WIEDERGEBURT

by Varnell, Brandon

  This was a Spiritual Attack.

  Upon reaching B-Rank, Demon Beasts gained the Spiritual Power necessary to use Spiritual Attacks, which were like their version of Spiritual Techniques. This was also why Eryk could sense them once they reached B-Rank. An A-Rank Demon Beast was even more powerful. Having gained near-human intelligence, they also acquired the ability to manipulate whatever element their affinity was tied to.

  Giant Rock Golems were tied to the earth element.

  After realizing its attack had been unsuccessful, the Demon Beast unleashed another soundwave-like roar. Fay was forced to cover her ears. Even so, it did little good. It felt like this attacked more than just her eardrums. The most horrifying thing, though, was knowing this wasn’t a Spiritual Attack. It was just a really loud roar.

  A brilliant, pale-blue light suddenly erupted from the sky. Fay looked up. The tiny speck of glowing blue light was emitting a Spiritual Pressure that pushed back the power erupting from the massive Demon Beast. As she continued to stare at it, a massive bolt of lightning slammed into the giant monster, striking the red rock covering its head. This caused the creature to stumble back a few steps, but there didn’t appear to be any damage.

  “Eryk…”

  Clasping her hands tightly together, Fay could do nothing but pray for Eryk’s safety.

  I landed on the ground after my unsuccessful attack on the creature’s head. I had assumed that red layer of rock would be its weak spot since it looked different than the rest, but that appeared to not be the case. As I wove between the creature’s legs, swinging the Dragon’s Tail Ruler to little effect—my weapon just glanced off the Giant Rock Golem’s harder than steel body with a loud clang —I also dodged the spikes that shot from the ground to skewer me.

  Left. Right. Right. Spin.

  I wove past several stakes as they came at me, using the Flash Step Version 3: Lightning Step to keep myself one step ahead of my opponent’s attacks. Coming out from the underside of the creature’s body, I suddenly found the sun being blocked out by something large. I looked up. It was a massive tail that must have been over a dozen meters in length.

  Gritting my teeth, I raced away from underneath the tail before it slammed into the ground, then leapt into the air. A sonic boom erupted from where the tail struck. It was so loud it rattled my teeth. The ground cratered beneath it, indenting and forming cracks that rapidly spread, but that wasn’t all that happened. Several rocks ranging in size from small pebbles to large boulders flew in my direction.

  Coating the Dragon’s Tail Ruler in a combination of lightning and water, I quickly sliced apart the projectiles that came at me. A boulder about the same size as me was split cleanly in half. I only felt a little resistance when I cut through it. As I spun my arm around, using myself as the fulcrum and my sword as the weight, I unleashed a tornado of lightning and water, tearing to shreds several more giant projectiles that had been hurtling in my direction.

  Rather than landing back on the ground, I created a platform beneath my feet and performed a Flash Step in midair, allowing me to ascend even higher. The Giant Rock Golem tried to look up at me, but it had a limited range of head movement and could only glare up with its eyes. Of course, since its eyes were located on either side of its head, that also meant I could only see one glowing golden eye from my current position, but it still managed to stare at me before I disappeared above it.

  One of the only weaknesses of a Giant Rock Golem was its limited field of view. It couldn’t look at things directly above it. Of course, being airborne was also an advantage. This creature was of the earth element, meaning it could only affect the earth and couldn’t do anything about opponents in the air.

  At least, that was my theory until several strange protrusions appeared on the reddish armor-like sediment covering its head and some of its back. Those strange protrusions soon fired off several rock projectiles that flew toward me at speeds a normal Spiritualist wouldn’t be able to avoid. Even I couldn’t avoid them since there were so many. Left with no choice, I channeled as much Spiritual Power into my ruler as I dared and unleashed a gigantic wave of lightning and water.

  While it was a combination of lightning and water, it looked like a crescent of pure white energy. It met the projectiles head-on. A loud number of detonations created airbursts that pushed me higher into the sky. Meanwhile, the projectiles and my own crescent attack were negated.

  Crack!

