WIEDERGEBURT Act VI: Chapter 9

Lin sat behind a desk, tail thumping against the floor in a steady rhythm as she read the latest report regarding the Nevaria refugees. Thanks to Empress Mother, several large housing units were being built in place of the mansion that had once belonged to the now defunct Incelflors Family. That mansion had gone unused for the past five years since Kari and Fay demolished the family.

Along with the report was a request for financial aid and a fairly large number--the amount of valis the refugees needed to survive until they could become integrated into Midgard or travel elsewhere if that was their decision. Empress Mother wanted 1.4 billion valis.

Lin frowned as she quickly brought up her company’s financial situation from memory. With their main base of operations now gone, the Nevarian Braves had taken a huge hit and could no longer earn the money they used to, but they still had their Capastrana office and were continuing to make a relatively large amount. At present, the Nevarian Braves had 10.5 billion saved up. That wasn’t including the 60.2 billion valis they earned from Kari’s storage rings, which even now were selling like hot cakes.

“We can easily afford to pay for them,” Lin murmured to herself. “The problem is not the money but what to do after all this.”

Ever since the battle five months ago, Lin had been acting as the head of the Nevarian Braves in place of Eryk, who had yet to return from Nevaria with Lin’s sisters. She always acted as his assistant when he was working. Lin knew more about the Nevarian Braves and their various operations than anyone else, so having her become the nominal head only made sense.

Once she was done reading the report, Lin took out a sheet of parchment, some ink, and a quill, which she used to begin writing her own missive stating that the Nevarian Braves was to help the Nevaria refugees by providing monetary aid. Most of the people in their sect were also from Nevaria anyway. She was sure there wasn’t a single person among them who didn’t want to help out.

Finished writing the missive, Lin leaned back, stretched her arms above her head, and groaned.

“Ugh… sitting behind a desk to read and write reports all day was not what this princess signed up for when she married darling.”

Fortunately, this was the last of the paperwork she needed to complete, so Lin set the parchment in the completed pile, stood up, and slithered around the desk. Felman would come by at some point and sort all the paperwork. She could leave it to him.

Lin exited the office and moved down the hall. Several people she passed greeted her, and she nodded in return, but her focus was on where she was growing. After traveling down to the first floor, Lin exited the back door and entered the training courtyard. There she found the two people she was looking for.

“Keep your guard up. Don’t let your guard down just because you think you have the upperhand. You might be stronger than Jaina, but she’s faster than you.”

“Yes, Mom.”

Fay was standing off to one side, instructing Raul and Jaina as the two sparred. Raul was dressed in a white sparring outfit--loose pants that were easy to move in, a white sleeveless shirt, and boots. Jaina was wearing something similar, but her shirt was long-sleeved. The two of them were facing off in one of the sparring rings.

As Lin slithered over to Fay’s side, she watched Raul launch a powerful punch that would have probably knocked the block off even an older Spiritualist. Jaina, however, slipped right around it, bending her body back before she grabbed the offending limb and tried to throw Raul off balance. Fortunately, Raul had been trained by Eryk and knew how to avoid being thrown. He moved with the thrown, flipped around, and landed on his feet.

“Lin.” Fay greeted her with a smile. “Are you done with all the paperwork?”

“This princess just finished,” Lin said. “How’s the training going?”

“Well enough.” Fay furrowed her brow as she watched Raul. “His movements have gotten sloppy. I think almost dying has made him hesitant--not that I blame him. Raul is still so young. If possible, I would have preferred he never face a situation like that.”

Fay was, of course, referring to when Raul, Leif, and Jaina had nearly been killed during the attack by those elemental birds. That sort of event was scarring for anybody, nevermind a child.

“I’m sure he will be fine eventually,” Lin said. “Raul just needs to come to terms with everything.”

“I hope you are right.”

Lin watched alongside Fay as Raul and Jaina continued to spar, but most of her focus was on her own thoughts. She had so many questions. Why hadn’t Eryk, Kari, and Siv returned? Where were they? Were they injured? Was that why they weren’t coming back? She wanted to know the answer to these questions so badly her stomach knotted when she thought about it.

Felman walked onto the training ground some time later. He spotted them and walked over.

“Lady Lin, Lady Fay, Alexis has arrived and is asking to speak with you two. She is waiting in your office.”

“Understood. This princess and Fay will go see her,” Lin said.

“Raul. Jaina. That’s enough for now. Go and wash up for dinner,” Fay said to her son and his friend.

“Yes, Mom.”

“Okay, teacher!”

As Raul and Jaina went off to the baths, Lin and Fay traveled back to the office, where they discovered Alexis Mutig sitting on one of two couches. She was sipping some tea that Felman must have provided her. As Lin slithered over to the other couch with Fay, she studied the woman sitting with a slumped posture.

