Brandon Varnell
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WIEDERGEBURT Act III: Chapter 34
🕑 Added 2020-01-09 16:34:27 +0000 UTCNevaria. What had once been a great city filled with over a million people had now become a haven for Demon Beasts. They crawled all over the city. Pteranodons made nests on top of buildings. Dire Wolves roamed the streets in packs. Silverbacks pounded their chests and bellowed at the top of their lungs as they invaded homes and battled each other. There were even several B-rank Behemoths like the one Kari and I fought, as well as a large number of A-rank Acromantula.
My blood boiled as I walked through the destroyed front gate. The once majestic gate that stood tall and symbolized strength had been reduced to rubble. Most of the fifteen meter thick rampart was gone, having been brought down by a massive Demon Beast of some sort, and even the gate itself was nothing but a derelict and broken down ruin. Only half the gate remained standing.
As soon as I entered through the gate, a pack of Dire Wolves spotted me and howled, charging toward me at top speed. Their glistening black fur was the same color as midnight, but they had white underbellies. I stared into the red eyes of the pack leader as I reached behind my back and tugged on the Dragon’s Tail Ruler.
I swung the weapon horizontally, unleashing a powerful wave of lightning that swept over the Dire Wolves. All of the Demon Beasts stopped in their tracks as their muscles seized up. They skidded along the ground, tumbling and rolling, until they came to a stop. Even then, they struggled to climb back onto their feet.
I had no intention of letting that happen.
Another swing of my weapon caused a crescent blade of water to launch from the entire length. This crescent blade was easily several meters across. It traveled over the ground and sliced through the Dire Wolves, who did not even get the chance to howl in pain as their blood soaked into the cracked cobblestone street.
Ignoring the corpses now littering the road, I moved deeper into the city. I glanced at the buildings on either side of the street I was traveling down. Many of the buildings were only partially standing, with several walls destroyed and the ceilings having long since collapsed. There were a few that hadn’t been destroyed, however, and I entered one of these out of curiosity—only to find a cobweb covered mess with an entire swarm of Acromantulas.
These ones were tiny. They were baby Acromantulas. They covered almost every inch of the building’s interior. Their webs lined the walls, floor, and ceiling, crisscrossing all over the place. Hanging on these webs were dozens upon dozens of Acromantula.
From the moment I entered the building, I became the focus of these disgusting beasts. They clacked their mandibles and skittered along the ground and walls to reach me. I narrowed my eyes, gathered Spiritual Power into my left foot, and stomped on the ground. I released all the gathered Spiritual Power in one burst. A wave of lightning spread out across the entire building, striking the Acromantula and frying their insides.
While Acromantula were listed as A-rank Demon Beasts, only the Greater Acromantula that had lived for a really long time fit that classification. Regular Acromantula could barely be classified as B-rank, while these little babies weren’t even C-rank. They instantly died under my assault.
Just as I was about to leave, the ceiling above me collapsed and a gigantic Acromantula slammed into the ground with enough force to leave me stunned. Dust clogged my vision, but I had the sense of mind to move as the creature fired several webs at me from its spinneret. The webs struck the ground and walls, exploding in a spray of sticky threads that could entrap me if I wasn’t careful.
I swung the Dragon’s Tail Ruler and channeled Spiritual Power through it, unlocking the segments and sending them flying at the Acromantula, though I narrowed my eyes when my weapon glanced off the Demon Beast’s furry hide. That hair was simply too durable.
Retracting my weapon, I dodged several more threads and tried to figure out what I should do. The Acromantula released a shrill cry and charged at me during this time. Perhaps it was frustrated, but I didn’t care.
The creature raised one of its spindly legs. I noticed how sharp the end of its leg was. It brought the leg down and tried to punch a hole through my chest, but I quickly transformed my entire body into lightning. The Acromantula’s leg went straight through my body, which skittered along the ground before reforming into a vaguely human shape. Now underneath the Acromantula, I bent my knees and surged upward.
It was over in an instant.
Now floating in the sky, I looked down at where I had come from. The Acromantula was still there, but a large hole had appeared in its abdomen.
