WIEDERGEBURT Act III: Chapter 36

My body felt like it was made of led. Every muscle ached, to the point where just trying to move them felt like an exercise in futility. I tried to move my arm, but I could barely lift it. Twitching my fingers was about all I could do. Even my Spiritual Power felt unstable. I couldn’t properly circulate the water element through my body to heal my wounds.

As I laid on what I was beginning to recognize as a very basic and uncomfortable mattress, I tried to remember what happened to me. I’d gone back to Nevaria, which had been infested with Demon Beasts, and went on a rampage, slaughtering every Demon Beast I came across. I was fighting when… when… what was it? That’s right! I fought against a powerful Demon Beast, a Greater Behemoth. I remember slamming a powerful attack against the Demon Beast, and then… nothing. I drew a blank there.

I wasn’t sure how long I laid on that mattress, but my body eventually began feeling a little better, enough that I could move. My Spiritual Power had also stabilized. Good.

I began circulating the water element through my body. My intent was to heal myself like I always did, but I flinched and nearly screamed out loud when pain suddenly erupted from my lower abdomen, chest, and back. This hard to describe burning sensation felt sort of like there was a dam stopping my Spiritual Power from circulating through my body. There was a build up of energy inside of me that refused to move, and it felt like I might explode if I used anymore Spiritual Power.

Grimacing, I stopped using Spiritual Power for now in favor of getting a glance at my surroundings.

I was in a cave. It wasn’t very big nor did it have a lot of items. There was the bed that I was sitting on, a table in the center, and a dresser against the wall furthest from me. I was mostly focused on the table. There were several flasks, tubes, and beakers. I recognized all of that equipment as items belonging to an alchemy set.

As I stared at the alchemy set, footsteps echoed from outside the cave, and I looked over at the entrance just as a figure entered.

This person was covered from head to toe in a black cloak with a large hood. I couldn’t see a single detail that would tell me anything about them. The cloak was not only long, but it was so baggy and large that I couldn’t tell if this person was a man or a woman.

The figure stopped after taking several steps into the cave. They turned toward me as if just now noticing that I was awake. And then, the person spoke.

“Oh. You’re finally awake.”

It was a woman. Her voice was scratchy and dry, reminding me of the sound parchment makes when wrinkled, and this caused her tone to sound deeper and hoarser, but this person was definitely a woman. Now that I knew this, I felt like I could vaguely see the outline of her womanly curves through the cloak, but I may have been imagining it.

I thought for a moment, wondering what I should say. I had so many questions. Who was this woman? What was she doing here? Was she a survivor of the Demon Beast Invasion? Where was here? So many questions swirled through my mind that I felt like my head might explode, but I decided to start with the most simple ones first.

“Did you save me?”

The hood dipped a little. Did she just nod?

“I did.” She moved toward the table. “I was gathering herbs when I heard the sounds of battle coming from Nevaria. The battle was already over by the time I arrived, but I found you lying near the corpse of a Greater Behemoth. You must be quite strong to have taken down so many A-rank Demon Beasts.”

When she got to the table, her cloak parted to reveal hands covered in gloves and arms clad in thick sleeves. The woman was holding a basket in her hands. It contained several types of plants, none of which I recognized. She set it on the table.

“Are you… a survivor of Nevaria?” I finally couldn’t contain my curiosity.

“In a manner of speaking,” the woman replied. What a vague answer. As if she could sense my discontent, she spoke some more. “I left Nevaria several years before the Demon Beasts invaded, so I was not there when the Demon Beasts attacked. I only heard about it a few months after it happened.”

I placed my hands on my legs and looked down. It looked like I had been changed out of my clothes. I was wearing basic black pants and a white shirt with long sleeves.

So this woman was someone who had left Nevaria years before the Demon Beast Invasion, which explained how she had survived for so long. No. Wait. If she left Nevaria, then didn’t that mean she’d been living in the Demon Beast Mountain Range this whole time?

I looked back at the woman. She was now separating the ingredients by their type, filling up several flasks and beakers with water, and using a red disc-shaped object to bring the water in several of the flasks to a boil. After separating the ingredients, she grabbed a mortar and pestle. She placed several leafy greens inside of the mortar and began grinding it into a paste.

It seemed as if I had been forgotten. This woman appeared to be pretty anti-social, but I couldn’t really blame her. If she had been living out here since before the Demon Beast Invasion, then it meant she had likely been alone this whole time. I might even be the first person she’d spoken to in years.

