WIEDERGEBURT Act III: Chapter 54

“Here, take this Blood Clotting Pill and rest. You need it to replenish your strength.”

Feinrea placed a small red pill into the hand of a young woman decked out in the leather armor of a Nevarian Spiritualist, though her armor was dinged and scratched. The young woman was sitting the rampart wall, a large hole in her shoulder, which gushed blood like a fountain. Feinrea wanted to wrinkle her nose at the intense scent of blood, but she held back for the woman’s sake.

“T-thank you.”

The woman popped the pill into her mouth, and Feinrea finally got to see first hand how effective Eryk’s pills were. Barely a second had passed since the pill was consumed, but the blood flowing from the woman’s shoulder had already begun slowing down. It didn’t stop entirely. That said, it was little more than a trickle now.

“That should keep you from bleeding to death,” Feinrea said as she stood up. “A water affinity specialist will be coming by soon to heal your injury. Just rest for now.”

“I will. Thank you again, Lady Feinrea.”

Feinrea gave the woman an awkward smile. She still wasn’t used to people adding “Lady” to her name.

Glancing around the rampart, Feinrea couldn’t help but feel shocked as she stared at the hundreds of Demon Beast corpses littering the ground. All of the Demon Beasts were Pteranodons. Mixed among the corpses were several humans and strange creatures with putrid green skin. Those must have been the Sekbeists they had learned about recently.

The Nevarian Spiritualists were currently cleaning up the corpses. Many of them were working to separate the Demon Beasts and Sekbeists from the humans. The Sekbeists would likely be disposed of by burning. However, the Pteranodons had important parts that could be salvaged such as their skin, organs, and monster core. The humans who died would be given a Nevarian Funeral service.

Among the Nevarian Spiritualists were members of her Alchemist Association, who were helping by delivering alchemy pills to those who needed them. There were a lot of injured and only a few water affinity Spiritualists. Alchemy pills couldn’t heal wounds completely unless they were extremely advanced (which she didn’t have on hand), but they could clot blood, numb pain, and recover Spiritual Power. It would help the injured until someone with a water affinity could heal them.

While walking among the people, she looked at those who were injured. Some were just bleeding from head wounds, but there were a few that had far more serious injuries, like the young man lying on the ground, his arm missing as a Spiritualist healed the wound. Of course, a wound like that could not be healed completely. All they did was close the skin and damaged arteries. He would have to live with having a stump for the rest of his life. There were also people missing legs, people with deep wounds traveling across their chest and flowing with blood. All manner of injuries were present.

Fortunately, most of the people who had survived the battle would live thanks to the alchemy pills her association was providing.

As Feinrea walked through the area where the battle had taken place, she found Catherina and Stelys speaking about something together. Seeing the redhead safe caused the small tightness in her chest to loosen. She hadn’t even realized it was there until this moment, when it disappeared and let her breath more easily again.

“Stelys!” Feinrea called out to the man as she walked over.

“Feinrea?” Stelys blinked. “I did not realize you were here.”

“I decided to come along with my people to help out where I could.” She frowned at the blood dripping down his forehead. “You’re injured.”

At the mention of his injury, Stelys reached up and touched his forehead, retracting his finger to see that it had indeed come away slick with blood. The viscous fluid coating his hand was quickly wiped off when Feinrea used a handkerchief she’d pulled from a small pouch at her waist.

“I hadn’t realized I was injured,” Stelys muttered. “I guess the adrenaline hasn’t worn off yet.”

“That, and your hair is already pretty red,” Catherina said with a smile. “You can’t really tell that you’re bleeding unless you look closely.”

“I guess that’s true,” Stelys agreed.

“Can you two please stop joking around like that,” Feinrea scolded them. “Honestly, even if you are saying that in jest, you shouldn’t be so callous about your injuries.”

Catherina shrugged. “Getting hurt is a part of being a Spiritualist, and he received this injury while in the line of duty, defending Nevaria against a vile threat. Rather than be worried for him, you should be honoring him.”

“I’ll honor him by scolding him,” Feinrea snapped.

