WIEDERGEBURT Act IV: Chapter 21

After rescuing Qawuin and healing him with the water element, myself, Siv, and Qawuin traveled back to Muqadas. The guards at the main entrance to the city were shocked when they saw us, but they were also relieved. Tears sprang to the eyes of the two guards as they rushed over to us.

“C-Commander Qawuin! Sir! You’re alive!”

“We heard you’d been killed by Demon Beasts, sir!”

“I’m not sure who is spreading that rumor, but I can assure you, they are wrong,” Qawuin said, smiling as he clapped his hands on the two shoulders. “As you can see, I am quite fine. It is all thanks to these two.”

When Qawuin gestured to me and Siv, the two men looked at us… then bent at the waist until their torsos formed a 90 degree angle with the ground.

“Thank you so much for saving Commander Qawuin!”

“You have our utmost gratitude!”

“You’re welcome.”

I had seen their type before. I’d actually dealt with several people like this in my lifetime, so while greatly disturbed by the zeal in which they displayed their gratitude, I simply dealt with it by accepting it. That was the best way to deal with people like this. If you tried to act humble, they would just make you out to be an even greater person than you really were.

And that would cause all kinds of misunderstandings.

We made our way into the city soon after. I was holding hands with Siv as we followed Qawuin. While Qawuin was obviously well-known because everyone waved at him as they passed, no one reacted like those guards at the gate. My guess was that only a few people knew he’d been missing for three days.

“We should first grab a carriage and have it take us to see King Menes,” Qawuin was saying, but I stopped him there.

“No, you should go see your wife first and let her know you’re safe. I will talk to King Menes and inform him of what happened.” Qawuin’s mouth was open to argue, but I held my hand up to forestall whatever argument he had. “I have my reasons for doing this. I’d like knowledge of your survival and rescue to be kept a secret for right now. Go to your wife, then head over to the palace tomorrow. Try not to let yourself be seen by anyone.”

“All right,” Qawuin said after thinking for a moment. “We will do things your way.”

“Thank you.”

And so Qawuin split ways with me and Siv, making his way home, while we traveled to King Menes’s palace.

Because we wanted to move fast and unnoticed, we used the Flash Step to travel. Very few people had eyes fast enough to see us when we used it. To the average eye, it would appear as if they were looking at a mirage. Within less than five minutes, Siv and I had appeared in front of the palace, and the startled guards at the gate were so stunned they couldn’t even think to draw their khopesh.

“We would like to see King Menes,” I said, using my sect commander voice. “Let him know that Eryk Veiger and Siv Veiger have successfully returned from their mission.”

“Ah. Y-yes! Right away! You! Go inform the King!”

“O-okay!”

The guards overreacted a little, but I knew that was because of how overbearing I was acting. I was being so commanding they couldn’t even think to disobey me. They were simply acting on the instinct that most, if not all, humans had to obey a higher authority.

I didn’t want to deal with any bureaucratic red tape.

As I waited for the guard to return, I stared at the sky with Siv and began trying to identify the unique shapes some of the clouds had taken.

“Don’t you think that one looks like a snake?”

“That’s a dog.”

“Where did you get a dog? I’m pretty sure that’s a snake… no, maybe it’s a dragon.”

“Maybe.”

There were quite a few clouds in the sky, though most of them were formless. They just looked like white blobs floating on a gentle zephyr. I knew better. My elements were lightning and water, which meant I was uniquely suited to understanding clouds better than anyone else. If I wanted to, I could absorb all the Spiritual Power from those clouds and use them to enhance my own Spiritual Power, or manipulate the clouds and turn them into thunder clouds. I think the only thing stopping me was I didn’t want to ruin the delicate ecosystem.

The guard returned five minutes later, huffing and puffing, his face red.

“K-King Menes… has granted you an audience. Please… follow me.”

“Thank you. Lead the way.”

I gestured for the man, who turned around and began walking back the way he’d come, though at a much slower pace. Siv gripped my arm as we walked. There were a few people who passed us when we traveled through the hall. I noticed a garden to my left, which had several women lounging around. All of them were beautiful and scantily clad in outfits similar to what Lin wore. They must have been the emperor’s harem.

We eventually reached the throne room. I noticed that whenever we had a meeting with King Menes, it was in this room. That made me wonder if he spent all his time here. Did he ever leave, or did he return to this room whenever he was going to meet with someone.

