Rokka no Yuusha - Volume 3 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 
A String of Battles 

Goldof and Dozzu pushed on through the lava zone. Their line of sight was obstructed in every direction, so if they wanted to avoid getting taken by surprise, they’d have to proceed cautiously. But the pair raced forward without the slightest hesitation. Here, too, they fought several fiends, and each time, Goldof sliced their stomachs open in search of Nashetania. 
“Listen, Goldof, Nashetania won’t be in there,” said Dozzu. 
Goldof agreed with Dozzu. If Nashetania was in a fiend’s stomach, it probably wouldn’t be one of the rank and file. But he still couldn’t help himself from checking. 
“More importantly,” Dozzu added, “has she not contacted you at all?” 
“No. I think…she can’t…talk…right now,” Goldof replied, putting a hand on his helmet. He could hear the bell warning him she was in danger, but nothing else. 
Goldof had told Dozzu all the information he’d learned from the Helm of Allegiance. When he had told Dozzu that Nashetania was inside a fiend’s stomach, it had grimaced. It would be difficult to find out which fiend held her. Without more information from Nashetania, it would be nearly impossible to pinpoint her location. 
The two of them ventured deeper into the land over the magma chamber. After they climbed a stone hill, a large trapezoidal mound came into view. Dozzu saw it and said, “Over there—that’s where Nashetania was taken.” Goldof clambered up the slope to the top. In the hill’s center was a large pit filled with piles of bodies. They all seemed to be still. It appeared Tgurneu and Nashetania had already left. 
“Are these…your…comrades?” Goldof asked Dozzu beside him as they descended the slope. 
“They were all so brave. I’ll roll in my grave if we fail to see their passion rewarded,” said Dozzu. The fiend lowered its nose as it ran down the slope, snuffling along the earth. “Please wait just a moment. I’m trying to pick up which way Nashetania went.” 
Goldof nodded and then scanned the area for anything of concern. But he had no idea what he was looking for, so clearly he wasn’t going to find anything. He called out to Nashetania through his helmet over and over, but still received no answer. Curbing his impatience, he waited for Dozzu to find something. 
“I’ve figured it out,” it said. “I can’t find Nashetania’s scent, but I know now where Tgurneu and his followers are headed. Most of the surviving fiends headed southward. Tgurneu, and most likely Nashetania as well, are among them.” 
“All right. Then let’s go,” said Goldof. He dashed off, Dozzu following after him. “What is Tgurneu…heading south…for?” 
“He must plan to get rid of her, after all. Tgurneu can’t kill Nashetania himself, so he’ll hand her over to Cargikk’s fiends to have them do it instead.” 
“Any other…possibilities?” 
“Alternatively, he may be planning to use Nashetania as a hostage to threaten you. That would be the only worthwhile use he could get out of it.” 
“…I see.” As Goldolf used his hands to scale a steep slope, he wondered—was Dozzu really telling the truth? Maybe it wasn’t Tgurneu who was trying to lure him in to kill him, but Dozzu. Was Nashetania actually in danger? 
But still, Goldof couldn’t stop. The princess could die. As long as that possibility existed, he had to go save her. If this was a trap, then he’d just have to break out of it on his own. 
Goldof and Dozzu traversed over the waste for another fifteen minutes. Then, apparently puzzled, Dozzu stopped sniffing the ground. 
“What is it?” asked Goldof. 
“This is odd. The fiends are moving too slowly. If their plan is to hand Nashetania off to Cargikk’s followers, they should be moving faster.” 
“So what’s…going on?” 
“I don’t know what Tgurneu is trying to do. But regardless, at this rate, we should catch up to them soon.” Still looking perplexed, Dozzu started running again. 
When they crested the next rock hill, they arrived at a somewhat open expanse. The moment they got to the top, Goldof was stunned. There had to be fifty fiends waiting for them, clearly anticipating their arrival. But it wasn’t the enemies that shocked him. What left him breathless was Nashetania, right there in the center of the crowd. She was sitting on the back of a giant rock-skinned lizard, fiddling with the slim sword in her hands. The armor she wore was different than he remembered, but it was clearly her. 
“Your Highness!” Goldof called out to her. 
Without a word, Nashetania pointed her sword at him, and the fiends charged en masse. 
At first he was suspicious, thinking it was a trap after all. But when he looked at Dozzu beside him, he noticed the fiend’s eyes were wide with shock. 
“Nashetania! You were safe?!” Dozzu cried, running up to Nashetania. 
The charging fiends attacked it. Dozzu rolled to one side to avoid the assault, but then a score of blades sprouted from the ground, drawing blood where they grazed its tiny body. 
