WIEDERGEBURT Act III: Chapter 38

After seeing Eryk off, Kari, Fay, and Lin returned to doing what they usually did.

Lin worked twice as hard to do the paperwork that would normally be shared between her and Eryk. Kari would help out when she could, but she also had classes to attend at the Spiritualist Academy with Fay. Of course, Fay had no talent when it came to doing paperwork, so she would often elect to spar with Catalyna and the other Spiritualists, though even Catalyna eventually stopped when Fay kept beating them.

Several days past like this, but about five days after Eryk left, Kari told her two companions that she had come to a decision.

“I’m going to take an expedition into the Demon Beast Mountain Range.”

It was lunch time. The three girls normally ate in their living room/office, but with Eryk gone, they had decided to eat in the cafeteria.

There were quite a few sect members present. Bjark was with Ingrid and Hansel. Plenty of the newer Spiritualists opted to eat here when they weren’t on missions because it was convenient, so quite a few seats were filled up. Even Geirolf and Catalyna were having lunch together. Her brother was blushing a little as Catalyna grinned and held a sliver of meat, some type of beef Kari assumed, out for him to eat. They looked like they were getting along well. If she didn’t know any better, she would almost bet they were courting each other.

Fay and Lin looked at Kari like she’d just said something stupid.

“You want to take an expedition into the Demon Beast Mountain Range?” Fay asked.

“That is what I just said.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean ‘why?’ Isn’t the answer to that question obvious?”

“You’re right. Forget I asked.”

Kari loved the idea of going on adventures. She had a wanderlust that couldn’t be satisfied staying behind the closed walls of Nevaria, especially now that she’d gotten a taste for adventure several times. The desire, the urge to head outside and explore was simply too powerful now.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” asked Fay. “I mean, Eryk isn’t here to go with us.”

“It’s precisely because Eryk isn’t here that I’m going.” Kari stirred the vegetables in her beef stew. The scent wafting from it was quite fragrant, though the head chef her mother employed was better. “Eryk is currently traveling deep into the Demon Beast Mountain Range with Grandfather, and I don’t like the fact that he is traveling without us. I’m worried sick that something will happen, even though I know he’s the strongest person here. I can’t concentrate like this.”

“And you think traveling into the Demon Beast Mountain Range will help?” Fay asked.

Kari nodded. “Yes.”

“This princess would love to travel with you, but she doesn’t think it’s possible.” Lin thumped her tail against the ground as she finished swallowing a mouthful of beef stew. “There is so much paperwork that needs to be done now that Darling is away. This princess does not think she will be able to step away from her work for long.”

The longer Lin spoke, the more depressed she seemed to become. Her shoulders were slumping and her brow had furrowed in consternation. Even though she was grateful to be of help to Eryk, having to deal with paperwork all the time like she did had to be grating.

“You don’t have to worry about that.” Kari smiled and leaned over the table as if she was about to share a secret. “You remember what we did when all four of us traveled to the Whiterun Hot Springs Resort, right? We can do the same thing here. We’ll hire more temporary workers who can deal with the paperwork in our absence. Of course, this time we’ll make sure the ones we hire do their job. They can work under Felman while we’re gone.”

“Felman is fairly dependable,” Lin admitted with great reluctance. “This princess believes that will work.”

“I’m still not so sure about this,” Fay said with a sigh.

“Does that mean you’re not going to come with us?” asked Kari with a depressed frown.

“Of course I’m coming.” A resolute expression crossed Fay’s face. “Someone has to keep you out of trouble.”

“That’s what I was counting on.” Kari gave Fay her sunniest grin. “There’s my dependable Fay.”

Fay just blushed as she finished off her stew.

***

With their decision to take an expedition into the Demon Beast Mountain Range decided, Kari began holding interviews to hire people who could do the paperwork. She wasn’t the only one present. Lin and Felman both helped her with the interviews. They played a larger role in the paperwork than she did, and Felman would be in charge of them, so it was a good idea to let him see who he would be working with.

They ended up hiring four people to help with the paperwork. Dagmar, Egil, Gyda, and Hakon were people who had come recommended by Kari’s mother. All of them were former government employees who had worked on taxation and the handling of new laws set down by the empress.

