised and facing away from the group. With Hans watching their right and Fremy watching their left, the seven crept forward. 
An earthworm wriggled up to their feet. Chamo plucked it up, bringing the worm’s mouth region up to her ear. “It says about three hundred meters ahead, the enemy made a fence. There’s whole ton of fiends in front of it.” 
“I see,” said Adlet. “Fremy, how big is this fence?” 
“It’s nearly thirty kilometers across,” she replied. “I don’t think it’s possible to go around it. Mora could probably break it, but there’s a mechanism that sets off a loud noise if you come near it.” 
“Do you know how the alarm works?” Adlet asked. 
“It’s a clapper made of string and wood. If your foot catches on the string, the clappers smack together to make noise.” 
“Meow-hee, is that it? I could get past that, easy-peasy.” 
Adlet put a hand to his jaw and considered for a while. Then he gathered the group around him to explain the plan. “First we retreat back about one kilometer. Fremy, you plant a bomb in the ground. After one hour you blow it up. Meanwhile, we’ll be moving north.” 
“So a diversion,” said Mora. 
Adlet nodded. “When the bomb goes off, the fiends should all go toward it. Then Chamo’s slave-fiends will attack the fence. This is also a distraction. We’ll head south toward the blockade. Fremy will snipe the remaining guards, and Hans and I will break the clapper. Mora, you smash us a way through as quietly as you can.” 
“Understood,” said Mora. 
“And please,” he finished, “don’t let the fiends—or Tgurneu—find you.” 
The party moved into action. Soundlessly, they advanced as Fremy’s bomb and Chamo’s slave-fiends sowed confusion among the enemy. Fremy attacked a weakly guarded area, while Adlet, Hans, and Mora burst through the fence. Then, before the fiends on watch could return to their positions, the Braves quickly slipped through to the west. 
“So…it’s all going smoothly, huh, Addy?” Rolonia said, walking beside Adlet. 
“For now.” He happened to glance up at the sky peeking through the gaps in the forest canopy. The stars had already faded, and the black of night was slowly giving way to gray. “Tgurneu’s probably lost track of us. If it did have a hold on what we’re doing, there’d be more fiends waiting for us here.” 
“Y-yes…I’m sure you’re right.” 
“Anyway, our party needs to keep a low profile. We’re gonna run as hard as we can away from Tgurneu until we’re out of this forest, past the ravine, and reach the Weeping Hearth.” After listening to Adlet’s explanation, Rolonia nodded. It seemed the rest of the group didn’t even need to be told. They were not going to fight Tgurneu, and they wouldn’t let it figure out where they were. The top priority was making a beeline straight for the Weeping Hearth. That was the plan. 
“Have you noticed, Adlet…?” Fremy said abruptly. 
“Noticed what?” 
“I’ve heard some fighting behind us, a few times now. The sound is too faint, so I couldn’t tell who’s involved.” 
As they marched, Adlet listened closely. The stirring of the trees, his companions’ footsteps, and also fiends’ cries, or so he thought. “You’re right. There’s a battle going on back there. But who, and with whom?” 
“You want Chamo to go check it out? It’ll take a little while,” said Chamo. 
Adlet shook his head. “I’m curious, but our time is more important. We’ll leave it and move on.” 
Fremy and Chamo nodded, and the seven proceeded farther west. Adlet looked over his shoulder, but the fence was already out of sight. 
About an hour after Adlet’s party passed the blockade, a fiend came to examine the damaged fence. “Hmm. So they’ve broken through here, too. Oh, dear.” The creature had a yeti’s body and the head of a crow, and in its hand was a large fig. The yeti-fiend—Tgurneu—sighed and said, “It seems their plan is to do everything they can to avoid me.” 
Around him were throngs of fiends, clamoring until their voices were hoarse. The superior fiends, those that could speak, were giving out orders to their subordinates to hurry and find the Braves of the Six Flowers. 
“What do you think, Number Eighteen?” 
