WIEDERGEBURT Act VII: Chapter 24

I stood outside the Whiterun Hotsprings Resort with my wives as we were greeting by soft rays of the morning sun. Standing with us was Lady Sassa, Iona, and the other women who remained at this place even though they no longer had any customers.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Kari said to Lady Sassa. “We won’t soon forget it.”

“I should hope not,” Lady Sassa said with a smile. Then she looked at me, the smile fading. “I don’t know what you’re planning, but I hope it will fix whatever is ailing our world.”

“It should.” I shrugged. “We’re fighting against the people who had a hand in Nevaria’s destruction. If we can beat them, I think we can go back to living like we used to.”

“Good.” Lady Sassa nodded.

We said some last second goodbyes, then my wives, Tora, Chloe, and I took to the sky and began traveling northwest, toward Nevaria. We passed over the forests and farmlands quickly. None of us stopped even after reaching Nevaria, and instead we flew over the mountains on the eastern side, descending after we reached the top.

Now we were in the Demon Beast Mountain Range.

It had been a very long time since we had journeyed through here. The Demon Beast Mountain Range was named such because of the mountains that surrounded Nevaria and kept it safe from this dangerous environment. It consisted of mountains, forests, rivers, deserts, snowy peaks, ravines, and any other assortment of terrain. Humans had tried to reclaim this area many times in the past, they failed each time.

The Demon Beasts that made this land their territory were not willing to share it with anyone.

We traveled through the day and the night, eventually reaching the ocean. Waves lapped at the sandy beaches, which were covered in seashells and Demon Beasts. Most of the Demon Beasts that made this area there home were Giant Crabs and Tentacles Crustaceans.

Giant Crabs were exactly as their name described. They were massive crabs at least one meter large, though I’d fought a few that were two meters large. Most of them had a gleaming red carapace, but there were also a few that had white or greenish black ones. Their primary method of attack was the giant claws on their arms. They also had a strong affinity for water.

Tentacled Crustaceans were the stranger creatures of the two, and also the most varied. Some had the bodies of lobsters, while others looked like shrimp or crawfish, and still some bore a resemblance to crabs. The thing that differentiated these creatures from the standard crab-type Demon Beast were the flailing tentacles they used to attack with. Thick, ropy contraptions that emerged from their mouths or out of their hind ends, each tentacle was maybe six or seven meters in length. They liked to attack en masse too. I’d once seen a horde of Tentacled Crustaceans take down a B-Rank Scylla by strangling it with their tentacles.

We didn’t remain on the beach and instead flew over the ocean, where even larger Demon Beasts lurked.

“What is that?!” asked Kari, her eyes sparkling. “Is that a giant turtle with an island on its back?!”

The creature she was looking at was, indeed, a gigantic turtle. It was close in size to a city block in Nevaria, meaning it was at least two or three kilometers in diameter. Moss covered most of its hard shell, but there were palm trees growing out of the top. The massive turtle swam through the water at a calm, slow pace, like it didn’t have a care in the world. And it probably didn’t. This creature was one of the larger Demon Beasts in this realm. I think only Leviathan was bigger.

“That’s a Massive Island Turtle,” I said. “They’re not very aggressive, but they’re listed as S-Rank Demon Beasts due to their size.”

“That fucker is weak as fuck,” Tora said. “I could kill it with a flick of my finger.”

“Most of the Demon Beasts on Miðgarðr are weak,” Chloe admonished her.

While I certainly didn’t disagree with them, I still remembered a time when I had trouble contending against the Demon Beasts of this realm. There was the Giant Rock Golem from when I was just seventeen years-old, the S-Rank Leviathan and Giant Lighting Horned Eagle… I might be able to kill those creatures with a flick of my fingers now, but that had not always been the case.

We continued flying across the sea, occasionally running into Demon Beasts, but mostly just soaring past everything. Day turned to night. The sun soon rose. The process repeated itself several times before we made it to the archipelago that I had visited so many years ago in my previous life. It was a chain of islands both large and small. Some of the islands had abandoned cities on them, but some were so tiny there was barely enough room for one person to stand.

“I’ve noticed this, but you people have a lot of abandoned cities in your realm,” Tora said. “What the fuck is up with that?”

