WIEDERGEBURT Act IV: Chapter 16

Jahin pushed up the large door. The door flipped up and hit the ground with a smack. Dust flew everywhere as he emerged from the stairwell and traveled into the cool night air. Shivering as he lifted the door and set it back on the entrance to the secret passage embedded in the ground, he took a moment to orient himself.

Behind him was the lamia city, which he could just see thanks to several fires used to light the city.

Lamia didn’t normally leave their homes at night. It was far too cold. Their cold-blooded nature made traveling when the sun wasn’t out dangerous, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t. If, say, a lamia had to answer nature’s call, there was no choice but to go outside. That was why there were also fires to light the city at night.

Once Jahin understood where he was in relation to the city, he slithered off into the night, shivering as he wrapped a thick blanket tighter around his body. The cold seeped into his skin, his muscles, and even his bones. He shivered some more. He hated that he was being made to do this. He didn’t blame his father, of course. He blamed Lin. If that blasted princess hadn’t returned, then he would have no doubt been selected as Queen Medusa’s mate.

“Damn that bitch. When I get my hands on her, I will make sure she regrets ever coming back. I’ll break her mind and body! I’ll turn her into my cum dump!”

He ranted and raved, which didn’t help him feel much better but further increased his rage and hatred of Lin. Jahin would not feel better about this matter until that girl was a broken doll whose only purpose was to please him.

With those thoughts keeping a fiery hot rage burning in his gut, he continued traveling until he came upon a much smaller set of ruins.

It was hard to see them at first. Not only were these ruins the same color as the surroundings sands, but it was night and no fires could be seen.

Unlike Queen Medusa’s palace, these ruins were not structures left behind by an ancient civilization, but were instead the dead remains of a city that had been ransacked decades ago. The buildings were made of sun-dried bricks similar to the ones used in the lamia village. Most of them were dilapidated, however. Quite a few were broken, with walls missing, no ceiling, or completely destroyed. Only the largest building in the very center of this ruined husk of a village remained.

It was the building in the center Jahin traveled to.

While the building itself was still rundown, it was in better shape than the rest of the village. Jahin slithered through the door and entered the main entrance hall. Columns lined much of the room, keeping the roof from caving in. It was easy to tell from just the columns, which were decorated with unique designs, that this building had belonged to a noble.

A chill went down Jahin’s spine as he traveled deeper into the room. It felt like he was being watched. No, he probably was being watched. There were eyes on him from all over, though he could not see them.

Of course, while he couldn’t see them, he could smell them.

“C-come out! I know you’re there!”

Jahin cursed as his voice cracked. He didn’t really have time to lament though. Laughter echoed from somewhere to his left, causing him to turn around. He didn’t see anyone, but he thought he saw a tail slithering across the ground, disappearing behind a column.

“I see we finally have a guest entering our humble abode,” a voice said, sounding like it was coming from everywhere at once. “I apologize in advance for not offering refreshments. We ran out of fresh tea leaves, you see.”

Jahin felt anger boiling inside of him. “I’m not here to play these games! And I’m not here for tea! Come out, Jafar!”

A sigh echoed all around him.

“Very well. If you insist.”

At those words, several candles affixed to the columns and walls suddenly began burning, illuminating the room and revealing several people who had been invisible up to this point. Quite a few of them were humans. In fact, Jahin would have said more than half of them were humans. But there were also at least ten lamia present, and the one standing right in front of Jahin, who he had not even known was there, was the largest among them.

Jafar was large even by lamia standards. His tail alone must have been ten meters long. His body was not lithe like many other lamia either, but packed with bulging muscles that rippled every time he made a gesture. Dark skin marred by scars gave him a mean appearance. One of those scars traveled right down his face, going from the crown of his head, over his right eye with its milky pupil, and down to his chin. It was an ugly-looking thing, all puckered and stark white.

“Little Jahin. It has been some time since I last saw you. How’s your old man doing?”

While Jafar’s voice sounded like he was pleasantly surprised, Jahin knew better. The mocking smile this lamia wore told him the man didn’t care one wit for him.

Wanting to get this over with quickly, Jahin held out his hand, the rolled up papyrus scroll tightly held within his grasp.

“Father has another job for you.”

“I should have figured it was a job. You never come out here simply to see how I’m doing. Well, your father always pays well, so it isn’t like I mind doing a job for him, but you should also know who I work for.”