Beside Tgurneu was a snake-fiend, slender enough to grip in one hand but more than ten meters long. Two arms, thin as twine, grew from its trunk about fifty centimeters from its head. “They’re terríble cowards. Not wörth fearing at all,” it sneered. This fiend was one of Tgurneu’s specialists, considered unique even among its followers—the eighteenth specialist, to be exact. It had evolved itself according to Tgurneu’s instructions to develop its exceptional powers. 
“You’re the one not worth fearing,” Tgurneu scoffed, kicking Number Eighteen lightly. “What would you do if you were in their position? What would be your priority?” 
“I would consider discovéring the seventh to be the most important,” said Number Eighteen. 
Tgurneu sighed. “The worst choice you could think of. The way things stand now, they have no means of ferreting out the impostor, and I doubt they’ve even found any clues that could lead them to the answer. What course do you believe they should take in such a situation?” 
“Üm…” 
“Wait until the seventh makes a mistake. That would be my strategy, if I were them. Any other ideas?” 
“Perhaps they could prioritize defeating you, Cömmander Tgurneu.” 
“That would be an amateur play. Killing me, if they could, would indeed bring them much closer to victory. But they would have to sacrifice something valuable for it. Do you know what?” 
“W-wëll…” 
Tgurneu didn’t wait for Number Eighteen to reply. “Time. There are only fourteen more days until the Evil God’s revival. If they fail to reach the Weeping Hearth before then, we win. If the Six Braves had targeted me, I would’ve devoted all my resources to stall for time. As long as I remained alive, those precious days and hours would slip away.” 
“…” 
“Now do you understand what the best choice available to them is? It’s to run from us, ignore me, and head straight for the Weeping Hearth. As long as I don’t know where they are, even I have only so many options available.” Tgurneu’s beak moved. It seemed the fiend was smiling. “Not bad, Adlet. It seems you’re capable of simple reasoning, after all.” 
“…I have a propósition, Commander Tgurneu. Why don’t we order the sevénth to tell us where the Braves of the Six Flowers are?” 
Tgurneu’s shoulders slumped in utter exasperation. “Any further foolishness from you and I’ll squash you,” it threatened, raising one foot over Number Eighteen. 
The snake-fiend placed its thin, twine-like arms on the ground and bowed its head in apology. 
“Well, no matter. Let’s take it easy. You may conduct a search attempt to lure them out. We have so many ways to play with them.” 
For two days after departing from the Bud of Eternity, Adlet’s party continued its flight through the Cut-Finger Forest. 
Fremy guided them through the intricate and complex growths as Chamo’s slave-fiends hunted around for nearby enemies and unguarded areas. Mora’s power of mountain echo was useful in disorienting enemies, while Adlet and Hans put their heads together to deduce the enemy’s next ploy. When bad luck brought them into contact with the fiends, they fought with everything they had to kill them all before Tgurneu could learn about their position. 
To completely kill a fiend, you had to find the core and smash it, since an intact body would revive again a few years later. But they didn’t have the time for that now. They tossed aside the corpses and pressed forward. 
The Cut-Finger Forest was vast. No matter how great the enemy numbers, they couldn’t hope to guard the whole thing. For two days, Adlet’s party went undetected. As the night ended, the eastern sky swathed in red, the group neared the perimeter of the forest. 
“There was no sign of fiends beyond the woods. I think we can relax and move on,” said Fremy when she returned from scouting ahead. 
“None behind us, either. Guess we’ve totally gotten away,” said Chamo. 
“Tgurneu probably thinks we’re farther neowrth. I think we can keep goin’ this way,” said Hans. 
“So that’s one barrier down, huh?” said Adlet. 
They all shared smiles and shook hands. Adlet offered his hand to Fremy, but she looked away, arms crossed. Equally stubborn, Adlet kept his hand extended. In the end, she reluctantly hooked her fingertips on his and gave him a weak shake. After that, Rolonia and Mora tried to get a handshake, too. Though she regarded the pair sourly, Fremy accepted the gesture. Hans’s offer was refused. 