Goldof couldn’t understand it. If this was a trap and the goal was to kill him, then why attack Dozzu, too? Nashetania had told him that the fiend commander would never betray her and she’d never betray it, either. 
The fiends descended on him, and Goldof raised his spear to repel the onslaught crashing toward him. These he couldn’t kill in one stab. They were clearly superior creatures, very different from the cannon fodder he’d been fighting before. 
“Your Highness! What’s going on?!” Goldof cried out to her, but she didn’t reply. She continued her merciless barrage of blades at Dozzu. Wordlessly, she smiled and kept up the fight. 
His next suspicion was that perhaps this Nashetania was a fake. Adlet had told him that some fiends could transform. But even a shape-shifter wouldn’t be able to mimic her power over blades. That meant this Nashetania was real. And the Helm of Allegiance’s ringing hadn’t stopped. She was still captive and in peril. Goldof didn’t understand what was going on. He couldn’t manage to muster anything but bewilderment. 
“What are you doing, Nashetania?! We came to save you! Don’t you recognize us?!” Dozzu yelled, dodging attacks from the fiends closing in around it. Horn sparking, it roared and called down lightning in every direction. Two enemies fell in a single blow. “Nashetania! Why?!” Dozzu tried to run to her, but she retaliated with a blade that impaled it from stomach to back, suspending it in midair. Dozzu twisted itself off the spike and backed away from Nashetania. 
“Ngh!” Distracted by Nashetania and Dozzu, Goldof had left himself open to an attack from behind. Another three fiends approached him from the front. He raised his spear high, feinting a downward swing onto the one before him but then jamming the butt into the ground instead. He leaned on the spear, vaulting himself up with a wide leap, flying high and somersaulting in the air to land past the fiends. Then he charged toward Nashetania. Of course, he wasn’t going to kill her. He was planning to slay that stone lizard-fiend and then hit her in the jaw or stomach to knock her out. 
“…Hee-hee.” Nashetania giggled, and blades sprouted up from the ground at Goldof. Most of them pinged off his armor, and the rest he deflected with his spear, but one managed to bite into his foot. 
“Gah!” Goldof collapsed, and immediately, fiends rushed in around him to attack together. But still, he reached out toward Nashetania. 
A blade stabbed up through the ground and skewered his outstretched hand. Blood streaked down the metal, dripping onto the ground. Why? he thought, rising and rolling to the side to dodge a fiend attack. He couldn’t get any closer. All he could do was keep on the defensive and run. “Your Highness!” 
Nashetania ignored him and slapped the head of the stone lizard-fiend under her. The creature began a sluggish lope away from Goldof. 
“Mister Goldof! Follow her, please!” Dozzu cried. 
But the others were blocking Goldof’s way, and he couldn’t follow her. A few followed her in her retreat northward. 
“Where are you going?! Nashetania! Nashetania!” 
Dozzu shouted, but she didn’t even look back. She simply continued over a rock hill and out of sight. 
The foes surrounding them were all powerful. It took nearly half an hour to finish off the whole group. Whenever Goldof tried to pursue Nashetania, they hounded him, trapping him in the area. Once they’d finally defeated them all, Goldof regarded Dozzu with a look of utter loathing. 
“…What’s going on, Dozzu?” he demanded. The Helm of Allegiance was still telling him Nashetania was in danger. But it was clear that she was not anyone’s prisoner. 
“Mister Goldof, is the Helm of Allegiance still ringing?” asked Dozzu. 
“Yeah.” 
“Then…Nashetania is still captive.” 
“…Explain,” Goldof said, pulling a needle and thread from beneath his armor as he spoke. Still standing, he swiftly stitched up his wounds and pasted medicine on them to stanch the bleeding. 
“Tgurneu commands fiends known as specialists. They’re tools that lack the ability to fight, but in exchange, each of them has a unique power that other fiends cannot imitate. One of these may be able to control humans. Controlling a human is very difficult, but it may be possible for them.” 
“You’re saying…she’s being controlled? Do you have proof?” 
“No. The powers of these specialists are a mystery. But I can’t think of anything else.” 
Goldof tried to follow Nashetania northward, but the pain from the stab wounds she’d given him prevented that. He pulled a small metal bottle out from beneath his armor and swallowed a gulp. This medicine was another of the treasured hieroforms that had been passed down through Piena’s royal family. It didn’t heal wounds—it cleared pain and exhaustion so you could force yourself to fight. It was half medicine, half poison. 
“I believe this fiend is probably like a parasite,” said Dozzu. “If we can remove it from her body, that should solve the problem.” 
“Anyway…this means we have no option but to catch her.” Goldof hadn’t seen this coming. He couldn’t have imagined that he’d have to fight Nashetania in order to save her. But still, it wouldn’t be impossible. One-on-one, he was stronger than her. 
