WIEDERGEBURT Act III: Chapter 50

“There’s movement in the distance,” Ingrid said suddenly, snapping everyone into the present.

Her words made me look up from the ground, which I had been silently staring at in contemplation, to see that, indeed, there was something moving in the distance. Several somethings.

The Pteranodon Valley was large. According to the maps, it spanned about 50 kilometers in length and .2 kilometers in width. It was much longer than it was wide.

Narrowing my eyes, I channeled lightning into them so I could enhance my vision. Everything snapped into sharp focus. The world around me became crystal clear. My vision was so good that I could even see objects far in the distance with extreme clarity, which included the army of Demon Beasts and Sekbeists.

Just like I had seen last time, the army was being led by a human with blond hair, who I now realized possessed the same blood red eyes as the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain. Not only were they a deep crimson, but the pupils were completely surrounded by blackness. Furthermore, maybe it was just me, but it looked like the man had seen our three groups already. He looked at the mountain where Kari, Fay, Catalyna, and Hansel were, then cast his gaze at the other side where Bjark, Geirolf, Marko, and Earland had been stationed.

Finally, he looked at me. Our eyes met. Even from this distance, he had somehow managed to spot me.

I shivered.

“Ready the crossbows,” I ordered everyone.

The sound of people loading bolts into crossbows, of strings being pulled back, echoed in the air. I grabbed a bolt of my own. Placing it on my crossbow, I drew the bowstring back, locked the bolt in place, and prepared to fire.

“Take aim,” I gave the command.

Lin, Ingrid, Mykkel, and I aimed our crossbows. We weren’t the only ones. Everyone had taken aim. They were all primed and ready.

“Do not fire until I give the signal,” I instructed.

The army was coming closer to us now, but they were still further out. Just as Siv had told me, their flying unit had already been dispatched. I didn’t know if they were planning to attack from a different route, if they attacked one of the battalions stationed outside of Neveria, or if they had another plan that I couldn’t predict, but all that mattered right now was dealing as much damage to this enemy as I could.

Their marching formation was a standard one. The Grunts were being led by Elites riding on Saber-Toothed Tigers, which stood at the front of the army, and in the back were the Greater Behemoths and Greater Acromantula. Now that they were out in the open like this, I counted three Greater Behemoths and four Greater Acromantula.

We had to kill at least a few of those here.

I raised my left hand, eyes narrowed as I continued observing the marching army.

A thick tension filled the air. It was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. Even back when I was a member of Brave Vesperia and fighting against the Sekbeists alongside Erica and Tungsten, I’d not felt this incredible sense of tension. I felt like a string being drawn so taut I was liable to snap. Even so, I kept my breathing calm and composed as I waited until the first of the Greater Behemoths had stepped into our trap.

The first ones to fire was not my group, which was located further away from the enemy army. It was the groups belonging to Kari and Earland respectively. They were located on either side of the valley. Bolts fired from above landed on the ground. Each bolt was glowing vibrantly as the Rune Array on their surfaces activated, granting them not only increased speed and power, but providing the spark needed to ignite the oils underneath the invading army’s feet.

The arrows struck the ground. Numerous powerful explosions tore through the ground in the middle of the army, disrupting their formation and creating a cacophony of noise. The shrieks of pain were completely drowned out by the incredibly loud roar of multiple detonations.

“FIRE!”

I chopped my arm down. That was the signal. All at once, several loud twangs rang out around me as everyone fired their crossbows. The bolts were released, sailing forward far more quickly than any bow and arrow could achieve without the aid of Runes, reaching the incredible distance between us and our target—not the Demon Beasts, but the ground beneath their feet.

Several of the bolts did not hit their target, with some striking the Demon Beasts or Sekbeists, while others just missed entirely. However, mine and a few others landed on their marks.

Explosion after explosion suddenly ripped through the air. Each blast sent plumes of fire, smoke, and bodies into the sky. Several of the explosions happened just as one of the Greater Behemoths was stepping on the ground. The fire struck the Demon Beast’s left leg with enough force that a large chunk of flesh was gouged out. The Greater Behemot unleashed a pained roar as it stumbled, then tripped. It fell to the ground. I listened to the massive rumble as the Greater Behemoth landed on several hundred grunts, crushing them flat. The Sekbeist that had been situated on the gondola situated on top of the Greater Behemoth were also thrown off.

“Fire again!” I commanded.

