Though the chain was firmly attached, it didn’t hinder the fiend much. Still, Tgurneu was ever so slightly slower. Mora and Fremy took advantage of this sliver of an opportunity with their fists and bullets. Distracted by the tug-of-war with Adlet, Tgurneu was slow to dodge. Mora’s fist skimmed its face, and Fremy’s bullet pierced its shoulder.
“Don’t let go, Adlet!” Fremy shouted as she loaded another bullet.
“I’ll focus on keeping Tgurneu down! You guys finish it off!”
“Good, Adlet! Keep ahold of it!” called Mora as she blocked Tgurneu’s fist with her iron gauntlets. She was about to strike back when a shrill, inhuman cry rang across the battlefield.
“Shutyourfaceyoumaggotyfilthyou’relowerthanarottenfiend’spileofcrapandyou’renotgoinganywhere!”
As Adlet pulled on the chain, he scanned the area. Is this a new enemy? he wondered, readying himself. He saw Fremy reflexively point her gun in the direction of the voice. Even Tgurneu’s eyes opened wide.
“I’llripoutyourorgansyoustinkingfiendI’lltearyoutopiecesshowmeyourguts!” The vicious and bloodthirsty string of abuse, delivered in one breath at unbelievable speed, was coming from Rolonia, who had been watching the fight from a distance. Taking up the whip at her waist, she lifted it high and swung it with both hands, undulating the thirty-meter-long iron rope, as if it was alive. The tip was hardly visible to the naked eye.
Tgurneu leaned over to avoid the whip, but the tip barely scraped its chest. Immediately, copious amounts of blood, the same red as a human’s, gushed from the wound. “Ngh!” it grunted, exhibiting its first indication of pain.
Adlet knew about Rolonia’s power. The core of the whip had been soaked in the Saint’s own blood, which she manipulated within the whip to move it abnormally. Furthermore, it could draw blood from enemies’ bodies upon contact. “That’s pretty intense,” Adlet murmured. Rolonia had grown—and in a manner far different from what Adlet had expected.
“Yourbloodisn’tenoughformeIwantyourgutsI’llsliceyouupshowmeyourguts!” Rolonia kept thrashing the whip, an expression on her face that would inspire him to make a quick escape if she were not his ally.
Adlet focused everything on restraining Tgurneu. The fiend was far stronger than him—the boy couldn’t compare. But still, by timing things perfectly, he kept the fiend in place. When his captive pulled on the chain, Adlet would stop, and when it relaxed, he would pull instead. This method of chain restraint was one of the techniques he’d learned through Atreau’s instruction.
Tgurneu tried to remove the metal spike digging into its left arm, but Fremy stopped it with a shot from her gun. While it was distracted, Mora slammed it backward with a string of blows.
“Ngh!” Rolonia’s whip skimmed Adlet’s ear. But he couldn’t let go of the chain. Even as Tgurneu swung him around and flung him to the ground, he continued to grapple with the chain, praying that Rolonia still retained enough of her senses to avoid friendly fire. Blood spurted from the creature’s body, dying the earth red. But then, right when Adlet thought, Maybe we can kill it now, a single gunshot rang out through the battlefield, and Rolonia’s whip stopped.
“!” Fremy had just shot at Rolonia. The bullet hadn’t connected—it had merely skimmed right in front of the girl’s nose.
“What are you doing, Fremy?!” Adlet yelled without thinking.
Fremy reloaded. “You were in danger.”
Rolonia clenched her whip in both hands, glaring at Fremy. For a second, Adlet thought a fight might break out among their allies, but Rolonia immediately turned her bloodthirsty gaze upon Tgurneu.
“My, my, a falling-out? How unsettling. What on earth is going on here?” the fiend said innocently, taking the opportunity to attempt to remove the restraints before Fremy shot a bullet through its right arm.
“Don’t let your guard down, Adlet. Anyone could be the enemy,” she said, readying her gun. Adlet understood that although the barrel was aimed at Tgurneu, she also had an eye on Rolonia and Mora.
“I’m the strongest man in the world, so you don’t have to protect me. Concentrate on Tgurneu.”
“He’s right, Fremy. Refrain from doing anything thoughtless,” advised Mora. But she, too, could tell that the gunman was on guard.
Adlet ground his teeth. Fremy’s paranoia about her own allies was dragging the whole group down, but if they weren’t careful, the seventh might do something. They still didn’t know who their enemy was. Once more, Adlet felt keenly just how precarious their situation was.
For a brief while, the battle was paused, having turned into a staring contest as they all tried to probe out one another’s weaknesses. Adlet held Tgurneu down from the front, while Mora and Rolonia waited on the left and right. Fremy observed from behind.
“I’llkillyouI’llkillyouI’llkillyouI’llkillyouI’llkillyou!” Rolonia slowly pressed closer to her target.
Suddenly, Tgurneu said, “You got me. I made a mess of this one. I shouldn’t have tried to catch you by surprise.” None of them displayed any reaction. “I thought you’d all be surprised when I popped up out of the ground, but I didn’t consider that you would then gang up on me.” The fiend laughed. “So? Was that joke funny?”
“It was terrible,” said Mora.
“I see. So it was a poor attempt. Human jokes are so difficult.” Tgurneu put a hand to its chin, and immediately, Rolonia swung her whip with a shriek, while Fremy’s bullet pierced the creature’s back. The three Saints attacked all at once, and Adlet clung to the chain to keep Tgurneu in place, with no thought to his own life. The battle seemed to be in their favor, but their enemy still looked unconcerned.
Adlet turned his eyes to the area northwest of the hill. Chamo’s slave-fiends had taken up position, meeting the fiends’ assault. One approached from the air, but Hans flung a sword to bring it down. Goldof had rocketed straight into the center of a crowd of enemies, slicing up every one that attacked him. There was no sign that their defenses would be broken.
Tgurneu dodged Rolonia’s whip and said, “That won’t do, Rolonia. Vulgar words degrade the nobility of the heart.” Tugging on the chain, the fiend addressed Adlet next. “This restraint is