“The seventh still hasn’t taken action yet, though, have they?” said Fremy. As the party had proceeded through the forest, they had constantly observed each other for signs that they would attack under cover of night or help the enemy find them or covertly contact Tgurneu. But nobody had done anything suspicious. 
“We don’t have to rush to find them,” said Adlet. “The seventh is bound to do something eventually. We just have to keep our eyes open to make sure we catch it.” 
“I hope you’re right,” Fremy replied. 
Adlet’s gaze happened to land on Goldof at the fringes of the group. They had not shared a handshake yet. When he offered, surprisingly enough, Goldof accepted it willingly. 
“You’ve done well, too. Let’s keep on fighting,” said Adlet, but Goldof didn’t meet his eyes or reply. 
During their advance through the woods, Adlet had kept a particularly close eye on Goldof. The knight had followed instructions faithfully and had done nothing at all suspicious. But Adlet still had no idea what he was thinking. Was that soulless attitude an act, or was it real? He couldn’t tell. 
“It’s time to go, Adlet,” Fremy prompted him. “Once we’re through the forest, the ravine is next. Don’t let your guard down.” 
“S-sure. Got it,” Adlet responded and started walking. But Goldof’s behavior wouldn’t leave his thoughts. What was he thinking? What was Nashetania to him now? Even after they emerged from the forest, pressing on westward, he had no answers. 
Adlet was totally unaware of the situation that had already begun to unfold. In a corner of the Cut-Finger Forest, an unimaginable scene was occurring. 
As the party escaped the woods, Tgurneu was reclining in a hammock with a book and a large fig on its chest. 
An eagle-fiend descended from the sky. “I have a rèport, Commander Tgurneu.” 
“Chamo’s slave-fiends attacked and killed the specialist tracking the Six Braves. You’ve basically lost the trail and the scent and presently have no clues at all to their whereabouts. Am I wrong?” Tgurneu answered with mild irritation, eyes still closed. 
“Y-yës, Commander.” 
Tgurneu withdrew a map from above its hammock and examined it. “Now, then, I wonder where they went. Are they still in the northern section of the forest, or have they already arrived at the ravine…?” It mulled over the map for a while. 
“…Commander Tgurneu, your ordérs?” 
“They’ve already left the forest. Leave half the troops there and send the other half to the ravine. We can make that our next playground. Let’s flank them when they’re vulnerable, right when they’re crossing.” 
“Verÿ well, Commander.” Right as the eagle-fiend was about to fly off, Tgurneu reached out to grab its leg. “What iš it, Commander?” 
Tgurneu didn’t reply but instead glanced around. Its inexpressive crow’s head revealed none of its thoughts. “I take back what I just said. Summon the pawns to me.” 
“Uh…why, Cómmander?” 
“The enemy.” 
The eagle-fiend flew off immediately. Tgurneu dropped from its hammock, bit into the fig, and then picked up a club on the ground, squeezing it tight. 
Nearby was the sound of a disturbance—like someone running. 
They must have walked for about five hours after leaving the forest. The sun was already high in the sky. No fiends attacked the seven during their advance due westward. They had now covered two-fifths of the Howling Vilelands. 
After crossing the plains, they were confronted with their next obstacle. 
“Meooow! That’s huge! I’ve never seen nothin’ so big!” Hans cried out when he saw it, sounding delighted for some reason. Its massive size left Adlet speechless, and Mora, Rolonia, and Chamo’s eyes were wide with shock. 
What lay in their path was a ravine. 
It had to be nearly a hundred meters deep and at least a hundred and fifty wide, cutting straight north to south. Looking in either direction, they couldn’t even see the ends. The cliff was a vertical drop of smooth rock with no visible handholds. A boiling river lined the bottom, venting thick steam all the way up to where the seven stood and raising the ambient temperature by five degrees. Adlet had never seen such an enormous canyon in his life. Three days earlier, at the Bud of Eternity, Fremy had told him about this place, but it was far beyond what he had envisioned. 
“I can’t believe it. Fiends carved out this whole thing?” said Rolonia, beside Adlet. 