Jafar took the scroll from his hand and unrolled it. As he read the contents, Jahin spoke.

“Don’t worry. I know who you’re master is. What we want you to do won’t step on the Malik Family’s toes. In fact, I believe they will approve of this task.”

“Hmm…” Jafar finished reading the contents, rolled up the scroll, and tossed it to one of his men. He looked back at Jahin as the human burned the scroll with a Spiritual Fire Technique. “Tell your old man we’ll take the job, but only on one condition. This job is gonna be big, and it seems to me like he’s offering this knowing we’ll all die in the attempt. Since that’s the case, he’s gonna have to double our usual fee, and our shipment will have to come in before the quest takes place.”

Jahin bristled at this man’s request, but he knew better than to reject it out of hand. He understood Jafar well enough to know this man really would refuse the quest if they didn’t do as he asked. Jafar was also the only one who could accomplish a task like this.

“I can’t promise anything, but I will let my father know of your demands,” Jahin said.

“I already knew a puppet wouldn’t be able to guarantee my demands.” While Jahin felt his tail grow stiff with agitation, Jafar waved him off. “Go back home and tell Muhammad what I told you. If he comes through for me, I’ll lend him my Red Scorpions. If he doesn’t, then I won’t work with him.”

Now that his task was done, Jahin didn’t stick around. He turned and left the building. Behind him, the sound of Jafar’s laughter echoed from the doorway.

***

The day after we arrived in the lamia city, Queen Medusa announced to her people that a party would be held in celebration of Lin’s safe return. This had caused the atmosphere to turn festive. In fact, I was honestly surprised by how excited everyone seemed to be. People were talking about it as they went about their daily business, others were creating decorations to set up, and some more had gone into the desert to collect supplies… though I had no idea where they would find said supplies.

I was in charge of the cooking. Queen Medusa said she wanted me to make them a feast worthy of this event, and while I normally wouldn’t care, this time I did. This feast was being held in honor of Lin, after all. There was no way I couldn’t not care about anything involving my wife.

I wanted this feast to be a success.

“Okay. I’ve taken a look at our stores of meat and determined we don’t have enough to feed an entire village of lamia. That meat was only meant to last our group of six for two years as we travel through the Endless Desert. We’ll be eaten out of house and home if we use it for the party.”

My wives and I were in the kitchen, gathered around a table made of stone. We weren’t alone. Aliya and a group of maidservants had gathered with us. Of course, it was hard to tell they were maids since no one wore clothes. I still didn’t understand why they went without them, but I hadn’t been given a good opportunity to ask if lamia were all exhibitionists.

“We can provide you with the meat,” Aliya said.

“What kind of meat do you have?” asked Kari. “Also, do you have vegetables as well?”

“We have a lot more than just meat,” Aliya exclaimed before looking at the center maid. I guess she was the head maid.

Coughing into her hand, the head maid said, “for meat, we have goats, sheep, and some wild fowl. We can also get fish, but that requires traveling to the ocean, which is a long journey. For produce, we have barley and emmer wheat, beans, lentils, onions, leaks, and cucumbers.”

“That’s a lot more than I expected,” Fay stated in surprise.

“You only saw one part of Thuebes,” Aliya said. “Our city has several large oases that gathers water from underground rivers. They are a little further out, about two hours travel from the city proper. However, each oasis is used to farm a specific type of produce or raise animals.”

They had a lot more food stuff than I expected. Of course, I knew the lamia needed to have some way to produce food because they couldn’t rely on thievery with the numbers they had (the lamia population was close to 1,000), but I still found it shocking.

Kari seemed to as well. However, unlike me, she clapped her hands and presented everyone with a cheery look.

“That’s great! Since we don’t have to worry about supplying the food, we can think of something to make with what the lamia have. Do you have any goat cheese?”

“Goat cheese?”

The lamia looked confused, which I took to mean they didn’t know what goat cheese was. They probably didn’t have any cheese period. Well, I guess it was too much to expect everything about us would be similar just because we shared some similarities.

“If you don’t have it, then don’t worry,” Kari said. “I was just wondering. Anyway, can you take us to your current stock so we can see what we have to work with? It will make preparing a meal easier.”

“Certainly.” Aliya nodded before gesturing toward one of the maids again. “Eshe can take you there.”