Since this woman seemed to be completely focused on her task, I decided to hold back with my questions. The only sounds within the cave as I watched the woman work was the bubbling of boiling water and the sounds of the pestle grinding up plants.

***

I stood before a mirror, staring at my reflection. My green hair was tied in the back with a leather band like always. Several bangs framed my face.

My clothing was mostly the same attire I usually wore. The black pants were tight and fit snugly on my legs, but they didn’t hamper my movements at all. My undershirt was light blue and featured a triangle-shaped dip in the front that displayed my collar bone. The front was longer than the back, trailing down all the way to my knees. Over the shirt was a simple breastplate that only protected my chest and didn’t cover my stomach. A vest with a high collar and a massive gap in the center went over the chest plate, long enough to extend past my knees. After the vest came the belt, black boots, fingerless gloves, greaves, and the prototype storage ring that Kari had made for me.

All of the armor had Runes inscribed on them.

“I think you’re ready,” Kari said.

She, Fay, and Lin were standing behind me. Because of how complicated putting all this clothing on could be, they had decided to help me out. I could have done it myself, but it was honestly nice getting help like this. Putting on so many layers was a hassle.

“You look good.” With her arms crossed under her chest, Lin nodded several times with haughty decisiveness. “This princess approves.”

“I’m surprised you’re still wearing that outfit,” Fay commented.

I smiled at Fay through the mirror. “Why would you be surprised? This was the first outfit you bought for me.” I paused as my smile turned a tad wry. “Well, the design is the same as the one you bought me. I figured since this was the first outfit I ever received in this life, I’d like to keep it. You know, sort of like a signature look.”

In my previous life, major figures like Erica and Tungsten had what was known as a “signature appearance.” Their armor and weapons were well-known to everyone. Not only were they well-known, but they had been symbols of hope for the people of the Northern Plains, ravaged by a war against monstrous beings whose origins I still knew nothing about.

I wanted to be someone like that for Nevaria, someone who could inspire hope.

“Hmm…” Kari stroked her chin and studied my appearance. “Well, as far as signature looks go, I think this one looks pretty good. You’re very recognizable, especially with that hair.”

I reached out and tugged on my green bangs. It was indeed one of my most easily recognizable features. No one else had green hair, as far as I knew.

“Anyway,” Kari continued, “we should probably head out now. I bet Grandfather is waiting for you by the north gate.”

Everyone agree with her, so we made our way out of the bedroom, through the living room/office, and then left the Nevarian Braves headquarters altogether.

The sun had already risen fairly high. I think it was a little before noon. I was supposed to meet Herleif at the northern gate at noon exactly, so we had a bit of time.

Since the northern gate wasn’t far from our sect, the four of us decided to walk there.

We stuck together in a group, wading through the mass of people wandering the streets. There were people shopping, stall owners hawking their wares, and children running through the streets. A few young women were gathered in a group and gossiping about something, several couples were walking hand in hand, and a number of carriage moved through the streets center, pulled by either Mares or Mastodons.

Hundreds of different scents assaulted me from all sides. The smell of the Mares’s and Mastodons’s fur mixed with the roasting kebabs. Perfume from several women drifted to me on the breeze. The scent of dirt filled my nose as a group of kids covered in it rushed by. One of them made the unfortunate accident of stepping on Lin’s tail, which caused the girl to hiss at the kids and frighten them so much they ran away screaming.

“Brats,” Lin grumbled as she slithered along beside me. “This princess can’t believe those damn kids stepped on her beautiful tail.”

“Well, it is kind of long,” Kari admitted.

Fay nodded. “I’m sure they didn’t mean to. A six meter long tail is pretty big, and you have this habit of moving it in a zigzag pattern.”

“This princess cannot believe you are taking those childrens’s side!”

I didn’t add anything to the conversation as the girls talked, instead choosing to listen. There was something therapeutic about listening to Kari, Lin, and Fay as they bantered back and forth.

We eventually reached the northern gate to discover that Herleif was already present. He stood by the gate, a massive double-gate centered between two towers that stood well above the rest of the rampart. I could just barely make out the ballistae sitting atop the tower.