“The fiends have been preparing for their battle with the Braves of the Six Flowers for three hundred years,” said Fremy. “Digging a ravine like this is nothing to them.” 
The colossal valley before them had not existed when the Saint of the Single Flower battled the Evil God, or when past generations of Braves had answered their calling. It was called Cargikk’s Canyon. The biggest moat in the world, it had been made by the fiend commander Cargikk. According to Fremy, the ravine divided the Howling Vilelands clean in two, and to reach the Weeping Hearth required a successful crossing. 
But the sight of the great ravine transfixed all of them. Eventually, Mora glumly posed the question. “How will we cross it? Tgurneu will eventually notice our departure from the forest. The fiends will flood in, and we’ll be surrounded.” 
“It won’t take us long to find a way. It’ll all work out,” Adlet said, pulling out a rope from the iron box on his back. He gave one end to Mora and climbed down the cliff face. But about seventy meters down, the rising steam became too suffocating, and he immediately scrambled back up to the top. 
“It’s no use, Adlet,” Fremy said curtly. “Even with a Saint’s power, getting across this thing isn’t easy.” 
“Isn’t there a bridge, Fremy?” he asked. 
“There is,” she replied. “One at the northern end and another at the southern end. But I don’t think either one is an option. Cargikk’s minions are waiting for us there, and the bridges are set up to immediately self-destruct if we ever get close to crossing.” 
“Hey, Fremy. Aren’t there any secret paths? Like some way to get across safely without the bridges?” asked Chamo. 
“There’d be no need, would there?” Fremy retorted. “Since the fiends always use the bridges.” 
“’S’pose you’re right…” Chamo crossed her arms and puzzled over the problem. 

The rest of them tried to devise a way across the ravine, too, but no great plans were forthcoming. 
“Rolonia’s whip…wouldn’t reach, I guess,” said Adlet. 
Rolonia gave him a regretful nod. She had soaked the weapon with her own blood so she could manipulate it at will. But even with her powers, it wouldn’t work for a bridge. Her whip was only about thirty meters long. Even if they used Adlet’s rope to add to its length, it wouldn’t reach the other side. 
“Do any of yer pets fly, Chamo?” asked Hans. 
“If they did, we wouldn’t be worrying over this. Do you think Chamo is stupid, catboy?” she replied testily. 
“If Athlay were here, she could have made us a bridge of ice,” Mora lamented, frustrated. The Saint of Ice had been well-known as a candidate for Brave but Fremy, the former Brave-killer, had assassinated her. Athlay had been dead. 
“The reason I killed Athlay of Ice first was to prevent you from getting past this ravine. Tgurneu’s orders,” Fremy said bluntly. 
After that the seven continued to discuss their options for a bit longer, but the only conclusion they reached was that the ravine was insurmountable. Digging a moat to prevent the enemy’s attack was such a simple and straightforward idea, but such banal stratagems really did tend to cause the most trouble. Standard tactics became standard precisely because they were effective. Cargikk could turn out to be an even tougher enemy than Tgurneu. 
“Anyway, standing around talking won’t get us anywhere,” said Adlet. “We’ll split into three groups to look for a way across. Find us something we can work with, no matter how trivial. Hans and Mora, you go north. Me, Rolonia, and Goldof will go south. Chamo and Fremy, you stay here and guard our backs.” 
“This is a more troublesome obstacle than I expected,” said Mora. 
With a nonchalant expression, Adlet replied, “This Cargikk guy is shaping up to be a pretty tough opponent, too. If you guys didn’t bring the strongest man in the world along, you wouldn’t have a chance.” 
“Oho, meow, it’s been a while since we heard your strongest man in the world spiel,” Hans said with a sarcastic smile. 
“’Cause everyone knows it’s a fact by now, so I don’t need to go out of my way to say it.” 
“You’re the only one who believes that stuff, Adlet,” Chamo retorted with some annoyance. 
“I-I believe it. I believe Addy is the strongest man in the world,” said Rolonia, trying to be considerate and wondering if he would get angry. 