Empress Hilda had been informed of Kari’s desire to leave for an expedition into the Demon Beast Mountain Range. Kari was certain her mother was worried about it, but Eryk’s request after winning the Spiritualist Grand Tournament had been for the empress to not keep her daughter locked up in Nevaria, that she allow her daughter to travel outside and explore the world. Even if she didn’t like it, she couldn’t say no.

Once they had found people who could help deal with sect matters while they were away, Kari took Fay and Lin into the city to pack for their trip. They already had sleeping bags and a tent, but they also needed food, spices, and herbs. Kari planned on having them hunt for most of their food, but on the off chance they were unable to catch anything, she wanted them to have something to eat. They bought a lot of smoked and dried meat.

It took a lot of preparation, but the day finally came when Kari, Fay, and Lin were ready to begin their journey—just the three of them.

***

Kari, Fay, and Lin woke up early on the day of their expedition. They got dressed in their normal outfits, armor included, ate a quick breakfast in the cafeteria, and then headed out toward the northern gate.

The early morning air was brisk. The slightly cool air made Lin shiver a little, goosebumps rising on her arms as she rubbed them in a vain attempt at warming up. Not yet fully out, the sun was peeking from beyond the mountains.

Kari wasn’t bothered by the cool weather like Lin, but she also wasn’t cold-blooded. She walked alongside her two companions, her raunser gripped firmly in her right hand, and a smile on her face.

Excitement bubbled just beneath the surface of her smiling exterior. She could feel it trying to break through, but she put a firm lid on her emotions. It was okay to be excited. However, she also knew the Demon Beast Mountain Range was dangerous. She couldn’t afford to let her excitement get the best of her.

“It feels weird traveling into the Demon Beast Mountain Range without our packs,” Fay muttered.

“At least this way, we don’t need to worry about losing our equipment,” Lin said.

“That is a good point. I remember when we went to the Demon Beast Mountain Range with Catalyna and ended up losing almost all of our equipment because of the Demon Beast attack.” Fay shivered as though a chill had crawled up her spine. “Having that storage ring of yours will go a long way toward making sure we never have to worry about losing our supplies… but it still feels weird.”

Kari raised her hand and looked at the ring on her finger. To many, it would look like a very plain band made of a reddish alloy and inscribed with Runes. However, this ring was far more valuable than anything else she had right now. It was only the second storage ring in the entire world. She was sure that if other people learned of what she had made, they would be clamoring to make her create more.

“I understand what you mean.” Kari lowered her hand and nodded at Fay. “There’s something charming about traveling with the steady weight of a pack on your shoulders.”

“That’s not quite what I meant…”

They soon reached the north gate and were let through without much hassle, and then they traveled to the Demon Beast Gate and were similarly let through. By the time they began traveling through Demon Beast Pass, the sun had risen and began warming up poor Lin, who suddenly looked much better now that the sun’s rays were shining on her. A healthy pink coloration spread across her cheeks as a wide smile split her lips.

“This feels soooo much better,” the Lamia sighed.

“It must be hard being cold-blooded,” Fay said.

“It’s very hard. This princess always has trouble keeping warm.”

“But isn’t that a good excuse to cuddle up to Eryk?” asked Kari with a smile.

“Um.” Lin nodded as she slithered along the pass. “This princess loves letting Darling warm her up.”

Passing through Demon Beast Pass, they reached the forest and traveled through that until they came upon the ravine. Kari blinked when she noticed the massive, two-sided drawbridge. That was new.

“It looks like they decided to replace the old bridge,” Fay said.

“It’s a good idea,” Kari responded after getting over her shock. “I never did like that rickety old bridge.”

Kari still remembered the first time they had crossed the previous bridge. A Giant Svart had attacked them, forcing Eryk to protect them because they hadn’t been strong enough to fight a B-rank Demon Beast at the time. As a result, Eryk had fallen into the ravine.

Her heart felt like it had stopped when that happened. It wasn’t until that moment that Kari realized how much she loved Eryk. Before then, her feelings had been simple. She liked spending time with him, enjoyed talking to him, and wanted to be with him, but at that moment, when Eryk fell down the ravine and her brothers presumed he was dead, Kari had felt like a hole had suddenly opened in her heart.

She never wanted to feel that way again.

