WIEDERGEBURT Act VI: Chapter 38

After defeating the army and the four generals, our group secured Drachen Hiamet. It seemed the four generals had left some members of their army in reserve on the off chance that something happened. There were pockets of resistance when we entered the city, and several hours were spent rooting out the Sekbeists who decided to use ambush tactics on us. Rooting them out was a long process. The end result, however, was worth the effort.

“We have officially secured the city,” Commander Prisma said as she saluted smartly to Schnee.

“Thank you for your hard work.” Schnee smiled. “Have your toops rest for now. We will eventually begin searching the buildings for anything we can use. We should also consider transporting the Warp Gates here back to Drachengarde, but that will be something we consider later.”

“Yes, My Lady.”

Giving Schnee a smart salute, pride burning in her eyes, Commander Prisma turned on her heel and left the room we had occupied. It was a large room, as were all Drakvar rooms. I think they were built large like this because a Drakvar’s dragon form was massive. I’d seen Schnee’s dragon form during our journey here. This petite woman who didn’t look taller than 149 centimeters could transform into a nearly one hundred meter long dragon.

The room contained many bookshelves against the walls and several maps framed and hanging against the stones. Braziers sat in the corners of the room, candelabras were affixed to the walls at one meter intervals, and a chandelier made of refined monster core shaped into crystals hung from the ceiling. All of it provided a bright illumination that allowed us to see the map situated on the table between us.

“Thanks to you, Sister Fray, we’ve managed to wipe out the largest Sekbeist army in Vindenket,” Schnee said with a grateful smile at the beautiful woman.

“I am glad I was able to help you.” Fray smiled as well, though it soon left. “That said, I do worry our actions might have tipped the balance. Our forces have been in a stalemate with the Sekbeist for close to a thousand years now. Neither side has pushed because we know that war would mean diminishing our forces. This is the first major attack either side has launched, and it will push the Sekbeists into renewing hostilities. I fear what they will do once word gets out.”

“As do I,” Schnee agreed. “But the dice has been cast now. We can do nothing but prepare.”

“True,” Fray said with a nod.

Fray and Schnee discussed potential countermeasures for the Sekbeist push that would eventually come. Once the enemy forces on Vindenket learned of what happened here, they would amass and attack. Schnee planned to abandon Drachen Hiamet again once they acquired everything they wanted here, which included the Warp Gates, and then fortify Drachenguarde.

Because we didn’t have much to do with this conversation, myself, Kari, Siv, and Tora remained silent. Chloe was not with us like she usually was, but that was because of her position as the captain of the Valkyrie’s 1st Battalion. She was currently overseeing their preparations to return home.

Home…

I missed home. I wasn’t talking about Gudeverdenen either, but my home back on Miðgarðr. I missed Fay and Lin. I missed my son Raul. Were they okay? Were they doing well without me? I wanted to see them again, to hold them and kiss them and let them know how much I missed them.

“Eryk?”

“Huh?”

I blinked when two hands held onto mine. Both were small and dainty, feminine in every way, but one of them was much smaller than the other, almost like a child’s hands. It belonged to Siv, of course. She was holding my real hand while Kari held my fake one.

“Don’t worry,” Kari said in a soft, warm voice. “We will return home soon.”

“We will make sure of it,” Siv added.

“Thank you.” I tried not to cry, to put up a strong front, but I was certain the emotion choking my voice was real. “I love you two so much.”

Kari squeezed my hand, and while it was technically fake, made from earth, water, and lightning, I could still feel it. “And we love you. Never forget that.”

“I won’t,” I promised.

“Fuck. Why the fuck are you fuckers constantly doing that?” Tora asked with a scowl, “You trying to make me jealous? Because it’s fucking working!”

“Eeek!”

Siv squeaked and hid behind me as Tora glared at us. I felt a little guilty about our actions since I knew Tora had feelings for me, but there was really nothing I could do or say to make her feel better.

“I’d recommend you stop glaring at us like that,” Kari warned with a smile that had sharp edges to it. “If you make Siv cry, I will butcher you alive.”

I was absolutely shocked by Kari’s blatant threat. She had never made threats like that before, preferring subtlety over outright antagonism. Hearing this was a shock to the senses.

“I’d like to see you fucking try.” Tora walked around the table, cracking her knuckles as she glared at me. “If you think you have what it takes, then come at me. I fucking welcome all challenges.”

