WIEDERGEBURT Act IV: Chapter 20

“You idiot!!!”

Isotep roared at the man who knelt deferentially on the ground, trembling before him. There was nothing remarkable about this man. He looked the same as any other person from the Endless Desert. Behind him, also trembling, were two other people--both men who, like the one in front, refused to speak.

“I gave your group one task! Follow Eryk Veiger and discover why he is here! Do not engage in combat and only act if you are completely certain you can capture the girl he is with! How is it that you were unable to accomplish something so simple?!”

The men didn’t answer, of course, because they couldn’t answer. Their tongues had been cut out a long time ago to prevent them from divulging sensitive information on his various activities. Isotep was not yelling at them because he thought he’d get an answer. He was just blowing off stress.

“I told you not to go after that boy,” Muhammad said from where he sat on the couch. His tail thumped languidly against the floor. “I do not know how strong that child is, but his women are at least at the Third State of Spiritualism. To defeat someone like that, you’d either need a hundred people who are at the Second State of Spiritualism or someone of comparable power.”

Isotep glared at Muhammad, but the lamia did not seem at all bothered by the look and continued to sit there, reclining like a sunbathing reptile.

They were in Isotep’s private garden. The limestone patio surrounded a pool filled with crystal clear water. Several chairs made of wood, interwoven reeds and covered in pillows were arrayed around the pool. The two of them had been enjoying a drink together when this group interrupted them.

“What would you suggest we do now?” asked Isotep, running his hands through his hair.

“Can we not just do nothing?” asked Muhammad. “Eryk does not know you are the one who sent those men, does he? If he did, I am sure he would have killed them. In that case, I see no issue with simply sitting back to observe the situation a bit longer. Have you contacted the Iron Talons?”

“I sent a letter via carrier eagle and received a reply this morning,” Isotep confessed. He dismissed the failures with a disgusted wave of his hand, walked over to a chair across from Muhammad, and sat down. “It said they will arrive sometime within the next ten days.”

“Then let us make no moves for ten days. Once they arrive, we can set a trap for Eryk and his whore and have them take care of him.”

As he spoke, Muhammad drank some red wine from a glass made of crystal. It was more expensive than a peasant’s house.

A young woman dressed in skimpy strips of fabric that barely covered her naughty bits came up, a glass in one hand and a copper pitcher in the other. She placed the glass on a table in front of Isotep and poured from wine into it. The red liquid sloshed around. A delectable aroma wafted from the cup, causing him to inhale slightly.

Isopt swatted the girl’s behind, which elicited a squeal from the girl. He paid her no mind as he lifted the glass. He didn’t drink at first, but swirled the wine so it swirled inside the cup and brought it to his nose. This wine was from one of his vineyards. On top of owning almost all of the slave market, he also owned multiple wine vineyards, which were grown in areas with rivers traveling through them.

“I do not like the idea of leaving a potential threat alive… but I guess you are right. Even if I sent people out to kill this man, there is no guarantee they will succeed.”

He slowly took a sip of his wine. His thoughts were on Eryk Veiger. He had to make sure that boy died before he could discover his connection to Muhammad, or all his goals would crumble around his ears.

***

Several days had passed since I was attacked during the night. Siv and I moved out of the inn we’d been staying at and got rooms at the Kuzanaf Lodging. Since we were expecting Kari, Fay, and Lin to arrive within the next ten or twelve days, we bought out the noble suite again.

At present, me and SIv were sitting across from each other on the bed and playing a game of cards. It was a very simple memory game. All the cards were lying face down, there were two of each kind, and the objective was to find the matching set. If you found a set, you were able to go again. If you didn’t, it was your opponent’s turn.

So far, I had found two sets and Siv had found three.

“We need to come up with a plan to investigate Isotep,” I said as Siv studied the cards. She’d found another set just a little while ago, so it was still her turn. A person kept going until they got mixed cards. “If possible, I’d like to present evidence against him before Kari, Fay, and Lin arrive.”