The two of them began running northward. That was when Dozzu said, “Can you hear that, Goldof? Just a moment ago, a fight started north of here. I think it’s near the pit where Nashetania was captured.” 
“What? Who is it?” Goldof listened closely. The noise coming from the Helm of Allegiance interfered, making it difficult to hear, but he could still just barely pick out the crack of gunshots. “I told them…not to come…” The others had followed him. He silently cursed Adlet. They should have just ignored Goldof and focused on crossing the ravine. 
“The Six Braves must be fighting with Nashetania. We have to stop them. At this rate they’ll kill her,” said Dozzu. 
As they ran, Goldof agonized. Adlet and the rest of the Braves were certain to kill Nashetania. He’d have to fight them to free her. They would never forgive him for that, and Goldof knew it. Even if Tgurneu’s fiend was controlling Nashetania, she was still their enemy. Goldof had feared this inevitable situation ever since they had set foot in the Howling Vilelands. Finally, the time to make a decision had come. His feet came to a halt. He couldn’t keep going when he still hadn’t reached any answers. 
“What will you do, Goldof?” Dozzu stopped as well. The fiend seemed to understand Goldof’s dilemma. “I’m of the same opinion as Nashetania. If you say you can’t fight an ally, then there’s nothing for it.” 
“Shut up,” said Goldof. Clutching his chest, he recalled the sound of Nashetania’s voice as she had cried for help through the Helm of Allegiance. 
A fiery blaze seared his heart, screaming at him to kill all who would harm her. It was burning in him, urging him to go to Nashetania’s aid just like it had on that day six years ago. He’d always known he would have to destroy everything that would hurt her. “Let’s go, Dozzu. We’ll save her.” 
“Thank you, truly. And I’m very sorry,” said Dozzu, approaching his feet. “Goldof, how many times have you fought her now?” 
The sudden question confused Goldof. “The first time was during the tournament. That last fight…was the second.” 
“Has she ever escaped from you?” 
“…Why ask me that?” 
“…Pardon me. This isn’t the time for idle chat. Let’s go,” Dozzu said, scampering off. Unease colored the fiend’s expression—even desperation. 
“What’re you…talking about?” 
“Nothing, nothing at all.” 
They had been running for about five minutes when suddenly Goldof realized that the distant sounds of battle had stopped. The Helm of Allegiance was still ringing. Nashetania was not dead. 
Then Mora’s voice echoed toward them from far away. “GOLDOF! GOLDOF! CAN YOU HEAR ME? NASHETANIA HAS NEARLY KILLED CHAMO!” Reflexively, the young knight stopped. “NASHETANIA HAS PUT A HIEROFORM INTO HER STOMACH! WE MUST DEFEAT HER, OR CHAMO WILL DIE! NASHETANIA HAS FLED FROM US! CHASE HER DOWN AND KILL HER!” 
Goldof looked down at Dozzu. The fiend was bristling, its expression sour. “It seems the situation…has worsened even further.” 
Goldof stood two kilometers from Chamo’s pit. Mora had explained what had happened with her mountain echo. Chamo was dying because of a blade gem that Nashetania had put inside her. The only way to save her was to kill Nashetania, and the princess had to be within one kilometer of the pit. They had three hours until the girl was dead. 
Now that Goldof understood the situation, he clenched his spear, pointing it at Dozzu. “So…this is what’s going on, Dozzu?” 
“Wait, please, Goldof!” Dozzu backed away. 
“…You weren’t after me…you were after Chamo…weren’t you? You used me to lure the Braves here…Then you activated that blade gem thing…Is that it?” 
“No! We didn’t put that blade gem in her. You must already know that Nashetania can’t create hieroforms.” 
“…” Goldof thought back. Once, two years ago, Nashetania had suddenly stolen his spear, telling him she was going to modify it to make him stronger. Being without his weapon of choice had inconvenienced him for a time. One month later, she had announced she had failed and returned the spear to him. Nashetania couldn’t make hieroforms. But could he be truly certain that wasn’t an act? 
“This is another of Tgurneu’s tricks,” said Dozzu. “He’s trying to kill Chamo and making it seem as if it’s Nashetania’s doing.” 
“You think…I’ll believe that?” Slowly, Goldof edged forward. 
Dozzu continued. “Tgurneu must have had one of the old Saints of Blades create a hieroform and then put it in Miss Chamo’s stomach. It’s only activated now.” 
“…” 
“Tgurneu is using Nashetania as a decoy, making the Braves believe she’s the one responsible in order to keep them from figuring out the truth.” 