More arrows flew from crossbows as my group fired without relent. Sometimes we missed. Sometimes we hit. Each target struck brought about a new explosion that destroyed dozens of Grunts and even injured a few of the more powerful Demon Beasts.

One of the Greater Acromantula was above a trap when it lit up with a massive plume of fire, lifting the creature off the ground tearing into its body, burning away even that tough fur it was so proud of. The Demon Beast thrashed in pain from the attack. It flailed its legs, sweeping several marching Grunts off their feet. This forced the Sekbeists to kill it themselves.

“I think that is enough for now,” I said to myself, then turned my head to bark orders at the others. “Everyone begin to withdraw! We’re moving out!”

“Darling!” Lin suddenly interrupted me. “Something is happening over where Big Sister and Fay are!”

“How can you tell?” I asked.

“This princess can feel it in the earth,” Lin tried to explain. “It’s hard to explain, but this princess can feel the changes in the earth. Right now, there is a lot of frantic movement happening where Big Sister and Fay are.”

“Damn it.” I took a short breath and quickly issued new orders. “I want all of you to retreat. I’ll go and support the teams with Kari, Fay, Hansel, and Catalyna. The rest of you begin retreating back to Nevaria. Do not stop for any reason.”

Lin looked like she wanted to argue with me, but I think she understood that there was nothing she could do. Kari and Fay’s position was too far for her to traverse in any short amount of time. If something was happening, then she would arrive to late.

“This princess is expecting all three of you to come back home,” Lin said. “You hear this princess? Come back home with Big Sister and Fay.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure nothing happens to any of us,” I said to Lin before turning my attention to the place on the cliffs where Kari and Fay were. I couldn’t quite see them because they were hidden behind a rocky outcropping. However, through the gaps in the rocks, I could make out what appeared to be several Sekbeists dancing through the shadows.

With my eyes narrowed, I disappeared within a Flash Step.

***

Kari was firing her crossbow with the others when the screams first echoed behind her. Whirling around, she found several of her troops lying dead in puddles of blood, their heads cleanly removed from their shoulders. Fay, who stood beside her and had reacted even more swiftly, gasped in shock.

“What the—how did they die?!” she asked.

Kari would have answered Fay, but she didn’t need to. Seconds after the woman screamed, a creature emerged from the shadows. Puke green skin. Two slits for a nose. No eyebrows but an incredibly thick brow ridge. It was a Sekbeist.

This particular Sekbeist was one of the Shamans. He emerged from the shadows, wielding a pair of scimitars, which he swung with expert precision. Every swing cut through a neck. Blood flowed like an endless river. Most of the attacks were so swift and clean that the Spiritualists died before they even knew what hit them, but there were a few unfortunate victims who weren’t lucky enough to get a painless death.

One Spiritualist had reacted to the Sekbeist’s presence, leaping back to avoid the attack, but he wasn’t fast enough and the scimitar carved into his artery instead. A gurgled rasp of pain escaped the man’s mouth. He dropped his crossbow and held a hand to his neck, stumbling backward for several unsteady steps before falling onto his backside and then going limp.

It wasn’t just one Sekbeist Shaman attacking them. There were several more. They moved from shadow to shadow at a speed greater than what most of the Spiritualists could keep up with. Only a few had even managed to activate their Spiritual Auras, but those auras could do nothing in the face of the Sekbeist’s blades, covered in darkness. The swords cut through the Spiritual Auras like they were parchment. Arcs of blood flew through the air and splattered against the ground.

Once Kari saw what they were up against, she didn’t hesitate. Unleashing her Spiritual Aura, she created a massive blaze of powerful light that illuminated the entire area and burned away the shadows.

The Shamans screeched at the unexpected light attack. During this time, Fay recovered from her shock and used the Flash Step. She appeared in front of one Shaman who had covered his eyes. Her fist was tucked into her torso, but then she thrust it forward, adding a spin to her attack, and punched the Sekbeist in the chest. A gout of flame erupted from her fist and pulverized the Sekbeist’s chest. The creature was lifted into the air and crashed onto the ground.

It didn’t get up.

Kari kept up her Spiritual Aura, pouring out all the Spiritual Power she could to negate the Sekbeist’s Shadow Walking ability. Fay used this to her advantage.

Her next opponent had managed to recover from being blinded. He swung a long sword at Fay, but she merely caught the weapon on the gauntlet of her left hand, pushed it aside, and slammed her other fist into the Sekbeist’s face. A loud crunch echoed around the battlefield, followed by an explosion as Fay activated the Runes on her gauntlet.

