It also allowed me and the others to see what was happening outside.
“D-Demon Beasts!!” the young man screamed in shock.
I heard the words, but it didn’t quite click as I stared at the scene, trying to comprehend what was happening. Everything was pandemonium. Large animals were attacking everything in sight, destroying buildings and killing people. A middle-aged man was trying to run away with his wife but became impaled upon the horn of a massive beast when he pushed his wife away. His wife was killed when several slightly smaller beasts trampled her. To my left was a young girl. She was crying and screaming, but those screams disappeared when something swooped down from the sky, landed in front of her, and plucked the girl up with its mouth, eating her whole before flying off.
This scene was repeating itself everywhere.
“W-why are Demon Beasts attacking?! How did they even get here?!” asked someone else who was still in the library, probably too shocked to even think of moving.
That was a good question, and I wish I knew the answer, but I knew very little about Demon Beasts in general. No one really knew anything about them other than the basics. They were powerful monsters that were vicious and devoured humans. Their strength was classified on a ranking category from E to S with S-Rank Demon Beasts being the strongest. I heard they had something called a monster core inside of them that could be extracted and used to exchange for money and goods, but that was about all I knew.
Before any of us really had time to process the situation, a large avian swooped down from the sky and landed in front of us. It was similar to the one that had eaten the little girl. Tri-clawed feet scratched against the ground. Each foot was about the same size as a human torso. Leathery black skin covered every inch of its body, which towered over myself and the others. This creature glared down at us with glowing red eyes. It opened its beaked mouth and let out a shrill cry that jump-started my body.
“Everybody, run!!” I shouted before moving myself.
My words were the jolt they needed. The others alongside me screamed as they tried to run away. Sadly, not all of them were able to escape. The avian Demon Beast screeched again and quickly snatched someone up with its mouth. It might have just been my imagination, but I could have sworn I heard a loud crunching sound as that person’s bones were crushed.
Most of us managed to make it past the Demon Beast, but it wasn’t like running outside put us in a better position than when we were inside. It might have made things worse. There were Demon Beasts rampaging everywhere. Massive beasts that stood on two legs and were covered in silver fur swung their giant claws, crushing people, shredding their bodies, and sending them flying. Several smaller Demon Beasts on four legs darted through the mass of screaming people. They acted in groups, attacking humans like a mob. I was unfortunate enough to see one man get bitten in the neck, screaming as he went down before being torn apart by a group of those things. No matter where I looked, I saw blood, death, and something that would haunt me for the rest of my life.
There were a few people who tried to protect the others. I could see men and women attacking the Demon Beasts with powerful Spiritual Techniques. They moved across the ground, their complicated motions similar to a dance directing their Spiritual Power. These people had intense auras that flickered around their bodies like a flame. Red, yellow, blue, green, brown. The colors of their aura differed to coincide with their elemental affinity.
An older man twirled about, his feet shuffling in complicated steps, his Spiritual Power soaring as numerous spears made of fire appeared around him. The fire spears were launched into the hides of several small demon beasts, burning them from the inside out. Another several meters away, a young woman was protecting two kids, her blades coated in lightening as she swung them, her Spiritual Aura crackling around her body like an electric shield. Her attacks severed the heads of several four-legged Demon Beasts known as Dire Wolves.
All of these people wore chainmail underneath a tunic that was protected by either a leather or steel breastplate. Shoulder pads, vambraces, and shin guards protected their extremities. Some of these people had variations in their armor but most were uniform. I recognized them. They were the Imperial Royal Guard—a specialized force that protected Nevaria and could be mobilized at a moment’s notice—and the Nevarian Spiritualists, a large group of several tens of thousands of Spiritualists whose job was to safeguard Nevaria and defend it against Demon Beasts.
