About two hours earlier, the Braves of the Six Flowers had arrived in the lava zone. As ordered by Tgurneu’s fake Nashetania, the lizard-fiend had fought with the Six Braves. Anticipating when Chamo would attack, it had then sent a signal to Nashetania, inside its stomach, to activate the blade gem. If she had refused to obey, the plan was to kill her immediately.
After the girl complied, the lizard-fiend fled the Braves and came to its current hiding place. Checking that there were no enemies around, it had activated its ability to conceal itself. After that, it had remained in place the whole time.
The Braves of the Six Flowers had passed right by its nose. The fiend had caught sight of Goldof, too. It had even stood beside him, only a few meters away. But not one of them had picked up on its presence. No one, be they human or fiend, would ever be able to find it unless they understood its powers.
Half an hour ago, a messenger had come from Tgurneu with new instructions: to do whatever it took to prevent Goldof from saving Nashetania. And if it couldn’t, it was allowed to kill her.
But the fiend wasn’t concerned about a thing. Nobody would be able to find it.
Figuring he should go somewhere else—he had to look for clues—Goldof began creeping away so as not to be noticed by Fremy and Rolonia. But when he stood up, he sensed danger and flattened himself again. A bullet zipped right above his head.
“He was there!” he heard Rolonia yell. Unawares, Goldof had been noticed. He stood up and sprinted away.
This time was different from the last time he’d fought them. Their attacks were merciless attempts to kill him instantly. If he fought them now, he’d have no chance.
Fremy was aiming for the gaps in his armor. If he ran in a straight line, he’d be shot. Goldof darted in a zigzag pattern, using the complex terrain to shield himself from the bullets.
“We can catch him, Rolonia!”
“Yeah!”
He could hear the pair’s voices behind him. Rolonia’s footsteps were coming closer. His body aching, Goldof kept up the pace.
Fremy launched a bomb at him. The blast struck him in the back, making him stagger. An instant later, Rolonia was in range, screeching. “FuckingdietraitorIwon’twon’twon’tletyoukillChamoshowmeyourguts!”
His armor couldn’t block it all. He slapped aside Rolonia’s whip strikes with his spear. Her weapon was whirling in from all directions, and he was blocking on instinct alone. But he couldn’t afford to stop and exchange blows, either. Fremy was right behind her and getting closer. If she scored a hit with her bombs or bullets, it was over.
Blocking the whip with his spear, Goldof charged straight at Rolonia, taking advantage of a split-second opening to kick her in the chest. His powerful leg struck out hard enough to knock her back ten meters, armor and all.
“Rolonia!” Fremy fired a shot at his face. His helmet stopped the bullet from entering his forehead, but it flung him back violently, and for a moment he was close to blacking out.
Goldof turned away from the two of them and sprinted off again. Rolonia’s whip was thirty meters long. He absolutely could not let her within range. Desperately, he dodged.
“ReleaseChamoifyoudon’tI’llkillyouI’llkillyouI’llkillyouI’llkillyouGoldof!” He could hear her screaming.
I only wish I could, thought Goldof. But Tgurneu had Nashetania captive and was forcing her to kill Chamo. If she refused, Tgurneu would simply murder her. As Goldof escaped, he thought, maybe it would be better to tell someone the truth, everything he had learned. There was no way he could find Nashetania all on his own. Tgurneu had said that if Goldof talked, the seventh would let it know. So maybe Goldof could tell someone trustworthy, in secret, so the seventh wouldn’t find out.
“…Ngh.” Running, Goldof glanced back. He couldn’t tell the two behind him the truth. There was no guarantee either of them weren’t the seventh. The others who were most likely real Braves were Mora and Chamo. But Hans was with them, and Goldof couldn’t say for sure that he was trustworthy. Then what about Adlet? Goldof considered.
“Hurry up, Rolonia!”
“Rottenbrutejustwon’tgiveupI’llsuckoutyourbloodandspititout!”
But that was a no-go, too. Goldof still couldn’t say for sure that Adlet was a real Brave. He just couldn’t be certain Adlet wasn’t the seventh. The others trusted him because Nashetania had nearly killed him. But Goldof knew that the other seventh wasn’t on the same side as Nashetania, so Adlet still could be the seventh.
When it came down to it, he couldn’t tell anyone the truth. He was on his own, and there was no avoiding that.
“Rolonia! Don’t chase him too far!” Fremy yelled after some minutes of running. Rolonia stopped, and Goldof escaped. “Adlet is all on his own! Tgurneu or Nashetania might go after him!”
“Y-you’re right! Let’s head back now!”
I’m saved, Goldof thought, leaning back on a boulder as he panted. He had to look for clues to save Nashetania, but he couldn’t even get near her.
As he gazed up at the sky, his mind turned to Adlet. Back in the Phantasmal Barrier, he had been all on his own, too, and he’d solved all the mysteries and won. But Goldof couldn’t fight like him. Adlet had smarts, along with the mysterious ability to win people’s trust. Goldof had neither of those. Now that he was in the same situation Adlet had been in, he understood just how amazing the other boy was.
I can’t compare to Adlet—but that doesn’t mean I can give up, he thought, but his mind just kept spinning around in circles.
Meanwhile, Nashetania was inside the fiend’s stomach, waiting for salvation. The remains of her left arm hurt. It was so suffocating inside her prison, she couldn’t think straight. She felt on the verge of passing out. But she bit her lip and clung to consciousness.
She had fused with multiple fiends in order to make their powers her own. Now she desperately tried to use those fiends’ powers