“That is a tale from after the Great War,” Kari said, assuming a lecture pose. “I’m sure you know about the war with the Sekbeist, so I won’t go into that. After the Great War, all nine realms were closed off from each other. Humans lost a lot of knowledge from that time, which I think might actually be thanks to the Sekbeist destroying it, but I digress. With the knowledge on Spiritualism lost, we grew weaker, and the Demon Beasts eventually pushed us out of our homes. Nevaria soon became one of our last bastions, and thus the rest of this area became the territory of Demon Beasts.”

“So the Demon Beasts took over because you guys became fucking weak,” Tora said.

Kari shrugged. “More or less.”

“Let’s set down in that city,” I said, pointing toward a city located on one of the larger islands.

I had no way of telling how old this city was, but most of the buildings were crumbling, and quite a few had already become piles of rubble. Some of the buildings were still intact, however. Most of the buildings were made from cement board and bricks. That made sense. Coastal cities needed to be made from sturdy materials that wouldn’t get destroyed if a large storm hit. I’d once heard stories about massive tsunamis overtaking cities and sweeping them away.

The scent of salt drifted on the breeze as we walked through the old city, taking out all the Demon Beasts we came across. A lot of the Demon Beasts were harpies. They were bird-like monsters with wings for arms and clawed talons for feet, but they differed from the standard Demon Beast because they had a somewhat human appearance. They had human faces covered in feathers and their naked flesh looked like that of a young woman’s, save the wings, feathers, and talons.

I used to have trouble fighting these creatures in my past life. They looked so human that I hadn’t been able to kill them, which almost resulted in me losing my life.

I had no such trouble now. I killed them without a second glance, blasting some with lightning, freezing them in blocks of ice, burning them to cinders, or even simply letting a wave of death energy wash over them, cutting their lives short. With the seven of us working together, it didn’t take more than ten or fifteen minutes to kill all the harpies inhabiting this city.

“What should we do now?” asked Fay, hands on her hips. Siv was standing by her side, wiping some sweat from her brow. We had just finished disposing of the bodies. I imagine she was tired since she’d done a lot of the heavy lifting.

“Let’s set up camp,” I said. “It’s been a few days since we last ate and slept. We’ll get a good night’s rest, and then begin searching for the merfolk tomorrow.”

Setting up the camp was not hard. I didn’t even need to delegate tasks to people. Tora went out in search of food, Chloe and Lin began setting up a cooking station, and Kari, Fay, Siv, and I set up the tents.

We only had two tents—one for Chloe and Tora, and another for my wives and I. The tent I would share with my wives was about fifteen meters in diameter. It was not a normal tent either, but a canvas bell tent house. It was large enough to fit our massive bed inside plus several other amenities like a dresser, a nightstand, and a sitting area. Chloe’s and Tora’s tent was much smaller by comparison.

Tora arrived a few minutes after Chloe and Lin got the water in their large pot boiling. She had a massive harvest of fruits and several rabbits.

Since I was done setting up the tents, I helped Lin and Chloe cook by skinning the rabbits and chopping them into bite sized pieces. The two of them worked surprisingly well together. I was also glad Lin didn’t have a problem with Chloe, though I didn’t think there was anyone outside of maybe Tora who would find the battling maid’s personality difficult to deal with.

Tora was just the kind of abrasive person who hated dealing with other people.

“Hey. You people need any fucking help?” asked Tora.

“No, thank you,” Lin said with a derisive sniff. “This princess, Chloe, and Darling are more than up to the task of cooking.”

“Che. What the fuck ever. Fine. Cook to your fucking hearts content.”

Scowling at the Lamia princess for a moment, Tora eventually went over to the fire pit and sat heavily upon a bench. The fire pit was something Fay had created. She had carved a small pit out of the ground and created several benches out of the earth element, then found some firewood and kindling to light with the fire element. She, Kari, and Siv were sitting around the merrily crackling fire as well.

“Don’t let Lin get to you,” Fay said with a brief smile toward Tora. “I know you two haven’t been getting along, but I promise you she’s a good person.”

For whatever reason, Tora actually blushed a bit when Fay smiled at her, but she quickly looked away to hide it from the other woman. I saw it though. And I thought it was interesting that even this seemingly abrasive woman found herself attracted to Fay.

“W-whatever. It’s not like I care or anything,” Tora said with a huff.

