“It’s not over yet!”
Yells Ahri.
“…! Rose, take those two! Shellrule, go! Full speed!”
I give instructions one after the other.
Rose’s vines wrap around Kalin and Ahri, and follow me as I rush back to the passenger car.
I peek over at the vines, and see the parts where that fluid splashed have turned black. They look like bruises, and also kind of like what Taula had on her face when I first met her.
Is this a curse? And the type that costs a human life… Shaman!
I jump into the passenger car that Shellrule is bringing my way. The manifest scroll comes next, and Ahri and Kalin tumble inside, with Rose’s vines still wrapped around them.
That’s when it happens.
The assassins Kalin left unconscious begin to swell, like their bodies are bubbling, before exploding and splashing fluid all around. So this is what Ahri saw.
The road, the walls, everything is dirtied by this fluid.
The car just barely runs through it.
“Kalin, we’re going back to our inn for now. Is that all right?”
I ask Kalin, who is slowly getting up after slipping out of Rose’s vines.
“Yes. That was really surprising. Yes, let’s do that. I don’t think we’re going to find any clues there. Is there anything else? Rust? Ahri?”
“I don’t see another attack at the moment.”
Answers Ahri.
I take a deep breath, and tell Shellrule to slow down a little.
The transmuted beast running at full speed is putting a strain on the car, and it’s not good if we want to keep it intact for a long time.
Still, the passenger car races through the night.
“About those assassins. It looked like the first one wanted to blow up, but someone had to activate the others. They were completely passed out, right Kalin?”
I tell them my theory.
“Yes. I hit them almost as hard as I could. So that means someone was watching.”
Says Kalin, while sitting down and crossing her arms.
The weight of the sword in her hand shakes the car.
“Yes. Roa’s long-distance sight is one thing, but if there was a magic energy link between the assassins and whoever was watching, I probably would’ve noticed. So whatever it was, I assume it was watching.”
“That shaman…”
“Yes, almost certainly. At least Taula will be happy. She looked disheartened at the lack of clues.”
The car runs to the inn where we are staying as Kalin and I talk.
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