WIEDERGEBURT Chapter 43

“This should be an interesting battle,” Mikkel said as Fay and Catalyna walked onto the arena floor.

Kari’s gaze was pinned onto her former childhood friend. She bit her lip as she stared at the confident and determined expression on the girl’s face. Would it be inappropriate if she cheered for her?

“Catalyna Kriger is a member of the Kriger Family,” Geirolf mumbled as though talking to himself. “As a family that holds martial prowess in the highest regard, all of their members are extensively trained from a young age to fight, and each one is said to be blessed with incredible reserves of Spiritual Power. I’ve heard that among all the members in her family, Catalyna is ranked among the top five.”

The words of her third oldest brother caused Kari to look at Catalyna, who wore a confident smirk that made her seem like she had already won. That expression made her frown.

“This battle isn’t going to be as guaranteed as you two seem to think,” Earland said.

“Who said I believed Fay was gonna lose?” asked Geirolf, blushing. “I was just saying it’s gonna be a tough fight!”

“Sounds like someone has a crush,” Mikkel teased.

“W-what? That’s not it all! Shut up!”

Fay… Ignoring her brothers now that they had devolved into senseless bickering, Kari clasped her hands together and prayed for her friend. Good luck.

***

“Are the two of you ready?” asked Rainer as he looked back and forth between Fay and Catalyna.

“Of course I am,” Catalyna said, tossing a lock of hair over her shoulder. She was wearing the same smirk she had been this whole time. It was kind of irksome.

“I am also ready,” Fay added.

“In that case, let the battle begin.” Rainer raised his hand and swung it down in a swift chopping motion. “Fight!”

Despite the battle already being underway, neither she nor Catalyna began fighting right away. Fay was wary of this woman, who exuded a confidence that bordered on arrogance. On the other hand, Catalyna seemed to be curious about something, as she tilted her head and stared at Fay like she was a puzzle.

“Do you mind if I ask what your relationship with Eryk Veiger is?” Catalyna said suddenly.

“Wha—” Fay tried to stop her blush, but she could already feel her cheeks burning, though she did her best to cover up. “Why would you want to know about that?”

“It’s just… that technique you two use is one he taught you, correct? It made me curious to know whether you and he were lovers.”

“L-lovers?!” Fay hadn’t felt this embarrassed since her father suggested she and Eryk get married. “What makes you think we’re lovers? Why would that thought even cross your brain?”

“So you aren’t lovers?”

Fay bit her lip as the words, “Of course not!” came to mind, but she held her tongue because, in truth, that was the kind of relationship she wanted. If she admitted that she and Eryk were not lovers, it felt like she was admitting that Kari had beaten her. She didn’t want to do that.

“I see.” Catalyna chuckled. “It’s unrequited love, isn’t it?”

A sharp pain pierced her chest as Catalyna’s words struck her like a lance to the heart. She placed a hand against her chest and took several deep breaths, calming down. When she was sufficiently calm, she looked at the woman again.

“I don’t plan on having it remain like that forever,” Fay declared. “Right now, Eryk has admitted he loves someone else, but I will make him fall in love with me. I don’t plan on letting my feelings remain unrequited forever.”

“So you’ve decided to do the chasing instead of becoming the one who is chased.” Catalyna nodded several times and smiled. “I can respect that. However, you are going to have more to worry about than just that other girl he likes.” Catalyna swung her sword, causing lightning to crackle along the tip. “After having watched him demolish his competition so easily, I have also fallen for him. I hope you don’t mind having another love rival added to your current competition.”

“Huh?!”

Fay only had a single moment to feel shocked before Catalyna swung her sword, creating a powerful lightning wave that rushed toward her. It was easy to tell at a glance that she wouldn’t be able to overpower this attack. Her hair was already standing on end from the static of just being near it.

Using the Flash Step, Fay appeared several meters from the attack. The lightning washed over the place where she had been standing. Fay gulped when she saw how the technique was so powerful it caused the ground to become black and scorched. Even if she had her Spiritual Aura protecting her, a technique like that might have still injured her.