Herleif looked like he was hitting on one of the Spiritualists. His leer had a very lecherous quality as he spoke with the guard, a young woman with reddish brown hair and a buxom figure hidden underneath her leather armor. Despite his leering gaze, the woman didn’t seem to mind as she spoke with him. Her partner, however, wore a very sour expression.

“I see you finally deigned to show up,” Herleif said when he noticed my presence.

A long cloak covered Herleif’s body. Brown and kind of tattered, it didn’t look like something a former emperor would wear, but I guess he wore it because we’d be traveling into the Demon Beast Mountain Range. There was no sense in wearing something fancy. Since the cloak was so large, I couldn’t see what he was wearing underneath. I hoped it was armor. The only item he wore that I could see was the traveling backpack strapped to his shoulders.

“It took a little longer to get ready than I anticipated,” I said.

“I’ll bet.” Herleif gave an amused glance toward the three girls with me. “Were you four having fun this morning? Did you decide to get in a quickie before coming to meet me?”

The reaction of the girls differed. While Lin tilted her head, clearly not sure what a “quickie” was, Fay’s cheeks turned a shade of scarlet that was reminiscent of her hair. On the other hand, Kari wore a very polite and refined smile as she walked up to Herleif and cuffed the back of his head.

“Owch!”

“Please don’t make such lecherous comments in public, Grandfather. You might not be the emperor anymore, but you still have to think about your reputation.”

“Tch!”

“Don’t click your tongue at me either.”

“Owch!”

I could only shake my head at the strange comedy routine happening between grandfather and granddaughter. Since I’d never seen how Kari interacted with Herleif before—we’d been far too busy for her to visit him—I didn’t know how common this was. However, just by seeing how comfortable my fiance was hitting her grandfather in the back of the head made me realize she’d probably done this act dozens of times.

I think I now had an even better understanding of what happened during Grimm Kriger’s birthday party several years ago.

“Hmm…” Rubbing the back of his head, Herleif frowned at me. “I don’t see any backpack on you. You do realize I’m not going to be able to provide you with any supplies, right? If you don’t have your own sleeping bag, you’ll be sleeping in the cold.”

“You don’t have to worry about me,” I replied with a mysterious smile.

Herleif’s frown only seemed to grow, but he eventually shrugged it off.

“If you say so. In either event, you should say goodbye to your fiances. We’re going to be gone for quite a while.”

I knew he was right. As I turned to Kari, Lin, and Fay, I saw the reluctant expressions on their faces, and knew they also understood that I would be gone for a long time—over a month, at the very least. This would actually be the longest time that I had ever been apart from them.

“Eryk.” Kari stepped forward. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

“I will.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Kari stepped forward again, until she was directly in my personal space. She wrapped her arms around my torso and stood on her toes. I leaned down as she tilted her head up and pressed my lips to hers. The soft elasticity combined with the warmth of her lips caused me to suddenly have thoughts of not going on this trip, but I knew I had to. I wrapped my arms tightly around Kari’s waist as we shared a kiss, then allowed her to step out of my embrace.

“This princess also wants a kiss!”

Before I even had time to regain my bearings, Lin lunged forward. Her lips were on me before I knew what was happening. Unlike Kari, whose kiss was surprisingly chaste, Lin pushed her long tongue past my lips and teeth and coiled it around my tongue. It took a concerted effort of will not to let myself grow aroused as she rubbed my tongue with her own. When she finally had enough, Lin removed her tongue from my mouth and leaned back.

“Do not be reckless while you are journeying through the Demon Beast Mountain Range. This princess will be most cross with you if you die on her.”

“I understand.” Reaching out, I cupped Lin’s cheek and caressed her soft skin. Lin’s long and pointed ears wiggled as a smile spread across her face. She nuzzled my hand like an affectionate house cat. “I promise to be careful. There’s still a lot that I want to do, so I can’t afford to die out there.”

Accepting my words with a nod, Lin moved back to allow Fay to take her place. However, unlike the other two, Fay did not have the confidence to kiss me in public. With a blush on her face, she coughed into her hand and looked at everything but me.

“B-be careful out there. I know you’re strong, but you’re traveling to a very dangerous area. Don’t take on more than you can handle.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

Fay nodded and looked like she was about to step back, but I grabbed her hand and tugged on it before she could. A squeak escaped her mouth. Her eyes widened in surprise as I pulled her into an embrace. She seemed too shocked to move, but as I held her in my arms, her body relaxed against me.