“That couldn’t…” 
“He will make Adlet kill Nashetania, and while that’s going on, kill Chamo with the blade gem. That’s Tgurneu’s goal,” Dozzu rapidly explained. “Please, calm down and think about it, Goldof. If Nashetania had the power to create a blade gem, she would have used it earlier. If she’d triggered it while you were all running around inside the Phantasmal Barrier, she could have killed one of you, at the very least. She could have gotten Chamo out of the way ahead of time, before all of you were assembled.” 
“…But…” 
“But she didn’t. That proves it, more than anything, doesn’t it?” 
Still clenching his spear, Goldof faltered. Was Dozzu his enemy or his ally? He didn’t know who his adversaries were. He had no idea who he should fight to protect Nashetania. 
“The one most likely to have implanted the gem was Fremy. She fought Chamo once and lost. I couldn’t say how she did it, but she must have done it then.” 
That did make sense. But Goldof couldn’t trust Dozzu anymore. The Helm of Allegiance was still ringing, warning him of impending danger. But was Nashetania really at risk? He wasn’t sure anymore. 
“It’s far too late to be asking you to trust me,” said Dozzu. “That would be unreasonable. But this much is true: At this rate, they’ll kill Nashetania!” 
“Shit!” Goldof yelled, running off again. He just couldn’t discern what was real. But Nashetania was in trouble, and he had to help her. 
At this point in time, Goldof did not yet feel that he had betrayed the Braves of the Six Flowers. He had no intention of killing his allies. While he was trying to save Nashetania, he was also looking for a way to help Chamo. But he didn’t reply to Mora’s summons, instead choosing to work together with Dozzu, his enemy. Objectively speaking, he was already a traitor. 
As Goldof ran over the heated earth, he heard the sound of explosions far away. Those were Fremy’s bombs. The pair turned westward. 
“I’ll assume…for now…you’re telling…the truth,” said Goldof as they ran. “First…I’ll catch Her Highness. You…remove the fiend…that’s controlling her. Can you do that?” 
Dozzu nodded. “There are methods to deal with them. Though this can only be done if Nashetania is unconscious and there are no enemies around.” 
“Then…I’ll do that. Once you’ve dealt with it…you take her…and leave the gem’s area of effect.” 
“Understood.” 
“Then the others’ll…realize that she’s not the enemy. Then I’ll…find the one who’s really using the gem…and save Chamo.” 
“It seems…this will be a difficult battle,” Dozzu muttered. It surely would be. 
But Goldof wasn’t afraid. He’d win, no matter who his enemy was—or so he told himself. 
He might have to fight Nashetania herself to protect her. So there was something he had to make sure of first. 
“Dozzu…that stealth power…she has… If you focus on looking…and hurt yourself…you can see through it…right?” he asked. 
Dozzu’s expression changed. The fiend pensively regarded Goldof. “That’s exactly right. You do know. That’s good; it saves me the trouble of explaining.” 
Was it something to be glad about? Goldof couldn’t figure out what Dozzu was thinking. “If she…doesn’t leave…the area of effect…I’ll know you were lying. Then…I’ll kill you. I swear I will.” 
“Understood.” 
They crested another rock hill, and now the blade gem’s area of effect was just ahead. Nashetania was running with her group of fiends. Goldof picked out Adlet, Fremy, and then Rolonia following her. It didn’t appear any of the other Braves were after her. 
The fiends were attacking Adlet in an attempt to slow him down, but Rolonia’s whip and the redhead’s sword sent them scrambling. Goldof saw Fremy’s bullet skim past Nashetania’s head. Ice-cold chills ran down his spine. 
They were attacking her. She was about to be killed. The sight instantly ignited the flames in Goldof’s heart. All his mental faculties were extinguished, and all he wanted to do was slaughter Adlet and the rest. Clutching his chest, he desperately attempted to calm the impulse. “I’ll…stop the Braves. I can stop three…or at least two. You restrain Her Highness,” Goldof said, dashing ahead. 
Dozzu called after him, “Goldof, watch out for her power.” 
“Of course,” Goldof replied. 
“Please, come on! Can’t you run any faster?!” Nashetania yelled. It seemed like she might meet a bloody end any moment now. Goldof judged that it would be impossible to resolve this through discussion. He wasn’t good with words like Adlet was. Besides, the others were suspicious of him. They probably wouldn’t listen, anyway. 

Goldof removed the chain connecting the spear to his wrist and lobbed it as hard as he could. Meanwhile, Dozzu ran to intercept Nashetania. 
Adlet and Rolonia turned to Goldof, while Fremy pursued Nashetania. Goldof had to stop Fremy. He started after her. A bomb formed in Fremy’s palm, and she hurled it at him. He dodged to the side, weathering the subsequent blast. The wounds from his fight with Nashetania throbbed. 
