“Has she ever escaped from you?”
“…Why ask me that?”
“…Pardon me. This isn’t the time for idle chat. Let’s go,” Dozzu said, scampering off. Unease colored the fiend’s expression—even desperation.
“What’re you…talking about?”
“Nothing, nothing at all.”
They had been running for about five minutes when suddenly Goldof realized that the distant sounds of battle had stopped. The Helm of Allegiance was still ringing. Nashetania was not dead.
Then Mora’s voice echoed toward them from far away. “GOLDOF! GOLDOF! CAN YOU HEAR ME? NASHETANIA HAS NEARLY KILLED CHAMO!” Reflexively, the young knight stopped. “NASHETANIA HAS PUT A HIEROFORM INTO HER STOMACH! WE MUST DEFEAT HER, OR CHAMO WILL DIE! NASHETANIA HAS FLED FROM US! CHASE HER DOWN AND KILL HER!”
Goldof looked down at Dozzu. The fiend was bristling, its expression sour. “It seems the situation…has worsened even further.”
Goldof stood two kilometers from Chamo’s pit. Mora had explained what had happened with her mountain echo. Chamo was dying because of a blade gem that Nashetania had put inside her. The only way to save her was to kill Nashetania, and the princess had to be within one kilometer of the pit. They had three hours until the girl was dead.
Now that Goldof understood the situation, he clenched his spear, pointing it at Dozzu. “So…this is what’s going on, Dozzu?”
“Wait, please, Goldof!” Dozzu backed away.
“…You weren’t after me…you were after Chamo…weren’t you? You used me to lure the Braves here…Then you activated that blade gem thing…Is that it?”
“No! We didn’t put that blade gem in her. You must already know that Nashetania can’t create hieroforms.”
“…” Goldof thought back. Once, two years ago, Nashetania had suddenly stolen his spear, telling him she was going to modify it to make him stronger. Being without his weapon of choice had inconvenienced him for a time. One month later, she had announced she had failed and returned the spear to him. Nashetania couldn’t make hieroforms. But could he be truly certain that wasn’t an act?
“This is another of Tgurneu’s tricks,” said Dozzu. “He’s trying to kill Chamo and making it seem as if it’s Nashetania’s doing.”
“You think…I’ll believe that?” Slowly, Goldof edged forward.
Dozzu continued. “Tgurneu must have had one of the old Saints of Blades create a hieroform and then put it in Miss Chamo’s stomach. It’s only activated now.”
“…”
“Tgurneu is using Nashetania as a decoy, making the Braves believe she’s the one responsible in order to keep them from figuring out the truth.”
“That couldn’t…”
“He will make Adlet kill Nashetania, and while that’s going on, kill Chamo with the blade gem. That’s Tgurneu’s goal,” Dozzu rapidly explained. “Please, calm down and think about it, Goldof. If Nashetania had the power to create a blade gem, she would have used it earlier. If she’d triggered it while you were all running around inside the Phantasmal Barrier, she could have killed one of you, at the very least. She could have gotten Chamo out of the way ahead of time, before all of you were assembled.”
“…But…”
“But she didn’t. That proves it, more than anything, doesn’t it?”
Still clenching his spear, Goldof faltered. Was Dozzu his enemy or his ally? He didn’t know who his adversaries were. He had no idea who he should fight to protect Nashetania.
“The one most likely to have implanted the gem was Fremy. She fought Chamo once and lost. I couldn’t say how she did it, but she must have done it then.”
That did make sense. But Goldof couldn’t trust Dozzu anymore. The Helm of Allegiance was still ringing, warning him of impending danger. But was Nashetania really at risk? He wasn’t sure anymore.
“It’s far too late to be asking you to trust me,” said Dozzu. “That would be unreasonable. But this much is true: At this rate, they’ll kill Nashetania!”
“Shit!” Goldof yelled, running off again. He just couldn’t discern what was real. But Nashetania was in trouble, and he had to help her.
At this point in time, Goldof did not yet feel that he had betrayed the Braves of the Six Flowers. He had no intention of killing his allies. While he was trying to save Nashetania, he was also looking for a way to help Chamo. But he didn’t reply to Mora’s summons, instead choosing to work together with Dozzu, his enemy. Objectively speaking, he was already a traitor.
As Goldof ran over the heated earth, he heard the sound of explosions far away. Those were Fremy’s bombs. The pair turned westward.
“I’ll assume…for now…you’re telling…the truth,” said Goldof as they ran. “First…I’ll catch Her Highness. You…remove the fiend…that’s controlling her. Can you do that?”
Dozzu nodded. “There are methods to deal with them. Though this can only be done if Nashetania is unconscious and there are no enemies around.”
“Then…I’ll do that. Once you’ve dealt with it…you take her…and leave the gem’s area of effect.”
“Understood.”
“Then the others’ll…realize that she’s not the enemy. Then I’ll…find the one who’s really using the gem…and save Chamo.”
“It seems…this will be a difficult battle,” Dozzu muttered. It surely would be.
But Goldof wasn’t afraid. He’d win, no matter who his enemy was—or so he told himself.
He might have to fight Nashetania herself to protect her. So there was something he had to make sure of first.
“Dozzu…that stealth power…she has… If you focus on looking…and hurt yourself…you can see through it…right?” he asked.
Dozzu’s expression changed. The fiend pensively regarded Goldof. “That’s exactly right. You do know. That’s good; it saves me the trouble of explaining.”
Was it something to be glad about? Goldof couldn’t figure out what Dozzu was thinking. “If she…doesn’t leave…the area of effect…I’ll know you were lying. Then…I’ll kill you. I swear I will.”
“Understood.”
They crested another rock hill, and now the blade gem’s area of effect was just ahead. Nashetania was running with her group of fiends. Goldof picked out Adlet, Fremy, and then Rolonia following her. It didn’t appear any of the other Braves were after her.
The fiends were attacking Adlet in an attempt to slow him down, but Rolonia’s whip and the redhead’s sword sent them