A loud shriek alerted me to the fact that I had been spotted by another Demon Beast. I looked to my left and found several Pteranodons traveling toward me.
Since maintaining the Third State of Spiritualism cost a lot of Spiritual Power, I quickly changed back into a human. Then I used the Flash Step Version 2: Jump Step to shoot myself toward the first of the flying Demon Beasts.
The Dragon’s Tail Ruler penetrated the first Pteranodon’s skull when I swung it, killing it instantly. As it began falling to the ground, I used its body as a springboard and blasted over to the next one. This creature tried to attack me with its clawed feet. A swing of my weapon fixed that. The Pteranodon squealed in agony as I cut its talons clean off, then used the Jump Step to appear above it and swing my blade clean through its neck, severing the flesh, muscle, and bone in a single stroke. Now headless, the creature fell to the ground.
I killed the remainder of the Pteranodons attacking me before landing back on the ground, but the moment I did, a large and hairy creature with silver fur appeared from around the corner of a building. This Demon Beast stood on two legs, had a thick chest and broad shoulder, and arms so long its hands dragged against the ground.
It was the B-rank Silverback.
The Demon Beast slammed its hands against its chest and released a battlecry before it charged at me. I clicked my tongue and pointed at it.
Unlike last time when I unleashed a wave of energy, this time I released a condensed beam that blew a hole clean through the Silverback’s chest. It died without even realizing it. The beast fell, struck the ground, and rolled across the cobblestone like a doll that had been tossed aside by a child throwing a tantrum. I considered such an ignoble death poetic justice.
More Demon Beasts were coming toward me. There were all kinds from the small Dire Wolves to the massive Silverbacks. It didn’t matter what monsters came my way, however, as I slaughtered everything around me. Lightning burst from my body. Blades of water flew from my sword. Heads were cleaved. Bodies were split in half. The ground became stained with the blood of countless Demon Beasts. I would show no mercy to these beasts. I would kill and kill and kill, until there were no more Demon Beasts left in Nevaria.
As I finished off another pack of Dire Wolves, the ground shook beneath my feet. I turned around and found a massive creature with purple skin and four muscular legs moving toward me. This creature looked only vaguely feline. It had a snarling muzzle filled with rows of sharp teeth, two large horns on its head, and a long tail that was at least the same length as its body.
Behemoth, but this one was even larger than the one Kari and I had fought back in the mountain pass. A Greater Behemoth then. A true A-rank Demon Beast.
Despite the overwhelming presence I sensed from this creature, which made even my skin crawl, I had no intention of giving up. I’d fought and killed A-ranks plenty of times. Tightening my grip on the Dragon’s Tail Ruler, I made liberal use of the Flash Step to appear on top of the Behemoth’s head.
I didn’t hesitate to bring my weapon down upon it. The Dragon’s Tail Ruler, covered in lightning to increase its cutting power, slammed into the Behemoth’s skull, but rather than the weapon slicing through flesh and bone like I expected, the weapon just glanced off this creature’s thick hide. My attack did shake the creature a bit. However, aside from that, nothing serious happened.
As I was wondering what to do, a loud crackling noise issued from one of the horns. I looked over. The largest horn, which was about two times taller than me, was emitting some type of black energy that looked like lightning. A thick darkness was pulsating from the horn. My eyes widened as I realized what this was.
The darkness element!
I used the Flash Step just as the black lightning tried to blast me apart. Appearing back on the ground some distance away, I soon found myself forced to dodge several more bursts of intensely concentrated darkness. Shock rushed through my body when I saw the craters left behind from each attack. The darkness element was extremely powerful. It ate through the ground like it was made of butter.
Knowing that I had to close the distance if I wanted to make the most of my attacks, I tried to use the Flash Step, but the Behemoth roared and suddenly a massive wall of darkness rose from the ground and blocked my path. I had no choice but to stop. That was a mistake.
Darkness gathered on the tip of the Behemoth’s horn, crackling with barely repressed power. Not even a second past before the Behemoth unleashed another powerful arc of black lightning. I had been forced to stop my Flash Step mid-step, so I couldn’t use it again. Left with no other choice, I raised the Dragon’s Tail Ruler and took the attack head on.
“Nnnnnggg! GRAAAA!!!!”
