WIEDERGEBURT Act V: Chapter 16

“Ladies and gentlemen! It is now time for the second round matches to start! I hope you are all excited! These fighters who have proven themselves are the best of the best, the greatest Spiritualists the Northern Plains has to offer, and they are here to fight for the right to claim the sixth seat on the Council of Six and join the Six Great Sects for their sect. If you’re all ready, then let’s get this showdown started!”

She had to admit, Silas was pretty talented at stirring up the crowd. This man had been the announcer for many tournaments, some of which Erica had even participated in back when she was even younger than she was now. He hadn’t been as good back then. Now he was incredible. The crowd was going wild after listening to him speak.

Erica stood in the competitors booth alongside Janet, doing her best to ignore the eyes on them. They were not the only women in this booth. However, while this might sound vein, Erica did believe they were the best looking women present. Of the other two women, one of them was rail thin and looked sickly, while the other had incredibly thick muscles and masculine features.

“It is now time for the first match to begin! Today’s first battle is between… Erica and Fritz!!!”

A jolt traveled through Erica’s spine as she heard who she was battling. Her spine straightened as she felt eyes on her. Turning her head, she looked at Fritz, who licked his lips when he noticed she was looking his way.

Disgust welled up inside of her.

“Good luck, Erica,” Janet said softly.

Erica smiled at her. “Thank you.”

Squaring her shoulders, Erica walked out of the competitors’ booth after Fritz left and emerged onto the arena. The competitors’ booth was blocked off by soundproofed glass, which kept the noise from the screaming crowd muffled, but now she could hear the raucous cheers blasting her eardrums. It hurt. Even so, all she did was smile and wave at the crowd before lightly jumping onto the arena platform.

She and Fritz stood several meters apart. In between them but also about twenty feet away was the announcer, Silas, holding a microphone to his mouth.

“Are both contestants ready?!” He raised his free hand. “Then let the match… begin!!”

While the match started, neither Erica or Fritz moved yet. They stared at each other, gauging each other, sizing each other up. This only lasted for a moment before Fritz gave her a leering grin.

“I am going to enjoy breaking you. You don’t know how fucking long I’ve wanted to place that little neck of yours between my hands and squeeze the life out of you as I fuck that hot body of yours.”

Erica’s lips were a thin line as she resisted the urge to grind her teeth. While she reigned in her anger, she could not stop the shiver of disgust from running through her body.

“You will not get the chance,” Erica said. “I am going to make you regret killing Rinne.”

“Rinne? Rinne…” Fritz tilted his head left and right, eyes growing glazed with confusion. “I’m afraid I don’t know anyone by that—oh! Is that the name of the little bitch I killed awhile back. Heheheh… now she was a great fuck. You should have seen the way her body squirmed as I drained her dry. The way her eyes widened in horror as her life slowly left her body… ah… that’s something I’ll never forget.”

Alexis had always taught Erica to act with calm, to analyse every situation and plan her next move before acting, but in that moment, all she felt was an inexplicable rage. It cast a red haze over her mind. The world looked as if it had been stained with blood.

“I’ll kill you!”

Without hesitation, Erica released her Spiritual Power, which erupted from her body like a star going nova. Flames, red and pure, exploded from her body and created several shockwaves as the hot air was blasted away from her. Her hair was whipped up into a frenzy as she removed her claymore from her shoulder and launched herself off the ground.

She shot forward like a comet, a fiery streak that left a trail in its wake. This intense speed allowed her to reach Fritz in record time. Once more acting without an ounce of hesitation, she raised her claymore wreathed in flames and swung it down with all the force she could muster.

In response to her powerful attack, Fritz crossed his two swords above his head, his body exploding with dark energy. The darkness congealed around his swords seconds before Erica’s claymore struck it. An explosion rang out. The powerful shockwave unleashed from their colliding weapons caused the ground to fracture, and even Erica and Fritz stumbled away from each other as the force winds pushed them back.

By this point, the crowd had grown incredibly shocked. They did not speak anymore. They did not scream or cheer. All anyone could do was stare into the arena below with wide eyes and astonishment etched clear on their faces.