“So that is the famous movement technique up close.” Catalyna observed with a tilt of her head. “I can see why it would be such a problem to deal with. You can appear practically anywhere within the blink of an eye, though as we’ve seen from your fight with Finn, there are ways of getting around this.”

Fay realized that if she wanted to defeat Catalyna, she couldn’t afford to stay on the defensive. This woman’s attacks were seriously strong. Not only were her powers nothing to scoff at, but her talent at observation was enough to make Fay wary.

Narrowing her eyes, Fay used the Flash Step again, appearing in Catalyna’s blindspot. She slid her right foot forward. As she tucked her left arm into her torso, fire trailed along her fist when she moved it in a spiral pattern. There was no hesitation in her movements as she rotated her torso, launching her fist, which had caught fire, at Catalyna’s side.

Catalyna must have had eyes in the back of her head. She didn’t even turn around as she tilted her body away from Fay’s punch. The fire that had been gathering on her first exploded in an intense wave of heat that flew several meters away before running out of power. As Fay gawked at how her punch missed, Catalyna spun around and swung her sword.

Fay used the Flash Step on instinct, disappearing within the blink of an eye, but she must not have been fast enough because a flash of pain seared her body like an electric jolt. Lightning skittered across her skin, and because she’d used the Flash Step, she didn’t have the protection of her Spiritual Aura.

“So that technique of yours can’t be used in conjunction with your Spiritual Aura,” Catalyna analysed. “That’s good to know.”

Gritting her teeth, Fay activated her Spiritual Aura and rushed forward. This made Catalyna grin as she activated her own aura, which looked like arcs of lightning dancing across her skin.

The two of them met in the middle. Catalyna swung her jagged sword around in a wide arc that Fay dodged by sidestepping. Then she stepped into the other woman’s guard, fire swirling around her fist as she threw a powerful punch, which unfortunately didn’t do much. Her fist slammed into the armored chestplate. Fay bit back a yelp as her fist received a powerful jolt that made it go numb. She leapt back, which allowed Catalyna to attack.

An arc of pale lightning swept out of Catalyna’s blade as she swung it, causing all the hairs on Fay’s body to stand up. She managed to duck underneath the attack. However, her body became slightly numb from the sensation of lightning washing over her. She scrambled out of the way and leapt back in time to avoid her opponent’s follow up, but she could tell just from how sluggish her body moved that she was in a bad situation.

“I bet you didn’t know your Spiritual Aura can also be used to attack, huh?” Catalyna said. “It’s a more advanced technique and not something that just anyone can learn, but I’m kinda surprised Eryk hasn’t taught you how to do it yet. Maybe he’s not all that interested in making you stronger, after all.”

Those words caused Fay to see red, but they also left a kernel of doubt within her heart. What if that was true? She didn’t think it was. However, if it wasn’t, then why wouldn’t Eryk teach her about how a person could use their Spiritual Aura to attack?

Catalyna must have sensed her uncertainty. Wearing a wide grin, she twirled around like a dancer, swinging her jagged sword in complex patterns. Each time she did, it formed a line of crackling Spiritual Power in the air. One line became two, two became four, and four became sixteen. Once the number of lines reached sixteen, the crackling power within each line was unleashed.

It burst forward like a tempest, a giant wave of pale lightning that suddenly shifted, transforming into shapes—wolves. The shapes within the wave resembled a pack of ravenous wolves. They stamped along the ground, lightning exploding from their feet, burning the arena floor. Fay’s heart leapt into her throat as she saw the attack coming at her.

Fay was about to use the Flash Step, but Catalyna’s words about Eryk stopped her. She gnashed her teeth together and took a wide stance. She moved her hands in a circular pattern, fire swirling around them as she tucked them into her torso, gathering all the Spiritual Power she could muster. When the lightning wolves were barely half a meter away, she thrust out her fists and fired two massive balls of flame from them.

It was no good.

While her two attacks did punch a pair of holes through Catalyna’s lightning wolf pack, there was simply too wide an area for her fireballs to effectively disperse the technique. Fay realized this as her opponent’s Spiritual Lightning Technique continued forward unabated. She briefly thought about using the Flash Step to get away, but it was already too late.