“That will be hard,” Siv said as she reached out a hand and flipped over one of the cards. It was a Fehu card.

“I know.”

“Do you know what kind of evidence you are looking for?”

Siv reached out for another card and flipped it over, but it was Jera instead of Fahu. She frowned and flipped the cards so they were face down again.

Now it was my turn.

“Anything that goes against the Endless Desert’s laws would be fine. The important thing isn’t getting him for specific unlawful actions but anything that could be deemed a threat to the crown.” I let my hand hover over one of the cards, but then retracted it and moved to flip a different card. It was Fehu. Score. “Of course, it would be great if we could find evidence that he’s planning to overthrow King Menes or something equally bad, but we can’t afford to be picky.”

Siv’s cheeks puffed out when she saw me going for the card she had previously flipped. She shook her head back and forth, as if trying to tell me not to flip over that card, but I did anyway.

Fehu.

“It looks like the score is tied now,” I said.

Siv was still pouting as I continued to study the cards. The only one I knew was the other one Siv had flipped over, Jera, but I didn’t know what the rest of the cards were.

“How are you going to get evidence of his wrongdoings?” asked Siv.

I flipped a card over at random. It was Pertho. Sighing as I realized I had no idea which one of these was also Pertho, I flipped another card over without giving it much thought. Ingwaz. It looked like my turn was over.

As Siv began moving her hand over the cards, I explained my plan.

“The only way to get evidence of someone’s crimes is to infiltrate their manor and find evidence. I’m thinking of sneaking into his villa and trying to find something incriminating. I don’t think people in this country keep ledgers, but if I can at least find a journal talking about his plans, then maybe I can present it to the king and get his approval to eradicate the Malik Family.”

Siv flipped over one of the cards. Her eyes lit up when she saw that it was Ingwaz. I sighed when she immediately flipped over the second card I’d found, grabbed the pair, and began studying the cards once more.

There were 24 Runes in the runic alphabet, which meant this deck had 48 cards. I had already found three pairs and Siv had discovered four. That meant there were 34 cards left.

“Does Isotep even keep a journal?” asked Siv.

“I don’t know, but if I don’t do something, then we won’t be able to rescue those kidnapped lamia without being branded criminals.”

“What about using the favor King Menes owes you?”

I thought about the idea of using the favor King Menes owed me as Siv flipped over a card, which revealed itself to be Eihwaz. Neither of us had flipped over this Rune before. Siv bit her lip and, after a moment, flipped over another card at random. Her eyes dimmed when she saw it was Othala.

“My turn,” I said, then continued talking about our current subject. “Even if I went to King Menes, I’m not sure he would be able to agree to this request since the Malik Family is the most powerful of the Four Great Families. Doing anything that could disrupt a member of the Four Great Families is almost akin to treason. Only going against the king is a greater capital offense. The Malik Family is also important for the Endless Desert’s financial stability. Destroying them could lead to catastrophic changes.”

I flipped over a card and found myself staring at the Rune known as Raidho. With a sigh, I flipped over another card. Othala.

Damn.

Siv flipped over my Othala card, then the Othala card she found during her last turn. This brought her up to five pairs. Meanwhile, I still had three.

As our card game continued, a knock sounded at the door.

“Hold on,” I told Siv as I crawled off the bed and went over to the door. The person on the other end was Qawuin, who looked at this moment like the bearer of bad news. I almost sighed. “Qawuin, come on in.”

“Thank you,” Qawuin said as I stepped aside and let him enter.

He swept his gaze around the room, his eyes pausing on Siv as she stared at the cards on the bed. She looked up. When she saw him looking at her, she immediately put her head back down.

“It’s been a few days since I saw you,” I said as I went back to the bed. Qawuin took a seat on the couch. “How has your investigation been going?”

“Unfortunately, the investigation into your attackers has reached a dead end?”

I paused. Siv’s hand, which had been in the process of flipping a card over, also stopped, though she flipped the card over several seconds later. It was Berkano.