Eshe was the head maid, a lamia woman who looked to be in the middle years of her life. She led our group to the storeroom where all the food was kept. They only had harvested food inside. Meat didn’t keep well, so lamia never processed the animals unless they planned on eating the entire thing. The head maid told us the animal would be brought later.

Most of what they had inside the storeroom appeared to be wheat.

“With all this barley, we can easily create flat bread… and it looks like they have honey!” Fay exclaimed as she saw several jars of what appeared to be honey sitting against a wall. “With this, we can create honeyed bread! I wonder if there are any almonds around? If there are, we can bake them into the bread as well.”

“We do indeed have some honey,” Eshe told her. “Since this is an important celebration, Queen Medusa has told us you are allowed to use whatever you deem necessary to create a worthy feast. However, I would like to let you know that our supplies of honey are limited. Raising bees requires a lot of resources that we simply do not have. What we have here is all we possess.”

“Hmm… if we don’t have a lot of honey, maybe we should use it for dessert instead.” Fay turned to the dragon girl next to her. “What do you think?”

Siv studied the jar of honey with her head tilted. She had picked up a lot of Fay’s taste in food since she was closest to the redhead.

“Baklava?” asked Siv.

“That does sound good and wouldn’t require a lot of honey, but… do we have any walnuts?”

Siv shrugged as if to say, “How should I know?”

While Siv and Fay were thinking about what kind of desserts to make, Kari was cataloging the vegetables. There were several sacks worth of vegetables stored in this cold space. We were deep underground, and I believe Eshe said something about a river flowing beneath the city, which explained why this area was so chilly.

“It looks like there should be enough vegetables to create a soup,” Kari murmured. “If we use goat milk as the base, we can create a thick soup by cutting up some vegetables and adding wild fowl and sheep to the mix. I’d use the goats too, but we want those for their milk.”

“It looks like they also have some spices we can use,” I said. “Some of these grow in Nevaria, but there are a few we have they don’t and visa versa.”

Kari stroked her jaw. “Certain spices and herbs only grow in arid climates like this.”

There were a number of jars and pots containing spices. Cumin, coriander, fennel bulbs, caraway, and anise appeared to be the main spices available.

We finished taking stock of everything they had, then went back to the kitchen and debated over what to make. It took several hours of conversation, but our group eventually decided on what we would be cooking and informed the maids, who didn’t recognize any of the dishes we described. However, they had been told to help us with our task. Thus, our group got to work.

***

Unlike the room Lin was staying in with her family, the one belonging to her mother had water flowing into it. A long tub sat in the center of the room. Her momma was lounging inside of it as she sipped some wine from a goblet. Lin was with her, trying hard not to let her displeasure known.

“Why do you look like you are pouting, daughter? Could it be that you are displeased to spend time with this queen?”

“This princess isn’t displeased.” Lin turned her head. “She just wants to spend time with Darling, Big Sister, Fay, and Siv.”

“Hmmm… you have spent a lot of time with them already, have you not?” Her momma took another slow sip of wine, savoring the flavor. “Can you not find it in yourself to spend some time with your mother? It has been many years since we were able to spend time together like this.”

“What do you think this princess is doing right now?”

Lin didn’t want to seem petulant, but she also didn’t like being away from Darling and Big Sister. No doubt those two were having fun without her. If she wasn’t there every waking moment, she was sure she would miss out.

“Ha… it seems that is the most this queen can expect.” Her momma sighed as though Lin’s words had tired her. “Tell this queen something, dear daughter. You love that man, yes? Eryk?”

“This princess loves Darling very much?”

“Why is that?”

“What do you mean?” Lin tilted her head. “It is because Darling is Darling.”

Her momma stared at her for the longest time. “This queen feels like she should have expected that answer.”

Lin remained silent as her momma climbed out of the bath, water dripping from her large breasts and toned stomach. She often wondered if she’d ever have breasts like that. Hers had not grown at all in the past few years. Were her momma’s genes fated to never pass onto her?

Her momma grabbed a towel and dried herself off. She spoke as she did.

“Do you remember all the lessons this queen gave you on the duties of a lamia princess?”

“Of course this princess remembers.”

“Then you should know that you will become the next Medusa when this queen steps down. If this queen do not step down by the time you become an adult, then your daughter will become the next Medusa.” A pause ensued as her momma thought about something. “Regardless of the outcome, you will need to produce an heir. This queen hopes you realize that.”