“Let’s hurry up and cross the ravine,” Lin said as she slithered forward, impatient to begin their journey now that they were finally here.

Kari sent Fay a grin as she ran after Lin, catching up to the girl just as she reached the entrance to the drawbridge. The Nevarian Spiritualist captain guarding the drawbridge immediately recognized his princess and her companions.

“Princess Kari, Lady Lin, Lady Fay.” The man snapped off a salute. “I’ve already been informed by Lord Dante and Lord Rainer that you are allowed to pass through. Before you go, I’d like to recommend you proceed with caution. There are still quite a few powerful Demon Beasts roaming the area close to Nevaria.”

“Thank you for the warning,” Kari spoke for the three of them. “We’ll be careful.”

The Nevarian Spiritualist captain nodded and allowed them to pass unimpeded. He gestured toward the Spiritualists standing on the fort-like entrance, which seemed to be some kind of signal because the drawbridge on their side began lowering. Seconds after it did, the drawbridge on the other side also lowered.

Kari lead Lin and Fay through the entrance and onto the bridge, which was a lot wider and more stable than the previous suspension bridge. Lin, in particular, wore a pleased smile as she slithered across it without problems. Her large snake tail had meant the previous bridge was incredibly dangerous for her. Thinking back on it, Kari was surprised the bridge didn’t break underneath the Lamia, considering how much Lin weighed.

After crossing the drawbridge, they traveled in the direction of the Pteranodon Valley.

Just like the Nevarian Spiritualist captain had informed them, there were indeed more Demon Beasts than usual, though most of the ones they ran into were C-ranks like Dire Wolves or Armored Dillos. None of these Demon Beasts posed a threat to them. Kari, Fay, and Lin systematically killed every Demon Beast that attacked them.

Kari spun her ranseur around her body, channeling her Spiritual Power through the weapon, which began glowing with a golden light. The light, filled with an intense Spiritual Power that had been compressed to a fine layer, allowed her to easily slice through the hard shell of an Armored Dillo, splitting the creature in half. She barely felt any resistance when she swung the weapon with both hands.

While Kari was destroying Armored Dillos with her incredible cutting power, Fay was pounding them. She struck them with precise and powerful punches. Her fists were encased in bright red flames as she used her elemental affinity in conjunction with the Second State of Spiritualism, the Runes on her gauntlets glowing a vibrant hue. The increased power of her punches was enough to shatter armored plating like it was glass, and the heat from her flames scorched the Armored Dillo’s insides.

Lin was dealing with the Dire Wolf pack that had attacked after the Armored Dillos. She created numerous ethereal purple snakes of varying size to attack the Dire Wolves, some of which were large enough to choke the Demon Beasts to death, while others were small and sank their venomous fangs into the throats of her enemies. Of course, Lin herself did not just let her creations, born from her Spiritual Power, do all the work.

Kari had to admire Lin’s strength and ability to use her whips, which she created from her own Spiritual Power and lashed out with. The whips were a dark purple and released hissing sounds as if the air was being burnt. Whenever her whips struck a Dire Wolf, it would eat through the fur, flesh, and muscles like it was acidic. She would wrap her whips around the necks of Demon Beasts, and with a quick tug, sever their heads.

It was impressive… and really brutal.

They continued through the forest before finally reaching the entrance to the Pteranodon Valley. By this point, the sun was beginning to go down, so they decided to set up camp.

As Kari summoned their tent from her storage ring and began setting it up, Fay built a fire pit and used her affinity to start a fire on some dried leaves and branches, and Lin caught several rabbits for them to cook. The Lamia worked quickly on skinning the rabbits and rubbing the spices and herbs Kari brought with them onto the meat. It wasn’t long before loud sizzling echoed from the fire as ten rabbits were slowly cooked over it.

“That smells delicious,” Kari muttered as she was drawn over to the food. A tantalizing scent filled the air and tickled her nose. She took several deep sniffs. “I see you decided to use the curry powder as a rub.”

“This princess was craving something spicy,” Lin said as she turned the rotisserie. It wasn’t a makeshift rotisserie made from sticks and branches either, but a real one made of steel that they had bought for the trip. Since it could be stored in her storage ring and therefore wouldn’t weigh them down, Kari saw no reason they shouldn’t have such a convenient item.