“Oh, my.” Catherina raised a hand to her mouth and giggled. “Someone is worried, I see.”

Feinrea couldn’t say anything against her words, which caused her cheeks to heat up. She felt like this woman was calling her out for something. However, Feinrea didn’t want to give Catherina the satisfaction of seeing her blush, so she turned her head to look away. This didn’t have the effect she had hoped it would. Instead, it only seemed to make Catherina giggle more.

In an effort to get her mind off the woman’s words and response, she asked, “Is the battle over?”

“It’s over here, at least,” Catherina answered. As the commanding officer for this section of Nevaria’s wall, she knew more than Stelys and Feinrea. “The north and east have also been secured, though I hear there are still some Pteranodons and Sekbeists fighting in the south. That said, this task force was small. They couldn’t do anything more than harass us. I’m sure it will only be a matter of time before they are defeated everywhere else.”

“I see,” Feinrea said for lack of anything better to say.

“The real battle is happening beyond Demon Beast Gate.”

As Catherina said this, she looked over toward where the Demon Beast Gate would be located. Feinrea also looked in that direction, even though she knew she wouldn’t be able to see it. Beyond that gate, Eryk Veiger and his women were locked in a fierce struggle with the true force arrayed against them.

“I hope my daughter and the others are okay,” Stelys said at last.

“Me too,” Catherina said.

Feinrea didn’t say anything, but she also hoped everyone who was fighting right now would make it back home… even though she knew such thoughts were foolish and naive.

***

Kari did not know why she felt so cold, but the moment the man leading the army of Sekbeists and Demon Beasts appeared, she felt as if her entire body had been dropped into a bath filled with ice. Her blood, her bones, her everything was filled with a frigid chill that froze her in place. And she wasn’t the only one.

Lin and Fay, Marko and Catalyna, Earland and Geirolf and Mykkel… everyone had ceased fighting the moment this man appeared. It was like he radiated some kind of vile power that kept them all from moving. Even as she continued to stare into his bloody eyes, Kari thought she could see black miasma flowing off his body.

The only ones who weren’t frozen solid were the four Spiritualists who had reached the Third State of Spiritualism: Herleif, Grimm, Sigrid, and her mother. They alone stood before this monster in human’s skin.

“Oooh. I’m sensing a real powerful aura coming from this guy,” Sigrid said with a grin.

“Hmm… this man has definitely reached the Third State of Spiritualism,” Grimm Kriger said with a frown. “Though his Spiritual Aura is very… odd. I can’t put my finger on it, but there is definitely something unusual about this man.”

The man in question raised his hand. The army of Demon Beasts and Sekbeists behind him suddenly stopped moving. He stepped forward alone. Perhaps this was a sign that he wanted to fight on his own, or maybe he was telling them to wait for whatever reason.

Stepping in front of everyone else, Empress Hilda narrowed her eyes as she glared at the man. Her posture radiated the authority of an empress.

“Who are you? Why have you sided with the Sekbeists?”

These questions did not go answered. The man stared at her as an increasingly disturbing smile split his face. It was the kind of smile Kari would expect to find on a serial killer.

“Kill…” the man muttered.

“Excuse me?” Empress Hilda narrowed her eyes.

“Kill… kill! Kill! Kill! Kill kill kill killkillmkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillmkillkillkillkillkillkillmkillkillkill!”

The man spoke so rapidly that his words merged together. As he continued speaking in this deranged manner, dark and vile Spiritual Power erupted from his body, engulfing him in darkness. Kari didn’t understand what was happening. The hairs on her arms were prickling. However, she understood that something bad was about to happen.

Just as she suspected, the darkness suddenly ceased writhing, but it didn’t disappear. It covered the man from head to toe. He looked like he had merged with the darkness, proving that Herleif’s belief that he’d reached the Third State of Spiritualism was right on the money. However, that wasn’t all that happened.

Kari only had a single moment, a tiny instant where a bad premonition suddenly entered her mind, to realize the danger they were in. Reacting to it, she released her Spiritual Aura. Light exploded from her body. It chased away all the shadows near her, which included the ones around Lin, Fay, Siv, Catalyna, Marko, Geirolf, Mykkel, and Earland. However, there were many others who were not under her light’s influence.