“You weren’t able to find out anything about them?” I asked as Siv’s next card was revealed. I smiled. The card was Raidho.

“The problem isn’t that we haven’t been able to find them, but that we have already found them… dead.” Once again, Qawuin said something that made me pause, though I still grabbed both Raidho cards. He continued talking as Siv and I decided to end things there. This conversation was getting too serious for us to be playing card games. “The other day, we found three men who’d been killed and buried. It looks like their throats had been slit. We don’t know if they are your attackers, but all of them had their tongues removed like the ones you told me about. I can only assume these people were killed for their failure.”

Siv and I sat on the couch opposite of Qawuin. I wished we could snuggle, but Siv’s wings made her hard for her to cuddle with me like this. Because snuggling was out of the equation, I decided on something else.

“So the people who tried to take Siv from me are dead, huh? That’s unfortunate. Though I do wonder why their employer bothered to kill them. It’s not like they have the ability to share Isotep’s secrets.”

“Assuming they belonged to Isotep,” Qawuin pointed out, though I was already certain that man was the one responsible for that night’s attack.

I grabbed Siv’s legs, lifted them, and placed her bare feet on my lap. Siv’s feet did not look quite human. The general shape was. Her small feet had five cute toes with pointed nails and featured higher than normal arches, but covering her skin in certain areas like near the top were scales. They were a silvery green just like her hair.

“Hnnn!”

Siv bit her lip, her toes curled, and her calves quivered as I began giving her a massage. I grabbed her left foot with both my hands and pressed my thumbs into the pads of her feet. It was the area just below the toes, which corresponded to the lungs, thyroid gland, neck, and trapezius.

The different parts of the foot had numerous pressure points that are connected to specific organs of the body. By applying pressure on those spots, it helped relax not just the foot but also the corresponding organs. There were about 56 different places where it was possible to apply pressure for a desired effect.

I primarily used by thumbs to apply this pressure, moving them around in circles over specific areas. I traveled lower, toward the middle of her feet, which was connected to the stomach, pancreas, liver, and suprarenal gland. My actions caused Siv’s toes to spasm a little. Her breathing became deep and heavy as a light blush lit up her face.

Qawuin coughed into his hand and looked away. “In either event, I came here merely to tell you that. Since we no longer have any leads, I’m afraid the investigation is coming to an end.”

Truth be told, I was disappointed to know they couldn’t get anything, but I had also been expecting this. Even if those men hadn’t been killed, all they’d need to do was stay in Isotep’s villa and we’d never find them--unless I went with my infiltration plan.

“I understand. Thank you for at least trying.”

The way Siv’s feet were spasming as I massaged them was kind of turning me on. I never did this often because I didn’t find feet very attractive, but there had been times where Kari would ask for a foot massage, then begin rubbing her feet against my erection. It had led to her using her feet several times to rub me to an orgasm, and I’d also sucked on her toes before.

I didn’t think I could suck on Siv’s because she had sharp toenails shaped like claws, but it might be possible to lick them. Her feet seemed sensitive.

“You are welcome. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. A-anyway, if you’ll excuse me.”

Qawuin stood up and made for the door, but he stopped when a bell began ringing so loudly we could hear it even inside the room. I stopped massaging Siv’s foot and looked around.

“What is that noise?” I asked.

“It’s the demon beast alarm,” Qawuin said with a grave expression now marring his face. “It is rare, but we occasionally get attacked by demon beasts. We do not have enough resources to create demon beast Repellent for an entire city. When this happens, all the commanders like myself must gather our forces and repel the threat. You two please remain here. I know you are strong, but this does not involve you.”

Qawuin left soon after. Siv and I remained on the couch for some time. The alarm continued to ring out.

***

Fifteen days passed since Siv and I arrived in Muqadas. The demon beast alarm had gone off several times.

While the first two demon beast attacks had caused the citizens to panic, they seemed to have grown used to it after the fourth time.