“Oh no, you don’t!” Adlet cried, and Goldof just barely avoided his poison needle. But as he darted away, Fremy’s second bomb hit him in the chest. The thickest part of his armor blocked it, but it still sent him soaring backward. 
Goldof had to stop all three of them. If he didn’t give this fight everything he had, he was going to lose his life. He had to be prepared to hurt them. 
“Fremy! Rolonia!” Adlet yelled. “You follow Nashetania! Let me handle Goldof!” 
“…I can’t let you go,” said Goldof. 
Fremy and Rolonia were gaining on the fleeing Nashetania. Goldof desperately tried to catch up, but Adlet was approaching from behind to attack him. Goldof managed to block Adlet’s smoke bomb, but Rolonia’s whip and Fremy’s bullets formed a merciless fusillade. He somehow managed to take Adlet and Rolonia down unarmed, but while he was busy with them, Fremy raced off far beyond his reach. 
“Fremy! Don’t worry about us! You can’t lose sight of Nashetania!” yelled Adlet. 
Goldof was about to run behind them to stop her, but before he could, Adlet and Rolonia blocked his path. He was forced to give up the chase. “You…handle Fremy!” he shouted to Dozzu, who’d gone after Nashetania. Goldof had no choice but to leave Fremy to the fiend. He would stop Adlet and Rolonia. “…You’re in the way,” he declared and spread his arms before the two of them. 
Adlet yanked the spear Goldof had thrown out of the ground, pointed it at its owner, and said, “Why, Goldof? You get what’s going on, don’t you? Chamo is about to die. We have no choice but to kill Nashetania to save her. Didn’t you hear Mora’s mountain echo?” Of course Goldof had heard Mora. That’s why he was doing this. 
“Please stop, Goldof! We have to defeat Nashetania. We have no choice if we want to save Chamo.” Rolonia, too, urged Goldof to stop. 
Goldof believed they were both kind people. Even this late in the game, they hesitated to kill him. He felt a little guilty about fighting them. 
“Goldof, talk to us. Who tricked you? And how?” 
“It’s the same as what happened with Mora, right? You’ve been coerced to fight us somehow, right? Haven’t you?” 
Adlet, then Rolonia, attempted to start a conversation. 
Maybe they were right. Maybe Goldof was just being deceived. But still, he couldn’t stop this fight. If he let them go now, they were sure to kill Nashetania. Even if she was the enemy, even if she was a traitor to the human race, Goldof wanted her to live. 
Enough hesitation. You can’t beat them if you don’t make up your mind, he told himself. “I can’t let you…go beyond this point.” 
“Goldof…” Adlet trailed off. 
“If you want to get past me…you have to…kill me first.” Once those words left Goldof’s mouth, the look in Adlet’s eyes changed. The kindness and naïveté vanished. Goldof hardened his resolve. He intends to kill me. 
He had to stop both of them right there until Dozzu could excise the fiend controlling Nashetania. That was his only task now. He was at a steep disadvantage here, two-on-one, and Adlet had Goldof’s spear, too. But still, he was not afraid. 
The fight began. 
Rolonia’s screech rang out across the heated earth: 
“Diediedietraitoryougottadieorthesunwon’trisetomorrow!” 
Goldof blocked her whip strikes with his armor. If the lash hit his exposed flesh, he wouldn’t survive this. As he defended himself, he reached out toward Adlet for his weapon. Adlet stabbed and kicked at him, trying to keep Goldof from taking it back. A smoke bomb burned Goldof’s eyes, and the blows from Rolonia’s whip stung his wounds. But even then, he kept on struggling. 
As the battle raged, Goldof thought to himself—somewhere in their hearts, Adlet and Rolonia were probably still hesitant. They still weren’t sure whether or not they should kill him. As he grappled with them, his eyes darted in the direction Nashetania had gone. Had Dozzu pulled it off? Had it managed to stop Fremy and extract the fiend controlling Nashetania? Dozzu had a difficult task to tackle, too. All Goldof could do now was pray for Dozzu’s success. 
“Adlet…don’t kill…Her Highness,” Goldof said during their fight. He knew full well that Adlet was not going to listen. 
“Whywhywhywon’tyoudieyouwon’tdiedon’ttouchAddydon’ttouchFremydon’ttouchChamoDIEEE!” Rolonia shrieked as she cracked her whip at him. He dodged, and when he found an opening in her whip’s trajectory, he darted through to steal back his spear. 
Adlet took one hand off the spear to pull a tool from his waist. Goldof immediately grabbed Adlet’s hand to snatch the needle away. He threw it at Rolonia’s face as he recovered his own weapon, and as he drove Adlet back, he remembered what Dozzu had said—that Fremy was the seventh and that she was the one who put the blade gem in Chamo. 