“You’ve returned,” King Menes exclaimed, brow furrowing. “Where is Qawuin? Is he not with you?”

“I told him to visit his wife.” I knelt on the floor. Siv followed my lead. “I don’t want it getting out that I rescued him yet.”

King Menes was a wise man, indeed, for he knew what I was plotting instantly. “You wish for Isotep to assume you are dead.”

“Yes.”

“You are in luck,” King Menes exclaimed. “As it just so happens, while you and Sive were gone, I did as you requested and had several of my most loyal retainers to check on Isotep and report their findings to me. They were able to sneak into the auction house as servants and claim they saw a lamia wandering through the corridor.”

“What does this lamia look like?” I asked.

“He is old and has a lot of wrinkles. His hair is shock white. They also claim he is quite lecherous. One of my wife’s handmaids was tasked with infiltrating Isotep’s auction house and claims he made her massage his back and tail, then had his way with her.”

I didn’t like the idea of the king letting his wife’s handmaiden get used like that, but I didn’t say anything. Clenching my hands to help shunt aside the emotions, I thought about the information instead.

“That’s definitely Muhammad,” I said. “There are no lamia who have reached his age.”

“Which means he is harboring an enemy of mankind.” King Menes wore a grave expression. “While humans and lamia are not at war, our two races are openly hostile. We have fought and killed for centuries. While it is not wrong to own lamia slaves, and you can even marry one as is the case with Qawuin, befriending a lamia in the manner he has is treasonous.”

“Wouldn’t that make me just as bad?” I asked. “My wife is Queen Medusa’s daughter.”

King Menes shook his head. “You are a foreigner, so the laws that apply to Isotep do not apply to you.”

It was sophistry, but I also understood he was making this distinction because of my power and because he owed me a favor. Had I been anyone else, I’m sure he’d have ordered my execution.

“Since we have proof that Isotep has committed treason, we shall have his assets seized and he will be arrested along with his family,” King Menes continued. “He will probably escape the death penalty, but I can assure you that he will never see the light of day again.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” I admitted. “However, if possible, I would like to be the one who deals with him.”

King Menes frowned. “Why do you want to deal with him?”

“Because I still need to rescue the lamia he has kidnapped. Muhammad is also with him. He might be an old snake, but he is cunning and powerful. Queen Medusa told me that he is even stronger than her. That means the only people capable of taking him out aside from you are the generals you once mentioned.”

“It would be troublesome to ask one of my generals to deal with this problem,” King Menes mumbled, eyeing me as he stroked his jaw. “I suppose… it would be possible to give you a temporary rank and the authority to carry out this task. Just remember, your rank will only be temporary.”

“I understand.”

“Good. We can discuss the details later.” He leaned back in his throne. “Now that our conversation is finished, I believe I should let you know that your other wives arrived in Muqadas the other day. They should be staying at the Kuzanaf Lodgings.”

I was startled when I heard my wives had already arrived in Muqadas. It should have taken them a few more days to get here. They must have pushed themselves faster than ever to come so soon.

Those words were all I needed to leave the king and head back with Siv to the noble suite at Kuzanaf Lodgings.

We appeared before the door within the blink of an eye. It had only taken a few minutes of using the Flash Step to travel all this way. I steadied my breathing as I opened the door--

“Darling!”

--and received Lin’s tackle.

I remember a time when I used to be stronger than Lin thanks to having reached a higher state of Spiritualism, but those days were long gone. Lin’s tackle sent me sprawling. I was knocked to the ground, where I gasped for breath as the lamia laid on top of me, nuzzling her face into my chest.

“Darling, this princess has missed you.”

“Hurk… I missed… you too…”

While I was struggling to regain my breath, Fay and Kari appeared above me, looking down at me with amused smiles. I wanted to turn my head. Something about the glint in their eyes made me feel like I was going to be teased mercilessly if I didn’t do something.

“You seem to be doing well,” Kari said with a smile.

“If you call this… doing well… then, yes, I guess I am…”

“Do you need a hand?” asked Fay.