“It is good to see you have returned, Alexis. You look tired,” Lin said.

Alexis looked up with a wry smile. There were bags under her eyes and a somewhat haggard expression on her face.

“Of course I am tired,” she replied. “I just traveled from Midgard to Nevaria and back to Midgard, and then I was forced to attend several meetings with the Council of Six and Hilda. I’ve barely slept the past two months because I’ve been so busy.”

Alexis had been tasked by the Council of Six to discover what became of Nevaria two months ago. She was one of the only people aside from Fay and Lin who had reached the Fourth State of Spiritualism and therefore one of the few people who could travel to Nevaria quickly.

Normally, Lin or Fay would have been the ones to travel to Nevaria, but they were needed to take care of the refugees. Alexis was an important member of the Council of Six. Even so, her presence wasn’t necessary for the council to continue running.

“What did you find?” asked Fay.

Before Alexis could answer them, a young woman with brown hair and eyes, a pale face with pink lips, and a womanly figure adorned in a maid outfit wandered into the office. She was pushing a trolley in front of her. Jessie Vanderburg was a woman who had been among the first people to join the Nevarian Braves as a maid. She’d been a nervous wreck back when they first hired her, but now she was their head maid.

Jessie did not say anything as she went about setting out more plates, tea cups, and pouring their tea. She must have sensed the tension in the room. Once she was finished, she bowed to the three of them and pushed her trolley out.

With Jessie finally gone, Alexis was free to answer Fay’s question.

“What I found was a giant crater.” Alexis set her cup on the small plate, leaned back, and crossed her arms. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it. The sight reminds me of a place far to the east of Midgard where a shooting star fell on the earth. What few buildings remained were toppled over, and everything had been pushed away from the crater like they’d been struck by a powerful explosion.”

“What about Darling, Big Sis, and Siv?” asked Lin, biting her lip as she leaned forward.

Alexis sighed and shook her head. “I didn’t see any trace of them.” She hesitated. “It is quite possible they are dead.”

“Do not say that!” Lin stood up and slammed her hands onto the coffee table, the tea cups rattling and spilling several drops of their content. “Do not dare tell this princess that her family is dead! They are not!”

“Lin…”

Alexis looked sympathetic as she gazed at the lamia, but Lin was having none of it.

“Darling is the strongest Spiritualist in the entire world! Big Sis is the only person this princess knows who has reached the Fourth State of Spiritualism without the use of alchemy pills! Siv is a drakvar! Unless this princess sees their bodies, she refuses to believe they are dead! This princess knows they are alive! She knows it!”

Alexis and even Fay were taken aback by the fire in Lin’s words, the heat blazing in her eyes, but while Alexis remained sitting there with a stunned look on her face, Fay smiled and addressed the much older woman who resembled a teen even younger than them.

“Lin is right. I know Eryk, Kari, and Siv were up against a powerful enemy, but I do not believe they are dead. I think we should have faith in their ability to survive.”

“Well… I do not wish to believe they are dead either.” Alexis sighed. She perked up a moment later. “Oh, I did discover something that you might be interested in.”

Holding out her hand, the storage ring on her index finger glowed before she summoned another ring. She set the summoned storage ring on the desk. Lin and Fay looked at it curiously.

“What is it?” asked Lin.

“This storage ring contains a Warp Gate,” Alexis said. “I discovered it during my survey of Nevaria’s remains.” She tilted her head. “It was located inside of a basement far below the surface, which somehow survived whatever turned Nevaria into a smoking crater.”

“A Warp Gate,” Fay murmured.

“Ah!” Lin’s eyes lit up. “Could it be the Warp Gate that was underneath the Imperial Royal Palace? Eryk once told this princess about a Warp Gate that led to another realm!”

Fay and Lin were, of course, aware of the other eight realms that existed in this world. Alexis also knew of them, but she was more skeptical about their existence. She did not believe Eryk when he told her about the eight other realms.

“Do you think it’s possible they ended up in another realm?” asked Fay.

“That must be it.” Lin nodded several times, a confident look on her face. “This princess is positive they must have somehow been sent to another realm. That’s the only way to explain why they haven’t arrived in Midgard yet.”

Alexis looked like she wanted to say anything. In fact, her mouth was even opening to speak, but Lin silenced her with a glare. No matter what Alexis or anyone else said, Lin refused to believe her husband and sisters could be dead. She would never believe it.