A few possessed scale-like mail hidden underneath their chest plates. These people seemed to be more powerful than the others, able to launch Spiritual Techniques that looked incredibly strong. Torrents of fire washed over waves of Demon Beasts, cooking them alive. Lightning rained down from above, striking several Demon Beasts and causing their twitching corpses to fall to the ground. Spears of water pierced hides, walls of earth rose up and crushed them, and blades of wind sliced off limbs. The ones who were using these incredible techniques were the Captains and Commanders.
“Protect the people!” a man standing on a roof yelled as he swung his sword in a complicated figure eight, sending massive wind blades into the sky. I looked up to see several avian Demon Beasts get struck, their wings shearing off as they were hit. They screeched in agony as they fell to the ground.
For just a moment, hope arose in my chest at the sight of these people, these Spiritualists. They were the defenders of Nevaria. With these people here, they could repel these Demon Beasts.
It wasn’t to be.
Just as that hope appeared before me, it was quickly dashed as more Demon Beasts appeared inside Nevaria. There weren’t just the ones that the Imperial Royal Guards and Nevarian Spiritualists had been fighting, which I realized were actually supposed to be weak, but there were also Demon Beasts that none of the Spiritualists had the strength to fight off.
One such Demon Beast appeared from the side. The creature was a massive thing with a black body that walked on six legs and shot threads of white silk from its mouth. It didn’t have much of a face. Huge mandibles jutted out from an ugly mouth. Large, round red eyes sat on top of its head. Not only did it shoot sticky threads from its mouth to entangle people, but it also had two large, powerful-looking claws that it used to crush the people around it.
“Acromantula?! That’s an A-Rank Demon Beast!” someone screamed.
“What’s an A-Rank doing here?!”
“Who cares?! It’s here, so we have no choice but to fight it! Don’t let it harm the civilians!”
Several Spiritualists tried to combine their might, dancing across the ground to launch their attacks, but this thing’s skin was so tough the Spiritual Techniques they fired merely glanced off it. Their attacks also caused the large Demon Beast to take notice of them. I was stuck in place as the six-legged Demon Beast attacked them. Some became trapped within its sticky threads, while a large number were crushed. A few Spiritualists darted between its legs, but even those could be used as weapons. One of the more unfortunate Spiritualists was impaled through the chest by a spindly leg. Even with their armor, the sharp endpoint of the leg pierced their body with ease, going straight through and jutting out their back.
The sight made me sick. There was so much blood. It penetrated my nose, this horrid stench. That, along with the sight of so many people dying, was enough to make me lose the contents of my stomach. However, I didn’t have time to just stand around and vomit. Even as I tried to recover, several of those four-legged Demon Beasts pounced at me.
Left with little more than instincts derived from terror, I tried to flee from the Demon Beasts. I ran without any sense of direction. It didn’t matter where I ran to. Everywhere was chaos. The Demon Beasts nipped at my heels. I could hear their angry snarls and hungry growls behind me. My breathing came out in short rasps.
I turned a corner and ran into an alley. That was a bad idea. I found a wall impeding my path. This place was a dead end.
The growls growing louder at my back alerted me to my imminent demise. Eve
n though I didn’t want to, I turned around and faced the group of snarling Demon Beasts. They walked on four skinny legs, had slightly elongated bodies and fur covering their muscular physique, and their growling muzzles were filled with sharp teeth.
My eyes widened, my breath grew more rapid as my heart accelerated, and my body felt a chill as if ice had frozen my blood.
The Demon Beasts were closing in. There was no escape now. One of them, the one in front, growled as it leapt at me.
“Stay back!” I shouted as I held out my hand. However, my words had no effect, and the Demon Beast—yelped as pale blue lightning suddenly shot from my fingertips. “Huh?”
I blinked in shock as the Demon Beast was thrown back by the lightning surging from my fingers. I stared at my hands. I’d never used Spiritual Techniques before. How come I was capable of shooting lightning from my hands? And without using any movements to direct my Spiritual Power no less!
I wasn’t given much time to ponder what happened before all the Demon Beasts attacked. Lightning didn’t burst from my hands this time. I screamed out just as they pounced, but I knew this was the end.