As he stabilized himself, Fritz could not help but gawk at Erica. “Since when did you enter the Third State of Spiritualism?!”

“Since none of your damn business! Now shut up and die!”

There was no one in this entire world who Erica hated more than this man right now. One of her cherished sectmates was dead, her Spiritual Power drained from her, her body violated, and he had just admitted to being the perpetrator who had done it.

Even now that sight replayed itself in her mind over and over again. Although she had done her best not to let it affect her daily life, the truth was she harbored intense and overwhelming hatred for the person who had done it. Now that this man admitted he was responsible, that hatred sprang forth like a geyser.

Erica once more unleashed her anger as she channeled Spiritual Power into her weapon and charged forward. Fritz cursed as he raised his twin swords. Once more, Erica’s claymore clashed against his weapons in an explosion of power, flames, and darkness.

***

Because we were safely ensconced behind a window made from incredibly thick and durable glass, none of us were subjected to the incredible forces being displayed in the center of the arena. Even so, I could see the effects. The barrier that kept the viewers safe from harm rippled and undulated like it was going to break. The people near the front were screaming and covering their heads as if that would protect them. A few had even ran out of their seats to get further away.

“This battle is really heating up,” I exclaimed, standing beside the window and holding Raul’s hand as we watched.

“Big fight! Boom!” Raul exclaimed.

Fay was holding Raul’s other hand. She narrowed her eyes as she studied Erica and Fritz as they were launched away from each other. The two stumbled across the platform, which was cracking under the pressure of their assault, then launched themselves at one another again. Another clash took place. Another explosion echoed from the center of the arena, followed by a shockwave of powerful and fierce winds.

“They seem to be evenly matched right now,” Fay muttered, though she was frowning. “But Erica is using a lot more Spiritual Power than Fritz.”

I nodded. “I noticed that as well. I suppose we should have expected this. Erica just entered the Third State of Spiritualism, so she still doesn’t have a complete grasp on her newfound power yet.”

“Don’t you think there is also something strange about Fritz?” asked Fay.

“You noticed it too, huh?”

I tried not to tighten my grip on Raul’s hand as I looked down into the arena. Erica was swinging her claymore at Fritz with what appeared to be reckless abandon at first glance, but each swing was precise and controlled. She wielded the claymore like it was an extension of her arm. A downward slash would flow into a controlled spin as she brought the blade back up and tried to bisect her opponent from his hips to his shoulders. Her diagonal swing was followed by a lightning fast rising slash, which then flowed into another slash that created an X-pattern in the air.

Her claymore was covered in bright red flames that sparked, flared, and burned everything in their path. The ground beneath Erica’s weapon had turned blistering red from the heat. It looked like the platform was melting.

Lin and Siv walked up to the viewing window with us and stared down at the fight. All of them with the exception of Siv were well-versed in combat, so they could see and understand what was happening down below. Siv bit her lip as she watched the raven-haired young woman get sent flying backward when Erica’s latest clash against Fritz ended in another stalemate.

“Can Erica win?” asked Siv.

“It’s hard to say,” I said. “Erica and Fritz are both at the Third State of Spiritualism, so they should be more or less evenly matched, but…”

“But?” Siv glanced at me.

“But Fritz has a lot more Spiritual Power than Erica,” Lin stated, arms crossed and golden eyes narrowed. “There are some odd fluctuations surrounding him. It’s almost like… like…”

“It’s like he has a lot more Spiritual Power than he’s letting on,” Fay finished the lamia’s thoughts.

“Yes! Like he has a lot of Spiritual Power, but more than half of it is being suppressed,” Lin said. “Thank you, Fay.”

“You are welcome.”

Another explosion occurred down below. As Erica was sent back once more, she began swinging her claymore from a distance, unleashing several powerful crescent blades of burning red flames. In response, Fritz stomped on the ground. The shadows beneath his feet rose up and encased him in a dome. The flames slammed into the dome, dispersed like something had snuffed them out, and then the dome shot hundreds of thousands of black needles at Erica. She swung her sword again, unleashing a torrent of fire that burned the needles before they could reach her.