The Sekbeist’s head exploded, turning to ash and dust that scattered on the breeze.

Hanzel and Catalyna had also recovered from their shock by this point. Catalyna swung her gigantic claymore around like it was a feather. The jagged edges tore into a Sekbeist, lightning sparking along the blade as the enemy’s torso was removed from his legs. The two separate halves flew apart and hit the ground with meaty thuds.

Meanwhile, the brunette Hanzel leapt onto a Sekbeist’s shoulder, driving a pair of dirks into Sekbeist’s neck. An agonized and enraged roar rang out as blood spurted from the wounds. The Sekbeist dropped his weapon and tried to grab Hanzel, but he proved to be slippery when he swung his body around the creature’s front, then stabbed his enemy in the chest. The Sekbeist Shaman died with a shudder, falling back and striking the ground.

This was the point where Eryk appeared before them. He looked like he was ready for a fight, but when he saw the Sekbeist corpses littering the ground, his body relaxed.

“Are you all okay?” he asked.

“We lost several people,” Catalyna said as Kari walked over to Eryk alongside Fay. “It looks like ten of us died. However, we also took out the Sekbeist who attacked, so…”

Eryk grimaced when he heard about the deaths, but he quickly moved on. She understood. He knew better than anyone that they couldn’t afford to dwell on those who died right now.

“We’re retreating back to Nevaria. It’s time to initiate the next phase of our plan. I want everybody to beat a hasty retreat,” he said.

“We’re on it,” Catalyna said before turning to everyone. “You heard the commander! Let’s move it, people!”

With Eryk in the lead, everyone began to quickly trot toward the Pteranodon Valley entrance. Eryk wore a grim expression as they moved. She didn’t know exactly what he was thinking, but she could take several guesses. He was probably blaming himself for not foreseeing something like this happening. She wanted to say something reassuring, but she knew, like him, that now was not the time.

As they reached the entrance, Kari looked at the Pteranodon Valley, which was littered with corpse. However, the corpses were but a small portion of what covered the ground. The army they had set those traps for continued marching onward.

The man leading the army looked as unperturbed now as he had before this small skirmish began.

***

Siv flapped her wings as she flew swiftly toward a section of the forest that had been cleared out. She stared at the ground, looking for the telltale sign of human life. The air whistled around her ears, the wind pushed against her face, but her eyes didn’t water like a human’s would have.

She soon discovered where humans had set up their base, which looked similar to the one Eryk had been using, with tents and campfires all over. Humans were milling about like they didn’t have a care in the world. Some were chatting around the campfire while they ate, but others looked like they were sleeping on the grass.

As she set down on the ground, many people pointed and stared at her. Siv froze. Those stares felt like they were penetrating her very soul. She wanted to move. She had something she needed to do, and yet, the moment these people began staring, any and all thoughts except fear fled her mind.

Just as her body was about to begin uncontrollably shaking, someone stepped in front of her—the silver-haired man who Eryk called Dante. His gleaming silver armor clicked together as he walked up to her. She found herself staring at his eyes, which gazed right back with an amused and lazy demeanor.

“Siv, right?” Dante asked. Siv, whose tongue was still tied, could only nod. “Man, seeing you fly like this is pretty in-freaking-credible. It kinda makes me wish I had wings, but I imagine having those makes it harder to sleep.”

Siv didn’t say anything.

“Was there something you needed?” asked Dante. “You’re here because you had an important message to deliver to me, right?”

An important message? Did she have a message to give this man? Siv restarted her brain and tried to get past her fear of anyone who wasn’t Eryk, Kari, Fay, or Lin so she could remember what she had come all this way for.

“Flying Demon Beasts. Traveling west,” Siv said.

Her words were stilted still, but Dante seemed to understand what she was saying. He narrowed his eyes, and while it didn’t look like he was glaring at her, she still wanted to run and hide behind Eryk. She wished he was with her just then. Being with Eryk made her feel safe in ways she hadn’t felt for a long time.

“I see. So they traveled west, yet we didn’t see them come this way, which means they probably headed for Nevaria.” Dante didn’t pause after coming to this conclusion, the same one Eryk had, and turned around to address the many Spiritualists. “Everyone! It seems a flying unit of Demon Beasts have decided to invade Nevaria ahead of their brethren! Gather your weapons! Leave the tents here! We’re heading back to Nevaria!”

Everyone began rushing around in chaotic order. It seemed so hectic as people ran into tents, smothered fires, and began putting on their armor.