The ground cracked underneath my feet as I slid backwards. My arms shook from the strain of fighting against the black lightning, which was easily the most powerful attack I’d faced since my battle against the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain. I gnashed my teeth together as arcs of black lightning slipped past my weapon and struck me, sending jolts of energy through my body that consumed my Spiritual Power. It felt like my strength was being sapped from me while my insides were burned.
I was beginning to feel weaker.
Another roar echoed from the Behemoth’s mouth as the Spiritual Power running through its attack suddenly grew stronger instead of weaker. Left with no other option, I channeled as much Spiritual Power through my weapon as possible, hoping against hope to block the increasingly powerful black lightning.
The glowing Runes along the weapon became even brighter. Sparks flew from them as my Spiritual Power flowed through it. I increased the output. I increased more. More. More! I only needed to block this one attack! I could do that, then my chance to strike back would come! I was sure of it!
My thoughts halted and my eyes widened, however, as cracks began appearing on my weapon. The Dragon’s Tail Ruler was made of mythril, the most durable metal in all the nine realms. I had no idea there was anything in this world that could crack it.
My weapon shattered just as the black lightning disappeared. I stared at the weapon that had been my partner for many years. The pain I felt at losing it was nothing close to how I felt when I lost Kari and Kayli, but losing something else that was important to me caused a deep hole to appear within my heart. It felt like it was sucking in everything that I was, everything that I had ever been, until I was little more than an empty shell.
The Behemoth’s roar made me remember that I was still in combat, and so, despite feeling like I had lost one more part of myself, I refocused on the battle.
My Spiritual Power surged as I released everything I had left. I had been in combat for so long that I didn’t have much anymore, but even so, the ground began cracking underneath the pressure of my soaring Spiritual Power. Lightning crackled and water swirled around me. The walls of buildings were destroyed as elemental arcs struck them. However, I soon took those elements into my body, which wracked me with intense pain.
I could feel the change my body was undergoing. It hurt like a million lava needles stabbing into my skin, like my flesh was being melted by acid and my bones were being slowly eroded by rushing waves relentlessly pounding against them. A glance at my hands made me realize that I had turned into a being of pure white. Small arcs of blue lightning skittered across my arms and fingers while swirling motes of water surrounded me in rings.
I had successfully merged into two elements.
The Behemoth was charging a new attack, but I had no intention of letting it finish. My Spiritual Power was being quickly consumed. I would need to make this quick. Bending my knees, I launched myself off the ground and closed the distance between myself and the Behemoth, my left hand raised and clenched into a fist that I planned on bringing down.
At that exact moment, just as I appeared to destroy this creature, the condensed black lightning exploded from the horn’s tip and struck me in the center of my chest. My eyes widened as I brought my fist down. The last thing I saw before pain overrode everything was the Behemoth’s head exploding in a spray of blood and Spiritual Power.
***
A month had passed since Fay and I met with Gudmund Drage. Although the heir of the Drage Family had sent several invitations since then, me and Fay responded to all of them with a polite refusal, stating that we were too busy with our work and Fay’s school to meet him.
Of course, that wasn’t really true. We were indeed busy, but the reason we refused to meet with him was because of his opinions regarding strength. Neither Fay nor I could condone the use of strength to bully the weak, and we also didn’t believe that it was the strong’s right to trample over those who were weak.
We had debated this matter for a long time, knowing that to refuse the Drage Family’s heir like this would be seen as a grave insult toward the family, but we ultimately couldn’t come up with a better solution. I did not think we could change his mind. I also didn’t want to bother trying. This man had tried to convince Stelys Valstine to annul the marriage agreement between me and Fay. He was a sanctimonious shit, and I had no obligation to help him.
The sect was seeing a steady increase. Many mercenaries and other Spiritualists who hadn’t joined either the Nevarian Spiritualists or the Imperial Royal Guard flocked to join us, causing our ranks to swell as a result.
While our sect consisted mostly of mercenaries who wanted a steady source of income, it wasn’t like we accepted every mercenary who came our way. Anyone who wanted to join underwent a strict evaluation. These tests were performed by myself, Kari, Fay, Lin, Geirolf, Bjark, and Catalyna.
