“I don’t think she knew him personally. But he is famous,” said Rolonia.
In an odd way, we were already connected, Adlet thought.
“Meow-hee-hee-hee,” laughed Hans. “Ya sure got real close in just two months. You act like a chump, but you actually got game, doncha?”
“Shut up,” Adlet sniped, shooting Hans down. Fremy regarded the exchange with cold eyes.
That was when Mora returned. “How’d it go, Mora?” asked Adlet.
“There are no fiends to be found. The ravine is utterly deserted.”
Adlet wasn’t in the least suspicious of her. And there were, in fact, no fiends to be found in the ravine. But he failed to notice what those words obscured.
About ten minutes earlier, Mora had been walking through the ravine alone, alert to her surroundings. The complex terrain of the ravine couldn’t conceal a large contingent of fiends, but it was the perfect spot for a small ambush. She pushed forward, an eye out for attacks from behind and above.
“!” That was when it happened. She noticed a fiend atop the cliff—a fairly small one that looked like a monkey. When Mora clenched her fists and adopted a fighting stance, the fiend jumped down to land directly in front of her, then bowed its head in submission, groveling on all fours.
“What?” Mora muttered when she saw its back and the message written upon it in black ink.
A warning for you, Mora: You have no time.
For a moment, she gazed at the submissive fiend. Then she stomped on its back as hard as she could. It was dead in a single strike, just like any other worthless, low-level fiend.
“…” She brought her foot down again and again until the writing was no longer visible. “I have no time? That…can’t be…,” she muttered. Then, abandoning the fiend’s body, she left.
“So you didn’t run into any fiends at all? That’s actually even scarier,” said Adlet.
“The seventh hasn’t done anything, either. This kinda feels like a letdown,” whined Chamo.
It really was. Adlet had expected to encounter another trap the moment they stepped into the Howling Vilelands—or maybe the seventh to attack at the first the opportunity. But things were too quiet.
“Meowbe it ain’t that they’re not doin’ nothin’—it’s that they can’t do nothin’,” speculated Hans.
“What do you mean?” asked Adlet.
“Ever since we set foot in the Howlin’ Vilelands, Fremy’s been itchin’ to kill somethin’. If any of us steps out of line, she’s gonna shoot ’em dead right there.” Adlet looked at Fremy. She didn’t deny it. “I’ve been feelin’ twitchy since we got here,” Hans continued. “She’s one scary lady.” He grinned like he was having a good time.
“Mora, what’s up ahead?” asked Adlet.
“About fifteen minutes farther on, I saw a hill,” replied Mora. “And beyond that, a mountain. I’m certain that’s the mountain where the Bud of Eternity is located.”
Adlet compared Mora’s report with his mental map. It sounded like they were moving along down the route they’d planned and hadn’t gotten lost. If his navigational sense was right, that mountain was where the Saint of the Single Flower had left a relic. It was a barrier known as the Bud of Eternity, an important safe zone. Adlet planned to spend the afternoon resting at the Bud of Eternity before pushing on.
“I have a proposal. The next open area we get to, we should take a break,” said Fremy.
“We don’t need to yet. I want to get to the mountains right away, and then to the Bud of Eternity,” insisted Adlet.
Fremy shook her head. “There’s something I want to talk to you about as soon as possible. It’ll take a while, and it’s important, so I’d like to settle down and take my time.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“Internal fiend politics,” Fremy said, and tension ran through the group.
“I seem to remember before, you said the fiends had three commanders,” recalled Mora. Adlet had forgotten about that, what with the battle with Nashetania and Rolonia’s sudden arrival. But Fremy was right. This was very important.
“Why not discuss it at the Bud of Eternity?” advised Mora. “It’s not far from the hill.”
“If I were the enemy,” Fremy replied, “I would deploy forces near the Bud of Eternity. I doubt we’d be able to talk long there.”
“That may be so,” Mora agreed. “And we needn’t worry about surprise attacks in such an open space. Let’s talk once we get to that hill, then.”
“Now that that’s settled, let’s get going,” said Adlet.
Hans set off first, and Chamo and Mora followed him. Goldof trailed behind them with a sluggish stride. Just as Adlet prepared to set out, Fremy tugged his sleeve. “What is it?” he asked.
“Can you feel it?”
“Feel what?”
“Someone’s here,” Fremy said, looking up at the sky.
For a moment, the shadow of the fiend that Adlet would never forget crossed his mind. An ominous smile on its face while soothing the villagers with gentle words, it had destroyed his home. It had taken his sister, his friend, everything from him.
“……”
Adlet’s heart pounded. Shivers of exhilaration ran down his spine. He hadn’t sensed anyone trying to kill them or picked up on any danger. But sweat still beaded his forehead. Something indescribable and irrational put him on edge.
“I feel something,” said Fremy. “I don’t know where, but it’s here. I could never forget that presence. It feels like it’s slowly coiling around my skin.”
Adlet remembered what had happened two nights earlier. Fremy had told him about the fiend that had ordered her birth and about how it was one of three commanders. She’d said that fiend was the very one that had destroyed Adlet’s home. His soul was telling him it was close.
“Let’s go. As I said before, this talk will take some time,” said Fremy.
“Can I just ask one thing?” Adlet paused. “What’s its name?”
Fremy looked up at the sky and quietly replied, “……Tgurneu.”
“Hey, what do you think is the most powerful force in the world?” As Adlet was learning Tgurneu’s