***

I sucked in a deep breath as life returned to me. My mind felt like it was emerging from a world of darkness, like I was swimming through a dark muck, trying to claw my way to the surface. Exhaustion permeated every inch of my body. I could not feel my left arm. To make matters worse, I had no idea what I’d been doing before now. There was something important I was forgetting. Something… something…

“D-damn it! If I die… then I am taking all of you with me!!!”

I opened my eyes with a startled gasp and sat up, but the moment I did, nausea struck me harder than an earth dragon slamming head first into my chest. I rolled over and vomited all the contents in my stomach. Even after I threw everything up, my dry heaving didn’t stop for a long time. I didn’t know why, but I felt sick.

A moment passed before I recovered. When I did, I sat back up and raised my left arm to--I blinked when I realized I still couldn’t feel my left arm. Looking down, all that greeted me was a stump near my shoulder. My left arm was completely gone. I reached out and touched the edges of the edges of my shoulder. The bleeding had long since stopped, but the arm was no longer there.

Despite discovering my arm was missing, I did not panic. I remembered my fight against the Sekbeist Overlord. He had used the void to devour my arm. I’d been able to use the water element to heal the stump, but regrowing an arm was beyond me. Since I couldn’t travel around like this without both arms, I concentrated my Spiritual Power into my stump, mixing the water and lightning elements, and then watched as a fake arm emerged. It was light blue and semi-translucent.

Before doing anything else, I tested my new arm to make sure it was in working order, clenching and unclenching my fingers. It felt weird. I could feel my limb moving, feel my fingers as I moved them, but it felt like they didn’t belong to me.

It would have to do for now.

Because I wanted to find out where I was, I stood up and finally took a good look at my surroundings. Trees even bigger than the ones surrounding Morkdypt Ravine greeted my eyes. I looked up and couldn’t see the canopy. A tangle of twisted branches disappeared high above my head, blocking out the light, yet I could somehow see just fine. This, I realized, was because of the strange plants growing from the ground and trees. They were glowing with the same color as sunlight.

As I became more aware of my surroundings, a number of unusual scents drifted to me on the wind; the dirt smelled different than I was used to, spicier like cinnamon. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it made me want to sneeze.

A cool breeze drifted across my bare torso, and I realized I was wearing nothing but torn pants. My storage ring had sadly been located on my left hand, so unfortunately, I could not summon a new outfit.

Finally looking at the ground upon which I was treading, I laid eyes on something not far away, something that made my heart grow cold. It was a body. I traveled up to the body, which had been torn in half by my last attack. The Sekbeist Overlord--or rather, the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain who’d been possessed by the Sekbeist Overlord’s mind--was lying on his stomach, his entrails spilling out of his torn lower half. A puddle of coagulated blood was underneath him. The scent of his rotting flesh made my nose wrinkle as I looked into his sightless eyes.

He was dead.

I didn’t know how to feel.

For decades now, decades before I returned to the past, I had thought about nothing but killing this man. He had consumed my thoughts. Even after I was sent back in time, I always kept thoughts of this man in my mind. My hatred for him knew no limits. I could not count the number of times I had dreamed of getting my revenge on this man. And now he was dead. It felt like half of my life no longer had a purpose.

I took a deep breath. I could not think this way. Now that the threat this man represented was gone, I could focus on other things like being a good husband for Kari, Lin, Fay, and Siv, and being a good father for Raul. And the Sekbeist were still a threat even if the Sekbeist Overlord was gone. I couldn’t forget that the Sekbeist Overlord had been split into eight either. We had only killed a hand and his heart.

Releasing all the air from my lungs, I turned away from the Sekbeist Overlord and began walking. I needed to find Kari and Siv. I didn’t know where I was, but if I was here, then my wives must be here as well.

***

I wasn’t sure how long I walked for, what direction I was walking in, or what I’d find when I finished walking. Where was I? What was this place? I had traveled all across the continent and never saw anything like this place before.

I studied the trees, which were unlike anything I’d ever seen. They weren’t just bigger than any tree I knew of. They were made from something completely different from standard trees. Their bark was tough and durable. It felt more like metal than bark. The strange plants growing from them vaguely reminded me of mushrooms. Several flowers sprouted from the ground and between the trees. While some were small, most of them were bigger than I was.

It must have been hours since I’d began walking, but no matter where I looked, I couldn’t find any trace of Kari or Siv. When I reached out to them through the connection we had, I could feel they were alive. That was it, however. I couldn’t feel anything else. All I knew was they were alive because the connection was still alive.

The trees eventually opened up to reveal a placid lake that was bigger than any lake I’d ever seen before. I couldn’t judge its size because I couldn’t see the other side. It must have been several kilometers large at least. As I stared at the crystal clear water reflecting light off its surface, I discovered that I was incredibly thirsty. How long had it been since I drank water.