Each test was designed to showcase a person’s strength, talent, decision making abilities, and virtuousness. Because we were a legitimate sect as opposed to a mercenary company, we couldn’t accept people who did not display a certain level of virtue. A Spiritualist with low moral standards might break the law. Therefore, on top of testing their actual abilities, we also held an interview to determine whether or not these Spiritualists were a good fit.
Many failed.
While a lot of Spiritualists failed our interview, there were still a lot who had passed, so many, in fact, that we were no longer accepting new members at this time. The Nevarian Braves had capped out at 400 members. That was enough.
Despite having 400 members, we were not lacking in jobs. Our quest boards were being updated daily with new quests.
Some of the quests were simple D-rank jobs that could be completed within a day. Since they took place within Nevaria, Spiritualists didn’t even need to leave the city limits to complete them. Of course, these quests were nothing more than ordinary tasks like helping someone with construction or acting as bodyguards for a noble. They didn’t pay much, but since they could be completed within a single day, they were popular among people who needed to make a quick valis.
A lot of our higher-ranked experts had also begun the task of training the newer Spiritualists. Bjark, Catalyna, and Geirolf would form groups with new Spiritualists and take quests that involved journeying into the Demon Beast Mountain Range. Some of the quest were simple herb gathering jobs, but there were also some that required slaying a specific Demon Beast and salvaging it for parts. There were even jobs that required them to slay a specific number of Demon Beasts for their monster cores. One of the jobs had actually been posted by Empress Hilda herself, and it involved exploring the deeper regions of the Demon Beast Mountain Range and creating a map of the surrounding area.
The Demon Beast Mountain Range was a vast land that extended for several million kilometers and a vast majority of it remained unexplored. Nevaria was located somewhere near the southern edge of this massive area, hidden from the Demon Beasts via the mountain range that had given the region its name.
Progress on this quest was slow since it was an ongoing one. However, we were still making good progress. We had already mapped out several unexplored areas and even uncovered a few ruined cities that had existed before the catastrophe. Several of our groups had even brought back valuable items that the Valstine Family had auctioned off and earned a hefty amount of valis for.
Of course, I was not involved in any of these quests.
Sitting behind my desk with Lin, I stretched my hands as high as they would go, groaning in satisfaction as the bones in my back popped. I didn’t know how long I’d been working. However, if I were to judge the passage of time by how stiff my muscles and joints felt, then several hours had probably past since I began.
“Are you sore, Darling?” asked Lin as she looked up from her work.
“Just a little.” I brought my hands back down with a sigh, leaned back, and closed my tired eyes. “We’ve been working a lot recently. I feel like you and me have spent almost all our time behind a desk.”
Lin nodded even as she continued to neatly write a letter to our food supplier. “That is true. We’ve been working so much even this princess is feeling the strain. Big Sister has been complaining even more than usual as well. She wants to explore the Demon Beast Mountain Range.”
Kari had indeed been complaining a lot about how all the other members were able to travel outside of the Demon Beast Mountain Range, but we had remained here. I understood how she felt. However, I also knew that I couldn’t afford to leave right now. There was just so much work I needed to do, which was honestly frustrating since I had been trying to plan a trip into the Demon Beast Mountain Range for awhile now.
“Maybe I should let Kari form a group and travel out on her own,” I said with a sigh. I didn’t like the idea of Kari, Fay, or Lin traveling into the Demon Beast Mountain Range without me, but I also understood that my feelings were illogical. My fiances were the second most powerful Spiritualists in the Nevarian Braves. Unless they ran into an S-rank Demon Beast, they should be in no real danger.
“This princess and Fay would be willing to go with her, but that might leave you with more work,” Lin said as she bit her lip.
“This is true, but if it comes to that, I can just hire several temporary workers while you three go out,” I said before standing up.
“Darling?” Lin glanced at me with a curious tilt of her head.
“It’s time for my bi-monthly meeting with Empress Hilda,” I answered her unspoken question. “Would you like to join me?”
Lin immediately shook her head. “This princess does not feel comfortable in Empress Hilda’s presence without Big Sister around.” She held her arms and shivered as though a chill had crawled up her spine. “She will stay here and finish the paperwork for you.”