Unlike the many different armors worn by Eryk’s group, these people all had the same armor, leather armor made from Demon Beast hide. Only a few had different armor. There was a woman with a square jaw and mannish face, and another man with messy blond hair who both wore silver armor similar to but slightly less decorative than Dante’s. Siv wondered why these people’s armor was so uniform while Eryk’s weren’t.

Those thoughts fled when something massive burst out from the trees. Screams of shock and panic rose into the air, but several of them were cut off when the giant object that had appeared crushed them beneath it. Siv’s eyes widened as she realized that what had appeared wasn’t an object.

It was a giant snake.

Covered in black scales that glistened in the light, the Demon Beast was even longer than Siv when she transformed into a Dragon. The gigantic head at the front of the snake hissed. A row of razer sharp teeth about half the size of an adult human revealed themselves as it opened its mouth and chomped down on someone unfortunate enough to be in its way. Its long, sinuous body tore through the camp, slamming into people with its tail.

Several humans went flying, their armor and bodies broken before they even hit the ground. The rest of the humans tried to quickly put distance between them. This turned out to be a mistake when the creature turned its head and looked at them with sickly green eyes. The Spiritualists who caught its stare fell over and didn’t get back up. Siv couldn’t understand what just happened, but she knew they were dead.

“Shit!” Dante swore. “It’s a Basilisk!”

Siv didn’t know what a Basilisk was, but she knew this Demon Beast was frighteningly powerful and just plain scary. Her body was frozen solid as the gigantic snake moved around the campsite, crushing people, knocking others away, and killing even more with nothing but its gaze. However, even though she was afraid, Siv was still able to notice the person standing on top of the creature’s head. It was one of those Sekbeist. He was laughing.

Dante raced away from her side to charge at the creature. She gazed at him in shock. What was he doing?! Why was he charging forward so recklessly?! Did he want to die?!

“Everyone! Be sure not to look into the Basilisk’s eyes! Activate your Spiritual Auras, then close the distance and attack it from behind!”

His words brought order back to the Spiritualists, who all quickly activated their Spiritual Auras. Red, blue, yellow, and green flames erupted from their bodies as they quickly raced behind the Basilisk and began peppering it with Spiritual Techniques. Jets of brilliant red flame crashed against hard black scales. Blades of water tried to slice through the Basilisk’s thick hide. Lightning shot from hands and slammed into the Basilisk’s body. But no matter how many attacks struck it, none of them did a single thing.

“You humans are such a pathetic race!” The Sekbeist’s loud cackling resounded across the campsite turned battlefield. He was holding onto one of the large horns that jutted out from the Basilisk’s neck like a crown. “I don’t know why we haven’t done anything to you until now! If you’re this weak, we could have killed you all centuries ago!”

No one said anything to the Sekbeist’s words, but instead continued to fight on in grim silence. However, it was clear even to Siv that their morale had taken a hit. They weren’t as enthusiastic about fighting anymore, and the longer they attacked without even damaging the Basilisk, the less heart they seemed to have.

Siv’s heart was slamming in her chest as she became racked with indecision. What should she do? She needed to do something, but she couldn’t figure out what. She didn’t want to fight—no, she couldn’t fight. Fighting was scary.

Even now, Siv could remember what fighting felt like when she’d been controlled by that collar, the feeling of blood on her hands wouldn’t go away, the look in people’s eyes when they died filled her with dread. She didn’t want to fight. She couldn’t fight. But she also didn’t want Kari’s dad to die.

E-Eryk… I have to… find him.

A thought suddenly occurred to her. Eryk would know what to do.

With a flap of her wings, Siv shot into the sky like a bolt of lightning and took off, leaving behind the terrified screams of dying humans.

***

Stelys Valstine had chosen to participate in the defense of Nevaria like many other nobles. He was part of the group being led by Catherina Kriger, the head of the Kriger Family and a powerful Spiritualist who was supposedly very close to reaching the Third State of Spiritualism.

Empress Hilda had ordered the nobles to spread out and join the main defense force, the Nevarian Spiritualists under Rainer’s command, giving them key locations to defend in the event of an unprecedented attack from the sky. The group under Catherina’s command was stationed around the western rampart.

Stelys was standing beside the massive watchtower, upon which a ballista sat. There were several such towers close by. If he looked up at them, he could vaguely make out the shapes of people standing at the ready near the ballista.