“I believe so, too,” agreed Mora. “Adlet may indeed be the strongest in the world, in a way.” 
“Not ‘in a way,’” protested Adlet. “I am the strongest man in the world.” 
Fremy coldly interjected, “You announce you’re the strongest man in the world whenever you’re feeling anxious, don’t you?” 
She’d hit the nail on the head. Suddenly, he didn’t know what to say. 
“Meow-hee, so his incompetence is what made ya fall fer him, then?” asked Hans. 
“No,” Fremy said flatly. 
“Hrmeow-meow-meow. Then just what about him do ya find so attractive?” 
“…You’re terribly obnoxious, aren’t you?” 
Mora cut into their increasingly acerbic exchange. “We have no time. Let’s just go and find a way to deal with this ravine. Come, Hans,” she said, dragging the man northward. 
Adlet was about to head south with Rolonia and Goldof when Fremy called out to a member of the trio. “Rolonia.” 
“Y-yes? What is it?” She had been startled at the sudden mention. 
Fremy leaned in close and whispered something into her ear. Rolonia nodded and ran up to Adlet. 
“What did she say to you?” he asked as they set off at a run. 
For some reason, Rolonia hesitated. “U-um…she told me to make sure to keep you safe.” When Adlet looked back, he saw Fremy watching him. Embarrassed, Adlet continued south. 
“Fremy is a nice person, isn’t she?” said Rolonia. 
She is, thought Adlet, and he nodded. A little while ago, he’d started getting the feeling that Fremy and Rolonia had become friends. Had Rolonia gotten attached to Fremy, or was it the other way around? 
Meanwhile, about twenty kilometers south of Adlet’s party, fifty-odd fiends were gathered together. They had just emerged from the Cut-Finger Forest into a barren land covered with jagged rocks. 
Steam rose from beneath the boulders, and geysers erupted up around them. The fiends called this region the lava zone. A magma-heated water vein ran dozens of meters underneath the surface of the area. 
One of the fiends there was a massive amphibian with stone-plated skin and a large mouth. Occasionally, a strange-smelling vapor wafted from its body. A monkey-fiend was present, too, human-size but painfully thin. Its fur rustled incessantly, never coming to rest. 
And in the center of them all sat a downright adorable creature. It was small and odd-looking, like a cross between a squirrel and a dog. 
“The preparations are complete, Nashetania,” the cute fiend said quietly. Its name was Dozzu. This was the traitor who had rebelled against the Evil God and left the Howling Vilelands, and one of the three commanders governing the fiends. “We will determine our fate today, right here. Nashetania, no matter what comes, let us never give up and always keep on fighting.” Dozzu spoke very softly, so as to be heard only by the girl sitting beside him. 
“Are you worried about me, Dozzu?” Nashetania asked, and then she smiled. “Relax. I’m not scared of anything. Our victory is clear.” 
“…Nashetania.” 
“Goldof is with us, so we have nothing to be afraid of.” 
Dozzu nodded silently. 
“Then let us fight for our ambitions.” 
“For the sake of humanity and fiendkind’s future.” 
“And for our fallen comrades,” Nashetania said, standing and patting the dust off her bottom. “All right, everyone. It’s time for us to kill Chamo Rosso.” 
And with those words, the wheels began rapidly turning. Nashetania smiled as she watched the fiends around her. 
“Hey, Addy…Goldof…” After about ten minutes, Rolonia called to the other two as the two men stared down the cliff. 
“Did you find something?” asked Adlet. His voice held an edge of impatience. No matter how much they searched, no leads were turning up. 
“No, I haven’t, but…don’t you think this is odd?” she asked. 
“What’s odd?” 
“Why are there no fiends around?” 
Now that she mentioned it, Adlet scanned the area nearby. Tgurneu should have noticed by now that they were out of the forest. Even if Tgurneu hadn’t figured it out, it should have at least posted a scout to the ravine. It was quite odd they hadn’t encountered a single fiend so far. 