And they suffered from her.

A horrified gasp her escaped her lips as the shadows beneath the feet of numerous Spiritualists suddenly shot from the ground and impaled the person they were underneath. Many people died instantly. Their bodies went limp as they were lifted off the ground by the shadow stakes jutting through their backs and out their chests.

Not everyone died at least. A few of the more experienced Spiritualists were able to avoid death, though even they suffered injuries. Only the people near Kari and Empress Hilda survived unharmed.

“Everybody move back!” Empress Hilda commanded. “This battle is far beyond what any of you can hope to fight.”

Everyone heeded her words. Kari moved back with Lin, Fay, Catalyna, and the others, keeping the man who had just killed what must have been a hundred people in less than a split second in her sights. He didn’t seem to be paying attention to her. In fact, he didn’t seem to be paying attention to much of anything.

“What do you think… is going on with that man?” asked Catalyna.

“I do not know, but I don’t think he’s sane.” Kari bit her lip. “Those are not the eyes of a man who possesses logic and reasoning. It’s like his very will has been eroded and all that’s left is an instinct… a single, unstoppable desire.”

Geirolf gulped. “What desire is that?”

“It’s the desire to kill,” the answer did not come from Kari, but from Lin, who was staring hard at the man before them. “That man’s killing intent is the purest this princess has ever felt. No one else she knows has ever been able to release such an unadulterated killing intent before. It’s like he’s not even human.”

As those words sank in, Kari turned back to look at her mother.

She had a very bad feeling about this.

***

“Sigrid,” Hilda called to the woman by her side. “How well can you control the Third State of Spiritualism?”

“Well, I did just reach it recently,” Sigrid admitted. “But do not worry. I might have only just reached it, but thanks to my training, I pretty much have full control over the Third State.”

“Is that so? Then I shall be relying on you to back me up.”

“Heh. You can count on me.”

Hilda did not trust Sigrid in the least, but she was sure this woman also understood the threat posed by this man, so she should at least be able to count on her to fight with all her strength.

She turned back to the man. He hadn’t moved from that spot, but his body was covered in darkness. He had obviously entered the Third State of Spiritualism. She wondered why he wasn’t moving. Was he waiting for something? Hilda did not know why, but she felt incredibly wary about attacking this man. Something about him just made her body feel cold.

“Herleif. Grimm. I shall also be relying on you for support,” Hilda said.

“I will support you to the fullest,” Herleif said.

Grimm sighed. “I will also do my best to help you.”

“I appreciate that.” Hilda narrowed her eyes. “Then let’s go.”

Hilda unleashed her Spiritual Aura, though she quickly sucked it back in, entering the Second State of Spiritualism. Gnashing her teeth together behind closed lips, she transformed the raw Spiritual Power into the light element. Her body suddenly felt lighter. The world around her became brighter. Everything was brought into startling focus. She could make out the individual cracks on the ground, see the bodies littering Demon Beast Pass in greater detail than before, and when she looked at the man she was about to fight, she realized that the darkness covering his body looked like a writhing mass of black tentacles and not just miasma.

Beside her, Herleif and Grimm had also entered the Third State of Spiritualism. Herleif had transformed into swirling eddies of wind, while Grimm now looked like a being composed entirely of yellow lightning.

It had been a long time since she’d seen Herleif when he entered the Third State of Spiritualism. His body seemed almost like it wasn’t there at all. The only reason she could see him was thanks to the distortions in the air, which signified his presence. Whenever he moved, the air would become distorted, as if she was looking at something through imperfect glass.

Barely a second after Hilda entered the Third State of Spiritualism, turning into a being of pure golden light, Sigrid entered that state as well. Her body transformed into a human fireball. The ground around her heated up, turning a blistering shade of red and orange as it melted.

Talking while in the Third State of Spiritualism was very hard, so Hilda did not bother speaking. She raced toward the man covered in darkness. The other three followed behind her.