“That… would be good…”

With Fay’s help, I was able to get Lin off me and stand back up. I had regained my breath enough to speak normally. That was good. Very good. I’d forgotten about the power of Lin’s tackle hugs, which were enhanced by her tail. In a manner very much like a snake, she could uncoil that tail of hers to pounce on people faster than a regular person could even track.

Once Kari, Fay, and Lin greeted me, we adjourned to the noble suit again and sat down on the couches. Raul was wide awake and sitting on the couch, though I immediately noticed something different about him.

“H-he’s crawling!” I exclaimed.

Indeed, the young child was crawling across the crouch. I watched him climb on Fay’s lap, where he then proceeded to hide his face in her breasts, then look back up again. Every time he did this, Fay would pretend she couldn’t see him, which elicited much giggling from the boy.

“Where’s Raul? I don’t see him. Where did Raul go? Oh! There you are!”

“Ma! Ma!”

The scene was such a heartwarming one that I felt like I was melting. How long had it been since I’d played peekaboo like this with Kayli? Now my Second Wife had a son and was playing with him just like that, and I felt so overcome with emotions that I believed I might start crying if I didn’t move this along.

“There’s a lot that Siv and I need to tell you,” I began. “Let me start from the beginning…”

I started with the first time Siv and I entered Muqadas, how we went to see the slave auction house, how we met with Qawuin, the attack from several assassins, and the Demon Beasts attacks followed by the Iron Talon’s trap for me. I made sure to explain everything I could in as much detail as possible.

Because my explanation took so long, we ended up requesting food from our maid--it was someone other than Zahra, our last maid. She had the chefs prepare several different dishes for us. Most of them were heavy on the meat, but they also had a few vegetables.

I think my favorite dish among those cooked for us was the honey-basted gazelle, which had come with flat bread and beer. It had a sweet flavor that didn’t overpower the original taste of the gazelle. The complementary flavors combined with the scent of honey was enough to make my mouth water.

The bread was good too. According to what the maid told us, the bread was made from a grain called emmer.

I remembered living in the Endless Desert in my previous life. Kari and I lived on what would be called the fringe. We rarely traveled into the larger and more prosperous cities since there wasn’t as much need for mercenaries there. Our primary job had been protecting caravans from bandits and lamia, which meant we spent most of our time traveling. Since food spoiled quickly, we couldn’t eat anything like this and had to subsist on dried meats like jerky and bread beer, which was bread crumbled into vats and naturally fermented in water. It tasted awful. However, it was healthy and provided a lot of nourishment.

I finished telling Kari, Fay, and Lin about what we had been doing just as the maid came in with some dessert caffa.

“This caffa is made from beans grown by our inn’s matron,” the woman set as she set a cup down for each of us. The scent coming from it was light instead of bold. “Please enjoy.”

“Thank you,” I said as I picked up a cup and raised it to my nose. It had a spicy sweetness that I didn’t notice at first, though it seemed to grow stronger the more I smelled it. I took a sip. The taste of cinnamon, sugar, and something else touched my tongue.

The maid bowed and left as we enjoyed our caffa. When she closed the door behind her, Kari addressed me.

“It sounds like you and Siv have been through a lot. I’m glad you got the king’s permission to deal with the Malik Family. Now we just need to wait for the caravan with the lamia slaves to arrive.”

“Yes,” I said with a smile. “Once the slaves arrive, we’ll head to the Malik Family’s villa and take care of them.”

***

The slave caravan arrived five days after Kari, Fay, and Lin did. We’d been keeping an eye out for any caravans that had no identifying marks.

Caravans almost always had crests to identify who they belonged to. Crests were important because they helped boost the reputation of noble families. If a city was in dire need of assistance and a caravan bearing your crest arrived and saved them, word would spread and your reputation would increase. They also helped soldiers identify who each caravan belonged to--and some were given special wavers on fees and taxes as a means of accruing favors.

Isotep’s slave caravan came in and made it through the checkpoint without incident. That was only natural since slavery was not illegal, so even an inspection yielded nothing unusual. However, as per the instructions of King Menes, when the caravan containing several dozen lamia slaves arrived, someone came to notify our group.

The Malik Family villa was a lot like a palace; it was a massive complex made of large stone blocks, featuring numerous gigantic columns that were at least four times thicker than myself, and was decorated with many intricate drawings depicting the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain. Flowers and plans and numerous kinds of plants grew in the gardens surrounding the village.

