The dog’s name was Porta, but that was just an alias it used to hide itself in the human realm. Its real name was Dozzu, and it was one of the three commanders that ruled over the fiends.
“…It was a success, Nashetania,” Dozzu told her quietly. None but Nashetania could hear.
“Thanks. I knew you’d do it, Dozzu,” she replied, smiling.
The slug’s nerves were dull, so it probably wouldn’t notice the gem stuck inside it. In other words, Chamo would have no way of knowing it was in there. If the proper conditions were met and Nashetania prayed, the gem would unleash its power. Dozens of blades would slice the interior of the slug’s stomach. And what’s more, if Chamo had the slave-fiend inside her at the time, the blades would damage her organs.
There were two conditions for its activation: Nashetania had to be near her target, and Chamo had to attack Nashetania first. But the gem wasn’t that powerful. Once the two were more than a kilometer apart, it would lose effect. This was because Nashetania had yet to mature as a Saint.
But there were only two ways to cancel the blade gem. Namely, Nashetania could annul it herself, or it would happen naturally if she died. While she had been running around inside the Phantasmal Barrier, she had deliberately chosen not to activate it. There wouldn’t have been any point. It was better to reserve her trump card.
Nashetania estimated that once the blade gem was triggered, it would take about three hours for Chamo to die.
“…Guh…guh…gwaaaagh…”
Chamo’s moans of pain were the only sounds in the corpse-strewn lava zone. She was desperately trying to vomit up the blade gem. All that came from her mouth was saliva and blood. No blade gem and no fiends.
“Chamo…Please, keep trying,” Rolonia urged her.
Mora and Rolonia’s fervent attempts at treatment had been ineffective. Chamo’s stomach was so unique, normal treatment didn’t work. All Mora could do was to pour energy into her body to shore up her vitality.
“So…we have no choice but to kill Nashetania, after all,” Adlet murmured.
Mora had used her powers to give them a general understanding of the nature of the gem. It would take about three hours for it to kill Chamo, and if Nashetania moved far enough away, it would lose effect. The radius of the gem’s effect was around one kilometer and there were only two ways to nullify it: Either Nashetania had to cancel it, or they had to kill her to save Chamo.
Mora was still chanting in the divine tongue, to further analyze the gem stuck in Chamo’s stomach. Hans and Fremy were chasing after the culprit. If they lost sight of her, saving Chamo would become infinitely harder. Adlet anxiously awaited their return.
“Auntie…Chamo’s not gonna die, right?” the girl asked weakly.
Mora grasped her small hand and encouraged her. “How can you say that, Chamo? We’re all with you, aren’t we? Do you think we would let you die so easily?”
“…Ah-ha-ha…You’re right…yeah.”
Nashetania got us good, thought Adlet. Judging from her behavior, she hadn’t planted the gem during the Phantasmal Barrier incident. She’d done it long before the Evil God’s awakening. Adlet should have foreseen this; he’d known she’d been preparing for this fight over the course of many years.
That was when Hans returned from his pursuit of Nashetania.
“What’s the word, Hans?” asked Adlet.
“Meow. I lost sight of her once, but we found her.” He seemed somewhat rattled. He was fully aware just how important Chamo was. “She’s about a kilomewter away from here, just hangin’ around. The damn woman gathered about thirty fiends, and now she’s just sittin’ in the middle of ’em and smilin’. I didn’t see no other fiends, though.”
“And where’s Fremy?”
“She’s watchin’ the princess from a little ways away. Fremy ain’t dumb enough to fight her alone.”
“I’m worried,” said Adlet. “And about Fremy, too.”
“There was neowthin’ else to worry about. I didn’t catch sight of Tgurneu, neither…or Goldof,” said Hans.
Adlet scowled. But now it was clear—Mora’s analysis was right, and Nashetania couldn’t get too far from Chamo. Mora’s estimate of one kilometer for the area of effect also seemed accurate. “First, we get Chamo away from here and cancel the gem’s effects. Mora, can you move her?” Adlet asked.
But Mora shook her head sadly. “She’s just barely clinging to life. I don’t know what would happen should we move her.”
“There’s no other way. Nashetania needs to die, after all.” Adlet hurried to replenish his weapons from his iron box. “Me, Rolonia, and Fremy will go kill Nashetania. Hans and Mora, you stay here and protect Chamo.” Adlet chose to leave Hans, whose combat skills he trusted most, right by Chamo. This was because he was still worried about Tgurneu, who had yet to show up.
“All right,” said Hans. “I’ll leave the princess to mew guys.”
“And, Mora,” Adlet continued, “call Goldof one more time with your mountain echo.”
Mora nodded. She took a deep breath and amplified her voice. “GOLDOF! WHERE ARE YOU?! I’VE CALLED YOU MANY TIMES! NASHETANIA HAS NEARLY KILLED CHAMO! RETURN TO US AND HELP SAVE HER!”
When Chamo had first fallen, Mora had called Goldof over and over with her powers, explaining the situation to him. But yet again, her voice echoed throughout the lava zone in vain.
“He still won’t return,” the oldest Saint said.
“…Addy, what will we do about Goldof?” Rolonia asked.
Adlet had no answers. First of all, he didn’t know if Goldof was even a real Brave or not. Was he the seventh, and had he lured Chamo here to kill her? If so, Adlet was forced to assume that the next time they encountered him would be in a skirmish. But there was still the possibility that Nashetania was deceiving and using him. Perhaps the fact that he had yet to return meant he was in trouble.
“We’ll deal with him later,” said Adlet. It was too much to think about. He’d make the