Before the situation could get out of hand, I interposed myself between Tora and Kari. I first glared at Tora. The woman stopped walking, glared right back, then looked away with a click of her tongue. Once I was certain she wouldn’t be a problem, I sent Kari a reproving look.

“I know she started it with her comment, but you shouldn’t let her words antagonize you. That’s just the way she is,” I said.

Kari sighed and pushed her bangs away from her face. “I know. My apologies. I just don’t like it when people frighten Siv.”

“I understand. I don’t like it either. But we are all on the same side, so we shouldn’t fight or argue over matters that, in the grand scheme of things, are quite trivial.”

I was sure Kari didn’t appreciate me calling someone frightening Siv a “trivial matter,” but even she could not deny that was what it was. We had just taken Drachen Hiamet, were about to travel through a Warp Gate to Gudeverdenen, and didn’t know what we would find when we arrived. Fighting amongst each other right now was about the worst thing we could do.

“You’re right. Sorry.”

Kari bowed her head and backed off, causing me to smile and turn back toward Schnee and Fray. The two looked at me with smiles like I had done something impressive. I didn’t know what those expressions meant, and I would never get the chance to ask because they began discussing their countermeasures again. Meanwhile, Tora was frowning as she looked at the three of us with a speculative and, perhaps even a lonely, frown.

***

There wasn’t much we could do until it was time to leave. As we were given free run of the castle, Kari, Siv, and I decided to try out the bathing room.

This one was not as grand as the one in Castle Drachenguarde, but it was still bigger than any bath had the right to be. No fountains jutted from the center. However, colonnades lined the outer rim of the pool. Each one was about two or three times thicker than I was wide. That wasn’t saying much since I was petty skinny, but my shoulders were still quite broad.

After wiping ourselves down, the three of us climbed into the pool. Kari and I sat against the edge. The water came up to our chest and caused Kari’s breasts the bob along the surface, distracting me from my thoughts. Siv was not quite with us. She had decided to take a swim and was doing the doggy paddle around the pool’s circumference.

“Kari, I know you are reluctant to let Tora in until she proves herself, but I think you should be nicer to her,” I said.

“Is that because you like her, or is it because you feel guilty about what happened between you and Sigrid?” asked Kari.

“Both.”

Kari didn’t say anything at first. She cupped her hands, scooped up some water, and poured it on her chest. Light refracted off the water as it trailed over her massive breasts, between her cleavage, and light pink nipples. I didn’t think she was doing this on purpose. Still, it was distracting and I was tempted to ask her to stop while we were having a serious conversation.

“I know Tora is not a bad person,” Kari said at last, biting her lip. “And it is not that I dislike her, though I wish she would curb her language. I just…”

“You are reluctant to let anyone else join us,” I said with a nod.

“Yes.”

I did not blame Kari for her line of thinking. She, Fay, Lin, and Siv had been married to me for more than twelve years now. We had spent almost every day and night of those years together, learning each other’s habits, discovering what we liked and didn’t like about each other, and learning to love and accept one another’s personality flaws. Our bonds had been forged, tested, tried, and become so strong that I would call them unbreakable.

It would be hard letting another person in after everything we had been through as a family.

“Sorry for leaving this decision to you,” I said. “I know telling Tora that I will only marry her if you and the others approve is irresponsible of me.”

While most of Kari’s hair was hidden within a towel on her head, a few stray bangs swung like a pendulum as she shook her head.

“You made the right decision,” she said. “A man who would just marry a woman who doesn’t have the approval of his wives is a terrible husband. That you refuse to marry Tora because she does not have our approval is a sign that you care. I appreciate that.”

We sat in companionable silence for awhile, each left to our own thoughts. Siv made another lap around the bath during that time. She seemed done, though, because she swam over in our direction until her feet could touch the bottom, and then she walked over.

I felt a moment of amusement as stood before me in all her naked glory, but more than that, I felt aroused as I watched droplets of water trail over her beautiful skin and scales. The temptation to pull her to me and lick her small chest almost had me acting before I could form proper thoughts.

I did not get to do as I wanted. Siv turned around and sat herself on my lap. I felt my body stiffen in more ways than one as she rubbed her pert butt against my knees. She must have felt it to, because her ears turned red and a smile broadened her face when she felt my obvious sign of arousal poking her backside.

“What are you two talking about?” she asked.

“Tora,” Kari said. “She wants to marry Eryk, but I am reluctant to let it happen.”

“Hmmm…” Siv tilted her head. “Tora is scary… but I do not think she is a bad person.”