I was alone today as I stepped in front of the gate. Kari and Lin were traveling to the slave auction house to deal with Muhammad. My job was defeating Isotep Malik, imprisoning his family for treason, and rescuing the slaves from the basement. I remember this place had a basement. In my past life, Queen Medusa was betrayed and imprisoned down there. Now that I understood more about her life, I also recognized that her betrayer was probably none other than Muhammad.

“Halt!” Two guards at the front gate crossed their pikes to stop me from entering. “I do not know who you are, but no one is allowed on the Malik Family’s--”

That was as far as I would let him get. I grabbed the pike he held out to block me, lifted the man off his feet with it, and swung him into the other man. The two guards went down. As they lay there in a pile of limbs, I kicked them hard enough in the face to knock them both unconscious.

The last time I came here, I killed every person who crossed my path. This time, I planned on not killing anyone unless they proved to be evil.

“Intruder! We have an intruder!”

My actions caused the other guards patrolling the perimeter to take notice, but it didn’t really matter whether they saw me or not.

I knelt and pressed a hand against the ground, sending lightning over the limestone courtyard. Blue arcs skittered across the hard surface. Several men screamed as they were struck by the bolts, though most didn’t even have time to do that much. My lightning damaged their nervous system, locked up their muscles, and caused them to pitch face first to the ground. Not only could they not move, but they couldn’t speak either.

My attacks were not loud by any means. The people inside the gate did not seem to have noticed anything unusual.

Well, that was about to change.

Now that the guards had been taken care of, I went back up to the gate and slammed my fist into it with enough force that the sturdy steel frame became twisted and warped. The gate was knocked clean off its hinges as well. It flew through the air and struck the ground with a grating clang of steel on limestone.

“What is going on out here?!”

“An intruder?!”

“Someone is attacking the Malik Family! To arms!”

A large number of guards streamed out from the entrance to the main building and even more came running from other buildings. All of them began stamping their feet in a unique rhythm that caused their Spiritual Power to surge into the ground.

I remember this Spiritual Technique from my last life. It was the one that caused the earth to rise up and encase my body. Lin could do something very similar with her earth element, though she didn’t need all those complicated dance steps, and her powers were far more impressive.

Lightning exploded from my body and destroyed the earth before it could even encase me. The Spiritualists who’d been preparing their next attack froze when I stepped forward, fear causing them to take a step back. One among these people, however, did not retreat.

“You! Identify yourself! Who are you and why are you attacking?! Are you from the Samawai Family of the Shuruq Family! If you do not answer right now, do not blame me for being ruthless toward you!”

This man’s uniform was different from the others. While the others wore simple linen, this man had leather armor covering his legs, forearms, and chest. The armor was plated with gold as well. It was ostentatious, but I wondered how functional it was.

“I am from neither family,” I proclaimed as I summoned a papyrus scroll from my storage ring, unfurled it, and showed it to everyone present. “I have come on behalf of King Menes. Isotep Malik is accused of treason. He and his entire family are to be arrested for aiding and hiding away a lamia by the name of Muhammad. Anyone who decides to fight against me will also be arrested as an accomplice.”

My words set off a chain reaction as everyone present started muttering under their breath.

“Is Lord Isotep really keeping a lamia here?!”

“I haven’t heard anything about this!”

“It’s a lie, right?! It has to be a lie!”

“But… that is the king’s crest…”

The scroll I was holding was a decree written and signed by King Menes himself. He had given it to me when I asked him to let me handle Isotep.

I looked at the guard wearing the armor, who remained calm while everyone else was thrown into a panic. He alone did not react to my words. That meant he was aware that his master was harboring a lamia who wasn’t a slave.

“Well?” I asked. “Are you going to stand aside?”

“I cannot.” The man in charge shook his head. “I swore an oath long ago to protect the Malik Family. I promised I would always protect my master and his family. If you wish to take Lord Isotep an his family, you will have to go through me.”

Something about this situation was giving me a sense of deja vu, though I couldn’t quite figure out what. In either event, since this man was being so stubborn, I decided not to give him the time of day. He could lament his misfortune when he was rotting away in prison.

Before the man even had time to defend himself, I was in front of him. His eyes widened. He tried to step back, but it was already too late by that point. I slammed my fist into his solar plexus. I’d actually held back a lot, but I guess I’d forgotten what it truly meant to keep my strength in check.