Finally, Goldof figured he’d share the information with Adlet and Rolonia, too. 
“Listen…the enemy…isn’t Her Highness… It’s Fremy,” Goldof said, and then he thrust the butt of his spear into Adlet’s stomach. He wouldn’t be able to move for a while, not after that body blow. 
That’ll be enough to slow them down, Goldof thought, and he stopped his assault. They shouldn’t have tried to prevent him from saving Nashetania, but that was no reason to kill them. 
More importantly, he had to go to help Dozzu. He couldn’t even guess as to how things were going on that front. He ran after Nashetania, crossing over a rock hill to find Fremy fighting a crowd of fiends. These were the same ones that had accompanied Nashetania only moments ago. His liege herself was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Dozzu. 
“Better than…I’d hoped,” Goldof muttered. This was doubly advantageous for him. Fremy would be pinned on the spot for a while, and now the fiends around Nashetania would not be bothering Goldof and Dozzu. Goldof ran past Fremy, continuing in a clockwise arc. 
Now he just had to catch up to Nashetania. He’d knock her out and remove the human-controlling fiend that Dozzu had claimed was inside her, and then he’d carry her out of the gem’s area of effect. After that, Adlet’s party would stop trying to kill her for the time being. If Dozzu was lying, and Nashetania was the one who’d put the blade gem into Chamo, then Goldof would kill Dozzu, seize Nashetania, and forcibly move her away from the gem. That would save both Nashetania and Chamo. 
“I won’t…let them die. Not Her Highness…and not Chamo,” Goldof muttered. The Helm of Allegiance had never stopped ringing all this time. Nashetania was still in danger. 
Goldof went on about a half-circle counterclockwise, and there he found Dozzu. Ahead of the fiend, he could see Nashetania racing away. “Dozzu!” yelled Goldof. 
“I’m over here!” Dozzu called back. 
Ten more minutes of running and Goldof caught up to Dozzu. They’d reach Nashetania soon. “I’ve…slowed them down. Not for long…though,” Goldof said as they chased Nashetania together. 
“I knew you’d be able to manage it.” Dozzu smiled. 
Nashetania was ascending the steep slope of one of the slightly higher hills, and Goldof and Dozzu were right behind. Goldof used his hands to scale the hill. I’ll catch up to her at the peak, he thought. 
“Goldof, I’ll stop her with a lightning strike,” said Dozzu. “Please push her down and constrict her throat to knock her out.” 
“Got it.” 
They hit the top of the hill, and at the summit was a big pit. Nashetania stood in the middle of it, her sword raised and ready to fight back. Focusing everything he had, Goldof leaped off the rock, about to charge at her when— 
It happened in an instant. Sensing a threat, Goldof launched himself sideways instead. A bolt of electricity hit the spot where he had just been standing. The strike was so powerful, if it had hit its mark, he wouldn’t have stood a chance. Dozzu had been waiting to stab him in the back after all. 
“It missed?” 
Nashetania swiped at him with her sword. Goldof rolled farther to the side to avoid a blade piercing from the ground, then dodged again to evade Dozzu’s second attack. The blitz was relentless—lightning from behind, knife edges from below. 
Goldof was not shocked. Hardly. I knew it. 
It had all been a lie. Nashetania and Dozzu had tricked him. All along, the plan had been to use him and then murder him. 
Tgurneu had never captured Nashetania. She had been the one to put the blade gem in Chamo’s stomach, and that story about a fiend of Tgurneu’s controlling her was also false. Her goal had been to lure the Braves of the Six Flowers here, kill Chamo with the blade gem, make Goldof careless, and then kill him when his guard was down. That was the truth. He’d expected as much. 
“Dozzu! Don’t let Goldof escape!” Nashetania yelled. 
Dozzu’s horn charged with fat sparks, and then the fiend unleashed its most powerful thunderbolt yet. Figuring he couldn’t dodge it, Goldof threw his spear instead. 
There was a roar as the lightning hit the weapon, stopping short of Goldof. But the heat still scorched him. This was the first time in his life he’d ever experienced the pain of a lightning strike. He fell, rolling down the slope as Nashetania’s blades stabbed at him. He just barely wrenched his vital organs away from the spikes. 
“Aaggh!” He screamed in pain as he tumbled down the hill. 
Oddly enough, he wasn’t angry. He didn’t feel like he could be outraged at the deception. He and Nashetania had been enemies all along. It was his fault for falling for it. 