  Hearing that sound, I looked at my ruler and grimaced. Even before this battle had begun, my weapon had been slowly breaking. This ruler was made of steel. It wasn’t like the mythril weapon created for me by the Dweorgs. It couldn’t handle my Spiritual Power.

  I knew this weapon wouldn’t last much longer. With this in mind, I oriented my body until I was pointed headfirst toward the ground, then created another platform of Spiritual Power beneath my feet, which I used to activate the Flash Step Version 2: Jump Step for the second time. The world around me blurred only for a second as I swung my legs around and landed on the Giant Rock Golem’s back.

  I was right next to one of the spikes.

  “HYYYYAAAA!!!”

  Swinging the Dragon’s Tail Ruler with all my might, I poured everything I could into it and slammed it against the spike. I only felt a moment of resistance before the Dragon’s Tail Ruler tore straight through the spike. An anguished roar echoed all around me as the Giant Rock Golem began thrashing about in agony. Seeing how I’d found this creature’s weakness, I went on the offensive.

  There were a total of four spikes on its back. This didn’t include the one I had just sliced off. Running up to the other four spikes, I proceeded to hack each and every one of them off. The spikes fell off the Giant Rock Golem’s body and landed on the ground with a thundering rumble. I could finally see my attacks doing damage. Black blood that looked like sludge oozed from the areas where the spikes had been. It seemed as if these protrusions were not as hard as the rest of its body. They were probably some form of extrasensory nodes that helped it navigate or something to that effect.

  As the Giant Rock Golem thrashed even harder, I leapt off its back and created multiple platforms in the air. This wasn’t a very elegant method of transportation. Unfortunately, I lacked the power currently needed to fly, so I jumped from platform to platform until I was several dozen meters away from the thrashing Demon Beast.

  I landed on a ledge jutting from the cliff face. Looking at my weapon, I saw that the number of cracks had increased. It would be good for maybe one more attack.

  “I guess it was too much to think I could use a weapon created from a normal alloy,” I muttered.

  After taking a deep breath, I let my Spiritual Power flow uninhibited through my body, and then I converted it into lightning and water. Pain erupted in my chest. Electric heat filled my body, frying me from the inside out, but I used the water element to continuously heal myself. This caused a vicious cycle of my internal organs being simultaneously fried with lightning and healed with water. It was painful, but I ignored it.

  I looked at my hands and saw that my body had been converted into white energy. This combination of lightning and water was the greatest trump card in my previous life. In the past, I had only been able to use this unique technique after reaching the Fourth State of Spiritualism, but now I was forcing myself to use it before my body was ready.

  I could only pray that this wouldn’t leave a lasting sequela.

  It was a technique that turned my entire body into the water and lightning elements. Into the power of a storm. At the height of my power, I had even been able to add the light element—though not to the same extent since I hadn’t reached the Fourth State of Spiritualism with said element—gifted to me by Kari before she died.

  This technique wouldn’t last long. My Spiritual Power was not strong enough to maintain it yet. I only had one shot to end this.

  Narrowing my eyes at the thrashing Giant Rock Golem several dozen meters away, I leapt lightly into the air,
pressed my feet against the cliff wall, and shoved off.

  The cliff exploded beneath my feet. A sonic wave of energy spread from where my feet impacted the cliff, causing a strange undulation to erupt from the rock before it ruptured. A massive landslide formed as the cliff came crumbling down, but I was already gone by that point.

  It happened in an instant.

  It was just like that first time I had entered the Third State of Spiritualism, back in Jordiskger, where I had faced off against a Sekbeist Warlord. Unlike that time, though, I was more accustomed to this type of high-speed movement. That was why I could see how my body shot straight through one of the areas gushing blood on the Giant Rock Golem’s body, exploded through its chest, and emerged from the other side of its body.

  Of course, I hadn’t thought about how I would land.

  Striking the ground hard, I released a yelp of pain as the bones in my legs snapped. My body had already reverted back to flesh and blood. The snapping of my bones created a white-hot pain that seared my mind, but that was secondary to the blurring world around me as I tumbled across the dirt, hitting rocks and smashing through boulders. My body was battered relentlessly for what felt like an eternity before I finally landed on my back and stopped rolling.

