WIEDERGEBURT Chapter 30

It was later than usual when I began walking home. Kari had a lot of information to share in regards to the noble families and the many connections they formed. I was honestly kind of surprised by just how little I knew about the noble families in Nevaria, but I also understood that there was no way I could have known this. A lowly librarian had no need for such knowledge.

After Nevaria’s destruction, Kari and I rarely spoke of our original home. The few times that we did speak, it had been a small comment here or there about Empress Hilda or one of Kari’s brothers or fathers. We’d never spoken about the noble families. There had been no need to since all of them were dead.

As I walked along the familiar but dark streets, I paused when a chill ran down my spine, traveling from the base of my neck all the way to my tailbone. I looked around. There was nothing near me that stood out. I frowned as I used Spiritual Perception, but I couldn’t find anything around me that would cause such a feeling.

It wasn’t until I searched myself that I discovered the problem. The tattoo on my ring finger was throbbing. As I focused my attention on it, I could sense a good deal of irritation and even some pain. It felt like something had stung my torso. However, it wasn’t me that was feeling this. I wasn’t sure how this worked, but I could tell that the feelings coming to me through the tattoo were Lin’s.

Activating the Flash Step, I quickly blitzed home within a few seconds, raced through the front door, and ran up the stairs. The moment I reached the second floor, I could hear the banging and crashing sounds coming from my room. Several of the old ladies who lived in this building also stepped outside of their rooms upon hearing the noises.

“What is going on?”

“Eryk? Why is there so much noise coming from your room?!”

“That’s what I’m going to find out!”

I gave them a terse reply as I ran to my door. More noises echoed from the other side. There was a loud crash like something was being slammed into another object, several pained grunts, gurgling noises, followed by a loud bang! that made me think of the sound wood makes when it splinters from a high impact.

Rushing through the door, I took quick stock of the situation. The first thing I noticed were the bodies lying on the floor. There were two figures dressed in black clothing that covered every inch of their bodies, including their faces. A third figure was currently dangling limply as it was gripped around the neck by a tail. Even without being able to see this person because of their clothing, I could tell they were dead.

“Lin,” I shouted, “what’s happening?!”

Lin was standing by the bed, her body held up by her snake-tail. She was gripping her side and had a pained expression on her face. However, she didn’t answer me and instead said, “Nevermind that! One of those people escaped. This princess demands you take care of them for her!”

I glanced at the broken shutter. That last noise must have been the sound of someone blasting through it.

Without sparing Lin another glance, I Flash Stepped toward the window and leapt out. I landed on the ground. Then I Flash Stepped onto the roof. Once there, I quickly spread out my Spiritual Perception to locate any fluctuating Spiritual Power. So long as someone was using a Spiritual Technique, I would be able to—there!

I locked onto a Spiritual Presence several meters to my left and quickly moving away via some kind of Spiritual Technique. I frowned when the Spiritual Presence vanished, but then it appeared again. Turning in that direction, I used the Flash Step to speed across the roofs and reach the fleeing figure in record time.

However, even after I reached this person, it took me a while to find them. They were hiding within the shadows—no, they were moving between the shadows! Like the others, this person was covered in black clothing. They were using a Spiritual Technique called Shadow Walking, which allowed them to move between shadows. It was a technique of the darkness element, which was supposed to be quite rare.

Too bad for them I was well-acquainted with this element and its weaknesses.

I waited until the figure was forced out of the shadow so it could leap to the next one, and then I used the Flash Step to appear directly above this person. I channeled the lightning element into my left hand. Crackling energy burst from my hand, but it was contained as I straightened my fingers to form the shape of a knife. There was no hesitation in my movements as I plunged my hand into this figure’s back.

“Hurk!”

The figure stopped moving the moment my hand pierced their back. I frowned a little as I realized I couldn’t feel the warm blood that should have been engulfing my hand, but I ignored that for the moment. Pulling my hand out, I watched the person fall flat on the ground. A loud sizzling echoed around me as from the lightning covering my hand. Could the blood have been evaporated by my lightning?

Wearing the slightest frown, I pushed this person onto their back with my foot. Once again, there was no blood even though there should have been a lot of it pooling underneath them. My attack hadn’t cauterized this person’s wound. I stared at the plain white mask covering this person’s face. Leaning down, I removed the mask to see who it was, but I was forced to leap back in shock when smoke poured off the body.