“Curry is normally used in stews and soups… but I imagine it will taste good as a rub.”

Kari sat next to Fay and realized with some surprise that her friend was grinding several herbs into a bowl. She couldn’t smell anything coming from the bowl, which was filled with a muddy liquid, but maybe the scent of curry and cooking rabbit was overpowering the smell. As she watched her friend grind down shavings from some kind of root into a paste, she couldn’t help but let her curiosity get the better of her.

“What are you making?” she asked.

Fay looked up from her work, startled. She calmed down after realizing it was only Kari.

“I’m making a Demon Beast repellent. It creates an odor that humans can’t smell, but Demon Beasts can’t stand it. Any Demon Beast who gets within a few meters of this odor will instantly turn away to avoid it. I plan on creating several bowls and placing them around our camp.”

“Oh, nice! That should keep us safe while we sleep!” Kari looked curiously at Fay. “Did you learn this from Eryk?”

“No…” Fay furrowed her brow. “I learned it from no one. I just… somehow know how to create it.”

“Do you think you created this in your past life?”

“Maybe…”

Kari still wasn’t sure about her past life because she honestly couldn’t remember much of anything aside from a few flashes, and they were far too muddled and distorted to make out anything cohesive. She didn’t know what she’d done in her past, where she’d gone, who she’d met. However, like Fay, she did have a few memories that somehow shone through, such as her knowledge of Runes. It was thanks to the few bits of memory from her previous life that she’d been able to create the storage rings she and Eryk now used.

A shiver ran down her spine as sudden flashes appeared within her mind. She felt a moment of pain as if her body was being impaled, felt an infinite sadness welling up inside of her, and the vision of a man with pointy ears surrounded by darkness. With a shake of her head, she dispelled the fragmented memories before they could bother her.

“Dinner is ready.”

Lin pulled the spit off the fire and placed the cooked rabbits on their own sticks, then handed two of them to Kari and another two to Fay. Of course, Lin ended up eating the remaining six.

The sun slowly went down as they ate and talked. When the sky had turned into a velvet blanket and the stars came out, the three of them climbed into their tent, cuddled underneath the large futon, and fell asleep in an embrace of legs, arms, and a tail.

During the night, Kari dreamed. She dreamt of traveling through numerous cities and meeting many people, of journeying into dungeons and ancient temples, of battling against strange humanoid creatures and dying at the hands of a man with pointed ears. As always, the dream was fragmented and something she couldn’t make sense of. It also faded after she woke up.

Because she wanted to get an early start on their journey, they forewent cooking breakfast and ate dried meat as they traveled into the Pteranodon Valley. To keep things simple, they followed the stream in the middle, which flowed through the valley and ended at the grasslands.

While in the valley, they actually ran into another group of people. They waved at her, Lin, and Fay. She vaguely recognized them as members of the Nevarian Braves. It looked like they were gathering herbs, some kind of purple grass, which grew in patches all along the valley. Each person carried a large pack on their backs and slowly filled it with grass.

“If they had a storage ring, they could carry a lot more,” Kari muttered to herself.

“Are you plan on giving storage rings to each member of our sect?” asked Fay.

Kari shook her head. “I might make it for sale at some point, but I don’t think just handing them out would be a good idea.” She tilted her head as they kept walking, the sounds of the small stream echoing in her ears. “Speaking of, I was wondering if maybe I should create some storage rings to auction off? Didn’t Eryk do something similar to advertise the alchemy pills being sold by the Alchemist Association?”

“He did, and it’s a good idea.” Fay couldn’t rub her chin because of her gauntlets, but she nodded several times. “Something like that storage ring would sell for an incredibly high price due to its usefulness. I imagine you’d get no less than two or three-hundred thousand valis for one.”

As they discussed the merits of auctioning off several storage rings, Lin kept her eyes peeled for any sign of danger. However, none presented itself while they were in the valley. It wasn’t until they reached the grasslands that they ran into trouble.

The grasslands past the Pteranodon Valley had no name. Tall grass that loomed over their heads spread out for several kilometers in all directions as they waded through it, keeping their ears open for signs of movement.