Adlet took out the signal flare Fremy had given him. The plan was that if anything unusual happened, Fremy would blow it up from afar to summon Adlet, Rolonia, and Goldof. “I guess this means that Fremy’s and Hans’s groups haven’t run into any fights, either.” 
“That’s weird, too…huh?” Rolonia pointed up at the distant sky. Above, a gigantic moth-fiend was flying toward them from deeper in the Howling Vilelands. Apparently unaware of them, it was streaking full-speed toward the southeast. “There was another fiend flying in that direction a little while ago, too.” 
“Strange.” Adlet looked to the southeast, puzzled. He could guess that fiends were gathering, but he didn’t know why. Tgurneu must have predicted that the Six Braves would head to the ravine. Was there any reason to ignore their party and amass fiends in some unrelated location? 
That was when it happened—Goldof started staggering off toward the southeast. 
“What’s wrong, Goldof?” Rolonia called out to him. But the boy didn’t stop. Slow at first, gradually picking up speed, he distanced himself from the two of them. 
Confused, Adlet followed. Something was peculiar about Goldof. Adlet chased him down—the young knight was running now—and grabbed his shoulder. “Hey, don’t just run off. We’re not doing anything over that way right now.” 
The moment Adlet realized his wrist had been grabbed, he was flipping head over heels. Before he could grasp what had just happened, his back hit the ground, and he had an unobstructed view of the blue sky. 
“Addy!” 
It was only when Rolonia called his name that he realized he’d been thrown. 
“What the hell are you doing, Goldof?” Adlet wrenched himself free and rolled to his feet. 
“…Her Highness…is in danger…” 
“What happened? Did something happen to the princess? Did something happen to Nashetania?” But Goldof didn’t reply to Adlet’s question. He just kept striding rapidly to the southeast. “Wait, Goldof. Explain to me! What’s going on with Nashetania?” 
“Her Highness is in danger…I’m going…to save her…” 
“What are you thinking? Nashetania is the enemy!” Adlet circled around to block his path. Goldof’s fist immediately plunged into Adlet’s gut, driving the breath from his lungs. Adlet’s legs buckled, and his knees hit the ground. 
“Goldof! What are you doing?!” Rolonia cried, running up to Adlet. 
The boy turned around and said to them, “Adlet…Rolonia…I’m…going…to save…her.” 
“W-why now, all of a sudden?!” Adlet couldn’t speak, so Rolonia asked for him. 
“Listen…up. Just…listen. Don’t…get in my way. I’m going to…save…her.” Goldof had been like a dead man ever since they had reached the Howling Vilelands, but now light had returned to his eyes. Deep behind his dark irises lurked a glittering flame. “I’m…going…alone. Don’t…follow me.” 
“Wait, please, Goldof! What happened?!” Rolonia yelled after him. 
“The situation…has changed. If you get in my way…I can’t let you live.” 
“C-can’t let us…live?” she stuttered fearfully. 
That was when Adlet noticed something surprising. Tears were falling from Goldof’s eyes. He was looking in the direction that the fiend had disappeared, crying without a sound. 
By the time Adlet was on his feet again, Goldof had already turned away from them and set off at a run again. When Adlet tried to follow, Rolonia stopped him. “You can’t go alone. Right now, he’s…not in his right mind.” With a fearsome speed that was surprisingly for his large frame, Goldof headed southeast. Adlet and Rolonia could only watch his receding back as he left. 
Half an hour later, the six were sprinting across the plains after Goldof. 
“What is going on here?” Fremy demanded. The others, who had learned about the situation from Adlet and Rolonia, all expressed similar bafflement. Adlet didn’t know what it meant, either. 
“Maybe he just finally went insane?” suggested Hans. 
Frankly, Adlet thought that was the most likely explanation, too. Goldof’s behavior was incomprehensible. He knew that the knight felt deeply for Nashetania. And now that she had sided with the fiends, it was only natural for Goldof to want her back on their side. Was that what he had meant by “going to save her”? But Adlet couldn’t figure out why he’d run off to do that now. 