“All right.” Accepting her decision easily enough, I leaned over, cupped Lin’s cheek so I could tilt her head up, and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. “I’m heading out, so I’ll be counting on you to take care of the sect while I’m gone.”
Lin’s modest chest swelled with pride as she gave me a fanged smile. “Just leave everything to this princess!”
I said my goodbyes to Lin and traveled toward the door, which opened seconds before I reached it, admitting none other than Felman, who was carrying a large stack of papers. They looked like reports and job requests.
“Master Eryk,” Felman greeted. He didn’t bow because of the stack in his hands, but he did move aside so I could travel past him.
“Keep up the good work,” I said.
“Of course,” he answered.
I closed the door behind me and chuckled only a little when I heard Lin’s despondent wailing echo from behind the door. She probably hadn’t been expecting the paperwork to increase so much.
It only took about five minutes to reach the front gate leading to the Imperial Royal Palace. I made liberal use of the Flash Step to close the distance. The large gate covered the entire mountain path, which led up to the Imperial Royal Palace in a spiral pattern. Several guards dressed in the golden armor of the Imperial Royal Guard stood before the gate. They snapped off a salute when I appeared and opened the gate for me.
The Imperial Royal Palace was located at the very top of the mountain situated in the exact center of Nevaria. A marvelously flat plain that looked like someone had sliced the tip of the mountain off allowed the palace to sit there.
Perhaps the largest building within Nevaria, the Imperial Royal Palace was a five-story structure that took up over half the mountain top, spanning upwards of several thousand meters in length and featuring an impressive array of flying buttresses and columns. It was marked by an elevated platform and a large double door that led into the entrance hall.
Garret stood at the front with another pair of guards. Upon spotting me, he gave a low bow at the waist.
“Master Eryk, I am glad to see that you are in good health.”
“You too. It seems you’ve been doing well.”
“Yes, well, very few things change here, so I have been managing.” Garret straightened from his bow and smiled. “Empress Hilda is located in the second informal dining hall. If you would please follow me.”
I was pretty used to this already, so I just nodded along as the guards opened the door and allowed me and Garret inside. Paying no attention to the polished marble floors and decorations lining the walls, I followed Garret up the stairs at the back of the entrance hall, down a hallway lined with purple carpet, and through several rooms that resembled studies, libraries, pantries, and any other number of rooms with purposes I couldn’t fathom.
Finally, Garret reached a door that he held open and bade me to enter.
“Right this way, Master Eryk.”
“Thank you.”
Entering the second informal dining room (I really wondered how many informal dining rooms this palace had), I found Empress Hilda and, to my surprise, Herleif Astralia sitting down at a small table that could only fit maybe six people. Valence was also present. However, the man with the stern and unwavering face was standing behind Hilda like he always did.
Empress Hilda was dressed to the nines in a low-cut black gown that contrasted with her pale skin and showed off her cleavage. She was not as well-endowed as her daughter. However, her features were a lot more refined and mature. Even the adult Kari from my previous life maintained a more innocent and youthful appearance, though I assumed it was because of her strength as a Spiritualist that allowed my lover to continue looking so young. The Kari in my original life had been much stronger than Empress Hilda.
“Eryk, I am happy to see you,” Empress Hilda said, gesturing for me to take a seat on her left.
“Likewise.” I sat down. Herleif was sitting on the opposite side of me. “You look like you are in good health.”
Empress Hilda smiled. “I am doing the same as I always have been. There are problems, of course, but that is just a part of being empress.”
While Empress Hilda looked ravishing in her gown, Herleif was dressed in simple black pants and a white collared shirt. The materials were, of course, made from the silk of a Demon Beast and therefore likely cost more than a regular family made in a year, but the design was a lot more simple than what his daughter-in-law wore.
“I hear you’ve been causing problems for the Drage Family,” Herleif said. “They are not pleased with your continuous refusal to meet with their heir.”
“Is that so? I guess the feeling is mutual since I’m not pleased with their actions.” I shrugged. “The Drage Family wants me to annul my betrothal to Fay. What’s more, the heir to their family has vastly different beliefs than myself and took to arguing with me after he invited us to dine with him. I see no reason why I should give them any face.”