The sound of my fist breaking this man’s ribs reverberated through the courtyard as the guard was lifted off his feet. He flew through the air, struck the ground hard, and rolled several meters. I shifted a little as he came to a stop. Was he dead? I hoped not. I hadn’t meant to kill him.

Trying not to let on to how my intention hadn’t been to pulverize that man, I gave the other people an even stare, which caused more than half of them to step back in fear. Faces paled. Bodies shook. One of them had even pissed himself.

“Anyone who wants to leave right now will be allowed to do so without consequences,” I said into the silence. “Leave now and do not come back here. If you do not, then I will deal with you the same way I dealt with that man.”

The many guards looked at each other, then at me, and then at the man lying unconscious or dead on the ground. Several seconds passed like this. Then, almost like they had some kind of hive mind, the many guards rushed out of the courtyard and disappeared from the villa.

Now that I had dealt with the guards, I entered the palace. The entrance hall, which was unnecessarily large, seemed empty, but I soon found out that not everyone had vacated the premises, like what happened in my last life. There were still servants and guards roaming the halls this time. While the servants panicked and tried to flee, the guards attacked.

I guess they hadn’t seen what happened outside.

“Halt, intruder!”

A man, his strong bare chest exposed for all to see, rushed forward and tried to slice into me with his khopesh. I raised my forearm. The triumphant expression on his face shifted into shock, then horror, when his khopesh shattered against my arm.

“Sorry, but regular weapons have no affect on me.”

Before the man could respond to my words, I slammed a fist into his face. This time, I held back a bit better. His face didn’t cave in. He just crumpled to the floor and didn’t get back up.

I continued moving.

Since there were still a lot of guards inside, I ended up fighting my way through the palace as I traveled to the basement entrance, which was located much deeper inside.

Fighting these guards was tedious. Since I didn’t want to kill them, I went with simple hand-to-hand combat… sort of. Defeating the many guards didn’t require any finesse on my part. Their weapons broke against my skin. My fists shattered their bones. A single punch was enough to put a guard down. Most of them had only reached the First State of Spiritualism.

During my journey to the basement entrance, I stumbled upon a lovely garden where several women were lounging. All of the women were practically naked. When I noticed the bed in the center of the room, I realized this wasn’t a garden but the room where members of Isotep’s harem were located.

“Oh, my. You are quite the unusual man, aren’t you?”

The one who came up and spoke to me was a stunning dark-skinned woman with enchanting blue eyes and black tresses of silken hair. Her gown was see-through. She wore nothing to cover her breasts or crotch, so her nipples and smooth pussy lips were visible.

“Are you Isotep’s wife?” I asked.

“Some people call me that.” The woman wore an unpleasant smile. “Like the rest of the women you see before you, I was forced into an arranged marriage when Isotep blackmailed my family.”

“So none of you are here willingly?” I asked.

“That’s right.” The woman eyed me up and down, a sensual smile causing her lips to form a delightful shape. She sidled up to me and placed a single hand on my arm. “You know, I haven’t been with a man in years. Isotep grew bored of me a long time ago--not that he was any good at pleasing women. Would you like to take me? I’m sure I can offer you pleasure in ways you’d never imagine.”

“Sorry, but I have four wives, and they are more than enough for me,” I said politely but firmly. “In either event, King Menes has ordered me to come here and arrest Isotep and anyone involved with him. Since it sounds like you ladies aren’t here because you want to be, feel free to grab whatever riches he has and leave.”

The many women blinked at me like they couldn’t believe what I was saying. Even the one who had just attempted to seduce me stepped back in shock.

“You are going to let us leave? Just like that?” the woman asked.

“Yes. Is something wrong with that?” I tilted my head.

“There is a lot about you letting us leave that is odd, but I’ll not question it.” The woman turned to the other women and clapped her hands. “Girls, gather whatever you want to take with you. We’re leaving.”

The women, who ranged in age from their teens to their late twenties, all gathered up whatever they could hold. Most of what they grabbed were items made of gold--vases, bracelets, necklaces, and the like. A few grabbed silk sheets. I imagine those would sell for quite a lot.