“If you are telling this princess she needs to mate with a lamia and produce a pure lamia heir, then you already know what her response will be.”

“Yes, this queen is aware.” A smile appeared on her momma’s face, though it was a mixture of amused and resigned. “Do not worry, this queen has no intention of attempting to force you to mate with another lamia. However, we will have to take certain steps to ensure you produce strong lamia offspring.”

“That is something to think about in the future,” Lin said. “Not right now.”

“Yes, but this queen is telling you now so you do not forget. Anyway, follow this queen to the gardens. She would like to spend a bit more time with her daughter before giving her back to her husband.”

***

The party took place five days after it was announced. As we were in charge of preparing the food for the feast, myself, Kari, Fay, and Siv were not able to leave the kitchen right away. We’d spent the past several days teaching the maids how to create the dishes we made.

Like Aliya, the lamia maids loved the food we cooked for them. Eshe was a big fan of the stew. She enjoyed the taste of the goat milk mixed with the meat and vegetables. The other two maids liked the desert, baklava, which was Siv’s and Fay’s favorite of what we’d made.

Once we had prepared the initial meals, we let the maids under Eshe’s command take over, gathered the food we had currently prepared, and brought it out to where the festivities were already in full swing.

I had been invited to my fair share of parties. There were a lot of nobles who wanted to curry favor with me, if not because I was Kari Astralia’s husband, then because I was the leader of the Nevarian Braves. I declined many of the parties I was invited to, but it wasn’t like I could decline every invitation.

But while I had attended many a party, none of them were like the one I was attending now.

The first difference was that we were the only humans present. Everyone else in attendance was a lamia. While our group always stood out because of who we were, we never stood out because of what we were.

Everyone stared at our group as we set several large pots on a table that had been spread out next to a large podium made of stone. This place looked a lot like a town square. That said, there were no cobblestone roads and no buildings that looked like places to shop. Come to think of it, I didn’t know what kind of currency lamia used. Everyone on this continent used valis, but I had never seen a single valis since coming here.

Queen Medusa was already on the podium with her daughter and the six elders. Lin’s eyes lit up when she saw us. Once I had set the pot and plates I was carrying on the table, I waved at her and grinned when she waved back.

I was surprised to see Muhammad present, but I guess he was obligated to show up. He didn’t look very happy to be there.

“Everyone!” Queen Medusa’s voice rang out across the square. She raised her hands in a theatrical gesture as if praising the nine realms. “Today is a glorious day! This queen’s daughter has returned after years of being missing! Our heir has come back!”

“OOOOHH!!”

A loud cheer went up as everyone looked at Lin, who didn’t look at all like her arrogant self as she timidly waved at everyone.

“She must be embarrassed, standing up there without her ‘Big Sister.’” Fay looked at Kari with a teasing smile on her face.

Kari only puffed out her large chest. “Of course she isn’t comfortable without me. For all the confidence she displays with us, that girl simply isn’t used to being paraded in front of people without us. Remember the parade? She was even shy during that, and we were all with her.”

“I guess you bring up a good point,” Fay admitted. She was blushing. She probably didn’t expect to have Kari simply roll with her joke, though I felt she honestly should have.

Because we couldn’t leave Raul on his own, he was in the baby carrier on Fay’s back. The little one was wide awake. He seemed interested in looking at all the lamia present. Gurgles echoed from him as he reached out with his stubby hands.

Queen Medusa didn’t even look our way, so she probably hadn’t noticed our conversation. She surveyed the crowd with her arms still spread, then slowly brought them back down, a smile still on her face.

“This queen’s daughter, your princess, did not come alone. A young human named Eryk Veiger rescued her. It was thanks to this young man that our princess was able to survive.” Murmurs swept through the crowd as all eyes turned toward me, but Queen Medusa ignored them and continued. “During their time together, Lin grew closer and fell in love with this man, who harbors none of the hatred for lamia that humans of the Endless Desert have. She has given him the Ring of Marji, and they have been wed in holy matrimony.”

At this, the murmurs became full conversations. I couldn’t hear what anyone was saying. They were too far away and there were too many people talking to make out individual conversations, but I could tell that most of these people were confused and some even disapproved.