“Poison?”

The stench of an acidic poison reached my nose. I circulated the water element through my body to nullify the poison, but there was nothing I could do about the body, which quickly disintegrated until there was nothing left. Even the clothing and the mask in my hands turned into naught but dust.

I stood there in indecision for a minute, but remembering where I had just come from, I once more activated the Flash Step and appeared within my room in less than two minutes.

When I arrived, it was to discover that the bodies of all the people who had been killed by Lin had also disintegrated. All that remained of where they had been were three black stains on the floor. My Lamia roommate was sitting on the bed, holding her side and breathing heavily through her nose.

“You’ve been injured,” I muttered softly as I walked over to her.

“This princess was a little careless,” Lin admitted as I knelt in front of her. Blood leaked from between her fingers as she pressed a hand to her side. “She did not expect anyone to show up and paid the price for being negligent.” She hesitated. “Did you get the one that escaped?”

“I did,” I answered. “Lay down and show me the wound please.”

Lin laid on her back and removed the hand from her wound, which caused the blood to leak out even faster. The wound was a decently-sized gash that ran along her left torso. Not only did blood leak from the cut, but the edges of the wound had turned a dark purple that was beginning to go black.

“Necrosis?” I muttered with a frown. “You’ve been poisoned.”

“Aye. The one who escaped dared to cut this princess with a poison coated dagger,” Lin answered me with a stilted breath. “It surprised this princess enough that he was able to escape. Fortunately, Lamia are resistant to poisons, so it has not spread far.”

“Hold on a moment,” I said as I leaned over. “I’m going to remove the poison.”

Lin nodded and tried to relax against the bed as I placed my hands near her wound and leaned down. I didn’t hesitate for a second. Placing my mouth over her cut, I channeled the water element through my mouth and began sucking out the poison.

There were several methods for removing poison. The first was alchemy pills. There were quite a few antidote pills that could be created to neutralize the effects of poison, but I didn’t know them. The second method was sucking it out. This required someone who could use the water element. While using one’s mouth was not required, it was easier to suck out the poison this way.

With the water element activated, I quickly took control of Lin’s blood flow, reversing the flow so all the poison that had been released into her bloodstream returned to the wound. As Lin moaned from pain, the acidic taste of poison filled my mouth. It burned my tongue and mouth like it was trying to melt me. I endured the pain and continued sucking the poison out, waiting until I could sense no more before removing my mouth.

I went over to the window and expelled the poison onto the street below. It splashed against the ground, hissing and sizzling in the cool night air.

Grimacing at the pain in my mouth, I channeled the water element to heal the damage before turning around.

Lin was still lying on the bed. Her face was a little flushed and her breathing was heavy. The wound on her side wasn’t healed and still leaked blood, but the poison was gone at least.

I went back over, knelt by the bed, and placed my hand against her wound. The water element flowed through my hands and into Lin’s wound. The blood running down her skin reversed course, traveling back into her body. Then the flesh slowly began closing up.

“Can you tell me what happened?” I asked as I healed her.

“This princess was lounging on your bed when several people appeared from within the shadows. She did not know who these people were, but this princess easily sensed their hostile intent and attacked.” The wound completely closed and I removed my hands. Her skin had the same healthy, vibrant look as before. There wasn’t even a scar. “They seemed most surprised to find a Lamia in your residence, Darling. This princess believes they were not expecting to find someone here, least of all someone like her.”

“Most people in Nevaria do not even believe in the existence of Lamia,” I said as Lin sat up. “Your kind only exist in legends and fairy tales here. Part of the reason I don’t want you wandering outside is because of the panic it would cause.”

“This princess understands that, which is why she has listened to your advice,” Lin said.

“And I appreciate that.” I gave her a smile before looking at the closed door. “Did anyone come in after I left?”

Lin shook her head. “A few people tried to enter, but this princess wouldn’t let them. She used her tail to keep the door closed. They complained for awhile, but everyone eventually stopped banging on the door.”

“Good.” I sighed in relief. “That’s one less trouble to worry about. However, we can’t remain here any longer. I don’t know who these people are, but they’re clearly hostile toward us, or at least toward me. I’ve already bought us a house. It doesn’t have any furnishings, but we will stay there for the night anyway.”

