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A second later, the four of them were in the air. There was no saying how long it was before they landed. Nor did they know why there’d been no shock on impact.

The castle collapsed as if it were made of sand. Blasted by the minute particles, the three humans had to shut their eyes tight and turn away—unlike D.

“Can you use a blade now?” D inquired once the storm of sandy grit had abated.

As Juke and Sergei watched him, Gordo looked down at his hands, his eyes open wide.

“No problem—it’s like, when I stabbed you . . .”

“That was a present from Rosaria,” D said.

The reason was obvious.

Still holding the same pose, Gordo dropped to his knees. Tears streamed down his wildly bearded face.

—

It was a week later that the group’s journey came to an end. After bringing their merchandise to the last village, the three transporters bid farewell to D at the edge of town.

“If we’re ever in trouble again, come bail us out,” Juke said, offering his right hand.

Saying nothing, D gripped it. No one was surprised—it seemed perfectly natural to all of them.

“We’ll be waiting for you as long as we live,” Gordo said, with a clap on D’s shoulder.

“Hell, we don’t need you,” Sergei said, shooting him a grin. “My smarts will be enough to save us all.”

D remained silent as he wheeled his steed around. The trio headed back down the road that had brought them there. D was headed forward, as always.

“Gaskell got away. He’ll be back again,” a voice from the vicinity of D’s left hand said after some time had passed. “But even if all seven disobeyed the Sacred Ancestor, I wonder why he’d go to all the trouble of having you destroy them at this late date? Sacred Ancestor or not, I guess he couldn’t prevent them from entering that sleep. His laws are ironclad, and there’s no point in them even rebelling against the Sacred Ancestor again. Hmm.”

The hoarse voice was neither posing a question nor seeking D’s agreement. It knew it would never get an answer out of him.

“Oh, look at the sky—those are thunderheads!”

Before the voice had finished speaking, a shadow moved across the sun, and thunder echoed in the distance.

“Even nature is against you—you must have some really bad karma!”

D rode forward without saying a word. His elegantly beautiful countenance suggested that not a single memory remained of those two women and three men.

—

END