She reached the man in less time than it took to blink. Thrusting out her hand, which had morphed into a giant javelin, she tried to impale him through the chest. Her javelin slammed into his chest with enough force to cause a shock wave. However, the man did not budge. Hilda’s eyes widened when she realized he hadn’t moved an inch, and before she could even pull away, the darkness around her javelin surged forward and covered the appendage she had used to try and kill him.

It’s eating away at my element!

Hilda’s eyes widened as she tried to pull back, but the darkness wouldn’t let her. Just before it could consume more of the light element, Herleif and Sigrid launched simultaneous attacks at him, one a massive fireball and the other a wall of wind, which combined to create an even larger attack that looked like a wave of pure white flames. The flames engulfed the dark figure. While fire was not of the light element, it did create light. The shadows around Hilda’s arm receded, allowing her to pull back.

She flashed several meters away from the man she had tried to attack. In that same moment, Grimm appeared on their enemy’s left, a spear of lightning held in his hand. A loud crackling sound like thunder echoed across Demon Beast Pass as he lobbed the spear. It flew forward and struck the man in the side—or so it should have. What happened instead was the darkness burst forward like a living entity. A wide maw appeared, looking for all the world like a mouth, and the spear flew into it, the mouth closed and returned back to the man.

Did his element just eat lightning?!

Hilda had no time to ponder what she’d seen when the mass of darkness suddenly bulged, several hundred tendrils shooting out and threatening to impale her. Remembering what happened when she tried to attack him, Hilda knew better than to let them hit her, so she exploded into light particles and disappeared seconds before a dozen tendrils pierced the spot where she’d been standing. As she reappeared several meters away, she glanced at the spot as the tendrils left. Her eyes widened.

What? What the…?

Several sections of the ground were gone. The holes that had been punched through the ground were completely smooth too. It was like those black tendrils had erased the ground instead of peircing it. She couldn’t quite understand how that worked, but she knew that what this darkness did was more than just destroy. It was like… yes, it was like it was eating whatever it touched.

Herleif, Grimm, and Sigrid had also managed to avoid being hit by those tendrils. They appeared around this powerful being layered in darkness and prepared their attacks. A large ball of fire appeared over Sigrid’s head, Herleif waved his hand and created a wave of wind that swept over the dark being, and Grimm generated a large sphere of sparking lightning that he tossed. At that moment, Sigrid threw her fireball, which struck at the same time as Grimm’s lightning sphere.  

Fire and lightning exploded everywhere, sending a powerful wave of compressed energy rippling through Demon Beast Pass. The ground around them collapsed. Massive cracks spread out from the center of impact, traveling up the mountainside and causing the very earth to rumble. Arcs of pale lightning slammed into the cliffside several times, gouging out large chunks of rock. For a moment, Hilda worried if the cliffs on either side would collapse, but they miraculously held together.

When the explosion died down, Hilda stared into the rising cloud of smoke, which quickly cleared to reveal the entire ground had turned into boiling red magma. Steam rose from the surface. The magma bubbled and popped. Hilda could not feel the heat while she was transformed into an element like this, but she could well imagine how hot it was.

The man they had been targeting was gone.

Did they win?

This thought had barely crossed her mind when, quite suddenly, all the shadows around them writhed and rose into the air. Her eyes widened as the shadows blocked out the sun. What was this?! Even if this man had reached the Third State of Spiritualism, there was no way he should be able to control so many shadows at once! Even she could not control light in its raw form! She could only use the light her body generated while she was in this state.

Hilda had no time to think about it. The shadows descended, threatening to engulf everyone, and so she unleashed her Spiritual Power and exploded with light. Lances of golden light speared through the darkness. However, each time a hole appeared, the darkness would quickly cover it again. She sent lance after lance through this enclosing wall, trying her best to rip it apart, but it was like the darkness was limitless.

As a last act of desperation, Hilda released all of her Spiritual Power in a single explosion. The light around her spread out like a miniature star and chased the darkness away. However, doing so had exhausted all of her Spiritual Power. Hilda quickly reverted back to her normal human form, falling onto her hands and knees as she sucked in huge lungfuls of air. Her body broke out in sweat. Her chest ached. She felt an exhaustion deep within her bones that she had never felt before.