I knelt before the lake and looked at the small pebbles beneath the water. A feeling of caution entered me. While contaminants wouldn’t be enough to kill me, I couldn’t afford to get sick either. That was why I reached out with my Spiritual Power to manipulate the water, purifying it as I drew some to me.

A stream of water emerged from the surface like a long tendril and traveled toward my mouth. The moment the water hit my tongue and traveled down my throat, I felt refreshed. I drank more greedily, drawing up more water with my Spiritual Power.

I only noticed the danger when a powerful eruption of Spiritual Power so strong it was on par with the Sovereign Birds washed over me.

No. It was even stronger than the Sovereign Birds.

I only had a moment to leap into the air before the water exploded into several tendrils, which attacked me without relent. Forced to dodge, I spun through the air as more tendrils joined the first dozen. It wasn’t long before hundreds of water tendrils were trying to pierce through my body.

Gritting my teeth, I reached out with my own control over the water element and tried to wrest control from whatever was attacking me. In a battle where two people used the same element, the one with the stronger will always won, and I was confident that my will was stronger than whatever was attacking me.

That was why I became shocked when nothing happened. I tried again. Still nothing.

Distracted as I was by the shock of my inability to wrest control over the water from my attacker, I completely missed one of the tendrils until it had wrapped around my leg. Since water didn’t work for me, I used lightning. However, the lightning element merely skittered over the surface and did nothing. This water had no impurities for which my lightning element could affect it.

Pain exploded in my shoulder as something punched a hole clean through it. I bit back my scream of pain and surged Spiritual Power through my body, activating the Third State of Spiritualism for light. My body transformed into the light element. I broke my body into light particles and reformed myself several meters away. Once I was free, I turned around, attempting to flee.

And that was when it emerged from the lake.

Standing on eight massive legs, with a carapace that was as wide as it was long, and featuring a gleaming red shell protecting its body, this Demon Beast looked like a giant crustacean. As it stood there on the water, it snapped its massive claws at me in what I perceived as anger. It looked like it was picking a fight.

I had no intention of fighting this thing. I tried to leave. It wouldn’t let me.

A wall of water rose from the surface of the lake and created a dome that trapped me inside of the lake with it. I found myself shocked to discover that my body was feeling sluggish. It felt like I was wading through mud. What kind of technique was this? I’d never seen anything like it before!

“Damn it…”

It was clear that this Demon Beast was at least SS-Rank, but I thought it might be even stronger than that. There was something odd about how it used the water element. I could not help but feel like it was using more than just water to overpower my water manipulation abilities. However, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what, and this creature was not going to give me time to think up an answer.

Several geysers of steaming hot water burst from the surface of the lake. I continued to utilize the light element to move faster than I could with water or lightning. This would drain my Spiritual Power more quickly, but it wasn’t like I could do anything less. The water geysers were so hot that I could feel the fine hairs on my arms getting singed. I didn’t doubt that this water would melt the skin off my bones if I let it touch me.

I thought I was doing a good job of dodging, but then something powerful slammed into my back. My concentration slipped and I transformed back into a human. I screamed as I felt the skin on my back burn away. This crab was using the concept of vibration to make the water hot enough to boil flesh. My vision began going black. Oh no. I was losing consciousness.

Knowing that I needed to do something, I channeled all seven elements through my body. It hurt. My body had been badly damaged during my fight with the Sekbeist Overlord, and even though I had physically recovered with the water element, there was still a sequelae left over, but I didn’t have a choice. I activated my ultimate trump card, which still didn’t have a name.

With every element increasing my powers several fold, I shot toward the crustacean, determined to kill this thing before it could kill me. The giant Demon Beast snapped at me with its pincers, but it was too big and unwieldy to hit me with those. I slipped between its snapping claws and extended my fist.

Spiritual Power gathered as I created a drill-shaped spike on the edge of my fist, making it two times larger than myself, and then began to spin. I struck the crustacean hard. While this creature’s carapace was hard, the drill shape and my intense rotation broke through the creature’s hard body. I felt a moment of disgust as I entered its squishy and wet insides, but then I burst out the other end. The drill in my hand disappeared as my Spiritual Power ran dry. I slammed into the ground several meters from the shore, rolled painfully across the ground, and eventually came to a stop on my back.

“Ha… ack… ha…!”

I tried to breath, but I couldn’t seem to draw a proper breath and could only cough. After struggling for several seconds, I raised my head and looked at the giant crustacean Demon Beast, which was even now falling back into the lake, kicking up a massive wave that looked like it would swallow me whole if I didn’t leave now.

Gnashing my teeth together and tasting blood on my lips, I struggled to my feet and limped away from the lake, traveling back into the trees.