“If that is your decision, this princess will comply it.”

Lin stood up and twisted her torso as though testing to see if her body was in working order. While some part of me wanted to look away, another part could not help but admire the sinuous curves and muscles of her thin waist. There was a snake-like sensuality to her movements that contained a deadly grace and seductiveness. It was enough to make even my brain stall for a moment.

I shook my head to dispel these thoughts. “Let’s leave through the window and quickly make our way to the new house.”

I went out of the window first, using the Flash Step to appear on the street below. The moment my feet touched the ground, I turned around as Lin came out.

Unlike myself, Lin could not use the Flash Step. She didn’t even have feet. That said, her tail was about 6 meters long and allowed her to dangle from the window. Once she found herself hanging upside down, she grabbed onto a wood support beam sticking out of the wall and removed the rest of her tail from inside the room.

I had to admire her incredible upper body strength as she twisted her body around, inverting herself so her tail was now pointed toward the ground. The muscles in her arms, back, and stomach flexed as she lowered herself. Her tail touched down, and then she let go of the beam, slowly returning to a normal standing position.

Well, normal for a Lamia at least.

“Let’s go,” I said. “Stick to the shadows. I don’t want anyone discovering us.”

“This princess understands,” Lin said.

Rather than walking down the center of the street, Lin and I moved along the edge, avoiding the glow of street lamps to keep from being seen. There was no one on the streets but us. However, on the off chance that someone did show up, or if someone looked out their window, I wanted to be adequately hidden. I also activated Spiritual Perception to track any fluctuations in Spiritual Power. The last thing we needed was to be attacked again.

The new house I had bought was half an hours walk from my old room. It required us to travel down numerous roads to reach.

“Um… thank you,” Lin suddenly said as we turned onto another street.

I glanced at her. “For what?”

“For removing that poison,” Lin said. “If you had not removed it, this princess would have been in a lot of trouble. That poison was more potent than the kind she can produce on her own right now.”

I shook my head and looked back at the street before us. There was no sign of any movement. I also couldn’t detect any presences, and I had extended Spiritual Perception to a kilometer radius around us.

“That is not something you need to thank me for.” I sighed. “I am positive those people showed up because of me. You only got injured as a result of being there when they arrived. In a way, it is my fault you received that injury in the first place.”

“You might say that, and you might be right, but this princess is going to extend her gratitude anyway.” Lin was adamant. “This is the second time you have saved her. She knows how to show gratitude.”

I was already fairly well acquainted with Lin’s stubborn attitude, so I decided not to bother saying anything else to dispute her. It wasn’t worth arguing over.

We reached the front gate to our new house. I unlocked the gate and the front door, allowing Lin to proceed me. After making sure I had locked everything up, I walked into the house and found Lin standing in the middle of the family room. She swept her eyes around the room and nodded.

“This house is quite nice. This princess approves.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“Is this room the one where this princess is going to sleep in?”

“No… let me show you the one you’ll be sleeping in.”

I showed Lin the master bedroom, which was the second largest room in the house. While it was hard to judge the room’s size, I would have estimated that it was at least three times larger than the room we had been living in. That was more than enough space for Lin.

“This room will also work,” Lin said after a moment.

“That’s good.” I’d have been worried if a room like this didn’t suit her. “Anyway, I’m going to sleep in my room. Call me if you need anything.”

Lin frowned. “You are not planning to share a room with this princess?”

I frowned right back. “The whole reason I decided to buy this house was so you and I could sleep in separate rooms.”

“This princess thought you were joking.”

“Why would I joke about this?”

“In either event, you cannot sleep in another room. This princess needs you to help her keep warm.”

Something about the way she said that sent a chill down my spine, but I didn’t know why.

“And why do I need to help you keep warm?” I asked.

“Have you already forgotten? Lamia are cold-blooded.” Lin crossed her arms and looked down at me, which she could do because she used her tail to raise her height. “This princess’ body becomes hotter or colder based on the temperature and other factors. She cannot retain body heat or generate her own body heat like you humans can. What’s more, we have no blankets. If you do not keep this princess warm, it is likely that she will freeze to death.”

As Lin once again reminded me of her cold-blooded nature, I couldn’t help but release a soft groan.

It was going to be a long night.