I passed the time away with Siv. We didn’t do much. Sometimes she and I would swim at the beach, sometimes we would rest in our room, sometimes we would go flying, and sometimes we would have sex.

We did get to watch how the king’s army repelled demon beasts. One of the attacks had come while we were flying, so we’d gone over to take a look and found a large group of Spiritualists confronting a herd of B-rank Sand Sharks. They used teamwork to bring the demon beasts down. Spiritualists with the earth affinity would use their Spiritual Techniques to force the Sand Sharks to the surface, where they would be killed off by Spiritualists with a fire or wind affinity.

I noticed that earth, fire, and wind were the primary affinities for people of the Endless Desert. I’d never seen one who had a lightning or water affinity. It made me wonder if the reason had something to do with the environment. Perhaps people who lived in an environment like the Endless Desert had become predisposed toward having these affinities, which were admittedly easier to use in a place where water and storms were scarce.

At present, however, Siv and I were passing the time by walking through Muqada’s streets. They were very busy. There were people walking to and fro, children running through the streets, and people buying either produce or items from a variety of stall vendors. It was the same in every country--even if the aesthetics, the architecture, and the people were different.

“We haven’t seen Qawuin in a few days,” Siv said as she clung to my side.

“He’s probably been busy dealing with demon beasts,” I answered.

“Hmm… there have been a lot of attacks.”

As if to emphasize her words, several bells began ringing. I looked up at the tallest building nearby. It was a bell tower that was several stories tall, and at the very top was one of the now ringing bells. There were several other bell towers located throughout Muqadas. Once one began ringing, the others were sure to follow.

“It looks like there is another demon beast attack,” I murmured.

No one around us paid attention to the bell after giving it an initial glance. We didn’t either and continued on our way.

I did notice several soldiers rushing down the adjacent street on the other side of the market. All of them were carrying pikes. I didn’t see Qawuin among them, but he might have already been at the attack sight, or maybe he was coming from another direction. Either way, it wasn’t our problem.

The demon beast alarm eventually settled down and another day passed. I woke up the next morning to the sounds of someone banging on my door. The loud noise caused me to jerk awake, which also startled Siv awake. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes as I clambered to my feet. I grabbed my pants and slid them on before traveling to the door and opening it.

I didn’t recognize the man on the other side, but he was dressed in armor similar to but less decorative than Qawuin.

“Are you… Master Eryk?” asked the man.

“That’s right.” I narrowed my eyes at the man, who looked nervous about being under my gaze. “I’m guessing you’re a soldier for the king? Do you need something from me?”

“H-his majesty, King Menes, has said that he wishes to speak with you,” the man said. “We have prepared a carriage to take you and your companion to his palace.”

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. There was no way I could refuse a request from the emperor.

“Okay. Let me get dressed first.”

“Y-yes, sir.”

When I closed the door and turned back around, Siv was already getting dressed. I helped her slide the dress up her legs and made sure it wasn’t getting in the way of her tail or wings. I’d have liked to comb her hair, but it sounded like we were needed immediately, so after making sure her hair wasn’t stuck on her wings, I got myself dressed and finished off my ensemble by tying my long green hair with a leather band.

“We’re ready,” I said to the man as I opened the door.

“Right this way, sir,” the soldier said.

We climbed into an extravagant carriage and sat down. The carriage was being guarded by several soldiers who looked pretty nervous. Were they nervous because of me, or was there some other reason? I pondered this as we were driven to King Menes’ palace.

King Menes was sitting on his throne like usual when Siv and I arrived. Siv looked nervous being in front of an emperor, but I merely had her follow my example as I knelt with one knee on the ground.

“Your Majesty, I was told you wished to speak with me.”

“I did. Although I have not yet repaid my previous debt to you, it seems I am in need of your help once again.” King Menes gestured to his guards, who filed out of the large room. Very soon, it was just us three. “You two may rise. There is no need to stand on ceremony right now.”

“Very well.” I stood up. Siv did too after a moment. “I’m guessing this has something to do with the constant demon beast attacks?”