“What does that mean?” asked Alexis. She had been sitting in her chair, but now that all of us were standing by the window, she joined us.

“It means Fritz is a lot more powerful than he’s letting on,” I said. “If this becomes a battle of attrition, Erica will lose simply because she has less Spiritual Power than he does. He can outlast her.”

“In short,” Fay finished for me, “If Erica does not want to lose, she needs to fight smart and conserve her Spiritual Power until an opportunity to strike presents itself.”

Alexis did not say anything, but the way she clenched her fists was very telling.

I looked back at the battle. Erica looked like she was beginning to tire. Her shoulders were heaving, sweat dripped down her face, and she was gasping for air. I was worried she would run out of energy soon.

A hand slipped into my free one. It was Siv’s hand. She hadn’t looked my way, eyes still locked on the battle down below, but she was now clutching my hand in a fierce grip. Unlike the rest of us, Siv did not enjoy fighting, though she would occasionally watch the rest of us spar. I couldn’t imagine she was having fun here.

I gripped her hand back and continued to watch the battle.

***

Erica felt a tight pain in her chest as she gasped for breath. It felt like it was getting harder and harder to breathe, like there was something constricting her chest, compressing her lungs and forcing her to put more effort into what should have been a simple act.

Her arms felt heavy. She’d been swinging her claymore around for what felt like hours now. Before this moment, the claymore in her hand had felt light, like it was just an extension of herself, but now it felt like a simple hunk of heavy metal.

If that wasn’t enough, then the man before her did not seem to be having any of the problems she was. His breathing was light and even. The swords in his hands were not drooping. The only sign that he had exerted himself at all was the sweat on his face.

She didn’t understand it. They were both at the Third State of Spiritualism, so why was she having so much trouble, while this man seemed to have energy to spare?

“You look like you’re about ready to give up,” Fritz said. There was a dark grin on his face. That mocking, patronizing smile incensed her even more. “You can feel free to stop fighting me if you want. Just stand there and let me have my way with you.”

“In your dreams!” Erica snapped. However, she didn’t launch herself at him this time.

Erica was beginning to understand that while she and Fritz had comparable strength, he was still at least a level or two above her. He must have a lot more Spiritual Power than she did. Was this because he had reached the Third State of Spiritualism before her? She didn’t know, but even so, she now understood that she couldn’t afford to act careless.

Reigning in her Spiritual Power, the blaze surrounding Erica lessened, going from an out of control conflagration to simple wisps of flame. The amount of Spiritual Power pouring from her body decreased as well. Like this, she would be able to last longer.

“Tch. Seems like you’ve gotten smart.” Fritz clicked his tongue. “Not that being smart is gonna do you any good!”

Fritz crossed his swords and swung them outward, launching a dark crescent blade from his weapons, which formed an X-shape as they sailed toward her.

Erica felt like she could have blocked them with her own attack, but she knew that wouldn’t help her. She raced across the ground and avoided the crescent blades. They sailed past her previous location and struck the barrier. A loud tearing noise echoed through the arena as the barrier shattered, finally unable to withstand the incredible power of their fight. She was surprised it had lasted this long.

“Uh-oh! Looks like the barrier can’t withstand this power! We might have to call for an intermission while our people repair it!” Silas said.

“Ha ha ha ha! There’s no fucking need for that! It doesn’t matter if the barrier is down or not! Let’s continue!” Fritz raised his swords once again and began swinging them. Each swing unleashed a powerful crescent attack that flew toward Erica with implacable accuracy.

Erica realized what he was doing immediately.

Right now the barrier was gone, and all of his attacks were powerful enough to rip that barrier to shreds. If the barrier could not withstand his attacks, then how could the arena walls or the people sitting in the stands? They would be torn apart! Fritz was attacking like this because he knew Erica could not stand by and let these people be harmed during her fight.

Gritting her teeth, Erica encased her claymore in fire, compressed the fire until it appeared as a simple layer of red energy over her blade, and then began swinging. Her first swing was a downward slash. It sliced an incoming black crescent blade in half, causing the attack to disperse. She shuffled along the ground, spinning around like a dancer as she lifted her claymore and slashed diagonally, once more cutting through a crescent blade attack. She did this over and over and over, all the while listening to Fritz as he laughed at her.

