Rokka no Yuusha - Volume 5 - Chapter Pr

Prologue 
While Awaiting the Barrenbloom 

Deep underground were two fiends. They occupied a small space: about fifteen square feet of bare earth. In the center of this space was a table and a chair. One fiend was atop the crude table; the other sat in the chair, legs crossed. 
It was the twenty-third day since the Evil God’s awakening, and aboveground, night would be breaking into faint dawn around this time. 
The fig on the table split open to create a tiny mouth. “It’s almost time. Just a little longer, and Fremy will come back to me,” said Tgurneu in a high-pitched voice. 
Listening to Tgurneu was a bipedal, three-winged lizard-fiend with no name. Tgurneu usually used it for a body. 
Not long earlier, a messenger fiend had come to inform them that the Phantasmal Barrier, where the Braves of the Six Flowers had been trapped, was now deactivated. The messenger had also confirmed that the Six Braves had been attacking Nashetania before she escaped by herself. Then another Brave had shown up, and all seven crest bearers had gathered without any further hiccups—just as Tgurneu had expected. 
“That’s a relief,” said Tgurneu. “My plan was nearly ruined. I never would have thought someone else would beat me to the punch.” 
“It häd to have been Dozzu’s fäction.” 
“Of course. Cargikk doesn’t have the brains to concoct a scheme like that. But I do wonder where Dozzu got that fake crest. How curious.” Tgurneu chuckled. “Well, whatever. In any case, they’ve weathered the storm. Right now, let’s just be glad we’ll have the joy of seeing Fremy again.” 
The three-winged fiend asked quietly, “Äre you looking forward to it, Cómmander Tgurneu?” 
“Yes, I’d like to see her soon. I want to meet her and see her face. I wonder how she’ll look at me after six months gone? You know how eagerly I’ve anticipated this.” Tgurneu seemed excited. So unable to contain its enthusiasm, it began to ramble to no one in particular. “I love human faces. I love observing them. The face is the greatest organ of the human body. It’s more thrilling to me than any tale, and more rich with implications than any philosophical tome. 

“But smiles are boring. Peacefulness is worthless. When humans are in gripped by pain, sadness, or anxiety, that is beauty. That’s the real reflection of the human soul. My heart finds it so fulfilling.” The vines that grew from Tgurneu’s body moved restlessly. “I want to see human faces. I want to see with my own eyes their most supreme despair and their basest suffering. Compared to those emotions, the revival of the Evil God is pointless and inconsequential,” said Tgurneu, wiggling its offshoots like shoulders shrugging. “Whoops, shouldn’t have said that. Keep that a secret from the other fiends.” 
The three-winged fiend didn’t even have to nod. Tgurneu had been using the fiend’s body as its own for many years. This creature knew what went on inside Tgurneu’s mind better than anyone. 
Tgurneu was not at all loyal to the Evil God. It fought only for its own enjoyment and lived to hurt all other creatures, human and fiend, and to watch their reactions as it did so. This was strictly kept secret from its subordinates, who believed in their leader. 
“Fremy has shown me such wonderful expressions. I’m sure that my whole life, I’ll never forget that look on her face when I brought judgment down on her. She couldn’t restrain her despair when she discovered her loving family actually thought of her as a mere pawn. 
“And I have high hopes for her. She’s sure to show me even more wonderful expressions. The Battle of the Six Braves that begins now will drive her further into despair.” 
Even the three-winged fiend thought that Tgurneu was getting a little too excited—and giving advice was part of its job. “You shouldn’t be preoccúpied entirely with Frëmy. Don’t förget that victory is our goal, Cómmander.” 
“Of course. Yes, I can’t forget about that. If we lose, it’s all over.” 
Once Tgurneu had killed the Braves of the Six Flowers and subdued Dozzu and Cargikk, there would be no one left to impede its goal. After that, the world would be Tgurneu’s. 
The fiend planned to take control of the Evil God. This wasn’t an impossible goal, if it could remove all obstacles that prevented this. All the fiends would become its tools, and humanity would live in continuous despair and suffering, purely for its enjoyment. Whether or not that future would come to pass was hanging on the fate of the Black Barrenbloom, and on the shoulders of Tgurneu’s seventh. 
However, they wouldn’t be moving into action quite yet. First was Mora Chester. Tgurneu would set her up as the seventh and have her die—everything was already in place for that. The three-winged fiend was about to bring it up when Tgurneu said, “So how to kill Fremy? That’s a very difficult question. I have various options: I could kill her with my own hands or let the Six Braves kill her. I wonder which would bring her the most despair.” It seemed Tgurneu’s mind was still fixated on Fremy. 
“I’m sure she’ll show me a wonderful expression, no matter how I kill her. But there’s something else I’d look forward to even more: I’m thinking I’ll make her kill herself. I’m sure that would give her the loveliest look on her face as she dies. I’d like to back her into a miserable corner where she has no choice but to die,” Tgurneu said, smiling. “Of course, I don’t know how the fight with the Braves will unfold. But I think it’ll be quite possible to make Fremy kill herself. Or actually…” The gaping hole of Tgurneu’s mouth twisted into a disgusting smile. “The seventh will push Fremy to her death for me.” 
Night would be dawning aboveground. The seventh and the Braves of the Six Flowers still had yet to arrive. It seemed it would be a little longer before the battle between Tgurneu and the heroes of humanity would begin.