“So you think we should allow her to marry Eryk?” asked Kari.

Siv pondered that, then nodded once. “Yes. I do not see a problem with that. As long as she loves Eryk.”

“Hmm…”

While Kari silently thought about what Siv said, I placed my hands on the nakedness of my wife’s hips and slowly rubbed her sides. Siv’s large dragon wings kept me from being able to really hold her. At the same time, her tail curled around my left leg. It wasn’t as flexible as Lin’s lower half. This was about the only range of motion it had.

The sound of a door opening and closing had us all turning around. Maybe it was just me, but I felt like my body had been dumped in a tub of ice when I saw who had walked into the bathing room.

“Oh. If it isn’t Eryk, Kari, and Siv.” Fray smiled and held a hand to her cheek. She’d forgone a towel, so she was baring it all to us. “Are you three enjoying the bath?”

She wasn’t the only naked woman who had just arrived. Siv’s own mother, Schnee, stood next to Fray and also had decided not to wrap a towel around herself. With her entire body exposed, I could not help but notice the similarities between her and my wife.

“Siv! Wanna swim with me?” she asked.

“Yeah!”

Siv climbed off my knees as Schnee jumped into the water with a splash and began swimming. I almost shook my head at the two of them. They looked less like a mother and her daughter and more like nearly identical twin sisters playing around.

“I hope you don’t mind if I join you two,” Fray said as she sat on my other side, not quite close enough for our shoulders to touch.

“Not at all.” Kari smiled. “I am always happy to have you with us.”

“Thank you,” Fray said.

Silence elapsed between the three of us as we watched Siv and Schnee swim. Their swimming session eventually turned into a water fight. Schnee threw the first punch, splashing Siv in the face with a powerful kick of her thin legs, and then Siv returned it with a sweep of her tail. It wasn’t long before large waves rocked the pool, causing water to spill over the sides. I sighed and manipulated the water to form a barrier around us.

“Neat trick,” Fray said.

“Thank you,” I replied.

“We will be leaving in two days,” Fray began. “The Warp Gates needs a bit more time to gather enough power. Fortunately, it isn’t much. We seemed to have made it just in time. Had we launched our assault a few days later, we would have had to wait two whole months before we could return.”

“That is good,” I agreed.

“I should warn you of something now while we have time.” Fray’s expression turned serious. “The Warp Gate located here in Drachen Hiamet leads to an old base called Langshwert Fortress, which has currently been occupied by the Sekbeists. It is one of their largest bases and has a force of, at a guess, twelve or thirteen million.”

“That is a lot,” Kari said with a worried look. “Will we be able to break through that?”

“We fortunately do not need to break through their forces,” Fray answered. Kari didn’t say anything, but her confusion was more than evident, causing the much older women to smile. “Several of my Valkyries have mastery over the Concept of Space. We are planning to use a collaboration technique called Spatial Portal to create a gateway between Langshwert and Ironwood Forest. It is a powerful technique that takes several minutes to use because it requires every person casting it to sync up their thoughts.”

I knew about collaboration techniques, so I understood the principles behind why they took so long to cast. Fray was telling us this because we would need to protect the people casting the technique. If they were interrupted during the casting process, it could cause the entire technique to implode, which would kill us all.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “We will do our part to protect everyone while they are casting the Spiritual Technique.”

“Good. I will be relying on you three,” Fray said with a smile. We smiled back at her, and I think my control must have slipped because a massive tidal wave slammed into us barely a second later. Now sputtering as water ran down our heads and over our faces, the three of us cast a glance at each other, then at Siv and Schnee, who were grinning at us.

Well, Siv only wore a small smile, but it was as close to a grin as she gave.

“You two are going to get it,” Fray said as she stood up and kicked, causing a massive tidal wave to slam into the two Drakvar. Thus began the water fight that ended only after several columns were felled by our far too powerful water attacks.

***

“It looks like this is it.”

“That it does.”

“Will you be okay, Sister Fray? Do you need an escort?”

“I think we will be fine.”

“Mmm. Okay. Please take care of my daughter.”

“I will.”

“That goes for you too, Eryk. I expect you to take good care of my daughter.”

“Don’t worry,” I said as Schnee addressed me. “I will protect Siv with my life.”

Schnee nodded at me, then turned to the massive Warp Gate that was, at the moment, inactive. It looked like a replica of the one we had used to come here. Several Drakvar were channeling Spiritual Power into the runes to activate it. Not only were the tendrils visible as they trailed through the air, but the runes were beginning to glow.

