“You can learn stuff by doing that?” asked Fremy.
“Blood contains a wide variety of information, from what the creature ate to their physical attributes and their personal history. I can learn most things about them by licking their blood.” Rolonia alternated between the whip and the cloth for a while and then closed her eyes and reflected. “I understand now.”
“Understand what?”
“First of all, Tgurneu is a mixed-type fiend—one that absorbs other fiends in order to make itself stronger. The base of its body is a lizard-fiend, but that’s just the foundation. It seems that its entire strength originates from the other fiends.”
“That’s quite impressive,” said Fremy. “But I knew that, too.”
“The base is fused together with seven other fiends,” Rolonia continued. “First, it gained its physical strength by fusing with a giant ape-fiend. It also fused with an octopus-fiend in order to acquire the power to stretch and contract its arms. A crow-fiend gave it sharp sight, and a dog-fiend gave it powerful hearing and a sense of smell. And then a swan-fiend gave it agility…” Rolonia closed her eyes as she continued to analyze Tgurneu’s blood. “This is amazing. Tgurneu has absorbed a primitive amphibian-fiend to gain incredible powers of regeneration. There’s also a snake-fiend that contributed further endurance and strengthened its regenerative abilities. Those are all the different fiends in Tgurneu.”
Adlet and Fremy met the stream of information pouring out of Rolonia with wide-eyed shock. “I didn’t know that much—not which types of fiends Tgurneu has fused with,” Fremy admitted.
“Where did you get the ability to do that?” asked Adlet, amazed.
Rolonia turned her gaze downward shyly. “Um…Lady Mora made me practice licking blood to analyze it. She said it was useful for a lot of things, like healing or counteracting poison. Master Atreau also taught me about fiends, so I thought maybe I could put that to use…”
Fremy asked Adlet, “Did you know she could do that?”
“No, this is news to me. Rolonia’s done nothing but surprise me lately,” said Adlet. She responded with a pleased smile.
Once Adlet, Fremy, and Rolonia entered the cave, Hans and Goldof left the Bud of Eternity to kill the swarming fiends. Mora observed the situation through the earth. The swarms of fiends rushed to attack Hans and Goldof, reacting to their presence immediately.
“Mya-meow. You clean up the small fry, Goldof. I’ll kill the biggest critters,” Mora heard Hans say. Her powers enabled her not only to see from a distance but also to hear.
The sun had fully set, and the red tint on the edge of the mountain was now gone. It was their first night in the Howling Vilelands. The light of the moon and stars illuminated Mora and her comrades. This is bound to be a tumultuous night, she considered. There was a large number of fiends in the area she could observe. Once the enemies learned it was time to fight, they began streaming toward Hans and Goldof.
“Hans, five approach from the east, and ten from the south.” Mora modulated her echo ability so that the sound would only reverberate near Hans. This way, the fiends would not hear her.
“Goldof, once we’re done cleanin’ things up here, run straight north. It’ll be a pain in the ass if we get surrounded,” Hans instructed. The two of them quickly finished off the cluster of fiends and went on the move. At this rate, it looked like there was nothing to worry about as she continued tracking the battle from afar.
Then her gaze happened to shift to the side, where she saw Chamo plunging her foxtail down her throat, spewing up a few slave-fiends. “And what are you doing, Chamo?”
“You don’t need to help, Auntie. Chamo can do this alone.” The slave-fiends left the Bud of Eternity’s barrier.
Mora observed them with her powers. For a moment, she thought they were heading out to fight the fiends, but then one dragged a pika from its hole. The others went on to capture squirrels, field mice, and more, carrying them back in their mouths.
“There, there. You’re all such good little guys.” When her creatures returned, Chamo petted their heads, then sank her teeth into the wild animals they had brought her. One after another she downed the kills, splattering her lips bright red.
“…That girl mystifies me.” Mora didn’t understand what the Saint of Swamps was trying to do, but surely, she had her own plan in mind. Mora decided to leave her be.
Meanwhile, it seemed all the fiends were now aware of Hans and Goldof’s assault. The mountain was a flurry of activity, and she could hear the fiends that could talk speak to one another.
“They made their möve.”
“Trying to rün?”
“No, just two attàcking.”
Perhaps listening in on them could help her figure out their plan. Mora stayed alert, listening intently. There was much to do. She could not let her focus weaken for the whole night.
“But where is Tgurneu?” She scanned the mountain multiple times, but there was no sign of the commander anywhere and no sign of any fiends going to it to receive instruction. What was that fiend doing, and where was it?
“Don’t let them éscape.”
“Just two enémies. Just Hans and Goldof.” The fiends didn’t mention Tgurneu, either.
Tgurneu couldn’t possibly continue to just do nothing. It would act. Perhaps it was already done setting the stage for an attack.
That was when Rolonia appeared beside Mora. “Pardon me, Lady Mora,” she said. She grabbed her gauntlet, licking it again and again.
“What is this, all of a sudden?” the Elder asked, startled.
“I understand, now!” Rolonia cried, and