The wave of lightning washed over Fay.

***

“Damn it!”

I roared as I jumped through the window, which fortunately had no glass, and rushed onto the arena floor. Fay was currently trapped within the middle of a lightning storm. I recognized the Spiritual Technique. It was called Lightning Wolves Asunder. The technique created a wave of lightning that took on the shape of a wolf pack, which charged into the enemy lines and demolished them. It was only a B-rank Spiritual Technique, but in the right hands, it could be incredibly deadly.

The moment my feet touched the ground, I used the Flash Step to appear next to the technique. I thrust out my hand, generating a powerful negative force of lightning that swept over the Lightning Wolves Asunder Technique, causing the entire wolf pack to disperse in an instant.

Fay was in the center of this technique. She was, surprisingly, still standing, but her back was hunched over and her arms were dangling at her side. I walked up to her and peered into her eyes. They were glazed over and her pupils had rolled into the back of her sockets. She was completely unconscious.

“The technique caused her muscles to seize up,” I muttered as I realized why she was still standing.

I reached out and closed Fay’s eyes. At the same time, I sent the water element through her body, relieving her currently stiff muscles. Her body began to slump as her muscles turned to jelly, but I moved forward and caught her before she could fall. For just one moment, I allowed myself the guilty pleasure of holding her close, but I knew it wasn’t appropriate, so I scooped her into my arms.

Her legs dangled and swung as I moved, and her head lolled against my chest. I looked down at her for a second longer. Then I glanced at Catalyna.

“That’s quite the fierce look you have there.” For some reason, Catalyna’s cheeks were flushed red. “Are you going to tell me using a B-rank Spiritual Technique was going overboard? Gonna say I should have held back?”

“No.” I shook my head, causing her to raise an eyebrow. “This was a battle, and while you might pretend this fight was easy, I know you went all out right from the beginning because you knew you’d lose if you didn’t.” I glanced at her chestplate, which was cracked. “It must hurt.”

“Ah ha ha ha!” Catalyna seemed more amused than angry. “It looks like I can’t hide anything from you. What an observant fellow.” She reached up and placed a hand against her cracked chestplate. “That girl’s attack pierced straight through my Spiritual Aura and my armor. Were I not as powerful as I am, I would have definitely lost to that girl.”

I nodded, but I didn’t say anything more. While I understood that it was a match, that injuries were part of combat, it did not make seeing someone I cared about being injured any easier.

Rainer chose that moment to step forward, raise his hand, and announce the results of this match. “The winner of this match is Catalyna Kriger!”

I ignored the roaring applause of the audience as I turned around and walked toward the exit. I needed to find a place where I could set Fay down and heal her injuries.

***

The moment Eryk walked off with Fay in his arms, Kari rushed out of the balcony and into the hallway. She ran down the stairs. There were several doors on the first floor, and each one led to a different room. Kari checked each one she came across before she found the one with Eryk and Fay.

She stopped by the door. Fay had been laid down on a bed made of straw and sheets. Eryk was leaning over her, one of his hands resting on her head and the other just below her chest. While the position looked intimate, Kari could see the waves of Spiritual Power flowing from his hands into Fay’s body. It looked like water emerging from his palms.

He was healing her.

As Kari debated with herself, wondering if she should enter the room, the wounds on Fay’s body slowly healed. Her cracked skin was reknit, the blistering scars vanished, the black scorch marks from electric damage became perfectly healthy flesh, and her labored breathing became lighter again. She had to marvel at Eryk’s ability to heal people. Even Instructor Brynhild was not that talented.

“Ngg…” a low moan arose from Fay as her eyes slowly fluttered open. Kari hid herself out of fear, pressing her back into the wall.

“Fay,” Eryk said, the relief in his voice more than evident. “Are you okay? How do you feel?”

“Eryk? What happened? Why are you…” Fay suddenly trailed off. Kari heard some rustling noises before… “I lost, didn’t I?”

A loud noise emerged like someone was expelling a large breath, “You did. You managed to win the preliminaries and your first match due to your raw talent, but Catalyna has much more experience than you do. I’m sorry. This was my fault. I had been so focused on strengthening your body and Spiritual Powers that I neglected to teach you how to properly fight.” Eryk paused for a moment. “After this tournament is over, I’d like to help you gain some experience. We’ll add sparring to our training so you can get a handle on how to fight someone.”