“How much longer until dinner is ready?” asked Siv, her stomach gurgling.

Kari grinned as she patted the Drakvarian on the head. “It won’t be long now, I’m sure. Look. They’re almost done.”

We were indeed just about finished. In fact, we finished a few minutes after Kari spoke. I served up the rabbit stew we had made in several large bowls, walked over to the women, and began serving them. They all thanked me as they grabbed the spoon I had provided and began eating. Siv was the most ravenous of the group, though she fortunately had manners, unlike Lin who I was sure would have eaten with her hands if Kari let her.

The sun soon went down, the stars began appearing with a twinkle, and the twin moons shone their light upon the world, blue and red mixing together. We all made our way into our respective tents. I fell asleep surrounded by four beautiful women, though it only felt like a second had passed before I woke up again.

Nature was calling.

With a sigh, I extricated myself from the pile of beautiful women and wandered outside to relieve myself. The fire was going out. I grabbed some more wood from the small pile Fay had made and placed it on the flagging fire, then used my own Spiritual Power to help the flames along. As the fire began crackling, I sat down on one of the benches and thought about what we needed to accomplish.

Footsteps echoed behind me, soft, gentle, and belonging to someone very tiny.

“Are you not coming back to bed?” Siv asked.

I didn’t turn around as I answered. “I will. Just not yet.”

“Can’t sleep?”

“Yeah.”

“Me neither.”

Siv walked over until she was standing in front of me, presented me with a comb, and smiled as she asked, “Will you comb my hair?”

“Sure.” I smiled back and took the comb.

Siv’s eyes brightened as she turned around. I spread my legs so she could sit on the ground between them, leaned over, and took her hair in hand as I began combing it. Her silvery green hair was long and straight. Each strand looked like liquid silver. It was beautiful, and the illumination from the moon made it sparkle.

“You are thinking about everything we need to do, right?” Siv asked. “Finding the merfolk, locating the temple where the Great Overlords are sealed, and making sure the Sekbeist can’t unseal them.”

“That is exactly what I am thinking about,” I confirmed.

“We do have a lot of goals,” Siv said as I finished gliding the comb through her near perfect hair. I decided to also braid it, just for fun. She continued talking as I wove her hair into an intricate braid. “I think it is a little overwhelming… but I know we can do it.”

“You have a lot of confidence in us,” I said.

“Of course.” Siv smiled, though I could only see it from her side profile. “We have already been through so much. We faced plenty of overwhelming odds before and come out on top, so I know we can do it again.”

I wished I could take this woman in my arms and kiss her, but I was busy braiding her hair.

“You’ve become very strong, Siv,” I said softly.

“Are you proud of me?” asked Siv.

“So proud,” I said.

“Thank you. I am proud of me too. I think I really am changing.”

“I agree.”

The night wore on, I finished braiding Siv’s hair, and the two of us soon returned to the warm embrace of my other wives. We would find the merfolk, stop the Sekbeist from freeing the Great Overlords, and defeat the Zehn Todesharr. I was sure of it.

***

We woke up early the next morning and made breakfast. Fay and Kari were cooking this time. They had decided to make pancakes using several chicken eggs we had found from a wild chicken’s nest and some bananas. I wouldn’t say they tasted like pancakes. They had a very custard-like consistency with a soft, yielding texture, and a creamy melt-in-your-mouth quality. There was also that distinctly banana flavor.

Tora loved them.

“These are fucking delicious,” she exclaimed as she ate another bite. “How the fuck can something made from eggs and bananas taste so fucking good?”

“I’m glad you like them,” Kari said, though she sighed a moment later. “That said, I do wish you would stop swearing so much.”

Fu—I mean… I’ll try,” Tora said.

The fact that Tora would curtail her swearing because Kari asked her to was a testament to how much she wanted to marry me—I think. I couldn’t imagine another reason this woman would ever stop saying “fuck” like it was going out of style.

“Thank you,” Kari said, sounding pleased.

“I must admit, for such a simple recipe, these pancakes are indeed delicious,” Chloe said. “I might even try making them for Lady Fray one day.”

While everyone else was talking, Lin and Siv were focused entirely on eating, and they couldn’t have looked more different. Lin had her cheeks stuffed full of pancake like a chipmunk with acorns in its mouth. Siv ate with far more poise. That they were sitting side by side made this contrast all the more prominent.