So this is the consequence of using all my Spiritual Power… how maddening.

However, even if she had been forced to use all of her Spiritual Power, the darkness that had threatened to wash over everyone was gone. Herleif, Grimm, Sigrid, and everyone else were still present, still save. She felt relief wash over her when she saw her daughter and the others unharmed.

It was a short-lived relief.

Hilda’s eyes widened when the ground several meters from her bulged with shadows. Then the shadows around everyone else began moving as well, toward the bulge as though it was sucking up all the darkness. The shadows writhed and soon transformed into the shape of a human.

How… how much Spiritual Power does this person have?!

The figure soon began walking toward her with slow, meticulous steps, almost like it was enjoying the act of toying with her. It didn’t get far before Herleif and Grimm stepped in front of her. Grimm transformed into a bolt of lightning as he streaked toward their enemy. He was so fast that Hilda could barely even see him.

He was not fast enough.

A wall of darkness appeared in front of Grimm, which he slammed into but couldn’t break through. Had it been any other substance, he would have surely pierced it, but this dark wall did not appear to have even been scratched. Then, before Grimm could retreat, several spears of darkness shot from underneath him and punched through his body. This normally wouldn’t have done anything. His body was made of lightning. However, it was like the darkness had the ability to drain the Spiritual Power of people. Grimm soon turned back into a human, and the dozens of spears remained buried deeply in his body.

One of them had pierced his chest right where his heart should be.

The spears tossed the limp body away as the wall of darkness disappeared. Grief surged through Hilda. She could already tell that Grimm was dead. While she was not close to the man anymore, she did remember him coming to the palace many times to hold contests with Herleif. She had become so used to seeing him at the palace that she wouldn’t even bat an eye if he randomly showed up. Now he was dead. He was gone and there was nothing she could do to change that.

At that moment, Herleif and Sigrid launched a powerful combination attack. A crescent blade of fire flew from Sigrid as Herleif launched a wind blade. The two attacks slammed into each other. Heat waves distorted the air as the fire blade turned blue seconds before it cut into the dark being.

It looked at first like their attack had worked, but before anyone had time to celebrate, the two halves bulged around the area they had been cut. Tendrils of darkness shot out and connected, then pulled the separated halves back. The body of the dark being had reconnected. It was like the attack had never happened.

Before either of them could express shock, a small sphere appeared over the head of the dark being. It didn’t look like much, not at first, but then it flew forward and struck Sigrid in the side, reducing the entire left half of her body to nothing. It was just like with the ground. This darkness had completely erased her body.

Sigrid was fortunate that she had entered the Third State of Spiritualism. Her body was composed of fire instead of flesh, blood, and bone, and thus she was able to reform it. However, several more spheres flew forward and struck her and Herleif before they could move away. Holes appeared within their elemental bodies over and over again. They reformed quickly, but Hilda knew it was only a matter of time before they ran out of Spiritual Power, and just like she thought, barely seconds later, the two were back to being creatures of flesh and blood.

While it didn’t look like they were injured, the two Spiritualists were in a sorry state. Sweat covered their bodies as they laid on the ground. They weren’t moving. Hilda could tell they were alive, but only because their shoulders were rising and falling to show they were still breathing. However, more dark spheres were coming their way. If she didn’t do something, they would die.

With the last of her power, Hilda created a wall of light, grimacing as the remainder of her Spiritual Power was drained from her body. She felt like a wet rag being rung dry. Her body felt like it was shriveling up. However, the wall of light she created did its job. The dark spheres crashed into the light, and while the light was eaten by the darkness, the darkness was similarly eaten by her light. Both elements disappeared as they mutually consumed each other.

Spots appeared in Hilda’s vision as dizziness suddenly overtook her. She felt light-headed. The world around her suddenly swayed. No, she was the one swaying. Hilda only realized this after she fell onto her back and found herself staring at the sky. With the last of her strength, she turned her head and looked at Kari and Valence, standing several dozen meters away and staring at her in shock.