These ballista had been Eryk’s idea, from what he’d heard, and while he hadn’t seen them in action, the sight of these massive towers with what amounted to a giant crossbow sitting on them certainly looked impressive. He didn’t know how well they would do in battle. However, if they really were Eryk’s idea, he imagined they would be useful.

That boy was full of surprises.

“It looks like everything is still quiet,” a voice suddenly said from his left.

Stelys turned to find Catherina Kriger standing right next to him. Her long blonde hair was styled in ringlets that bounced with a strange flamboyancy. Her pale skin and ice blue eyes lent her a noble and cold demeanor, but her warm smile softened it. She seemed surprisingly approachable.

She wasn’t wearing much armor. Her silver breastplate, lined with golden designs, Runes etched into it, only covered her chest but left her stomach and most of her back bare. It also seemed as though she hadn’t put on a shirt. Her flat stomach was completely exposed, as was her back. The smoothness of her pale skin would have made most people go dry at the throat. Even Stelys admitted she was a tempting woman. Silver greaves and gauntlets with the same runic scheme covered her arms and legs.

“It certainly seems that way.” Stelys glanced at the Demon Beast Mountain Range surrounding their city. “I wonder if Fay and the others have made contact with the enemy army yet.”

“Are you worried?” asked Catherina.

“What father wouldn’t worry for his little girl’s safety?”

“Ha! That is true. Even I am a little concerned for Marko and Catalyna.”

The Kriger Family was a martial family made up entirely of powerful Spiritualists. It had often been said they were the strongest family, though Stelys himself wasn’t sure of that. In either event, he couldn’t tell if Catherina was being serious with her words, but he still imagined that, as a mother, she probably was genuinely worried for her children.

A silence passed between them. Stelys honestly wasn’t sure what to say. Had this been even as far back as four months ago, he would have never been able to hold a casual conversation with such a prominent figure. His family was on the lowest ladder of nobility. Meanwhile, Catherina’s Kriger Family was one of the Heavenly Families—the top of the food chain immediately below the Empress.

However, speaking soon became unnecessary when the loud ringing of a bell filled the air. It was the Demon Beast alarm. The sound was coming from the tower right next to them, but soon another one further out began ringing, and was then joined by another, and another, until it seemed as if the entire city-state was filled with ringing bells.

“It looks like we have company,” Catherina said, gazing at something above their heads.

Stelys looked up and paled as several hundred flying Demon Beasts flew over the Demon Beast Mountain Range and swooped down toward Nevaria. He couldn’t figure out how many there were. There were so many they blotted out his view of the sky for several kilometers.

A bolt suddenly flew from the ballista situated on the tower nearest them, glowing a brilliant red that made it look like a trail of fire. It flew into the horde and exploded. The detonation could be heard even over the Demon Beast alarm. Stelys’ eyes widened as several dozen Pteranodons suddenly disappeared. However, even though quite a few had died, the gap left in the Demon Beasts flying formation was soon filled by more enemies.

“It seems those ballista really are impressive weapons,” Catherina said as she crossed her arms and reached out to her sides, fingers closing around the handles of her weapons. A hiss of steel resounded as she pulled her two broadswords free. “However, even if they are impressive, I somehow don’t think they will be enough to push back such an overwhelmingly large force.”

“Neither do I,” Stelys agreed as he readied his battle axe.

“Spiritualists of Nevaria!” Catalyna shouted, her voice echoing across the rampart where all of her forces were currently situated. “Our enemy draws near! Now is the time to prove your mettle! Prepare yourselves for battle!”

A loud roar went up among the Spiritualists on the wall and those on the ground below, easily heard even over the alarm bells and the sound of explosions. The ballista on this side of the wall had not ceased firing. They would shoot off a bolt, which exploded against the horde of Demon Beasts and wiped out several dozen, and then reload a new bolt and fire again. Stelys didn’t even think they needed to aim. There were so many enemies that they could hit something just by firing in the Demon Beasts’s general direction.

However, it was not long before the flying Demon Beasts finally made it to the wall and swooped down to attack. Several went after the ballistas, but there were also a number that came down toward the rampart. As they did, Stelys realized it wasn’t just Demon Beasts they would be dealing with. Several creatures with green skin leapt off the backs of their Demon Beast mounts and began attacking Nevaria’s forces.

These must be the Sekbeist.

“Come, Stelys!” Catherina commanded as she waved her swords. “Let us join the battle!”

Stelys did not speak, but he did raise his battle ax and charge at the nearest enemy.

The second battle for Nevaria had begun.