Specialist number twenty-six felt its blood freeze. Nashetania, whom it had thought unconscious, had told Goldof where she was.
The boy would come immediately. The fiend desperately began to move, but it was slow, no faster than a human’s walking speed. It had expended all its strength on camouflage, and Fremy’s bombs had wounded it. It couldn’t move quickly.
Tgurneu had said that under no conditions should it allow itself to be found by Goldof, in particular, and that if he seemed close to rescuing Nashetania, to kill her. Goldof would reach the fiend eventually. So what should it do? The creature desperately racked its brains. It had to carry out Tgurneu’s orders no matter what. To a fiend, failure to follow its master’s orders was an agony more terrifying than death.
“…Oh? Has something happened?” Tgurneu muttered, far, far away. It was still aloft, observing the situation down below. Goldof had suddenly dashed into the gem’s area of effect, while specialist number twenty-six began lumbering off. The child couldn’t have figured out where Nashetania was, could he? From afar, Tgurneu couldn’t tell what was going on.
“Hmm. What’s to be done here? Well, this time, I suppose I’ll trust in my pawn. Let’s leave it to number twenty-six.” Tgurneu understood that its subordinate was in danger, but it couldn’t come up with any ideas as to how to assist. If Tgurneu charged in, it could be exposed to danger itself. Just a little while ago, it had had a close call, and it wasn’t keen on experiencing that again.
“All right, number twenty-six. I’ve decided to cheer you on from up here. You can do it. You can do it. Don’t give up,” Tgurneu urged gleefully as it continued to observe the spectacle.
“Is that…it?” Goldof found two adjacent holes spurting steam. Already, five minutes had passed since he’d received that message from Nashetania.
Goldof bit his broken fingertip. The bone grated, shooting a spike of pain through his appendage. Amid the aching, he focused his eyes. It seemed a part of his field of vision shimmered just a bit. He concentrated on that spot and bit his finger harder. The mirage-like fluctuation grew, and when he continued to stare, a fiend came into view. It was turned away from him, trying to escape. The moment Goldof started after it, he heard a voice.
“Stöp, Goldof.” When the fiend spoke, it appeared clearly—a lizard-fiend with rock skin. When it turned toward him, he stopped automatically.
“…Monster…”
The fiend’s mouth was very slightly agape, and inside he could see Nashetania’s face. The sharp teeth pierced her skin. That alone told him immediately what it was about to do. If Goldof took one step forward, it would kill her.
The fiend was about thirty meters away from him—too far for even Goldof to cross in an instant. He knew it wasn’t bluffing. Tgurneu would want to avoid her rescue at all costs. It would surely rather kill her than let him save her, even if that meant the plan to deal with Chamo would fail.
“…Not a sïngle step.” The fiend spoke skillfully, even with its mouth blocked. It wasn’t going to hand over the girl. It would never let him save her. A glance was enough for Goldof to apprehend its determination.
“I’m…almost there…” The Helm of Allegiance was still telling him that his master was in danger. How much longer until Chamo died? Depending on her strength, she could fade at any minute. If she died, Nashetania would immediately follow.
“I will…save her.” Goldof took a slow step forward. The sharp teeth bit into Nashetania’s face. Blood dripped from her forehead onto her cheeks. He could even hear her bones grating, or so he though. “Your Highness… Please…open…your eyes…” Goldof called out to her. But her limp body didn’t so much as twitch. And even if she did wake, there was nothing she could do, anyway. Tgurneu had said that the power of one of these specialists prevented her from controlling blades.
Goldof shifted forward very slightly, less than a full step. But the fiend didn’t miss the movement. It clamped her face even harder. He couldn’t get near it.
Can’t I create an opening? he thought. But the fiend was eyeing his every action. He couldn’t approach. Then I should throw my spear, he thought, but the fiend had already anticipated that. The instant he moved his arm to ready his spear, the fiend’s mouth tensed.
What’s more, Goldof realized that if he failed to kill the fiend in one strike, the next thing it would do was crush Nashetania’s face. If he aimed for its head, he’d kill her, too. He couldn’t aim for its heart because he didn’t know where that was.
“…I’ll nevér give her to you.”
Sweat beaded on Goldof’s face, left tracks down his jaw, and dripped on the ground. He kept perfectly still as he and the fiend stared each other down.
He racked his brain, trying to think of a way to kill the fiend in one strike, a way to guarantee it would die instantly, without time to bite Nashetania’s head. And the more he thought about it, the clearer it became that such a method didn’t exist. There was no way for him to succeed with his own power and weapons.
He couldn’t back off for now to find a way to save her, either—he couldn’t afford to. There was no time. If he left, the fiend would go into hiding again. Right here, right now, was his only opportunity to save her.
That moment, the fiend’s eyes crinkled. Goldof could tell it was smiling.
“…”
The boy didn’t take his eyes off the fiend—but he knew what was happening. He had sensed the presence of someone to the right, as well as a bloodthirsty aura sharp enough to pierce his flesh.
Fremy was thirty meters away, gun trained on. “Adlet and Rolonia will be here soon, Goldof,” she said. She couldn’t see what he was looking at.