Once breakfast ended and our cookware was cleaned and back in our storage ring, I looked at everyone and laid out my plan.

“Since our goal is to meet the merfolk, the first thing we are going to do is travel to Atlantia. That is their home and therefore the most obvious place to look. Atlantia is located several dozen kilometers that way—” I pointed in the direction I remember the city being “—located at the bottom of the ocean. We’ll have to create a bubble around ourselves when we walk. I’ll create the bubble. I want Kari and Fay drawing out oxygen from the water so we can breathe. The rest of you will guard us from Demon Beasts and anything else that might be hostile.”

“Sounds like a fucking plan,” Tora said.

Chloe merely smiled elegantly. “Please leave protecting you to us.”

“This princess wishes she could do more.” Lin crossed her arms. “But if this is what you want her to do, then she will do it.”

Siv only nodded at me to show she understood her role.

There was nothing more that needed to be said, so the seven of us went over to the beach and began walking into the ocean. Spiritual Power surged around us as I manipulated the elements around us to create a bubble.

Bubbles were just air trapped in soap film, which was made from soap and water. The outside and inside of a bubble consisted of soap molecules. A layer of water lay between the two layers of soap molecules.

Of course, a simple bubble like that was not strong enough to protect us from the water pressure we’d face when we went deeper, and so I created a hard outershell of air to keep us safe. The condensed air surrounded the bubble. At the same time, Kari and Fay combined their Spiritual Power to draw oxygen from the water for us to breathe. It was a simple matter of separate the oxygen from the hydrogen, but it took a lot of concentration and a comprehensive understanding of the water element. Only someone who had reached the Fourth State could have done this.

With the water pushing against the bubble and our bodies acting as weights, we easily walked along the surface. Chloe, Tora, Siv, and Lin stared in awe at the underwater paradise we found ourselves in. Schools of fish swam past us. We walked through a coral reef filled with all kinds of aquatic animals and colorful coral jutting from the ground in geometric shapes.

“This is really something else,” Tora said, not swearing for once.

“It’s very impressive,” Chloe agreed. “I never thought to walk along the bottom of the ocean before, but now that I have, I can say it is something worth experiencing at least once.”

“Everything is so beautiful down here,” Lin said. “This princess is shocked by how pretty it is.”

“Keep your eyes peeled,” I told them. “We don’t know what else could be down here with us.”

“Don’t worry, Darling. This princess is using the water element as a sonar. She can sense everything within one kilometer of us. If there is something dangerous out here, she will find it and kill it before it can even get close.”

“That’s reassuring to hear,” I said.

“I am also searching for enemies using the water element.” Siv paused, then added. “I can sense everything in a two kilometer radius.”

“Are you trying to outdo this princess?!”

We did not run into a single Demon Beast, though whether this was because our resident Lamia and Drakvarian had taken care of them first or because they went out of their way to avoid us was something I didn’t know.

It felt like several hours had passed before we crested a large hill. The large white spires of Atlantia soon came into view. From our vantage point, it was easy to see the city surrounded by several sunken ships and a massive wall. The water gave the white walls of the city a blue look. Many of the buildings were similar to the architecture found above ground. Some of the buildings were so large they disappeared above us, but most were squarish and small.

“So that’s Atlantia,” Lin murmured.

“So beautiful,” Siv said.

Chloe furrowed her brow as she stared at the underwater city. “Master Eryk…”

“Yeah. I sense it.” I narrowed my eyes at the city. “The entire city is permeating with Spiritual Power. There is a barrier surrounding the city.”

“Wait. Really?” Kari asked. “I don’t sense anything…”

“No. That’s the problem,” Lin suddenly said. “We should be able to sense the merfolk in the city. Also, take a look at the city itself. While it is surrounded by water, there is no water inside of the city.”

Lin was right. It looked like the entire city had been encased inside of a massive bubble similar to the one we were using. I stretched out with Spiritual Perception, but I could not find anything there. It was like I was staring at a blank space. That meant…

“Someone is using the Concept of Negation to surround the city,” Lin said.

“So the Sekbeist are already here,” Chloe sighed in dejection. “I guess that means we were too late.”