It wasn’t long before the women were clearing out. Each of them sent me a grateful smile on their way out of the room. The only one who stayed behind was Isotep’s wife… or was that former wife now?

“Thank you for saving us.” She bowed. “May I know your name?”

I hadn’t come here to save her or the others, but I guess there was no need to tell her that.

“It’s Eryk Veiger.”

“Eryk Veiger.” She tested the name several times before nodding. “I shall remember your name, Eryk Veiger. Goodbye.”

The woman left, running to catch up with the other women. I turned around and began making my way toward the basement entrance again, fighting the few remaining guards all the while. I also ran into Ammon, who I knocked unconscious with a single punch to the face.

I finally reached the large entrance to the basement, a simple archway that led to a staircase going down. It took several minutes to reach the bottom. When I did, the area opened into a massive room where several dozen cages were located. Each cage was filled with people, men and women. There were more men than women. Laborers were a necessary part of any noble’s family, but all the women who were locked in cages were nubile and obviously well-cared for to attract customers.

Standing among the cages was a man and several guards. It was Isotep, the fat slob who had worked with the Red Scorpions to kidnap several lamia and have them shipped here. The moment I appeared before him, the man’s face turned red.

“You… you must be that Eryk Veiger who caused me so much trouble, aren’t you?! How are you still alive?!”

“Were you expecting the Iron Talons to kill me?” I asked, smiling as I took a few steps forward. “Those mercenaries you hired to take me out were awfully disappointing, but I’m not here to talk about that. Those lamia you hired the Red Scorpions to kidnap, I am taking them back. Oh. King Menes also wants me to place you under arrest for treason.”

“Ha! You think I’m going to let myself be taken by the likes of you!” While Isotep looked extremely pale and frightened, he still pointed a quivering finger at me. “Guards, kill this fool who thinks he can arrest me!”

The four guards released their Spiritual Power, which became four blazing auras of pure red like flames. Then the auras suddenly disappeared as if they had been retracted. Now only a soft red glow remained on their skin.

“Fire affinity Spiritualists who have reached the Second State of Spiritualism, huh? Do you really think weaklings like that will work on me?”

The Spiritualists bristled at being called weaklings. Pushing off the ground, they raced forward, split up, and attacked me from four separate directions. It looked like they were trying to box me in.

I sighed.

Then I tapped my foot on the ground.

While I had only reached the Second State of Spiritualism with this element, I was still able to use darkness without the need for dances. That was the benefit to being me. Shadows writhed along the ground, then wrapped around the four Spiritualists before they could reach me. Screams of surprise rang from the Spiritualists.

“W-what the--my shadow?!”

“It’s grabbing me! Why is my own shadow grabbing me?!”

“L-let go! Let go, I said!”

As the Spiritualists panicked, I pointed my finger at each of them and launched a compressed ball of wind, which struck them in the face, knocking them unconscious. Once they were down for the count, I released the shadows binding them. They dropped to the floor like a sack of bricks.

“And now there is only one,” I said as I walked toward Isotep.

“N-now just hold on.” The man walked backwards and raised his hands as though hoping to placate me. “I’m sure we can talk this out. What do you want? Name your price. Everyone has a price. Do you want me to release those lamia I took? Consider it done. Would you like your own slaves? I have several nubile young women I’m sure you’d appreciate.”

“Sorry,” I said as the man blabbered. “But you have nothing I want.”

I tapped on the ground again, the shadows rose up, and Isotep was quickly wrapped what appeared to be black bands. He fell to the ground with a thud. Despite cracking his head against the stone floor, he was still awake and squirming, so I kicked him in the temple to knock him out.

The first thing I did after that was free the slaves in this room. Most of them ran out of their cages the moment they were free, but a few did not. Well, I wouldn’t force them to leave if they didn’t want to. I continued traveling after opening all the cages and eventually found myself in the room where the lamia had been stored. All of them were huddled together and shivering in fear. The cages were much larger than a normal one, and there were more of them.

“Everyone!” I called out. “Queen Medusa has sent me to free you.”

That got their attention. One of them, an older lamia woman from the looks of it, came up to the front of a cage, grabbed the bars, and peered at me with narrowed eyes.

“Did Queen Medusa really send you?”

“Isn’t that what I just said?”

“But you’re a human!”

“Ah! I know who you are! You’re Eryk Veiger, right?! Princess Lin’s husband! I saw you when you first entered the village!”

