Then Goldof drew his spear. “Fiends,” he said. Five enemies had surrounded them, unawares. The two Braves stood back-to-back, and Adlet readied his poison needles and his sword.
The fiends didn’t attack. They just stayed in a circle, gradually inching in closer. Adlet took advantage of a momentary opening to fire off a needle. The wolf-fiend flinched when the poison dart hit its mark, but as Adlet followed up with a blade, a stone man-fiend’s fist struck at him from the side. After the two exchanged three blows, the stone man withdrew, putting some distance between them to hold Adlet in check.
When the fiends did not pursue them, Adlet realized they were trying to slow them down, and he figured out Mora’s goal in all of this, too. She was in cahoots with these creatures, luring in the Braves of the Six Flowers and trying to separate them.
A beast ran silently through the darkness. Without a light, Mora couldn’t see it clearly. The brute was only faintly illuminated by Rolonia’s gem.
“Hrmeow!” Hans cried. Crouched low enough to skim the ground, he rushed for Mora with fearsome speed. His swords swept together, scissoring toward Mora’s leg.
Unable to block the attack, she jumped to dodge his blades. Hans thrust one weapon into the ground to abruptly halt his movement and stabbed at Mora while she was still midair. The assassin’s body was frighteningly flexible, snapping from an unbelievable stance to an unbelievable strike.
“Gah!” In the air, Mora crossed her arms, blocking the sword with her iron gauntlets. She may have been a woman, but she was not by any means lightweight in her iron armor. Nevertheless, the thrust effortlessly sent her flying backward.
Hans scampered like a cat, mercilessly positioning for a follow-up offensive. Still in the air, Mora struck her iron gauntlets together as hard as she could. The shock wave–like sound made Hans flinch slightly. Rolonia, watching from the side, covered her ears reflexively. And the next attack from Hans was ever so slightly slower. “Mya-ha!”
When Mora landed, she turned away from her opponent and ran. She had to put some distance between them and get a better position somehow. She was trapped on defense. Hans’s fierce strikes gave her no time to counterattack. She had not anticipated he would be so much stronger than her. Despite her shortcomings, she was still a Saint, one who called upon the power of a Spirit for battle. Her physical speed and strength far surpassed that of a normal human. Hans, on the other hand, was nothing more than his own flesh and blood.
“Yer not gettin’ away!”
Mora somehow managed to block the blow with her metal gauntlet. Hans was not even going to let her retreat.
“Hrmeow!”
“Ah…oh…wh-what should I…?” Rolonia chased the pair as they ran around wildly to the west and to the east.
Mora couldn’t use the drug that had taken out Fremy and Chamo, either. If she used it here, Rolonia would be affected, too, and the girl needed to stay safe until the fight was over.
As Mora blocked Hans’s sword, she unleashed a desperate kick. Hans blocked her leg with a blade and leaped way back. Once there was some space them, Rolonia raised her whip and cut between the pair. “Wait, please, Lady Mora, Hans!”
“Meow. I told ya to stay away. Didn’t ya hear me?” Hans gave her a catlike, shiver-inducing grin. A bloodthirsty aura emanated from his body, as if to say he’d kill her, too.
“Let’s talk. Let’s wait until Addy’s here, and then we’ll talk.”
A very Rolonia-like idea, thought Mora. She felt bad for her, but she couldn’t allow Adlet to come. The only way to save Shenira was to kill Hans right there, right then.
“Yer bein’ pretty quiet,” Hans said to Rolonia. “You ain’t gonna come at me with yer crazy wailin’ like this afterneown?”
“I-I…”
Mora knew, though—all that shouting was just a ritual she used to will herself to fight. Rolonia was, by nature, cowardly. It was only through such an extreme habit that she was able to fight at all.
“But who cares ’bout that. Neow the fun’s gettin’ started. Don’t get in the way.”
“Fun…?” repeated Rolonia.
“When I see a powerful warrior, I just get this natural urge to kill ’em. Bein’ all buddy-buddy ain’t bad, either, but killin’ is what I love meowst, after all.”
Rolonia took a step back. She was afraid of him.
“Get back, Rolonia. This one is only a petty monster.” Mora raised her fists. Rolonia didn’t say anything. There was not trust in her eyes, but suspicion. “Come, Hans!”
“Meow-ha-ha-ha! I wouldn’t stop even if ya asked!” Hans jumped high. Mora squatted down, drew in her arms, and protected her face. Keeping her body balled up, she focused on enduring the assault.
The five fiends were all powerful foes. Adlet killed one, while Goldof killed four, including the stone man. When they were sure that all of their enemies were still, Goldof asked, “What do we do, Adlet?”
From the eastern side of the mountain, he could just faintly hear the clash of metal. That wasn’t the sound of fighting with fiends. Mora and Hans were fighting each other. It was now clear to him that the Elder had deceived them. Should we go save Hans and Rolonia? Adlet considered it, but he quickly changed his mind. “They’ll be fine. Hans is sure to make it through. He’s not quite as powerful as the strongest man in the world, but he’s still pretty good.”
“Then…”
With no time to reply, Adlet set off at a sprint. What he was worried about right then was Fremy and Chamo, of whom they had seen no trace. He glanced at the crest on his hand. Still