“Can we break through the barrier?” asked Tora.

“Maybe…” I looked at Chloe.

“It is possible… but breaking through a barrier like this will require several times more Spiritual Power than the caster took to create it. However, if we combine our powers and use a concept like the Concept of Creation, we might be able to create a small gap that we can slip through,” Chloe siad.

“Then let’s do that.” I turned to Tora. “We’ll combine our Spiritual Power with yours and have you break through the barrier. Think you can do it?”

Tora’s eyes went wide, then gained a vibrant glow, and then a smile so wide it threatened to split her face in half appeared.

“You bet your fucking ballsack I can do it! Just leave this to me!”

“Hmph! This princess could also break the barrier,” Lin muttered.

I knew Lin could probably use the Concept of Negation to break through the barrier, but we were being careful about how she used that. Learning to wield the Concept of Negation was a tabboo. While I didn’t think Tora or Chloe would care or snitch on her, I didn’t want her to become accustomed to using it. Lin was forgetful some times. She might use it in front of others without meaning to if she became to used to it.

“We’ll get in closer and have you create a gap in the barrier,” I said to Tora.

“You just leave this to me,” Tora said, thumping a fist against her chest.

Because time was now of the essence, we quickly walked through the seabed of sunken ships and emerged next to the barrier. I couldn’t tell how large this barrier was, but I knew it had to be huge if it covered the entirety of Atlantia. The closer we got to it the more vile the barrier felt. I think the way in which the Concept of Negation rejected everything was a large reason for why this power felt so evil.

“All right,” I said. “Let’s channel our Spiritual Powers into Tora. Help her break through this barrier.”

“Yes!” Everyone said.

Because Kari, Fay, and I were still maintaining the bubble, we left the job of prividing Tora with aid to Siv, Lin, and Chloe. The three of them placed their hands on Tora’s back, their bodies glowing like flames as they channeled Spiritual Power into the woman.

Channeling Spiritual Power like this was always a dangerous gamble. There were so many things that could go wrong. If someone poured too much Spiritual Power into a person at once, that person could explode. Consequently, the one doing the channeling could also wither away as their Spiritual Power was sucked up by the person they were channeling it into.

I watched for any sign that something like this was happening as Tora’s body began swelling a little, though nothing more happened. The woman soon walked over and raised her hands. A gateway seemed to form out of our bubble, extending until it touched against the barrier surrounding Atlantia. Tora winced as black flames suddenly engulfed the bubble. They attempted to move closer, but the woman surged her Spiritual Power, using the Concept of Creation to counter the black flames.

Sweat poured down Tora’s head as she connected our bubble to the barrier. She gnashed her teeth together hard enough to draw blood as she spread out her fingers, which were quivering as though she was exerting physical effort as opposed to mental.

The rest of us could do nothing but watch as Tora fought this battle on her own, pitting her Concept of Creation against the Concept of Negation. She was attempting to overwhelm the barrier by overpowering it. That was no easy feat. This barrier was similar to the one Fray had created around the Misty Mountain Range, meaning breaking through it was hard enough that it wasn’t really worth the effort.

In most cases, at least.

“Hnnn! Fucking! Barrier! Break damn you!!!”

Blood poured from Tora’s nose, mouth, and ears as she gave one last push. The barrier didn’t break, but a large hole opened inside of it.

Tora fell backward, but Lin caught her and lifted the woman into a princess carry. She looked awful. Blood poured from her orifices. I was sure she’d suffered serious damage.

“Everyone, quick! Go through the gap!” Chloe commanded.

We ran through the hole in the barrier and emerged from the other side seconds before it closed. There was no water on the other side, meaning Lin had been right. Everything was dry, leaving me to wonder how long this barrier had been here. I was not focused on the barrier right now, however, but on the woman in Lin’s arms.

“Lay her down, Lin,” I commanded.

Lin did as commanded, and I knelt before Tora, placed a hand on her head, and sent my Spiritual Power into her.

“Her body is a wreck,” I said after a moment.

“That is probably the result of so many people pouring Spiritual Power into her,” Chloe confessed. “It would be a different story if she was connected to you like your wives are. They can accept your Spiritual Power as easily as if it was their own, but someone who does not have a connection through the Shared Power Rune Array like yours will not be able to so easily accept another person’s power.”