Farther down the road, the party discovered the bodies of some fiends. There were three. Adlet approached them, examining their wounds. 
“Was this Goldof’s work?” asked Mora. As far as Adlet could tell from the wounds, it most likely was. Something heavy and sharp had killed all three fiends in a single blow. Strangely, after they died, each one had had its stomach ripped open. 
“It’s like someone shoved a hand into their stomachs and stirred everything around,” said Adlet. “Goldof is looking for something.” 
“Maybe he’s trying to save Nashetania,” Fremy suggested. 
“…Saving Nashetania by ripping open fiends’ stomachs? How would that work?” The probability that Goldof’s sanity was slipping rose even further. 
They continued after their missing comrade. “What’s ahead?” Mora asked as they pressed forward. 
“A little farther and we’ll be back in the forest,” said Fremy. “Beyond that is the lava zone. There’s a magma chamber underground with active geysers everywhere. It’s a dangerous place.” 
“That idiot…What is he trying to do in a place like that?” Adlet muttered while Fremy came to a halt. The others stopped with her. “What is it, Fremy?” But when Adlet met her eyes, he knew what she was going to say. 
“We shouldn’t follow him.” 
“What?” 
“We have to assume that the lava zone is packed with fiends. Goldof is trying to lure us in. I don’t know what kind of trap Tgurneu and Nashetania have laid for us, but to continue would be suicide.” 
“You’re saying that Goldof is the seventh?” said Adlet. 
“I can’t say for certain. But this is extremely suspicious.” 
“B-but, Fremy,” Rolonia timidly protested, “he may have fallen into some kind of trap himself. Maybe Nashetania tricked him and lured him there…” 
“What do you mean?” asked Fremy. 
“He loves her, doesn’t he? If someone told him that Nashetania was in danger, I think he would go save her. The enemy might have lied to him to lure him into the lava zone.” 
“That doesn’t make sense,” countered Fremy. “How would Nashetania have tricked him and lured him in? Neither you nor Adlet saw or heard anything, right?” 
“Well…I…” 
She had a point. Chamo turned to the now-silent Rolonia and said, “Ohhh? Didn’t you suspect Goldof? Why’re you trying to defend him, then?” 
“U-um…I…” 
After a moment’s thought, Fremy spoke again. “You’re sharp, Chamo. Now that you’ve pointed that out, I’ve come to see a different possibility: Rolonia has tricked Goldof and sent him off to the lava zone. Now she’s having us chase Goldof to lead us all there. It’s not entirely unlikely.” 
Rolonia was stunned, unable to say anything as her lips opened and closed. 
“No more baseless speculations. Let’s leave that aside—we must reach a conclusion now on what to do about Goldof. Adlet, what do we do next?” asked Mora. 
But Adlet couldn’t decide. It seemed virtually certain enemies were lying in wait for them, and it was true that Goldof had been acting suspiciously. In his hesitation, he looked at Hans for wisdom. 
But Hans shook his head. “You decide, meow. Someone who don’t make decisions ain’t a leader.” He was right. Adlet was ashamed of himself for trying to leave this to someone else. 
“Frankly, I’m suspicious of Goldof, too,” he finally said. “And just abandoning him right now…Well, it wouldn’t totally be out of the question. But…” He stopped, agonizing for a moment. “I saw Goldof’s eyes. You can’t fake that kind of look. He’s sincerely trying to save Nashetania; I know that for a fact. At the very least, he’s not trying to trick us.” 
Rolonia nodded in response. “So?” 
“I think there’s still a possibility that Goldof isn’t the seventh. And as long as that possibility remains, we can’t abandon him. If we give up on helping and protecting our allies, we’re done for.” 
With cold anger filling her eyes, Fremy replied, “Fine. We’ll suppose that Goldof isn’t the seventh. And let’s say that Goldof has gone off to try to save Nashetania. But Nashetania is our enemy. If Goldof is going to save her, then he’s not on our side. He’s just a traitor. Why are you going to go save a traitor?” 