“Just be careful,” Herleif warned me. “The Drage Family is the most mysterious noble family within Nevaria. We know almost nothing about them, except that they are very powerful. They are not a family you can afford to offend.”
While I understood what Herleif was saying, there were some things I couldn’t do. The Drage Family had offended me first when they tried to convince Stelys to annul my betrothal to Fay, then offended me again when Fay and I accepted Gudmund Drage’s dinner proposal. Given that, I believed I had already shown them plenty of respect by showing up at the Drage Family’s mansion for dinner last month.
“The Drage Family and your problems with them aside, I am mostly interested in hearing your report on your sect’s current activities,” Empress Hilda said.
“Of course,” I replied before launching into an explanation of what my sect had been doing for the past half a month since our last meeting.
While these bi-monthly meetings weren’t necessary because Empress Hilda received a report every month, she used the meetings like something of a break. She could listen to me as I spoke of the things the Nevarian Braves were accomplishing. During this time, she did not have to put on the airs of an empress. She simply let her hair down and enjoyed listening to me, especially since I talked about what Kari was doing.
Several maidservants brought us a light lunch to snack on while we spoke. They were mostly finger foods like bite size sandwiches filled with meat and cheese, crackers with several types of spread, and a glass of chilled wine. Herleif took great pleasure in trying everything while Empress Hilda and I merely nibbled on the food as I spoke.
“I am pleased to hear that our knowledge of the Demon Beast Mountain Range is expanding,” Empress Hilda said after I finished talking. “We have been ignorant of the area surrounding us for too long.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I said.
“But it sounds like you have been incredibly busy and unable to actually do anything yourself.” The pink rose wine sloshed as she placed her dainty lips on the glass and tilted it. She made even drinking look like an exercise in elegance. As she set the glass down, Empress Hilda focused on me. “Have you been able to keep up with your training, or are you still facing a bottleneck?”
“I’m still facing a bit of a bottleneck,” I admitted as I lifted my glass and swished the wine around. A fragrant perfume lightly drifted into my nose. This was an excellent wine, but I expected nothing less from the Astralia Family. “However, it’s not like I haven’t made any progress. My ability to use the earth and darkness elements have improved, though I have yet to reach the Third State of Spiritualism with them.”
While Herleif looked like I just punched him in the gut, Empress Hilda nodded. “I remember you telling me that you could use those two elements now. The reason you are likely having such a hard time increasing your connection to them probably has something to do with the fact that you were not born with them. These elements are something you gained through Lin, yes? What’s more, you’ve only just started practicing with them two months ago. You can’t expect to reach the Third State of Spiritualism with them after only a few months of training.”
“That is true,” I admitted.
I had been doing what I could to train in the earth and darkness elements, but it was a slow process. It reminded me of when I had trained with the light element in my previous life. Even with the Elemental Enlightenment Pill, it still took me two years to reach the Third State of Spiritualism. I never managed to reach the Fourth State of Spiritualism. Whether this was because I lacked sufficient training or because I couldn’t find an S-rank Demon Beast with a light element, I couldn’t say.
“In either event, I have a task for you,” Empress Hilda said. “If need be, I will make this a formal quest for your sect, but it is a task I am requesting you personally to accomplish.”
“What kind of quest is it?” I asked curiously.
At my question, Empress Hilda looked at her father-in-law. “Why don’t you tell him?”
As I shifted my gaze from the empress to the former emperor, a strange feeling like butterflies welled up inside of my gut.
Herleif gave me a grin as he asked, “how would you like to travel with me to the Morkdypt Ravine?”
Comments
Looting Pillager
I like the idea of the sect. I like the building of a team, a company, and a military force. That being said once you pass a certain point doing all the things yourself is the worst idea you can have. Eryk is way past reading tons of reports he should be having a few people reporting to him to get their ideas and shape those people. Not answering reports. In many ways Hilda is acting like Eryk should be in this chapter.
rykott
If I recall correctly... that's where he needs to go for ingredients for his 4th stage potion. Poor Drage's arent going to know what hit them ;D