This was so frustrating. She was losing Spiritual Power faster than Fritz, who seemed to have an endless wellspring of energy. If things kept up like this, she would no doubt lose simply by virtue of not having enough Spiritual Power to continue.

What should she do? What could she do?

Erica continued to defend the people in the stands and looked around to try and find something she could use to help her get out of this situation. However, all she saw was the ruined platform she and Fritz were fighting on. The platform was cracked in some places, dented in others, and had some spots that were molten red. She found herself staring at the red areas. Those had been caused by her fire.

Fire… melting…

Erica’s eyes narrowed as an idea sprang to mind. It was probably a stupid idea, but she didn’t have many other options right now.

While cutting through the crescent attacks that Fritz launched, she sent her Spiritual Power into the platform, though she didn’t let it indiscriminately burn everything. Controlling that energy, she willed it to move across the platform. It traveled through the the stone until it was underneath Fritz. Erica gritted her teeth as she finally forced the Spiritual Power to heat up.

Controlling her Spiritual Power after it had left her body was not something Erica was used to doing. It was a talent she gained only after reaching the Third State of Spiritualism. Thanks to her increased power, she was able to externalize it like this, but it required an incredible amount of focus, which put stress on her mind.

“Ha ha ha ha ha! Why are you just standing there?! Could it be that you want to take my attacks?! Do you enjoy being abused like this, you fucking slut?! Ha ha ha ha! Good! That’s very good! You’d make an obedient slave! Maybe I won’t kill you and instead enslave you and break your mind and body so you can only feel good when you obey me! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

Fritz was continuing to talk and laugh as he swung the swords in his hands. He sounded like a madman, like a disgusting criminal confessing all of his crimes. He didn’t seem to care about how much power he was using as the crescent attacks were fired from his weapons and traveled toward her. Erica wondered how much Spiritual Power this man had, but she tried to focus on her own plans instead of that.

It didn’t take long for the area underneath Fritz’s feet to turn red, and it began bubbling not long after it turned red. Fritz noticed the heat the moment this happened. He looked down and saw the area beneath his feet begin turning into magma. Squawking, he tried to leap back, but his left foot suddenly sank into the now molten platform.

A scream of intense pain echoed around the arena as Fritz’s left foot, ankle, and calf became trapped within the lava. He pulled his leg out, but the damage had already been done. His leg from the calf down was no longer there. It had been completely melted off.

Erica was not going to let this chance go. She slammed her right foot into the ground and used the kinetic force to launch herself forward. She was swinging the claymore in her hand even before she reached him. Of course, she had adjusted her claymore’s angle so that when she struck him, he would be hit with the flat end of her blade. Much as she wanted to kill this man, she wanted to win the tournament even more.

The loud clang as her swords struck Fritz in the face echoed across the arena. Fritz was blasted off his feet and slammed into the arena wall, which cracked around him and caused the people in the stands to scream in terror. Erica let her claymore fall from her grip and took several deep breaths as she glared at the man who was now lying on the ground, his eyes impossibly wide.

***

“She knocked him out of the ring!” Lin exclaimed. “That means she won, right?!”

“It does.” Fay smiled and nodded. “It looks like she realized she couldn’t overpower him with her current abilities and used a more roundabout method to win. She heated up the platform underneath him and turned it into lava. Once he was distracted by the pain of his leg being melted through, she attacked. It was a sound plan. She has an incredible battle sense.”

“It’s too bad Big Sister wasn’t here to see this,” Lin said, crossing her arms. “This princess bets you anything she’ll be jealous when we tell her about how we watched Erica kick Fritz’s ass.”

“Ass? What’s ass?” Raul asked, looking at us curiously.

“Watch your language, Lin,” I warned the girl.

“R-right. Sorry, Darling.” Lin rubbed the back of her neck and gave me a nervous smile.

