“Why, meow?” asked Hans.
“A number of reasons. Tgurneu is a schemer, while Cargikk prefers to fight head-to-head. So their philosophies have always been in conflict. But the greatest divide between them is their approach to humans. According to Tgurneu’s ideology, humans are to be used. But Cargikk has an intense hatred of and deep contempt for them. It believes any involvement with humans is unclean. I heard that when Tgurneu came up with the plan to arrange my birth, they were one step away from killing each other. Cargikk apparently said it would not allow the intermingling of human blood with the proud blood of fiends.”
“Hold on a second, please.” Rolonia, who had been listening silently, raised her hand. “Um, so these commanders who lead the fiends…weren’t there three?”
That was the thing that had been bothering Adlet. Fremy hadn’t mentioned the other fiend at all. She’d said Cargikk led sixty percent of all fiends and that forty percent were under Tgurneu’s command. So what did the third do?
“The third one…,” Fremy began. “I don’t know much about Dozzu. I’ve only heard that such a fiend exists.”
“Who is this Dozzu?” asked Adlet.
“A traitor. They say that its powers are on par with those of Tgurneu and Cargikk. From what I’ve heard, two hundred years ago, Dozzu betrayed the Evil God and disappeared from the Howling Vilelands. I have no idea where it is or what it’s doing. Maybe Tgurneu knew, but I wasn’t told anything.”
“Friend or foe?” inquired Mora.
“I don’t know that, either. In any case, Tgurneu and Cargikk see Dozzu and its followers as enemies. And they say that some among both Tgurneu and Cargikk’s factions have sworn loyalty to Dozzu. I personally know of two fiends that were suspected of belonging to Dozzu’s faction and were purged for it.”
“Mya-meow. Factions and purges! This is some pretty nasty stuff,” Hans grumbled.
“Fremy, can you tell by looking which fiends are Cargikk’s and which are Tgurneu’s?” asked Adlet.
“To a degree. Like the fiends I ran into in the village where I first met you—those were probably Cargikk’s. The one that tricked you in the Phantasmal Barrier and the one that ate Leura, Saint of Sun—those were Tgurneu’s,” she explained.
“So the princess is being controlled by Tgurneu, after all,” mused Mora.
“It’s very likely.”
Fremy having finished the bulk of her explanation, the conversation paused for a moment.
“Then our concern is how to conquer them. We should see Tgurneu in particular as the most dangerous,” Mora said, starting the discussion anew.
“I think Cargikk will be on the defensive, but Tgurneu will attack us. I don’t know what kind of assault to expect, though,” said Fremy.
“I think it’s unlikely that Tgurneu will come attack in person,” said Adlet.
“I agree. If their general went down, forty percent of the fiends would have their command structure collapse. I think some of them would submit themselves to Cargikk, but not many. It would be a massive blow. I doubt Tgurneu would risk that.”
“I have one question,” said Mora. “You said their command structure would collapse—but what specifically would happen were their commander to die?”
“The fiends and their masters are connected by invisible bonds. If Tgurneu dies, all of its fiends would know within moments. There would be immediate mass confusion. I think it would be total panic.”
“Would you know, too, if Tgurneu fell?”
“…Probably,” admitted Fremy, her eyes downcast.
“I see… Hmm. Tgurneu…” Mora trailed off.
Adlet noticed Mora seemed oddly concerned about Tgurneu—even though, unlike Fremy, she had no personal connection with the fiend.
“I bet it’ll use the seventh to set a trap for us, meow,” Hans said. He switched the topic so quickly that Adlet forgot about his doubts.
“Probably. The question is, what will they do?”
Chamo raised her hand. “Ohh, ohh! Chamo has an idea! How about this?”
“Nothing good, I’m sure,” Fremy predicted coldly.
But Chamo ignored her. “Humans can’t breathe in the Howling Vilelands unless they have the Crest of the Six Flowers, right?” The Crest nullified the toxin of the Howling Vilelands. This was common knowledge. “There are six humans here, and all of us can breathe properly, right? In other words, maybe that means that all six humans here have real crests. That means that the seventh is Fremy, since she’s a fiend.”
“I knew it. Nothing good.” Fremy sighed. “It’s possible for humans with no crest to survive within the Howling Vilelands. Some fiends of Tgurneu’s faction can spawn a special parasite. If it enters a human body, it will nullify the toxin of the Howling Vilelands.”
“Can you prove that?” demanded Chamo.
“In the central region of the Howling Vilelands, there’s a place called the Plain of Cropped Ears. Human slaves live there.” Saying that, Fremy glanced at Adlet. “Tgurneu has collected them. I don’t know to what end, though. Adlet, the people of your village are probably there.”
Without even thinking, Adlet stood. He recalled his vanished hometown and all the people who’d been taken away. “Those slaves…what’s happening with them?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been there.”
“You didn’t hear anything? Anything at all?” Adlet pressed.
But Mora just chided him. “Those people are a concern, but we should concentrate on defeating the Evil God. We can neither save them nor return them to the human world unless we carry out our mission.”
She’s right, thought Adlet. But then, suddenly, every hair on his body stood on end.
Chamo tilted her head. “What’s up, Adlet?” In the time it took her to ask, Adlet thrust Chamo back, Fremy rolled backward into an upright stance, drawing her gun, and Hans placed his hands and feet on the ground, arching his back like a cat.
The earth where Chamo had been just a moment before swelled up and exploded, and a fiend surged out of the cloud of dust. “Hello.” Its voice was odd—high-pitched, yet hoarse. When Adlet heard it, his heart, which had quieted for a moment, began pounding again. “This won’t do,” declared the fiend. “What are you talking about? Who cares about some slaves, anyway?”
“Tgurneu!” Adlet cried. His blood boiled,