“In a manner of speaking.” King Menes’s shoulders seemed to have some added weight that was dragging them down. Dark bags hung under his eyes. It looked like he might have also lost a bit of weight, though he still tried to project a strong image as he spoke with me. “What I have to tell you is something that you cannot tell anyone. Qawuin went missing several days ago. It was during the third demon beast attack. He and several other soldiers went out, but none of them came back.”

I sucked in a deep breath.

“If you are telling me this, it is because you believe he is still alive, right?”

“Correct.” The man lifted his left hand, which I finally realized was holding a scroll of papyrus. He tossed it to me. As I unfurled to scroll to read it, the king continued speaking. “That scroll was delivered to the palace early this morning.”

“It says: If you wish to see your commander again, have the two known as Eryk Veiger and Siv come to the location on this map. You have two days. If they do not show up, we will send you Qawuin’s head.” I frowned as I finished reading the scroll and looked up. “This is a pretty straightforward and obvious trap.”

King Menes nodded. “I am aware that you have no obligation to help me. I also know I cannot force you to do this. Given what Qawuin said about your strength, even if my entire army were to stand against you, they would stand no chance. However, should you do this, I will be eternally grateful.”

“Do we know who is responsible for Qawuin’s kidnapping?” I asked.

“Look at the letter,” King Menes said. “You should see a symbol near the bottom.”

I did as instructed, and indeed, near the bottom left corner was a symbol, a foot with three talons carrying a sword.

“That symbol belongs to a group of mercenaries called Iron Talon,” King Menes explained. “Most mercenary groups have no choice but to act in accordance with the law, but this group does not. The reason is because their leader, Kassim Ishvallen, is a Spiritualist who has reached the Third State of Spiritualism.”

“I see.” I scratched my head and glanced at Siv. She looked back at me and tilted her head, but she didn’t offer any clues as to what she was thinking. Sighing, I looked back at King Menes. “Spiritualists who have reached the Third State of Spiritualism are pinnacle existences no matter where you go. I’ve heard that aside from yourself, the only others who have reached this state are some of your generals and the heads of the Four Great Families.”

“That is correct,” King Menes said.

“Well, okay,” I said. “I will help you get Qawuin back. He’s a good guy, and I’d hate for his wife and kids to be without him. However, there is something that I will want your help with.”

King Menes straightened his spine and looked at me with an even gaze. “Name your price.”

I smiled. “I want your help removing a tumor from your nation.”

***

While most of the Endless Desert was covered in sand dunes, not every part of this desolate space was made of just sand. There were several mountainous regions near the ocean. Eroded by the sea, the rocks formed craggy cliffs several dozen kilometers high. For any regular human, a drop down one of those cliffs would surely lead to certain death.

It was one of those cliffs that Siv and I were asked to come to.

Despite the ocean being present, there was no vegetation on this land, which remained barren. Siv and I stood alone. No one appeared to be present. However, when I activated Spiritual Perception, I understood the truth.

“Siv!”

Siv took to the sky the moment I shouted. Meanwhile, I raised my fist and swung it down hard, slamming it into the ground. I didn’t put any Spiritual Power into my attack. It was just a standard punch, but the earth split apart where my fist struck, a chasm forming from the edge of the cliff and traveling into the valley about fifty meters away.

When my attack destroyed the area, several figures suddenly emerged from the ground, humans who were dressed in dingey leather armor. There were a lot more of them than I expected. I counted at least fifty. While I’d never had dealings with Iron Talon in my past life, I did remember hearing about them, and I didn’t believe there were this many members.

Then again, in my previous life, their leaders had been killed some time before Kari and I ended up in the Endless Desert.

“That was quite the punch. Damn, I can see now why that blasted Isotep decided to hire me. There’s no one else among the mercenaries who can possibly deal with someone strong enough to cause so much damage with just his fist.”