A strong scent of dirt mixed with wet grass filled the air. It wasn’t an unpleasant smell, but it was one Kari wasn’t used to. This scent reminded her of when they had journeyed through here last time. Their group had been much larger, and Eryk was with them. During their expedition, they had run into a Chimera, one of the variants that had the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and a serpent's tail.

There were a lot more Chimeras in this region now than there had been back then; their group ran into no less than four during their journey. Unlike last time, however, the three of them were more than powerful enough to defeat them. In fact, she, Lin, and Fay were each able to take one down on their own, which Kari took as indisputable proof that they had become much stronger.

Their journey continued, until they eventually reached the ruins they had visited so long ago with Catalyna and her group.

***

“It’s just as I remembered… this architecture is fantastic! Nothing we have created could ever withstand the test of time like this. I wonder what sort of beings are represented by these stone statues and pillars. Something about their appearance is oddly disproportionate. I feel like they should be taller than they are.”

Kari was standing underneath the archway, a massive slab of stones and Runes and motifs etched into its surface. She was right next to one of the two statues that were holding up the archway. They were quite tall, maybe thirty or forty meters in total. Each statue vaguely resembled a human, but their arms, legs, and chest had a thick burliness to them that made them seem different from a human. If she had to say, she felt like the beings these statues were depicting should have been bigger, like giants.

“There she goes again,” Fay muttered.

Lin nodded. “Big Sister is getting completely lost in her musings.”

While Kari heard their words, she didn’t let it bother her as she studied the architecture, placing her hand on the cool stone, which was surprisingly smooth, as if it had been polished just the other day. The way these statues appeared seamless told her they were made from a single chunk of stone, but she couldn’t figure out what they were made from. It clearly wasn’t plain rock or even something like marble. Something like that would have fallen apart after thousands of years, but aside from the moss growing on it, this statue remained pristine. Even the statues’s fingers so delicately grafted down to the smallest detail didn’t have a single chip or crack in them.

“Kari… I know you really want to study these, but can I ask how long you plan on staring at them?” asked Fay.

Taking a deep breath, Kari removed her hand from the stone and looked back at them. She smiled and rubbed the back of her head.

“I’m sorry. I guess I lost myself for a moment.”

“It is okay.” Lin crossed her arms and smiled. “We know how you get when it comes to these ruins. Big Sister is an exploration nut.”

“I-I’m not sure I appreciate being called a ‘nut’ like that,” Kari said with a blush. “Anyway, let’s get going.”

They walked through the archway and entered what Kari could have mistaken for a courtyard. Larger than any normal courtyard, the place once again seemed like it was made for people much bigger than humans. The open space was covered in trees, plants, and weeds that had overrun everything within the vicinity. Aside from the entrance into the ruins and the archway that lead outside, this courtyard was surrounded by massive stone walls covered from base to top in vines.

“It doesn’t look like much has changed, does it?” asked Lin as she slithered along the ground. “This place looks the same as it did when we were here.”

“It does,” Kari agreed.

Fay walked over to one of the walls and began using her fire affinity to burn the vines away. She moved her hands in circular patterns to direct the flow of Spiritual Power into her palms and fingers, which lit up with bright red flames. The vines shriveled and blackened before turning into char as they were burned, revealing something Kari hadn’t noticed underneath.

The walls were covered in murals. It was the same murals as the ones she found inside of the ruins. It depicted humanoid beings that were massive in size. They stood over a group of smaller beings, which she thought were humans, and looked like the generals of an army.

Her reasons for her thoughts was because the humans, or what she thought were humans, were locked in battle against other humanoid creatures. While the humans were battling the smaller creatures, the giants were fighting against massive monstrosities that were just as large, just as imposing. As she looked closer, Kari realized with some shock that she recognized the creatures the humans were fighting.

“Those are Sekbeists!” she exclaimed.

Lin and Fay looked at the wall she was studying, but they honestly couldn’t say whether or not these were Sekbeists since they had never seen one themselves. However, Kari was certain of it. These creatures fighting against humanity and the giants were definitely the Sekbeists that they had learned about from Eryk. They looked identical to the creatures she’d fought in the sewers of Bucharest.

Taking another deep breath to calm down, Kari made a decision. “Let’s travel into the ruins and see if we can find anything of interest.”

“Okay,” Lin and Fay agreed.

Together, the three girls walked under the large archway that was easily ten times bigger than an adult human.