Another lamia recognized me, though I did not recognize her.

“That’s right. I am Lin’s husband. Anyway, I’d like you to hold on for a moment while I destroy these cages. Step back so I don’t hurt any of you.”

The lamia stepped back as I walked up to the first cage and sliced through it with my water element. With the bars cut, the lamia were able to slither through the cage. I did the same thing to all the cages. There were about ten in total.

“Because we are currently located in Muqadas, it will be hard to sneak everyone out like this,” I said in a loud voice. “We’re going to get several wagons and transport you all out of the city. Follow me out of the basement. You’ll be staying in this palace until we can get the wagons needed to move you all.”

No one argued with me, not even the woman who first spoke up, and we made our way out of the basement.

The lamia seemed eternally grateful to no longer be stuck inside of that dark basement. Many of them smiled and stretched their naked bodies as they basked in the warm sun. I had them stay in the harem room, which had a lot of open space and sunroofs so they could lounge around.

I was just getting ready to move out when a low rumble shook the city. Several of the lamia shouted in surprise, but I paid no attention to what they said as I jumped to my feet and looked toward the source of this shaking--a giant snake that had broken through the slave auction house and was hissing as several dozen streams of sand converged around it.

“It looks like Lin and Kari are dealing with Muhammad,” I said to myself.

***

While Eryk was dealing with Isotep, Kari and Lin traveled to the slave auction house. There were quite a few guards there. They wore chest plates made of leather and a skirt, while their legs were bare and their feet were clad only in sandals. Most of them patrolled the perimeter, though she didn’t doubt there were also guards inside.

“Come on, Lin.”

“Yes, Big Sister.”

With a scroll in hand, Kari walked confidently up to the main entrance, amidst the stares of many people. All of them looked at her and Lin like they were prime beef. She didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what they were thinking. While some just looked curious, most of them were leering like a hungry dog as she walked up to the entrance, where a pair of guards stood to block the way.

“What do you, woman?” one of them asked.

“I’m here with a decree from King Menes.” Kari held up the scroll so the two men could see the king’s signature on it. “The king has reason to believe Lord Isotep has committed treason by allowing a lamia to stay here. This decree states we are allowed to search the slave auction house.”

The two guards looked at each other, nodded, and then retracted their pikes.

“Apologies, ma’am,” one of them said.

“You two may follow us. We will allow you to look around.”

“Thank you.”

Kari pretended to know nothing as she walked into the slave auction house with Lin. The two guards followed behind her. They turned several corners, walked down a number of halls, and eventually ended up in an empty room.

That was when the two guards attacked.

“It’s the end of the line for you two!”

“We’re gonna turn you bitches into slaves!”

“Idiots,” Lin muttered as the two men jumped at them.

Before they even knew what hit them, Lin smacked both of them with her tail. A loud cracking sound echoed through the room as the pair went flying. They slammed into a wall. These walls were made of stone, so they were quite sturdy, but even so, the pair hit it so hard the stone cracked on contact. The two guards crumpled to the floor in a heap.

“Nice going, Lin,” Kari praised.

“Tee-hee. Thanks, Big Sister.”

Lin rubbed the back of her head as a pleased smile crossed her face. Her fangs were showing, causing her lower lip to indent a little. Kari thought it was adorable.

“Come on. Let’s continue searching for Muhammad.”

“Yes. This princess is sure that man is here somewhere.”

They left the two guards in the empty room and began wandering the halls. There were more servants inside the slave auction house than there were guards, and it looked like many of those servants were slaves themselves. A lot of them wore collars to mark them as Isotep’s property. Kari felt bad for them, so she used her light element to break every collar she saw. None of them moved when that happened. They merely stared at her like they had seen a ghost.

“This is an awfully big place,” Lin muttered as they entered a large room that looked like a harem house. It was gaudy and ostentatious, with a bed so large it could fit a dozen people, a bath with water flowing in from an underground spring, and flower petals decorating the stone floors. No one was present right now, but Kari imagined this room would normally be filled with women.

“As most palaces are,” Kari said with a nod. “It’s not as big as the Imperial Royal Palace… but it’s a lot more open.”

It took a lot longer than she would have liked, but they eventually entered a room where they found an old lamia lying on a divan, on his stomach, and moaning as a pair of women tended to him.

