The moment Adlet heard that voice, he reflexively dropped his iron box and drew his sword. The others, aside from Rolonia, all raised their weapons, too. There was no way any of them could forget that high, soft voice or its polite and refined tone.
“I thought for sure you had come to kill me.” At the top of the rim of the pit was a girl. She was sitting calmly on a fiend’s body as she gazed down upon them, clad in a magnificent set of black-and-white armor with a helmet designed to resemble rabbit’s ears.
When had she shown up? Just three seconds ago the place had been totally abandoned.
“It’s been a long time, Braves of the Six Flowers.”
Adlet had known they would encounter her again eventually. It was the first impostor, who only four days earlier they had battled with for their lives: Nashetania.
Chapter 2The Blade Gem
Three days earlier, at the Bud of Eternity, Adlet had asked his allies a question.
“Hey, after I passed out in the Phantasmal Barrier, what the heck happened?”
After the battle, Adlet, badly wounded, had immediately fallen unconscious. He functionally had no recollection of what had happened between that time and when he had woken up the next morning.
The group had retold in turns to Adlet and Rolonia the events of that night. Hans, Mora, Chamo, and Goldof had followed Nashetania. She had run all over the area, evading their pursuit the entire night. Immediately after being revealed as the impostor, she had deactivated the Phantasmal Barrier, but Mora said that it had remained in effect until the mist dispersed.
Hans and Chamo explained that they’d wounded Nashetania more than once, and a few times they had even been certain they’d finished her off. But still, she had gotten away.
“Nashetania uses some kinda weird power. You think you’ve got her, and then she’ll disappear just like that. Chamo thought she was dead, but then there was nobody,” said Chamo.
“I’ve seen that power, too,” said Adlet. He remembered that after Nashetania had been exposed, Mora had smashed her head in. But then she’d immediately disappeared, and the real Nashetania appeared far away. It really was a mysterious ability, and not one that normally belonged to the Saint of Blades.
“I don’t know how, but it seems Nashetania has the powers of a fiend. I think that’s a stealth-fiend’s ability,” said Fremy.
A stealth-fiend. Adlet had never heard of that type, and he had studied at the foot of the fiend specialist, Atreau Spiker. He was not unfamiliar with the enemy’s abilities and biology.
“Stealth types are incredibly rare,” explained Fremy. “I doubt there are more than five among all the fiends in existence. I’ve only heard of them—I’ve never actually seen one in person.”
“So what is this power?” asked Adlet.
“In a word, it’s like hypnosis.” Fremy explained that stealth-fiends released a vapor from their bodies that drugged their enemies while simultaneously emitting a unique sound wave. Inhaling the drug and hearing the sound would addle your perceptions, blinding you to the stealth-fiend’s presence. She then pointed out that Nashetania’s powers were unique even among stealth-fiends, since she could make you hallucinate her presence.
“…That’s an incredible power.” Adlet broke into a cold sweat. If Nashetania were to approach them in stealth and catch them by surprise, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
But Hans smiled and waved away Adlet’s worries. “Meow-hee. From what I can see, it’s not that meowerful.”
“What do you mean?” asked Adlet.
“I’ve seen the princess’s stealth power a few times. She can probably hide herself for ten seconds at meowst. What’s more, once she’s used it, she can’t use it again for another five minutes. And this is just a guess, but…I think she can only use that stealth ability when she’s runnin’ away.”
Fremy’s eyes widened. “Quite the astute analysis. That’s basically it.” She supplemented Hans’s explanation, clarifying that the stealth ability was exhausting and it was not possible to attack while using it. At most, Nashetania could only run. This was true of all stealth-fiends.
“Now that you mention it,” said Adlet, “my master said that there were a handful of fiends out there that could use hypnotism. But he also said the effects were only momentary.”
“…I’ve been wondering for a while,” said Fremy, “who is this Atreau Spiker? How did he come to know so much about fiend biology?”
“I dunno. I asked him plenty of times, but he wouldn’t tell me anything,” Adlet replied, and Fremy lowered her eyes in thought.
“Atreau Spiker isn’t important. What is important is: Is there a way to trump this skill?” Mora asked.
Fremy replied, “When a stealth-fiend uses their power, they’re surrounded by a sweet scent. You should be able to tell if the ability is active based on the smell.”
“So if she does use her power, what should we do?” asked Adlet.
“You can break the hypnosis by focusing your senses, staring hard, and causing yourself pain. A good bite to your tongue should be enough. That’s how you can beat it.”
“All right. So if you smell something funny, stare hard and bite your tongue.”
“That’s right.”
I’m really glad she’s with us, thought Adlet. Nashetania’s stealth ability wasn’t that formidable. But still, if they’d had to fight her without knowing how her powers worked, it could have spelled disaster. But as with any ability, once you knew the trick to it, it wasn’t anything to be afraid of.
The moment Nashetania was done greeting them, there was a gunshot. A blade sprouted from the ground to deflect Fremy’s bullet, and it ricocheted away.
“You’re quite the violent person, aren’t you, Fremy?” Nashetania said. After blocking the shot, she calmly jumped down from her perch atop the dead fiend. Fremy was reloading, but Adlet stopped her.
“Is that…Nashetania?” Rolonia asked from behind him.
“Nice to meet you. So you’re Rolonia? I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of each other.” Nashetania put a hand on her chest and bowed, and Rolonia lowered her head in return.
“What happened to Goldof?” Adlet asked.
Nashetania