“Are you not going to give me a kiss goodbye?” I asked.

I could have sworn I felt Fay’s temperature rise.

“I… well, I mean… I want to, but… we’re in public, so…”

Knowing there was no way Fay would initiate a kiss in public, I took the initiative by placing a hand under her chin and tilting her head up. I didn’t kiss her hard. Fay already had a difficult time displaying affection in private, so I didn’t want to make things hard for her, but I wasn’t going to accept not getting a kiss either. We wouldn’t see each other for over a month. I kept my kiss chaste and short, stepping back after several seconds had passed. Fay looked a little daze when the kiss ended.

“All right. Well, I’ll be going then,” I said and was about to turn around.

That was the moment when Fay recovered and stepped back into my personal space. I was too shocked to move as she grabbed my vest and pulled me down into a searing kiss. Her lips pressed against mine hard, as if she was trying to brand the feel and shape of her mouth into mine. She also held the kiss far longer than I had. Only after nearly half a minute had passed did she relent and step back.

Her cheeks looked like they had caught fire.

“That was… you know… as a goodbye. A-anyway! I’ll see you when you get back!”

I didn’t even have time to respond to Fay before the girl turned tail and ran back the way we’d come. I watched as she disappeared into the distance, then turned to look at Kari and Lin. The two girls were also looking at where Fay had run off too, though unlike me, their expressions were amused.

“That Fay is always so cute when she gets embarrassed,” Kari said.

Lin nodded. “This princess hopes she never changes.”

“We’ll see you when you get back, Eryk.”

“This princess will be eagerly waiting for you to return.”

The two girls gave their goodbyes, waving at me as they turned and left. I watched them until they were out of my sight.

Releasing a wary sigh, I turned back toward Herleif, only to pause when I saw how the older man was looking at me with a lecherous grin. It wasn’t just him. The Spiritualist he’d been flirting with also wore an amused smile as she stared at me. Her poor partner was blushing, however, making me wonder if maybe the man was a virgin.

“What are you looking at?” I asked Herleif.

“Nothing.” Herleif chuckled at my harsh words. “I was just marveling at how those girls have got you wrapped around their fingers.”

I didn’t think I was wrapped around anyone’s finger, but I also wouldn’t deny that there were very few things I would not do if those three asked it of me.

“Let’s just get going,” I said.

“Sure. Sure.”

The northern gate was already open. It remained open during the day and only closed at night or during emergencies, like when the Demon Beasts had invaded.

Herleif led me through the gate and we walked toward the Demon Beast Gate, which was the gate that blocked off the entrance to the Demon Beast Mountain Range.

Like the other gate, this one had two watchtowers situated on either side. Their height was impressive, and they also had ballistae sitting on top. I could even see a pair of Spiritualists standing by each ballistae, ready to use them at a moment’s notice.

The watchtowers were a new feature that Empress Hilda had implemented at my suggestion, and while there were only about one dozen spread across Nevaria so far, the plan was to have these watchtowers located throughout the entire city. They would make excellent defenses in the event of another Demon Beast invasion.

Unlike the northern gate, which remained open at all times, the Demon Beast Gate was closed and only opened for people who had permission to leave.

Herleif obviously had that permission. Nobody even tried to stop him when he arrived. The two Spiritualists standing on either side of the gate snapped off a salute before shouting at the people on the rampart to open the gate. Barely a second had passed since our arrival before the turning of cranks echoed from within the towers. The gate slowly opened, allowing us to journey into Demon Beast Pass.

“Because of how far we’re traveling, I don’t plan on stopping after we cross the ravine,” Herleif told me, suddenly no longer the joking and lecherous old man I knew. His expression was a bit more serious than before. “After we cross the ravine, we’ll continue heading north until we reach Pteranodon Valley. That’s where we’ll stop for the night.”

“That sounds fine with me,” I said.

“You don’t complain much, do you?”

I shrugged at Herleif’s question. “I don’t have much reason to complain. The more ground we cover each day, the less time it will take to reach the Morkdypt Ravine.”

“Ha ha! That’s very true! Then let’s pick up the pace!”

Adjusting the straps of his traveling pack, Herleif increased his speed from a walk to a light jog. I quickly adjusted my pace to match him.

We traveled through Demon Beast Pass in less than half an hour, journeyed through the forest located just outside the pass, and reached the bridge.