“Good.” Schnee nodded at me, then pulled her daughter into a fierce hug that was returned just as fiercely. “Please be save.”

“I will, Momma,” Siv said.

They broke up as the Warp Gate sparked to life, a black portal appearing within the archway. Schnee wiped a tear from her eye before it could fall, smiled at us, then stepped back.

There was no time to waste. Now that the Warp Gate was open, we needed to travel through it before the Sekbeists on the other side had time to gather reinforcements. We turned back on Schnee and her soldiers. I grabbed Kari’s and Siv’s hand as we, Fray, and Tora walked through the portal and stepped out on the other side.

The room on the other side looked similar to the one we just left, but the ceiling was shaped like a dome and the one in the previous room was flat. Several Sekbeist Elites were guarding the door leading out. They gawked at us as we emerged, and one of them looked seconds from running to alert everyone of our presence.

I dispatched them both with a spear of light.

“Quick thinking,” Fray said with a nod. She then set about ordering her Valkyries. “Ladies! Get into formation. Even though the guards died before they could sound the alarm, it will not be long before more come! Let’s try to complete the technique before they arrive!”

“Yes, My Lady!” the Valkyries responded.

Of the one hundred Valkyries who had arrived with us to Vindenket, about thirteen had complete master over the Concept of Space. These thirteen formed a circle around Fray. All of them closed their eyes and formed an odd hand seal with their hands. They formed a triangle with their index and middle fingers acting as the roof, their thumbs as the base, and their pinkies and ring fingers curling in the center. I didn’t know what the seal did, but I felt how the Spiritual Power around them shifted. It must have been helping them somehow.

Just like Fray said, several Sekbeist arrived seconds later. Whether they were here to relieve those guarding the Warp Gate or something else, I didn’t know. I killed them without mercy. However, there must have been a Sekbeist out of sight who saw what happened. An alarm sounded not even one second later.

That was when a swarm appeared.

Because we could not risk the Valkyries being interrupted, myself, Kari, Siv, and Tora charged into the hallway. The red carpet traveling down the center looked a little worn. Candelabras with monster core lamps instead of candles illuminated everything, which made fighting much easier.

Because we didn’t want to bring this fortress down around us, we stuck to purely physical combat. I didn’t create my Dragon’s Tail Ruler and used my fists. This hallway was not large enough for me to swing a two meter tall weapon around. Kari was wielding a ranseur made of light, but her weapon was just as good at thrusting attacks as it was swinging.

I felt something enter my shadow and stomped on the ground. Light erupted from inside my shadow. An inhuman screech echoed from it as a figure appeared, hands covering their face as they rolled on the floor. I put the Sekbeist Shaman out of their misery by crushing their head.

Two Sekbeist Elites came in from the front, but I leapt back as they swung their swords covered in darkness, then came back in. I grabbed their heads and slammed them together. There was a sickening crack and blood leaked from their crushed skulls as I dropped them to the ground. Several more enemies were already coming.

I kicked one of the corpses at my feet. It crashed into a group of Sekbeists. The ones in front went down, and they were trampled by the ones in back as more enemies rushed into the hallway.

I found myself fighting back to back with Kari, Siv, and Tora as we stood in front of the door. We tried hard not to rely on Spiritual Techniques as we dealt with attacks. Siv’s hands had become draconic. She swung her massive claws around and shredded anything that came too close. Meanwhile, Tora was wielding her sword like an expert, parrying, slashing, and eviscerating numerous Sekbeist Grunts.

“What is going on here?!” a voice demanded.

The Sekbeists backed off as someone stepped into the hallway. He was a humanoid man with dark gray skin like stone, about a head taller than myself, and had black hair down to his waist. The obsidian armor he wore blended into his dark skin. If not for the spikes covering his gauntlets and the segments in his platemail, I might have thought he was naked. Like the rest of his kind, he had blood red eyes surrounded by black instead of white.

He looked startled upon spotting us.

“A human, Drakvar, and a lot of Guddomeligs. How did you get here?”

Though he asked the question, none of us answered. Several Valkyries raced forward to attack him, to buy their teammates time to open the portal. The woman on the left swung her sword. The one on the right thrust a spear. Both attacks struck a barrier of darkness, which consumed their weapons and left them with mere hilts.

Before either woman had time to move, two hands erupted from the wall and slammed into their throats, fingers clenching tight as they were lifted off the ground. The Sekbeist Lord had lifted them up, but his arms were still crossed. I felt a moment of shock at the impossibility of what I was seeing. Then I noticed how the arms grabbing the Valkyries were also attached to his body.