  I stared up at the sky. My vision went black. Then it returned. Then it went black again. I knew I was fading in and out of consciousness, though I didn’t know what I could do to fix that. I was all out of Spiritual Power. Actually, why were my thoughts so lucid? I was almost surprised by how clearly I could think, but maybe that was because I felt numb. When I first began practicing the technique I’d just used, this was how I’d felt after using it, and this young body of mine wasn’t used to it either. I hadn’t even reached the Third State of Spiritualism yet, never mind the Fourth—which was normally required for this kind of transformation.

  No. Wait. Maybe I had reached the Third State of Spiritualism and just had yet to realize it? I didn’t know anymore.

  “Eryk!” a shout reached my ears. I tried to turn my head, but I couldn’t. All I could do was blink. About a minute… was it a minute? Yeah, it was about a minute. Anyway, about a minute after the shout echoed to me, a face appeared in my vision. Long red hair. Stunning emerald eyes with a seductive, narrowed appearance. Plump lips that were totally kissable surrounded by a pale face.

  “Fay,” I said with a sigh.

  “Are you okay?! Can you stand up?! How are you feeling?!”

  Fay was panicking as she bombarded me with questions, but I thought that was actually cute. Fay was so charming in her earnestness. She worked hard at everything she did, had no trouble chasing after me, but seemed to get embarrassed when I did the chasing, and she worried over me like a mother hen. I really wanted to sleep with her right now.

  I realized my thoughts were taking an odd turn. This was definitely the result of some kind of brain damage. Maybe I had a concussion. I would have shaken my head, but I couldn’t so much as twitch my muscles.

  “I can’t feel my body,” I confessed to Fay, whose eyes went wide as her face drained of blood. “Listen, Fay, I know it’s troublesome, but could you help carry me somewhere? We should find a cave or something to spend the night in.”

  “R-right. A cave. Yes, I’ll give you a hand. Um, hold on while I pick you up.”

  As Fay stuttered out a series of short and choppy sentences, she slid an arm under my leg and the other around my shoulder. Standing up, she took me with her. I could feel my arms and legs dangling limply in her grip. My head lolled from one side to the other as though all the muscles in it had vanished. Despite how every part of me had gone numb, I was aware enough of my situation to realize what this was.

  “Huh. You know, I feel kind of like a princess being carried off by a gallant knight,” I said with a smile.

  Fay snorted. “That’s… well, I suppose I understand how you feel—except I think it is normally the knight who slays the monster, not the princess.”

  “Hmm. You have a point there.” I tried to nod, but all that happened was my head falling onto her shoulder. I had spent every ounce of my strength defeating that thing.

  As Fay carried me off, I was able to see the Giant Rock Golem. It had fallen onto its stomach and was no longer moving. Both eyes were still open, but the vibrant glow of life had vanished from them. There was also a massive pool of black blood expanding from underneath its body.

  “I still can’t believe you managed to kill an A-Rank Demon Beast on your own,” Fay muttered in shock.

  “You’ll eventually be able to defeat them as well,” I said, but Fay shook her head as if she didn’t believe herself capable of such a thing. I didn’t argue with her. She would understand eventually that she was much stronger than she gave herself credit for.

  As Fay carried me away, I closed my eyes and slowly slipped into darkness.

  Chapter 7

  Demon Beast Mountain Range - Part VII

  After defeating Orurk, we made our way through the mountain palace of Hovebrann, defeating Sekbeists as we went. This palace was large. Like all the other Dweorg structures we’d come across, the hallways were wide and tall, massive columns lined numerous rooms, and the artfully designed balustrades, staircases, and entryways made this place feel like we were traveling through the home of a giant with a penchant for extravagance.

  It did not take long to reach the entrance hall. Following Hreidmar, we raced down a wide staircase and ended up in a hall not unlike the one in Jordiskger.

  A pair of Elites were guarding the doorway, and they appeared quite shocked to see us inside.

  “Humans?! What are they doing here?!”

  “Forget that! Kill them!”