“It looks like the battle is over.” Alexis sighed as the tension in her shoulders eased. A smile appeared on the woman’s young face. “That girl has really come a long way thanks to you people. You have my gratitude.”

“It’s fine,” I said with a smile. “We were happy to—”

I stopped talking when a powerful Spiritual Pressure erupted all around me. A shiver ran down my spine as the intense feeling threatened to send me to my knees, though I was able to resist because I had already reached the Fourth State of Spiritualism. Fay, Lin, and Siv were also able to resist, though Siv’s legs were shaking as she moved closer to me.

We were not the only ones affected by this incredible Spiritual Pressure; Alexis had already been sent down to her knees and was struggling to lift her head. Her breathing had grown heavy and her pupils were dilated. She looked like she was on the verge of having a panic attack.

Raul had it even worse. He was lying on the floor, drool and piss leaking from him as his body went into cardiac arrest. Fay grabbed her son and used her own Spiritual Powers to protect him. That caused his shaking to stop. However, he was still unconscious, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his mouth hanging open.

For just a moment, I wondered where this Spiritual Pressure was coming from. The power I felt was comparable to Ask. He had been the strongest person I’d ever fought since coming back to the past, a man who had reached the Fourth State of Spiritualism with the darkness element. I didn’t think I’d ever meet anyone outside of the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain who could possess a Spiritual Power comparable to this.

It looked like I had guessed wrong.

“Eryk… look down there… it’s Fritz… he’s…” Fay tried to speak, but she seemed incapable of saying what she wanted to say, so instead she pointed at the arena floor with her free hand.

Feeling an unusual sense of dread welling up inside of me, I looked down at the arena floor.

What I saw shocked me.

***

A stunned silence filled the arena. Erica looked at the sea of faces. She felt a little bit of smug satisfaction at seeing so many people looking at her in shock. None of these people had believed she could win after Fritz unleashed his power. Now all these people were dealing with the fact that she had defeated someone considered undefeatable.

“Are you going to call it?” Erica asked the announcer.

“Call it? Huh?” Silas also looked like he didn’t know what to make of this question, but then, like he’d been struck with a Spiritual Lightning Technique, he hurriedly nodded. “Right. So, uh, the winner of this match is—”

“Ha… ha… ha…”

Before the man could announce her as the winner, a low and hollow laugh echoed across the arena.

“Ha ha ha ha…”

The laughter increased in volume. It caused a hair rising chill to spread among the crowd as everyone looked for the source of that laughter. Erica, of course, had already discovered it.

“Ha ha ha ha.”

The person laughing was Fritz.

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

He climbed to his feet, dark miasma swirling around his body, creating shadows where before there were none. His left calf was still missing. Even he could not regrow lost limbs. However, he didn’t appear to be hampered even with a missing limb.

Fritz leapt onto the platform and landed on his single remaining leg. Erica tensed, the muscles in her body tightening, but he didn’t seem to be paying attention to her. He laughed, cackling like a madman as the dark Spiritual Power surrounding him like a thick fog increased. Cracks suddenly appeared on his skin. She didn’t know what that meant, but then the Spiritual Power increased, and an incredible Spiritual Pressure swept out through the arena.

Being the closest to this Spiritual Pressure, Erica found herself being affected the most. The impossible to resist pressure pushed down on her body like it was attempting to crush her. Erica fell to her knees, her entire body shaking as she futilely attempted to resist this feeling, which caused incomprehensible terror to rise up within her.

At that moment, the cracks on Fritz’s body began flaking off, the skin falling like it was hard and brittle. Beneath that flesh was dark gray skin. More skin flaked off, and Fritz’s eyes suddenly became a gleaming red like the color of fresh blood. His leg was still missing, but motes of darkness gathered around the missing limb and recreated his foot, though this one looked clawed and deadly. Finally, as the seconds ticked by, what stood before her was no longer the Fritz she had been fighting against.

It was a humanoid monster with skin the color of ash and eyes like blood.

“This battle is far from over.” A twisted grin appeared on Fritz’s lips. “It is now time for round two. I hope you are ready, you fucking cumslut. I am going to have so much fucking fun breaking you.”