“If you knew that, why didn’t you say anything?” Lin asked with a hiss.

“Because it wouldn’t have changed anything,” Chloe said calmly. “We needed to break through this barrier, and Tora is the only one who can use the Concept of Creation.”

Lin glared at Chloe, but Kari placed a hand on the Lamia’s shoulder and shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to argue.

I focused not on Chloe and Lin but the woman on the ground.

“Fay,” I called out.

“Right here.”

Fay knelt next to me and placed several pills in my outstretched hands. There were three in total. One was red, another was blue, and one was white.

I popped the red pill into my mouth first, then scooped Tora into my arms, propped her torso against my thigh, and leaned down. As our mouths connected, I pushed the medicine into her mouth. She gagged, but I massaged her throat to help the liquid go down. Once she had swallowed the first pill, I popped the second pill into my mouth and repeated the process.

“What are those alchemy pills?” asked Siv.

“The first pill is called Body Restoring Pill,” Fay said as she stood up and backed away. “It is an original pill I created based on the Phoenix Pill. It only restores the body and blood, and it can’t regenerate lost limbs, but it can be used more than once. The second one is an advanced version of the Spiritual Recovery Pill. It just replenishes lost Spiritual Power. The last one is a Spirit Healing Pill. It heals damaged Spiritual Pathways. I actually invented it to help people heal from Spiritual Poisoning, but it will work just as well here.”

I only kept one ear open as I listened to my wife speak. Most of my attention was focused on Tora’s soft lips and the liquid gushing down her throat. Once I was certain she had swallowed the last pill, I leaned back and watched as she coughed several times before going still. I bit my lip. Pressing my hand to her forehead, I channeled the water element through her body to help speed her recovery—only to discover that her body was already healed.

“She’s just unconscious now,” I said at last. “I think the mental trauma from having so much foreign Spiritual Power running through her combined with breaking through a barrier made by a Sekbeist Lord has zapped her strength. She’ll probably be out for the rest of the day.”

“Meaning one of us will need to protect her,” Kari said. “Fay?”

With a wan smile, Fay nodded. “I will look after her. The rest of you should continue on.”

“Thank you. We will be back soon,” I said, reaching out to stroke Fay’s cheek. She leaned into my touch, but we didn’t have time for much more.

Leaving Tora to Fay, the rest of us continued moving through the city, and I finally realized why none of the merfolk had been around. All of them were dead. As we turned onto what would have been the main street in a human city, we found numerous corpses strewn about the ground. Men. Women. Children. The elderly. It looked like they had been massacred where they stood.

“This is awful,” Kari said in sorrow.

“There’s nothing we can do for them now. Let’s keep going,” I said.

All of us were affected by the sight of so many dead, but we said nothing and continued on in grim silence. Our destination was the squarish building in the very center. Numerous motifs were drawn onto the surface, showing a strange creature that looked kind of like a giant shark fighting against a horde of Sekbeists. This was definitely the temple sealing Entz. We walked through the archway that marked the entrance.

This temple looked like many of the other temples we had discovered. The entrance hall looked very much like a place of worship, with statues lining either side and an even larger statue in the center. The statues were strange. Sometimes they were of a shark. Other times they were of a man. The statues seemed to alternate between man and shark.

“We haven’t run into a single Sekbeist,” Lin said. “That worries me.”

“If the person down here is a member of the Zehn Todesharr, then he won’t need any slaves to protect him,” Chloe said with a grim look.

“Do you think Hriedmar is here?” asked Kari.

“He should be,” I said. “After all, he is the only one who can undo the seals.”

We traveled through a doorway behind the large statue at the end of the hall, walked along a corridor, and soon came upon a chamber that looked eerily reminiscent to the one in which the Great Overlord of the Seventh Realm had been sealed. The difference was that rather than a daiz upon which a crystal coffin sat, the floor beneath us was made of crystal. Glowing runes covered nearly every inch of this room.

In the very center of it all stood two people.

One of them was Hriedmar, and the other was one of the Sekbeist Lords who had traveled through the Warp Gate.

“It seems we have guests,” the Sekbeist Lord said. “I never expected you fools to realize what we were doing, much less discover the location for one of the Great Overlords.”