“This queen knows what you are thinking, but what’s done is done,” Queen Medusa said. “Lin has chosen a man she wishes to spend her entire life with, and even if this queen wanted to fight against her decision, she would not. Lin owes Eryk her life, and thus her life belongs to him anyway. This queen hopes all of you will support her decision. If nothing else, you should get to know the man she married and come to your own conclusions. That is also what this celebration is about.”

It was easy to see no one knew how to take this knowledge. Should they really support Lin’s decision to marry a human? Humans were the enemy! I could see that within the eyes of the lamia nearest me. However, that desire to hate me out of instinct conflicted with their need to obey their queen.

I didn’t know much about lamia culture, but I knew the queen was the monarch, the ultimate ruler, and the one who made all the decisions. The idea of disobeying her seemed anathema to these people.

I expected Muhammad to make a snide comment to undermine Queen Medusa’s authority, but he didn’t. He did have a smirk plastered on his face, though. Maybe he thought there was no need for him to say anything.

“Now then! This queen has said enough. It is time to eat!”

Queen Medusa clapped her hands, and we took our cue, lifting the lids off the pots and plates. Steam billowed from the food. A strong scent wafted from the food and spread through the town square, making the group nearest the table stop talking and take in a deep breath. Drool appeared on the lips of those present. Eyes glazed over. It was as if the scent had intoxicated them.

While this was just the first serving, there were many different types of food present. The main dish being served was simply racks of ribs that had been seasoned with brown sugar, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garling powder, onion powder, ground mustard, and cinnamon. It had a very strong scent and a bold flavor. We had grilled the ribs over an open fire. However, it wasn’t like that was the only dish being served.

There was also the stew Kari and I had made with goat milk as the base. It didn’t have as strong a scent as ribs. Normally, we probably wouldn’t have made this with ribs, but since there were a lot of mouths to feed and not enough ribs to go around, we figured some people might prefer this and fill their bellies on stew instead.

The last dish was a dessert and would not be served until everyone had their fill. That was the baklava, which had been made by Fay and Siv.

“Well?” Queen Medusa asked. “Why is everyone standing on ceremony? You are free to eat.”

Despite Queen Medusa’s words, the many lamia still looked hesitant. No one came up.

“Hmph. If you people are not going to eat, then this princess will.”

Lin slithered off the podium and came over to the table, grabbed a plate, held it out, and looked at me with a big smile.

“This princess wants her food now. Serve her up, Darling.”

“Hungry?”

I smiled as I put the racks of ribs on the plate, then took a bowl and filled it with stew. Lin was drooling as she watched me serve her. A loud rumble echoed from her stomach. She inhaled the scent of the food, the smile on her face growing.

“This princess did not get to eat your cooking yesterday.”

“And that’s why you look like you’re about to eat your own arm?”

“Don’t tease this princess. Hurry and give her your food.”

“All right. All right. Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

Overcome with joy, Lin pressed her lips against mine, then grabbed her plate and bowl and moved away.

Still nobody came up, but then Aliya wandered over to us and asked us to serve her some food. Perhaps it was because she was more well-known among the lamia community, but her actions seemed to have the desired effect. Once she left and began happily munching on her meal, the other lamia came up, sometimes just one and sometimes in groups of two or three.

Most of the people coming up to be served came to either me, Kari, or Fay. I guess because Siv was a dragon, these lamia were wary. Even though she did not like being around many people, she still looked a little distraught as no one came up to her. That was why I had her come over to me, and we served everyone together. The lamia still acted wary, but it seemed they weren’t willing to disrespect me for fear of accidentally insulting Queen Medusa.

There was not enough food in the first serving to feed everyone, but Eshe and her maids came out just as we were running low with another massive serving.

It took about two hours to finally serve everyone. Then we were able to serve ourselves. Once we had our food in hand, we traveled up the podium and ate with Queen Medusa.

“Everyone is enjoying your cooking,” the woman said. “This queen must admit, she has never tasted anything quite like this. It has a very bold flavor.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Darling’s food in the best!” Lin shouted her sentiments after she finished her first serving. “This princess is going to get seconds.”

“I didn’t cook the second serving.”

“Nevermind. This princess will remain here.”

After that declaration, Lin discarded her plate and slithered over until she was resting her head on my lap. I laughed as the girl nuzzled my crotch like she was asking me to pet her.

“You realize my hands are full.”

“Then this princess will feed you.”