One of the Dire Wolves leapt on me. I screamed as I went down. It tried to bite at my face, but I somehow got my hands underneath its neck and held it at bay. It snapped. Its hungry jaws dripped drool onto my face. One of its claws came up as it tried to get at me, and I cried out when a sharp claw tore into my left eye. I felt blood burn my eye, and my scream ripped through the air.
“Do not touch him!” a voice shouted.
Several beams of light suddenly appeared in the air and pierced all the Demon Beasts attacking me. Each beam went straight through the creatures’ bodies, penetrating their chests or their skulls, killing them instantly. All of the Demon Beasts were airborne. Even the one on top of me was struck and sent sailing. They soared past me, struck the ground, rolled across the dirt, and slammed into the wall.
As I lay there, catching my breath, I placed a hand over my eye and tried not to cry. It hurt. I’d never felt pain like this before. All I could do to not scream was bite my lip.
“Eryk!!”
I managed to sit up and look at my rescuer. A young woman was running toward me. Her golden hair reminded me of the sun. Porcelain skin that looked delicate and fragile gave her a divine, noble appearance. The golden armor covering her chest didn’t extend to her stomach, but I could see scalemail beneath the breastplate. Shoulder pauldrons, greaves, and vambraces helped protect her deceptively thin limbs. Gripped within her hand was a spear that must have been a meter and a half in length.
“Eryk!” the woman cried as she slammed into me while I was still sitting down. Her arms were around my waist, the fragrance of sweat mixed with perfume invading my nose as she hugged me. “I’m so glad you’re still alive! I was so… I’m so happy to see that you’re okay!”
It took me a moment, but as she held onto me like I was a lifeline, I soon realized I knew this woman.
“… Kari?” I asked softly.
Kari’s response was to increase the strength of her hug, which was actually kind of uncomfortable because her breastplate was grinding against my ribs. The hug fortunately didn’t last long. She moved back and grabbed my hand with her free hand, tugging on it to get me moving.
“Come on,” she said, her eyes containing a powerful determination as she hauled me to me feet. “We’re getting out of here.”
I’m pretty sure I was in shock because I barely remember what happened as I followed her. Maybe my inability to remember also had to do with blood loss. I know we ran through the streets, the terrified wails and dying screams of people accompanying our desperate dash, but everything else about the invasion was something I could only recall in vague details. All I really knew for sure was that Kari was the very essence of an angry god as she slaughtered every Demon Beast that stood in her way. It was thanks to her and her alone that we managed to escape from Nevaria, fleeing toward the west, where several hundred kilometers worth of plains and farmlands stretched out before us.
As she and I left, I took one last look at the city state. Plumes of fire and smoke rose into the sky, flying Demon Beasts flew overhead, and a gigantic creature that stood on four legs and was easily taller than even the mountain upon which the Imperial Royal Palace sat lifted its head and unleashed a roar that shook the heavens.
The city state of Nevaria was finished.
I sucked in a deep breath as my eyes snapped open. Sitting up in bed, I ignored the slight chill as the cold sweat covering my skin was struck by a light breeze that came in through the open window. It looked like I had forgotten to close the shutters. Glancing around the room, I took everything in, then pressed a hand against my face and took several slow, shuddering breaths.
“What a nightmare,” I mumbled.
I didn’t allow myself to dwell on the nightmare I’d had for long since there were things to do, places to be, and all that stuff. It was morning now. The sun was out. After washing my face and cleaning my body with a rag, I got dressed in my usual clothes and left the room.
Grabbing a loaf of honeyed bread for breakfast, I went to the library and prepared it for the day. Opening the library involved cleaning, checking the books, and making sure the tables and chairs were set up. It was actually easier to open than it was to close. Once I finished prepping the library, I changed the sign on the door from closed to open.
No one arrived for at least an hour. During that time, I sat behind the counter and thought about important matters… like that fact that Kari hadn’t come to visit me since I teased her that day one week ago. It was unusual for her to not appear even once in an entire week. Disregarding me, Kari came to the library to read every time she didn’t have classes.