The instant before the final lightning strike descended on the boy rolling down the slope, he grabbed one of the blades thrusting from the ground. Fingers bleeding, he snapped it off and flung it at Dozzu. The keen edge skimmed Dozzu’s face, the lightning missed, and Goldof barely kept his life. 
He tried to go for Nashetania, but razors stabbed up from below, blocking his way and piercing his side. Blood dribbled from his mouth. Another electric bolt seared through him, and his entire body went numb. He couldn’t move anymore. But still Goldof kept on fighting. Even now he wasn’t considering killing Nashetania. The only thing in his mind was protecting her. 
Dozzu and Nashetania stopped attacking. They were both out of breath. 
“I can hardly believe you’re human,” Nashetania said, panting heavily. “We surrounded you with fiends, made you fight with Braves, and ambushed you, and you still won’t go down. What a monster.” Pleased by the compliment, Goldof smiled, just a bit. 
“I have something to request of you, Goldof. Would you please die without a fuss?” Nashetania gave him a wicked smile. “If we can kill you and also manage to keep running around until Chamo dies, it’ll be just one more step to victory for us. If we can eliminate one last Brave, Tgurneu and Cargikk will submit to us.” 
“…Your Highness…” 
“Die to save us, Goldof.” 
Goldof closed his eyes for a while. Then he checked the ground at his feet and replied, “Yes. Very well, Your Highness.” 
“Huh?” 
“Goldof?” 
Shock made itself plain on Nashetania and Dozzu’s faces. Goldof seized the moment to make his move, kicking a nearby rock as hard as he could. The rock smashed into Nashetania’s face and shattered into pieces. 
“Sometimes…I…” 
Everything happened in an instant. In the blink of an eye, Goldof was advancing on Nashetania, rolling forward to dodge the blades from below. He swept her feet out from under her, and when she lost her balance, he grabbed her face, slamming it against the ground, hard. 
“I…lie…too.” 
“Gah-hah!” The impact drove the breath from her lungs, and then she was still. He hadn’t killed her. She just wouldn’t be able to move for a while. 
Goldof stood and glared at Dozzu. Now all he had to do was kill the fiend. He felt the black embers in his heart blazing brighter than ever. This one he couldn’t let live. 
Dozzu’s horn sparked right as Goldof tore off his iron plate, throwing it at the fiend in an attempt to avoid the lightning. But only one piece of armor wasn’t enough to block the whole strike. Goldof jumped backward, but the sparks still singed him all over. “Aagh!” 
As Dozzu mustered power in its body, particularly fat sparks scattered from the horn on its forehead, and an instant later the fiend unleashed the most massive bolt of lightning yet. The moment Goldof saw the flickering, he rolled to the side. But even after avoiding a direct hit, the heat still penetrated his armor, searing his skin. 
Even now that it was one-on-one, this was no easy fight. Once Goldof saw a strike was coming, it was already too late to dodge it. If he wanted to avoid getting hit, he had to move out of range. But if he did, he’d have no way to attack. The only commonsense choice would be to run. But Goldof tore straight ahead. 
“…Foolish,” said Dozzu. Right as the deadly charge descended, Goldof kicked a rock at his feet. The missile shot toward Dozzu, but the fiend easily avoided it. “I’ve already seen that move,” it said. And then, without a pause, the next strike found its mark, shooting through Goldof’s body. Slowly, he sank toward the earth. 
“This is the end,” said Dozzu. 
Mid-crumple, the moment before Goldof’s face would connect with the ground, his hands shot out. 
His right hand grabbed a rock, and his left hand and both feet propelled him forward in a leap. 
“!” 
Goldof had figured it out. He’d analyzed Dozzu’s technique. If Dozzu used all its strength, it would probably be able to hit him with a bolt powerful enough to be instantly lethal. But Dozzu’s attacks were only ever just strong enough to slow Goldof down. Goldof figured that a full-power lightning strike would leave Dozzu wide-open afterward. Its plan was to hit him with one bolt to stun him and then charge up a second, fatal strike. Goldof was going to take advantage of the brief moment between the first and second strike. He let the first attack land, making a gamble that his body and his willpower would hold out. 
“What?!” Dozzu cried as the shards of a rock Goldof had crushed in his hand stabbed into its eyes. When Dozzu tried to back away, Goldof reached out, grabbed the tiny fiend, lifted it into the air, and hurled it into the ground with all his strength. 
“Ah…gah!” 
Goldof raised his leg and smashed it to the ground. The limb bounced back up and descended again. He could feel the unpleasant sensation of bones breaking. 
“Argh…ughhhh…” As Dozzu moaned, crawling on the ground, Goldof went to retrieve his spear from where it had fallen on the slope. He lifted it and approached Dozzu, raising the weapon to finish the fiend off. But then what Nashetania had said flitted through his mind. 