“…” a strange sound that Kari couldn’t hear made her perk up.

“What was that?” asked Eryk.

“Why are you… even bothering with me?” asked Fay. “You don’t even like me, right? The one you love is Kari, so why are you bothering to train me? Why are you being so kind to me?”

“Why? Isn’t that obviously because I want to help you?” The confusion in Eryk’s voice was more than evident.

“Well, I wish you would stop,” Fay snapped suddenly. “You keep… treating me so nicely that it hurts. I don’t think you even realize how much it hurts to have someone you love treat you with such kindness when you know they don’t love you back. Every sweet gesture you make, every kind word you say… they’re like a lance being driven into my heart, because I know that deep down, you aren’t doing this out of romantic feelings for me. It’s just who you are.”

Kari clutched her chest, her fingers wrapping around the fabric of her dress. Fay was crying. They weren’t wracking and loud sobs that echoed down the hall, but it was easy to hear the tears in her voice.

“I didn’t realize that’s how you felt,” Eryk said at last, his voice soft.

“Well, now you do know, so I would appreciate it if you stopped displaying so much kindness toward me. Every time you do, it makes me get my hopes up, makes me think there might be some chance that you’ll fall in love with me. And every time that happens, I find myself becoming disappointed and heartbroken.”

“That wasn’t my intention.”

“I know it wasn’t, but that’s what makes it hurt so much.” Fay paused. “If I told you to stop spending time with Kari, to stop looking at Kari, and to only look at me instead… would you? If I said to love me instead of her, would you do that?”

Kari felt like her heart was going to stop as she continued to listen in. She felt bad. Listening to a private conversation like this was terrible of her, but for as much as she wanted to move, it seemed her heart was unwilling to listen.

“No,” Eryk said at last, “I wouldn’t be able to stop loving Kari.”

Rubbing her chest, Kari wondered how it was possible to feel this happy and guilty at the same time. It was like her heart was soaring through the clouds, but at the same time, it felt like something had clutched it in an iron grip and was slowly squeezing it into a fine paste. She felt both pain and happiness in equal measure.

“So there you have,” Fay said, pausing for just a moment. “Please leave. I’d like to be alone.”

“I… I understand. I’ll leave you alone. I’m sorry.”

The sound of footsteps caused Kari to feel panic. As she was wondering what to do, Eryk emerged from the doorway, pausing when he saw her. He opened his mouth, presumably to say her name. Kari placed a finger against her lips. He closed his mouth. Almost sighing in relief, Kari gestured toward the staircase. Eryk nodded and followed her as she led him up the stairs.

“I’m assuming you heard most if not all of that conversation,” Eryk said after they’d gone a certain distance from the room.

“I’m sorry,” Kari apologized. “I wanted to make sure Fay was okay. I didn’t intend to eavesdrop.”

“It’s fine.” Eryk reached up and tugged on his bangs. “I mean, it’s not good to eavesdrop on someone else’s conversation, but, well, these things happen sometimes.”

An awkward silence passed between them, which felt odd to Kari because they almost always had something to talk about. However, this time, the topic of their conversation was heavy. Kari didn’t even know if bringing it up was appropriate.

“Do you mind if I ask… what you think about Fay?” Kari finally asked.

“What I think about Fay…” Eryk looked at the ceiling, and then sighed. “She’s an incredibly strong and determined young woman. She has a lot of talent, and she’s willing to work her butt off to get what she wants… but she’s also fragile in some ways. I don’t know why, but sometimes I feel like there are moments or issues that she doesn’t know how to deal with, and that causes her to overreact. She also has a lot of confidence issues. I get the feeling that she has a major inferiority complex that she’s hiding behind that strong front.”

Kari nodded as she listened to Eryk speak. She wondered if he realized how his face looked as he spoke about Fay, if he knew how gentle and soft his expression was. The conclusion she drew up was that he probably didn’t.