  The two Elites readied their weapons, a mace and a halberd respectively, but Kari and I used the Flash Step to appear before them. Kari impaled the one holding the mace with her ranseur. Meanwhile, I brought down the Dragon’s Tail Ruler on my enemy’s head, splitting the Elite in half from crown to groin.

  While Kari and I took care of the guards, Hreidmar came up with Erica and Tungsten. He pressed a panel of some kind on the wall, which lit up with several runes, and then the mythril bars keeping the entrance shut slowly pulled into the walls and floor. Once the bolts keeping the door locked were removed, the door opened of its own accord.

  The six commanders who’d led the Dweorgs in Hreidmar’s absence came into the entrance hall, followed by a large number of Dweorgs. There had only been about two or three hundred the last time I saw them. That number seemed to have tripled. I wondered just how many Dweorgs had been turned into slaves. However, I didn’t have time to dwell on that.

  “Dolug, Brulor, Jadouc, Bezet, Safrud, Throrgouck! I am glad te see yer alright,” Hreidmar exclaimed with a grin.

  “And you, my king.” The blond Dweorg bowed. Uh… which one was he again? I really couldn’t remember any of the Dweorgs.

  “It looks like ye’ve taken the palace,” another said; Jadouc, I think, was his name. I hoped I would never be quizzed on their names.

  “Not quite,” Hreidmar exclaimed. “We killed Orurk, but there are still many enemies lurking about. We need te be careful on our way te the Warp Gate.”

  “We also need to hurry,” Tungsten said.

  Erica nodded. “I am eager to return home.”

  Kari and I said nothing, but we agreed with them on that front. Neither of us wanted to remain in this world any longer.

  With the large group of Dweorgs now in tow, we pressed deeper into the palace. The Warp Gate was apparently located in a basement far below the mountain’s surface. To reach it, we needed to use a moving platform called an elevator, which could be raised or lowered with Runic Spirit Magic—the term Hreidmar used to describe using runes to create various effects.

  There was no one present when we reached the Warp Gate outside of a few guards. It seemed Orurk was the only Warlord within the palace. Hreidmar said that after his masters invaded this world and killed the Great Overlord of the Second Rea
lm, they left him in charge and began an assault on the higher realms. That did make me wonder about his masters. But I knew now was not the time for questions.

  The Warp Gate was located in a massive room shaped like a cylinder. To reach it, we had to walk across a long walkway. I glanced down at the chasm below, so dark I couldn’t even begin to guess at how deep it was much less see the bottom, then quickly looked back up. That sight made my stomach drop.

  In the center of this room was the Warp Gate, an utterly gigantic object that looked like an archway similar to some of the ruins Kari and I had seen—except this archway was composed of two separate parts. Each half had the arched curve I’d come to expect, but the two halves didn’t touch in the center, leaving about two meters of distance between them.

  “This was the first Warp Gate ever created,” Hreidmar said with clear pride evident in his voice. “Wōtan commissioned it when the Sekbeists began invading the nine realms. It took nearly one hundred years to complete.”

  I had no idea who Wōtan was, but I knew right now wasn’t the time to ask questions.

  “Can you activate it?” I asked curiously.

  “Course I can,” Hreidmar grunted. “Who do ye think I am? As the king, I was taught by the Great Overlord himself how te activate and calibrate this Warp Gate.”

  Saying this, Hreidmar stepped toward a small section of the floor that seemed to be a slot of some sort. He took his battle-axe, flipped it around so the head was facing down, and then slid it into the slot. Something clicked into place. Then he turned the handle of the battle-axe like someone turning a key.

  A loud whirring noise echoed all around us. I turned my head in every direction, but I couldn’t see anything at first. I only noticed after several seconds that the walls were spinning—no, it wasn’t the walls. It was the platform we were standing on that was spinning. I could sense the shifting underneath my feet. As this happened, the Warp Gate sparked, crackling as power fluctuated around the arches. It sounded like a beast waking up after a long slumber. I worried that it might explode on us, but then a black substance just like the one we’d seen at the Warp Gate in Vahn appeared in the center.