The library was a bit boring today, but maybe that was because I felt a little moody. There wasn’t much for me to do and Kari hadn’t shown up. I honestly couldn’t have been more relieved when Ms. Nadine arrived to let me off.
“There’s no need for you to be so happy,” the woman said with a roll of her eyes.
“Sorry,” I apologized. “Anyway, I’ll be going now.”
“Right. Don’t get into trouble.”
I nodded and was about to leave… when I paused. A thought occurred to me.
“Ms. Nadine, has Kari shown up at all?” I asked in what I hoped was a casual voice.
“Not while I’ve been around.” Ms. Nadine shook her head. She studied me for a moment before a glint came to her eyes. “Have you and your girl had a falling out?”
“She isn’t my girl yet,” I said with a shrug. “But yeah, kind of.”
Ms. Nadine seemed surprised by my “yet” comment, but then she waved me off and repeated that Kari hadn’t shown up at all. I had no choice but to believe her.
It was late in the afternoon when I left the library. After buying something to eat for lunch, I went back to my place, grabbed the bag of pills, and headed for the south gate instead of the east one.
My Spiritual Pathways had widened to the point where releasing my Spiritual Power no longer caused a massive explosion. That meant it was time to refine my control using a different training method. I also wanted to see if I could still use some of my more prominent Spiritual Techniques like the Flash Step. If I could at least unleash my Spiritual Aura and use the Flash Step, then I could consider myself to be in good shape. If not, I’d have to refine my control even more.
I needed to use a carriage to reach the south gate, which took me close to the noble district. An hour later, I was hopping off the carriage and traveling out the gate. Like all the others, this one was guarded by a pair of Nevarian Spiritualists.
The area beyond the south gate didn’t have as much forest as the north and west gates. While there still existed a number of tall trees clustered together, there were also a lot of boulders and rocky areas that made the terrain difficult to navigate. It also had a lot of clearings that could be used for training.
As I wandered around a pa
rticularly large rock sticking out of the ground, a noise caught my attention. I paused and cocked my head to the side.
“Ha! Ha! Hya!”
The sound was that of someone yelling. Their loud shouts reverberated around me, symbolizing their physical exertion. I blinked as I realized there was a person aside from myself who had decided to train out here. From the timbre and pitch of their voice, I knew this person was a woman. Her voice sounded young. I guessed that she was probably around my current physical age.
Curiosity got the better of me, I must admit. I wanted to see who else would be training this far from Nevaria. I followed the sound of the voice, wandering past several boulders, which eventually led to a large clearing.
The woman who was training within the clearing was indeed young. She was more of a girl than a woman. I’d guess she was sixteen or seventeen years old.
Her hair was like trails of fire, catching and reflecting the sunlight as she spun around and unleashed a series of punches and kicks. The unblemished pale skin of her face that was purer than snow gave her a refreshing appearance. She wore a simple tunic and pants. The tunic was long-sleeved and she had gloves on, so I couldn’t see her body. I could only see the outline. While she definitely wasn’t any older than myself and Kari, I could see from the outline that she was already maturing. Breasts that were smaller than Kari’s but still quite big pushed against the tunic. From the way the cord wrapped around her waist, I could tell that she was thin. However, the curvature of her hips revealed that she likely had some powerful thighs hidden beneath those pants.
As I watched the girl from afar, I noticed that she would occasionally stumble when practicing. I thought she was just clumsy at first. When I took a closer look, however, I realized that she was favoring her right foot. Not only that, but the movements of her arms, particularly her left arm, also seemed quite stiff.
The girl turned her attacks into a powerful dance. I sensed the swirling Spiritual Power rising within her, but it felt sluggish, like something was clogging it. That feeling only intensified when the girl suddenly thrust out both palms. The sluggish Spiritual Power crawled to her hands. Then it dissipated as though it had slammed against a wall.
WIEDERGEBURT: Legend of the Reincarnated Warrior: Volume 1 Page 11