“Fay grew up without a mother,” Kari said after composing herself for a second. “Her mother died giving birth to her, and so her father had to raise her by himself, but there are a lot of things that a father can’t teach their daughter. I think not having a mom to look up to and learn from is why Fay isn’t able to deal with situations like this.”

“I see.” Eryk pressed a hand against his face. Pain flashed across his eyes as he closed them. “It’s no wonder my words hurt her so much. Maybe if she had a mom, there would be someone who could help her deal with this sort of relationship drama, but with just her dad… well, even I know that men aren’t the best people to seek relationship advice from.”

Kari thought back to everything she knew about Fay as she glanced down the stairs. From there, she could still see the doorway leading into Fay’s room. At that moment, a large man who looked big and hulking walked in. She just barely recognized Stelys Valstine. There was a woman with him who she didn’t recognize, though. It was an older woman in her early 30s or so with red hair that had an orange tint.

“You seem to know a lot about Fay,” Eryk said after a moment.

“That is because Fay and I used to be best friends.” Turning her attention back to him, Kari told Eryk about her past friendship with Fay. “We were very close a long time ago. She and I had similarly adventurous spirits. We loved to go wandering around. One day, we left the city and traveled into the surrounding forest, but… we were attacked by a group Demon Beasts.”

Eryk’s eyes widened as his face turned a startling shade of white. Kari quickly did her best to reassure him.

“Th-they were only D-rank Demon Beasts that had managed to come down from the mountain, so they weren’t very strong. However, to a couple of children like Fay and I, well, they were far too much for us to handle. I ended up being seriously injured trying to protect Fay. I think I was comatose for around a month or so.” Kari bit her lip because it was the only way to stop herself from crying as she thought about what happened. “It wasn’t until after I woke up that I learned my mother had blamed Fay for what happened to me and forced her family to pay reparations. After that, Fay refused to talk to me. Our friendship was ruined, and I’ve… never been able to get it back.”

Kari looked down as she felt moisture stinging her eyes. She did not have many friends. In fact, Fay had been her only friend, so when they stopped spending time together, Kari had been bereft of any form of friendship.

She probably should have expected Eryk’s hug the moment he placed his hands on her shoulders. Even so, his actions as he pulled her into his chest still surprised her, though those feelings didn’t last long. As his comforting warmth engulfed her body, she hugged him back, tightly wrapping her arms around his waist.

“I had no idea,” he said in a voice so soft Kari wouldn’t have heard it if he wasn’t hugging her. “You never told me about that.”

Something about the way he spoke made Kari think he was referring to something else, but she couldn’t figure out what.

“Only my family knows what happened,” Kari admitted. “I’ve never told this to anyone before.”

“Is this also the reason you’re not allowed outside of the city?”

“I think so.”

“I see.”

She and Eryk remained like that for a long time, and while Kari felt horrible for leaning on him like this after the conversation she’d overheard between him and Fay, she also needed this. It had been so long since she’d had someone to rely on. Her parents were always busy, her brothers never spent any time with her, and she didn’t have any friends. Eryk’s sudden appearance in her life was the biggest blessing she’d ever had.

“Eryk?” she said suddenly.

“Yes?”

Kari tilted her head up, resting her chin on his chest as she looked into his eyes. “If you could make both Fay and I happy, would you?”

“Without hesitation,” Eryk said.

While Kari didn’t let the relief she felt at those words show on her face, she did hug him tighter for a moment, before letting go. She took a step back and wiped her eyes. Then she smiled at him, though it was just a small smile.

“In that case, I have something I would like to talk to you about after the tournament,” she said. “Now probably isn’t the best place or the right time to discuss this, so we’ll do it a little later.”

Eryk seemed a little confused, but he nodded anyway. “Okay. If I can do something to help you and Fay, let me know what it is.”

“Thank you. I’ll be counting on your help.”

“Just leave it to me.”

***

Stelys entered the room where his daughter was resting. He had expected to see Eryk there as well, seeing how that boy had been the one who carried her out of the arena, but instead it was just his daughter. She sat on the bed. Her hands were tightly clasped together as they rested on her lap. He couldn’t see her face because her head was tilted down, causing her long strands of red hair to block it.