The man who spoke was larger than many of the people I’d seen. He might have even been bigger than Tungsten. Standing at least two heads taller than myself, his muscular physique rippled as he rotated his left shoulder like he was stretching it out. The standard leather armor he wore was covered in scratches. He wore a linen skirt like everyone else. Strapped against his back was a massive sword that reminded me of the Dragon’s Tail Ruler I used to use, but this was shaped like a khopesh.

“Are you Kassim?” I asked.

“That’s right.” The one I’d called out crossed his arms and smirked at me. “And you are Eryk Veiger… which means the pretty little thing flying around up there is Siv.” Kassim looked up at Siv and let out an appreciative whistle. “But damn, that woman of yours sure is something. I don’t know what kind of creature she is, but fuck if I care. I know Isotep told me to kill you both, but screw that. After I bury you, I’m gonna take that women for myself and make her my sex slave.”

Kassim’s words pissed me off so much I thought I might see red, but I knew better than to let my anger get the best of me. There were some things I needed to know. I also had a plan for this man.

“You’re responsible for the demon beast attacks, right?” I said. “I’m guessing you used a Lure to make the demon beasts attack Muqadas, waited until the army had run itself ragged, and then ambushed them on their way home. You killed off all the people who were unimportant and took Qawuin. Speaking of, where is he?”

“What makes you think he’s still alive?” asked Kassim, chuckling. “Maybe I killed him.”

“No, he is definitely still alive.” I narrowed my eyes. “You know Qawuin has King Menes’ favor. If he dies from this, you will have even more trouble on your hands. The king might even decide to send his best generals after you.”

“Ha ha ha! It seems you know the situation too well. You’re right. He is alive.” Kassim pointed down. “There’s actually a cave underneath us. You can only access it by climbing down the cliff--or if you’ve reached the Third State of Spiritualism for the earth element, you can just merge with the earth and reach it that way, but most people can’t do that.” The man chuckled again. “Actually, I’m wondering if the cave is still intact after you punched it like that.”

His words made me twitch. I didn’t know Qawuin would be located underneath me, and I wasn’t close enough to him that I could pick out his individual Spiritual Signature like I could with Kari, Lin, Fay, or Siv.

Activating Spiritual Perception, I stretched my abilities to the limits and discovered there was indeed one more person underneath the cliff. I could not tell if they were injured. All I saw was the bright red flame that let me know whoever this person was, they had a fire affinity.

I didn’t know if that was really Qawuin. Without knowing who was down there, I couldn’t afford to go all out.

“Well, talking with you has been fun, but I’m sorry to say I’m all out of patience,” Kassim said. “It’s time for you to die!”

At those words, Kassim slammed his hands into the ground. The earth rumbled as a giant half-dome rose from the ground and blocked my retreat. As Kassim knelt there and watched on with a grin, several of his Spiritualists began dancing. Some of them stomped on the ground, others clapped their hands and banged their chests. I realized the different movements being performed was because they were about to use two different combination Spiritual Techniques.

My thoughts came true when half the Spiritualists cupped a hand to their mouths and breathed out a long stream of fire. The streams merged together and created one giant torch of flame that barreled toward me. At the same time, the other half launched a wind attack that struck the flames and increased the speed and power even more. It was hot enough that I could feel it growing closer. That said, it wasn’t hot enough to make me sweat.

I held up my hand as though to block the attack with nothing but my palm. Spiritual Power flowed through my body as water particles gathered in front of me, growing bigger as small particles turned into droplets and droplets congealed into tiny balls about the size of my head. More and more water appeared out of thin air before I made it take the shape of a shed--not a shield with a flat surface, but a shed with a tip like those of an arrow, a point.

The raging white inferno slammed into my watershed. Steam hissed everywhere as the two techniques made contact. My watershed did not disperse, however. The massive cone of fire was split in two, traveling past me, melting through the half dome of earth at my back and continuing on. When I turned my head, I saw the fire slowly dissipate as it ran out of Spiritual Power to fuel it.