The bridge had been heavily modified now. It was no longer a simple bridge made from wood panels and rope. Now a drawbridge made of stone and wood, the primary feature of the bridge were the two entrances, large stone structures that kept the two bridge halves in place. It looked almost like a small fort set against the ravine.

Several guards from the Nevarian Spiritualists, recognizable by their leather armor, were present. I counted four on the ground and four standing on the roof. There were another eight on the opposite side.

“Lord Herleif, sir.” One of the guards, the man in charge I believe, bowed low when we approached. “And Lord Eryk is also here. Welcome. I assume you are both heading into the Demon Beast Mountain Range? Please wait one moment while we lower the drawbridge.”

“Take your time,” Herleif said as though we weren’t in any rush.

I stood silently as the guards began working to lower the drawbridge, which I believed was called a Bascule Drawbridge. A loud noise echoed from inside the entrance. It sounded like steel grinding against steel. Then a cranking sound issued from the entrance as the drawbridge on this side was slowly lowered.

The guards on the other side must have noticed what was happening because the other bridge began lowering as well. The two bridges, once lowered, connected to each other. I noticed each bridge was being held aloft with six sets of chains, three on either side spread across several meter intervals. Considering the ravine was at least 20 meters wide if not more, I guess they needed that many chains to keep the bridge from falling.

“You’re free to pass, Lord Herleif, Lord Eryk. Safe travels,” the Spiritualist said to us.

“Thank you,” I said while Herleif just nodded and began moving.

We passed through the entrance, crossed the bridge, and emerged from the entrance on the other side. I think they did a good job replacing the previous bridge with this drawbridge. It was far more stable than the other bridge had been, and now that there were Spiritualists guarding it, Nevaria had one more line of defense. There was very little chance of us being caught unawares again.

“Come on, Eryk,” Herleif said. “Let’s keep moving.”

I didn’t respond as Herleif suddenly sprinted into the forest, choosing instead to increase my speed and follow him.

We journeyed through the forest without stopping. Several Demon Beasts tried to attack us. A pack of Dire Wolves had leapt out from their hiding places when we passed, but I used the water element to create over one dozen crescent blades and precisely sliced their heads clean off. There had also been a group of Armored Dillos that tried running us over. I didn’t deal with those ones. Herleif had unleashed several powerful flame swords that melted their armor like butter and instantly killed them.

While it took a few hours at least, we still managed to arrive at the entrance to the Pteranodon Valley before the sun went down. We split up the tasks of setting up camp. I caught several rabbits for us to cook, while Herleif started a fire.

As we sat there under the fading sunlight, I decided to finally ask him what I’d been curious about.

“Do you have any idea what the Sekbeists are doing there?”

“Not a one,” Herleif replied with a laugh. “Do you think I’m brave enough to travel into the Morkdypt Ravine by myself? I only saw them from a distance.”

The rabbits had finished roasting, so I took them off the spit and handed one of the lightly seasoned rabbits to Herleif. He accepted it with a “thanks” and bit into the meat, tearing through it before chewing. After swallowing his first bite, he continued speaking.

“When I was exploring the Demon Beast Mountain Range, I found several Sekbeists leading a group of slaves. None of the slaves were in chains, but they did have these strange collars wrapped around their necks. I heard about the Basilisk you fought. I think those collars were somehow controlling the slaves’ actions. In any case, I followed the group all the way to the Morkdypt Ravine and watched them take a small path that led down into its depths. I considered following them. However…”

“That wouldn’t be a smart idea.” I nodded. “If you followed them, were discovered, and then killed, no one would ever learn about what you had discovered.”

“Exactly,” Herleif said. “Of course, I want to know what they’re doing down there. My plan was to return to the Morkdypt Ravine after informing Hilda about what I discovered. And that’s when I found out about you. I decided that having another Spiritualist who’s reached the Third State of Spiritualism would help increase our chances of survival down there—and given what we might find, I believe it’s important that we survive so we can tell Hilda about what we discover.”

Everything the old man said made sense, and I couldn’t help but agree with him. What’s more, I wanted to know what the Sekbeist were doing down there too. I wanted to know why they were here in this life when I hadn’t seen any sign of them in my previous life. Learning about this might be the key to understanding more about my enemy.

I looked up at the stars now dotting the starry night sky and wondered if the time for me to finally learn what the Sekbeist truly were had come.