This particular Lord was quite tall and gangly. He did not have a muscular body, but he still seemed imposing, perhaps due to his nearly two meter height. His bald head gleamed in the blue light of the crystals and glowing rune array. Like all the Sekbeist Lords we had met, his body was covered in dark gray armor with bony outcroppings along his elbows, knees, heels, and knuckles.

I stepped forward. “I’ve been here once before. That’s how I knew. And I guess that means you’re out of luck. We won’t let you unseal Entz or any of the Great Overlords.”

“Ha! Ha ha ha! You’re a funny kid, but you’re too late. The rune array has already been broken.” He grinned at me, his teeth sharp like swords. “Too bad for you.”

Before I could speak another word or even launch myself at this man, Chloe did so first. However, she did not aim at the Sekbeist Lord. She tried to strike down Hriedmar. I wanted to shout at her, to scream at her not to do this, but I understood. If Hriedmar died, the Sekbeist could not release the other Great Overlords.

Her sword stroke, which was covered in spatial energy that should be capable of cutting through anything, was blocked by a finger. A finger of all things. The Sekbeist Lord stood in front of Hriedmar and grinned at her.

“Sorry, but I can’t let you kill this foolish Dwoerg just yet,” he said, then threw her back. Chloe skidded along the ground, but then her body seemed to vanish and reappear next Hriedmar again. It seemed she hadn’t given up. However, the Sekbeist Lord was there again, blocking her attack.

“We can’t just stand here,” I said. “You three are with me! Let’s fight the Sekbeist Lord!”

“What about Hriedmar?” asked Kari.

I didn’t say anything, because I knew that we could not let him remain in the hands of our enemies. It pained me… but perhaps Chloe had the right idea. Better to kill him than let him be used as an instrument of our destruction.

Creating the Dragon’s Tail Ruler from pure death energy, I leapt into the air, spun around, and slammed my weapon down on the Sekbeist Lord. It was caught by a single hand. Long fingers clenched. My weapon shattered. Then I found myself flying as something powerful struck me in the stomach so hard I spewed bile.

I tumbled along the floor, but stopped myself and leapt to my feet. Kari and Siv were attacking the Sekbeist Lord together. Behind them, Lin was shooting black flames at the Sekbeist Lord’s blindspots.

“You can use the Concept of Negation?!” the Sekbeist Lord shouted in shock.

“That’s not all this princess can do!” Lin snarled as she slammed her hands into the ground.

Dark energy traveled across the floor and attempted to ensare the Sekbeist Lord, but he vanished and blocked an attack from Chloe that was meant for Hriedmar. Even with the four of us attacking him at the same time, he was still capable of protecting Hriedmar? What kind of monster was he?

The Sekbeist Lord kicked the woman away. As she went flying, I appeared in front of him and engaged in hand-to-hand combat. I struck out with a left straight. It was blocked, but then I grabbed his hand and tried to pull his face into my fist. That didn’t work when he twisted out of my grasp, then raised both hands to block attacks from Siv and Kari, who had tried to flank him with me. The muscles in his arms strained as he stopped both Kari’s ransuer and Siv’s draconian claws.

“Do not think you people have what it takes to defeat me!!!”

With a roar, the Sekbeist Lord released a powerful blast of negation energy, which forced all of us back. I felt the pain strike me as the wave of energy tried to erase my existence. However, Lin appeared before us and created a barrier with her own understanding of the concept. It shattered in seconds, but she just gritted her teeth and remade it as Chloe, Kari, Siv, and I stood behind her.

“Hmph. You might have been able to block that, but you’re too late now.” The Sekbeist Lord grinned and pointed at Hriedmar. “Look.”

We all looked and, much to our horror, discovered that the runes Hriedmar had been fiddling with were disappear. One by one they vanished. The ones on the floor, along the walls, covering the ceiling. All of them soon disappeared.

“Hm hm hm.” The Sekbeist Lord chuckled as he placed a hand on Hriedmar’s shoulder. “I’ll leave matters here to you. Don’t disappoint me now.”

“What are you talking about? Wait!” I shouted just as black tendrils engulfed the two and they vanished.

At that moment, the entire building—maybe even the entire ocean—rumbled as cracks appeared along the crystal floor. I bent my knees to avoid falling. When I looked down, I found myself staring into a massive red eye surrounded by an inky blackness.