However, he could see the small teardrops that leaked down her cheeks. Each drop looked like a small crystal as it made a trail down her face, dripped off her chin, and splashed against her hands.

Feeling awkward but knowing he needed to do something, Stelys sat down on the seat next to her bed.

“Are you okay, Fay? Did something happen?” asked Stelys.

He didn’t know if Fay was surprised to see him, but his breath caught in his throat when his daughter looked up, tears streaming down her pale face. It was a mess. Her eyes were red and swollen, and her nose had become runny.

“Father…”

Shock coursed through him when Fay collapsed into his chest. She reached up and clutched his shirt as she released several loud wails. Her sobs echoed around the room, causing him both incredible confusion and heartache.

Unsure of what to do, he glanced at Feinrea, but she just smiled and motioned at Fay.

He understood. At least, he thought he understood. There was only one thing a parent could do in a situation like this.

Stelys wrapped his arms around Fay and let her cry.

***

I walked into the waiting room, where Dante greeted me with an odd smile.

“I think I might have underestimated you,” he said.

I gave him a weird look. “Excuse me?”

“It’s nothing.” Dante shook his head.

“Whatever.”

I decided to ignore him and walked up to the window. A battle was currently taking place, but I frowned when I realized the two battling was Torgny Leucht and Astrid Kriger.

Astrid was a leggy woman who didn’t wear any armor, and instead opted for wearing entirely black clothing that wrapped around her and revealed every curve of her body. While her eyes and forehead were visible, her mouth wasn’t, covered as it was in a black scarf that trailed behind her. Unlike her sister, Catalyna, Astrid wielded a pair of daggers, which she seemed incredibly well-versed with.

“You missed the previous battle,” Dante informed me.

“Who won?” I asked.

“Kell Kriger.”

Although I didn’t know who Kell Kriger was, I did know that the Kriger Family was the most martial-oriented of the Three Heavenly Families. All of their members were trained in combat from a young age. A family like that would only allow the strongest members of their family to take part in this competition.

The battle between Astrid and Torgny seemed to be at a stalemate. Astrid was covered in a light green aura, a wind-natured Spiritual Aura, but none of her attacks were getting past her opponent’s powerful Spiritual Aura. She sent numerous crescent-shaped blades of wind at her foe. Each one exploded harmlessly against Torgny’s Spiritual Aura and dispersed.

Of course, it wasn’t like Torgny was doing much better, since it seemed he couldn’t hit her no matter how hard he tried. He swung his battle ax like a maniac. However, Astrid was doing an admirable job of keeping away. She ducked, sidestepped, and rolled across the ground, always keeping herself just a little ahead of his attacks.

Their battle was mostly close-range. The two of them were trading attacks at a blistering pace that most people wouldn’t have been able to keep up with. I think what surprised me was how, even though Astrid was launching her wind blades at point-blank range, none of them could penetrate the fiery Spiritual Aura surrounding Torgny.

Tognry screamed as he swung his ax and slammed it on the ground. Several flame pythons tried to attack her, but she nimbly leapt away. She didn’t attack them. Her Spiritual Wind Techniques wouldn’t work as wind was weak against fire. She merely danced around Torgny, waiting for the pythons to lose their energy and disperse.

“It was a bad matchup,” Dante said. I wondered why he was being so talkative now, but I didn’t let that bother me.

“Astrid is going to lose.” I nodded. “She has more talent than Torgny, but wind is weak against fire. What’s more, he has a lot more Spiritual Power than she does.”

As if my words were somehow prophetic, Astrid suddenly stumbled as her Spiritual Aura flickered. It was only for a moment. However, in that moment, Torgny swung his ax, which slammed into her so hard I could hear the loud smacking sound from here. Astrid’s Spiritual Aura shattered as she struck the ground, skidded across it, and stopped after several meters.

“The winner of this match has been decided!” Rainer raised a hand as two medics came out with a stretcher. “Torgny Leucht is the winner!”

“That was about what I expected to happen,” Dante said with a nod.

I didn’t say anything. I stared at Torgny, who I knew would be my greatest opponent in this tournament.