“He hasn’t betrayed us. He was in love with her. Wanting to protect the one you love isn’t betrayal.” 
“…Are you seriously going to go save Goldof?” Fremy demanded. Adlet nodded. Furious, she grabbed him by the collar. “Stop screwing around!” 
“F-Fremy…” Rolonia was upset. 
“You’re naive!” said Fremy. “Goldof is either the seventh, a traitor, or a lunatic! It’s one of those three! Why do we have to throw ourselves into danger in order to save him?!” 
“Meow. Yer yellin’, Fremy.” But she didn’t even hear Hans’s attempt to calm her down. 
“I won’t abandon an ally. I’ve made my decision, and I’m not changing it,” Adlet said, and he pried off Fremy’s hands. 
“Then I can’t go with you,” she said. 
Then Rolonia said, “Fremy, I think Addy is right.” 
“Why?” 
“I’m hopelessly anxious right now,” Rolonia explained. “I have no idea what kind of traps are waiting for us, and I could fall under suspicion of being the seventh at any time. And even so, we have to fight.” 
“So?” 
“But Addy will never abandon me. He’ll trust me to the very end. That peace of mind is what helps me fight, even if I can just barely manage it. I can join this battle because I believe Addy won’t betray me. And it’s not just me—I think all of us feel that way.” The group fell silent. 
“Fremy, you should yield this once,” said Mora. “I understand your feelings, but…let’s trust in Adlet.” 
“We made the decision to let him lead. Say what ya want, but there’s no helping it neow.” Hans smiled and started walking. 
Fremy looked down, shoulders slumped. “Adlet, I…” She started to say something but then held her tongue. Adlet could tell she’d been terribly hurt, but he couldn’t find any words to comfort her. 
One hour later, the six stepped into the lava zone, watchful of their surroundings. The ground was covered in craggy, dark gray rocks. Some of them were red hot, and Adlet could feel the heat through the soles of his shoes. Occasionally, steam would spew out from cracks between the rocks. The stench of the sulfur was strong enough to bring a grimace to Adlet’s face. The land was utterly lifeless, without a single insect or plant to be seen. 
Adlet didn’t know anything about the area. Neither the Saint of the Single Flower nor past Braves had visited this place. Even Fremy said that she’d only passed close by here a handful of times. 
“…Not a fan of this terrain,” Adlet muttered. Rows of steep, rocky mounds between five and twenty meters high rose before them. Almost nothing was level. The hills were irregular, making visibility especially poor. Even from a higher vantage point, he couldn’t make a proper mental map of the topography. It was the perfect place to launch an ambush. 
“This doesn’t appear to be naturally occurring,” said Adlet. 
Fremy replied, “I heard it was originally a big volcano. When Cargikk made that ravine, it diverted the lava from here to there.” 
At the top of a nearby rock hill, Hans pointed off in the distance. “Hrmeow. There’s fiend corpses over there, too. Guess Goldof made it pretty far into the lava zone.” They all headed in the direction he had indicated. 
The bodies were in a similar state to ones they had found in the forest. They had been impaled, killed instantly, and then their stomachs had been sliced open. 
“What is Goldof doing?” Mora grumbled. They continued on. 
After about thirty minutes of walking, they crossed a string of small but steep hills. Between the hills, they discovered yet more corpses. Adlet had expected an ambush in the lava zone, but all they had encountered were dead bodies and no living fiends at all. There was no indication they would be attacked, either. 
“No one’s here. Maybe it is a trap,” Chamo suggested. 
Goldof couldn’t have killed them all, Adlet thought. 
When they walked even farther, a large, trapezoidal hill, about thirty meters high, came into view. When they climbed to the top, they found it was hollowed out in the center, forming a flat pit with a radius of about seventy meters. 
When Adlet peered down into the cavity, he gulped. “What on earth…?” Inside were piles of bodies—more than two hundred. The group rushed down the slope into the pit. 
“Goldof couldn’t have done this all alone, could he?” said Rolonia. 
“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.