“My comrade, Dozzu.” 
He remembered how proud she’d looked when she’d said Dozzu’s name. 
“We share the same passionate ambition, and we fight together. I would never betray Dozzu, and Dozzu would never betray me, either.” 
“…” Goldof lowered his spear. She would surely mourn if he finished off Dozzu. And the fiend couldn’t move anymore. Goldof figured he should just leave it be. “Her Highness…is more important.” 
Nashetania’s eyes had rolled back in her head entirely. She didn’t appear to be feigning unconsciousness. 
He approached her. If he carried her unconscious form in his arms, he could run out of the gem’s area of effect within five minutes. That would save Chamo, too. Then this fight would be over. 
What should he do after that? Return to the other Braves, or take Nashetania and run? 
But he didn’t have the time to be thinking of the future. Right now I just have to get her out of the area of effect, he thought, but the moment he reached out to her— 
“…Goldof.” He heard her voice from the Helm of Allegiance. 
“Huh?” For the briefest moment, he was stunned. How could he hear Nashetania’s voice from the helmet when she was unconscious? The moment Goldof figured it out, he shot backward. 
A moment later, a cluster of blades stabbed up from the earth where Goldof had been. If he’d been just a moment later jumping away, he would have been skewered to death. More and more pierced up below him. Goldof ran, keeping them away with his spear. 
How could Nashetania be using the power of blades when she was unconscious? How had he heard her voice from his helmet? The answer was clear: This Nashetania was a fake. 
The blade attacks stopped. Lying on the ground, the girl changed shape before Goldof’s eyes into a fiend that looked like a thin monkey: a shape-shifting fiend. Strangely, even now that the monkey’s true form was revealed, its left arm was still human. 
“I must repeat the previous question—are you actually a monster? How did you dodge that attack? To say nothing less of how you avoided Dozzu’s sneak attack.” 
The voice was coming from underground. A fiend resembling a thin snake emerged from the earth. The scales growing from its skin were silvery metal. 
The snake-fiend continued. “Oh, I see. The real Nashetania interfered, didn’t she? That woman never knows when to quit, either.” Its tone sounded familiar to him—though he’d only heard it briefly, in the Ravine of Spitten Blood. 
“…Tgurneu…huh?” 
“Alas, you’ve found me out. Oh, well. Hello, Goldof.” The snake-fiend—Tgurneu—flicked out its tongue and smiled. “What do you think? The fake was rather convincing, don’t you think? It didn’t only fool you—it fooled all the other Braves, too.” 
Goldof couldn’t even hear what Tgurneu was saying. The reality that Nashetania was a fake was like ice freezing his spine. The Helm of Allegiance was still ringing its bell, warning him that she was in danger. Goldof understood that the real Nashetania was still captive somewhere. “Where is she?” Goldof pointed his spear at Tgurneu. 
“Where is she? Now, where do you think she is, Goldof?” The gaze of the metallic snake felt like a tongue sliding all over his face. 
“Where is she, Tgurneu?!” Goldof yelled, stabbing out with the spear. 
Wearing a nasty smile, Tgurneu easily evaded the attack. “Now, why would I tell you that? You may be a fool, but you understand that much, don’t you?” said Tgurneu. 
Goldof reflected on the events so far. With the voice from the Helm of Allegiance as his guide, he’d headed out to save Nashetania. He’d run into Dozzu and come to the lava region. Then he’d heard that Chamo was dying because of a blade gem. Then Dozzu and a fake Nashetania had attacked him. 
He couldn’t comprehend what was going on. He didn’t understand anything—not who was deceiving him, who his allies were, or who his enemies were. His mind was all mixed up. He felt ready to scream. 
“…Keh-heh-heh, heh-heh-heh, AHA-HA-HA-HA!” Tgurneu threw back its head and burst into laughter. “You really are stupid! I’ve known as much for quite some time, but I never imagined you were quite this stupid!” Tgurneu’s tongue flicked out as it leaned in toward Goldof, tickling his cheek as if petting a cute little animal. “You’re incompetent. Hopelessly incompetent. I utterly fail to understand how Nashetania could have trusted you.” 
“…You vile…” 
“Tricking you has been so much fun. It’s been so easy, it actually made me suspect you were plotting something!” Inches from Goldof’s face, Tgurneu’s eyes narrowed. “I almost want to tell you the truth. If I were to simply kill Chamo and Nashetania right now, it wouldn’t be the least bit interesting to me.” 
“The truth?” 
“You should be grateful. What I’m about to tell you now is the pure and unaltered facts. You know, it’s quite rare that anyone can get something out of me that doesn’t include lies. It only happens once every few years.”