“Muhammad! This princess has come to deliver justice!”

At the sound of her shout, Muhammad leapt up, knocking the girls away as he spun around to face them. His eyes widened seconds before they narrowed. His tail rapidly thumped against the ground as if showing his agitation.

“Princess Lin. How did you find me?”

Lin scoffed. “Are you stupid? Of course this princess was going to find you. We already knew you were working with Isotep thanks to Jafar. All we needed to do was follow the caravan of kidnapped lamia.”

“Damn it. I knew that man was useless!” Muhammad cursed.

“It’s time to give up,” Kari said as she took a step forward. “There’s nowhere for you to run.”

“Hmph.” Muhammad snorted as his body began to ripple. “I’m afraid the ones who have nowhere to run are you two! It was a mistake chasing after me! Now it’s time for you to die!”

Several massive purple snakes appeared before Kari and Lin, hissing as they lunged at the pair. Kari snorted as she created a ranseur made out of pure light and swung it down in an overhand slash. The snake was cut in half. At the same time, Lin created a whip made of darkness and sliced through the other snake like it was made of butter. The many dozens of pieces dissipated before they touched the ground.

While the attacks themselves had not done any damage, they had bought Muhammad some time. During the single moment it took them to deal with the poisonous snakes, he had released his Spiritual Power, which exploded from his body. He didn’t stop there, however. He took the Spiritual Power into himself, activating the Second State of Spiritualism, and then, shockingly, his body began to grow.

“What the hell?!” Lin shouted.

Bigger and bigger Muhammad grew, until his body could no longer be contained by this room and broke through the roof. Kari used the Flash Step to travel outside. Lin sank into the ground, traveled through it, and then re-appeared next to her. Both of them looked at what now stood before them.

“It’s a snake,” Kari murmured.

“A giant snake,” Lin agreed.

Looming over them by at least a dozen meters was a massive snake with black and yellow scales. It had a gaping mouth with dozens of sharp fangs. The hood around its neck was flared out and made it seem even more threatening as it gazed down at them with hungry golden eyes.

“I am going to enjoy devouring you two!!!”

“Think you can keep the giant snake from moving?” asked Kari.

“Leave it to this princess!”

As the giant snake lunged at them, Lin slithered forward and placed her hands on the ground. Shadows and sand rose from the ground, traveling forward. The shadows coiled around the snake’s lower body while the sand formed a net that crashed into its mouth, keeping it from moving forward or opening its mouth.

“W-what the--what is this net?! Don’t tell me you have reached the Third State of Spiritualism as well!”

“This princess is not at the Third State of Spiritualism,” Lin said. “She is at the Fourth State of Spiritualism!”

“The Fourth State?! Impossible! There is no such thing!”

Muhammad struggled to break free of the sand net and shadows binding him, but the more he struggled, the tighter his bonds became. The dark strands of shadow coiled around his body and squeezed so tight his bones seemed to creek.

While Lin was restaining Muhammad, Kari created a ransuer made of light. She raised it above her head, then charged more Spiritual Power into it, causing the weapon to grow brighter with every passing second. And yet it didn’t increase in size. Kari enforced her will over the weapon and condensed all the light she was pouring into it so it would not expand. This created a super condensed ransuer that retained its original size but was packed with power.

“Take this!”

Kari took a step forward and threw the spear, which flew straight and true, punching a hole right through Muhammad’s open mouth, blasting through the roof and coming out the other side of his head. The spear continued traveling. It eventually punched through some clouds floating above them, causing the clouds to disperse. Then it disappeared.

Muhammad was obviously dead. The massive carcass tottered for a brief moment before falling forward. It slammed into the slave auction house, crushing most of the building beneath it. Walls crumbled, the roof was destroyed, and several people could be seen fleeing the destruction.

Lin and Kari stood there, looking at the now dead snake as it lay on the remains of the slave auction house.

“Is it just this princess, or was that fight way too easy?” asked Lin.

“It’s not just you.” Kari shook her head. “That battle was very anticlimactic.”

The two became silent and reflected on the fact that they’d just defeated a several dozen meter long snake with what amount to a single attack. However, they couldn’t afford to reflect forever, and so the two eventually left and went to hook up with Eryk once more.