She snatched the plate from my hands, placed it on her lap, and grabbed a set of ribs. Holding the ribs to my face, she said, “Say ‘ah,’ Darling.”

I sighed, but said, “ah.” and allowed the girl to place the ribs against my mouth. I wondered if she realized how messy her hands were getting. It would have been so much easier if she’d just let me eat myself.

“If this princess lets you eat yourself, you won’t be able to pet her head.”

“She brings up a good point,” Kari mumbled around a mouthful of stew.

“I want you to pet my head too,” Siv admitted.

Since I was being double-teamed now, I decided there was nothing to do but grin and bear it. That said, I was not interested in having Lin’s dirty hands get anywhere near my lap.

While Lin was feeding me, Fay finished her meal in a hurry and began breast feeding the anxious Raul. Our son had been making noises of complaint.

I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of Fay bearing her breasts where other men could see her, but no one seemed to be paying attention right now. Maybe they were too taken in with the food. Then again, maybe they were just used to seeing boobs since every lamia present except Lin was naked. I didn’t know.

Once I had finished eating, Lin and Siv placed their heads on my lap, one head for each thigh. Their large eyes as they looked at me made it impossible to resist. I placed my hands on their heads and ran my fingers through their hair.

My actions seemed to rouse the interest of the lamia around me. The strange gazes they sent my way informed me of the shock they felt. I didn’t think this would be enough to make their dislike toward humans disappear, but maybe they would be willing to give me and my wives a chance.

Everyone seemed to have their fill. The sun was going down, someone lit up a series of bonfires all around the square, and the lamia began to dance.

There was no rhyme or reason to their dancing, the movements did not follow any kind of rhythm. It was chaotic and free. Bodies moved to a chaotic rhythm as several lamia began beating on a series of drums.

Lin, seeing what was happening, leapt up and grabbed my hand.

“Come on, Darling! Dance with this princess!”

I smiled and was about to stand, but before she could pull me to my feet, a powerful Spiritual Pressure exploded around us. The many dancing lamia were sent to the ground. The rhythm from the drums stopped. No one screamed, but that was because they couldn’t scream, not because they didn’t want to.

Queen Medusa stood on her tail. Her golden eyes were narrowed in a fierce expression. Her teeth were bared. She looked furious.

“It seems we are under attack,” she announced.

“Who is it?” I asked, activating Spiritual Perception. “I am sensing quite a few presences. Ten of them are lamia, but there are around twenty or so humans. All of them have reached at least the Second State of Spiritualism.”

“This queen believes it is Jafar and his ilk,” Queen Medusa said with a low hiss. “They are lamia who were exiled from the city for committing heinous crimes… This queen should have just killed him, but there are so few of us…”

There were less than one thousand lamia in the Endless Desert, making them practically endangered. I could understand her reluctance to kill even one of her people no matter if they were a criminal or not.

At that moment, a scream went up near the back. A group of humans were darting swiftly between the crowd. They were dressed in pure black outfits that covered their entire bodies and had black cowls wrapped around their faces, so all anyone could see was their eyes.

Blades flashed, wind blades leapt from them and flew forward, cutting into flesh and severing bones. They weren’t the only ones attacking. A group of lamia had also appeared and began using their affinity for poison to create purple smoke that spread over the crowd. Screams of pain soon echoed everywhere.

“Lin! Use the earth to sense everyone attacking an immobilize them. Kari and Fay, you two will be our attackers. Siv, can you protect the lamia with your wind? Create shields around them!”

I spoke before Queen Medusa could even begin issuing orders to her own forces. The queen looked at me, blinking like she hadn’t heard what I said, but then she snapped back.

“Eryk, this queen is certain you are strong, but…”

“Do not concern yourself over this matter.” I gave the woman my most reassuring smile. “I know it might be hard to entrust the lives of your people to a couple of humans, but please trust us.” Once I said my piece, I paid her no more attention and began speaking to the girls. “Are you four ready?”

“Yes!” they said at the same time.

“Then let’s do this.”

Fay handed Raul off to me. The young baby seemed to understand something was happening because he began tearing up, but I tried my best to keep him occupied while the girls got ready. I booped him on the nose and made funny faces. That seemed to lighten his mood.

I more or less took a back seat as the girls got to back. Sure, I could have interfered, but that would have been overkill.