I looked back in front of me to see a several meter wide trench traveling from where the fire attack first formed to where it struck my watershed. The trench then branched into two separate trenches. Past that was Kassim and his group of fifty something Spiritualists, all of whom were gawking at me.

“You… what… that… impossible!” Kassim suddenly shouted. “That’s impossible! There is no way--even if you reached the Third State of Spiritualism with the water element, there’s no way you could possibly defend yourself against a combination Spiritual Technique created by fifty Spiritualists!”

“I guess it is a good thing I am not at the Third State of Spiritualism,” I said in a quiet voice that still somehow reached Kassim.

The man’s face drained of blood.

“No…” he whispered.

I smiled at the man who looked like he was about to abandon his comrades.

Then I disappeared.

I had to hand it to Kassim; he was very quick on his feet. The moment I disappeared, his body merged with the earth like I’d seen Lin do. So long as he was merged like this, I couldn’t hurt him since he had no physical body--unless I was willing to destroy this entire area, which I was not since I didn’t know if Qawuin was underground.

Since I couldn’t hurt Kassim, I went after his men.

I was unable to use any powerful Spiritual Techniques for fear of accidentally killing Qawuin, so I used the Flash Step: Lightning Step to deal with them. I transformed my body into lightning and decimated their ranks. No blood spilled from the throats I slashed, the chests I tore open, or the limbs I cut off. The lightning cauterized all wounds. Not that it mattered. The many Spiritualists before me died an instant after I had disappeared.

Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge. In nature, this is when two electrically charged regions in the atmosphere or ground temporarily equalize themselves, which causes the instantaneous release of energy, which is powerful enough to cause devastation to the surrounding area.

While lightning did not travel at the speed of light, it was still too fast for the human eyes to comprehend. The many Spiritualists who died at my eyes, I was sure all they saw before their end was a simple flash of white energy.

When all was said and done, the Spiritualists who had come with Kassim, a total of somewhere around fifty strong, were decimated in less time than it took a human to blink.

I stood in the center of this devastation. Corpses in various states surrounded me. A few were missing their heads, some were severed at the torso, and a number had their arms or legs missing. Rather than dying from my attack, those ones had died from shock. Their last facial expressions were ones of pain and horror.

“Y-you’re pretty strong, huh?”

I turned around when someone spoke behind me and stared at Kassim. He must have emerged to conserve Spiritual Power. While people at the Third State of Spiritualism could transform into their element, it took a lot of Spiritual Power to maintain. Most could only maintain that state for a few seconds.

He wasn’t alone. He was holding onto a beaten Qawuin, whose face was battered, bruised, and bloody. The man looked barely conscious as he was forced to his feet, a massive sword held at his throat.

“I never imagined there’d be someone as strong as you. That Overlord be damned Isotep really fucked up this time. However, I’m not about to roll over and let myself be killed. If you value this man’s life, you’ll let me go.”

I tilted my head as the man babbled about me letting him go free. I didn’t say anything, not even after he stopped talking, which seemed to make him nervous. He took a step back out of fear.

“L-look… just let me go, and I’ll never bother you again. I swear.”

Despite him trying to assure me he’d never bother me, I still said nothing, which caused the man to begin sweating.

Instead of paying attention to Kassim, I looked up. Siv was still flying in the sky. She locked eyes with me and, as if reading my mind, summoned the wind to her side. Holding her out hand, Siv pointed a finger at Kassim--more specifically, at the sword in his grasp.

The sword was sliced into hundreds of small pieces instantly.

“Huh?”

Kassim was so surprised by the sudden turn of events that he could do nothing when I appeared in front of him. I grabbed Qawuin, ripped him from Kassim’s grasp, and then kicked the man in the chest. I was certain his ribs had exploded. He was probably already dead. He didn’t even scream as he fell off the cliff, his face etched into shock, but just to make sure he was well and truly gone, I willed the sea to rise. A massive hand formed from the ocean water. It grabbed the falling Kassim and clenched, turning the man’s body into a thick red paste.

The man known as Kassim died a fast and inglorious death.