This Sekbeist Lord had four arms.

We were not give a chance to rescue our comrades before the Sekbeist Lord broke their necks and tossed them aside. I grimaced as several women screamed. Before they could launch themselves at this enemy, I appeared before the Sekbeist Lord and threw a kick. Another black wall appeared before me, but Siv displaced space around me so I was behind my opponent. My foot struck his spine and sent him forward.

“What?!”

The man shouted in shock, but that was all he could scream before Kari appeared before him and thrust her ranseur. It did not hit. The man suddenly vanished and appeared on the other side of the hall--right next to several Valkyries whom he killed without hesitation. A single swing of his hand and the four were engulfed in black flames and consumed.

“I see,” he suddenly said. “There are people inside the Warp Room.” He cocked his head to the side. “I sense quite a bit of spatial energy coming from there. Are you trying to escape with a portal?”

None of us answered again, but he seemed to take our silence as an admission of guilt. He disappeared again. I realized he was using a spatial technique to move from one place to another. Siv did as well. A ripple of pure power spread from her body and caused the Sekbeist Lord to reappear and stumble as another shocked look crossed his face. I used that second of distraction to race forward and punch him so hard that it actually hurt my hand.

While he stumbled back, no damage seemed to be done to him. He touched his nose and smiled.

“You’ve got quite the punch, but sadly for you, I have not just focused on mastering high level concepts.”

I didn’t know what he meant by that, not until I felt the flow of earth in his body. My eyes widened.

“You’re making your body more durable with the earth element!” I shouted in shock.

“Correct,” he said. “Others of my kind believe there is no point in learning to use the elements, but I know better. Now come. I will kill you, and then kill whoever is inside before you can escape.”

Kari and Tora raced up to the Sekbeist Lord and double teamed him while Siv manipulated the space around them. Our enemy’s punched phased through the pair, but that only worked the first time. Once the Sekbeist Lord realized what Siv had done, he manipulated the Concept of Space to negate her usage, then struck the two with his other hands. Kari and Tora screamed in shock as they went flying.

Before the Sekbeist Lord could follow through, I appeared before him and lashed out with a lightning covered fist. I felt space warp around him. However, it soon reverted back to normal, and the man grimaced as he was forced to block my attack. Arcs of shocking energy leapt from where I struck. None of them hit this man, however. His body was reinforced with the earth element, so of course he would be resistant to lightning.

A battle continued to rage around us as Valkyries fought Sekbeist. Corpses now littered the hall and made it hard to fight. Several more of our allies had fallen, their bodies littered with cuts, their eyes staring sightlessly at nothing. I could not keep the grimace off my face. The Sekbeist Lord grinned as he used my distraction to hit me in the face.

“You are quite strong, young godchild. What is your name?”

“Why does knowing my name matter?” I asked as I wiped the blood from my mouth.

“Perhaps it doesn’t, but I would like to know anyway.” The Sekbeist Lord spread all four of his arms. “My name is Gorvier.”

“Eryk Veiger.”

Gorvier grinned and was about to attack, but a powerful time lock suddenly appeared around him as Chloe rushed out of the Warp Gate.

“The portal is ready! Retreat!”

The Valkyries still alive raced back toward the door and traveled through it. Gorvier tried to keep me from leaving, but Tora and Kari attacked with incredible speed as Kari manipulated their own sense of time to hasten their bodies. I was certain this Gorvier wouldn’t be fooled by that technique for long, but then Siv used his distracted state to manipulate space around him, and he suddenly disappeared from our view. I had no idea where he went. And I didn’t care.

We raced back into the Warp Room, where the thirteen Valkyries and Fray were maintaining a portal. Myself along with Kari, Siv, Tora, Chloe, and the Valkyries leapt through the portal. We were soon followed by Fray and her Valkyries. As the last one arrived, the portal collapsed upon itself.

“It looks like we made it,” I said.

“Yes, and just in time too,” Fray added.

“Where are we?” asked Kari.

I looked around and found the familiar massive trees that I had spent about four years wandering through. The feelings rushing through me were not nostalgic, but I could not help but remember how much time I spent here, how much I had suffered here, and also how much I had grown.

With a slight chuckle, I turned to Kari and said, “Welcome to the Ironwood Forest, home to some of the most vicious Demon Beasts in all the nine realms.”