The first to act was Siv. A powerful wind blew through the square, infused with an impressive Spiritual Power that I could feel even without using Spiritual Perception. First, the poison fog that covered the square was blown away. Then the wind encased everyone present within a series of small barriers.

The attacking humans and lamia still tried to attack, unaware of what Siv had done since the wind barrier was invisible. A ripple of shock passed through them when, upon having their swords or Spiritual Techniques make contact with a person, they bounced off or were eradicated as if torn apart by something. Siv had added a rotation to her barriers. The rotation created something like an opposing force of cutting wind blades that slice through everything from weapons to Spiritual Techniques.

During that time, as the attackers were trying to recover from their shock, Lin came into contact with the earth and sank into the ground. Barely a second after she did, several tendrils made of sand latched onto the thirty something attackers. Screams of shock rang out.

“W-what is this?! I can’t move?!”

“It’s grabbing me?! Is it a demon beast?! How?!”

“C-can’t move! Why can’t I move?!”

“All right, you two,” I said, turning to Fay and Kari. “It’s your turn. Eradicate them.”

“Yes, sir.” Kari gave me a playful salute.

“Don’t kill all of them!” Medusa suddenly shouted. “This queen needs at least one of them alive so we can question them!”

“You heard the lady!” I said to the pair.

I’m pretty sure they heard me. They didn’t respond with words, however, and instead transformed into their respective elements.

Kari became a being made of pure light, a golden formation of light energy that made her look like a divine being instead of a human, though she still retained her human shape. She was so bright to look at many of the lamia looked away when they turned their heads to see what was going on.

Next to her, Fay had erupted into an intense flame. Her body still resembled a human, but she had turned into a brilliant blue and white flame with just a few hints of red and orange. Oddly enough, despite being a burning inferno, no heat emitted from her body. Even the ground she stood on remained pristine.

The two of them, immediately after transforming into their respective elements, disappeared--to the average eye at least.

Because they were no longer confined to a human form, the pair had transcended the limits of a human and were able to move far more quickly. Kari was the faster of the two. Light traveled at speeds that far exceeded fire, and she used that to her advantage, zipping around the battlefield and killing all the humans who attacked the celebration.

While she was a lot slower, Fay made up for her lack of speed with pure firepower. Every punch blasted a hole clean through an attacking lamia. One lamia’s body was completely incinerated, another had their head blown off, and one was chopped in half when Fay’s left arm turned into a flaming sword as she swung it. The wound was cauterized, but the lamia was still two separate halves. He died long before his body hit the ground.

I don’t think the battle lasted more than maybe sixty seconds. Once all of the enemies were dead, lying in pools of their own blood or turned into burnt out husks, Lin, Kari, and Fay returned to their original forms. While Lin and Kari went back onto the podium, Fay grabbed one of the lamia she’d fought and dragged him up to us.

He was a really muscular lamia--far more muscular than any I’d seen before. He also had a nasty scar going down one side of his face. The eye the scar passed through was milky white, so he was probably blind in that eye.

Currently, said lamia was shaking hard, his face drained of blood. It looked like he was trying not to piss himself.

“This one is the strongest attacker. I think he is the leader, so I left him alive.” Fay dropped him in front of the stunned Queen Medusa, who didn’t look like she knew what to do just then.I bet she was shocked by how fast these four had taken out a group of thirty Spiritualists. “I figured he would have most of the answers you seek.”

“I-Indeed, he should.” Queen Medusa came back to herself, coughed into her hand, and looked at our group. “T-thank you. This queen is very grateful.”

“It was no trouble,” Kari said with a smile.

“Er… yes.”

“While Queen Medusa questions this guy, I’m going to heal everyone who is injured,” I said.

“Sounds good,” Kari agreed.

“We’ll leave that to you,” Fay added.

“You go, Darling.”

“Do you need help?”

I shook my head at Siv’s question. “I’m fine. You girls take a break or something.”

I hopped off the podium and wandered up to the first person I saw who was injured. They were lying on the ground, holding the stump where their arm used to be. I looked around and saw the arm lying a meter from their feet. Grabbing it, I placed the arm against the bleeding stump, channeled water through it, and reattached the arm, nerve endings and all. It happened so fast it seemed like only an instant had passed.

As the lamia was staring at his healed arm in shock, I was already moving, healing each injured lamia I came across one by one. The party was over, the sun had gone down, but it looked like none of us would be getting any sleep tonight.