“You’re right,” I said. “We are here to train.”
“Then let’s begin.” Fay’s smile became a bit bigger.
The snake slithered off my shoulders and curled up on one of the boulders, soaking up the heat like a lazy cat. With my body free, I was able to begin training. I placed my hand against my clothing, closed my eyes, and channeled my Spiritual Power into the runes of those metal cylinders inside of my clothes. My outfit instantly became heavier. I continued increasing the weight, until it was hard for me to move, and then stopped.
Fay had done the same thing.
“Let’s go.” Fay turned around and took off running.
As we ran, I noticed that Fay seemed to gain a bit more spirit. Perhaps working up a sweat helped her. There were plenty of people who became happier after exercising. I wasn’t sure why this was the case, but I also couldn’t deny what I’d seen. Even I often felt better after working up a good sweat.
Like always, after our obstacle course and strength training exercises, the two of us took a Three-Way Spiritual Widening Pill, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began doing exercises to control and expand our Spiritual Power.
By now, my control over my Spiritual Power was pretty much perfect. If nothing else, I knew it wasn’t going to get any better. I’d reached what could have been considered the peak of my control. That meant it would soon be time for me to begin the next phase of my spiritual exercises, which would involve making my reserves bigger and trying to reach the Second State of Spiritualism.
“After you rejected me, I thought a lot about what I wanted to do,” Fay said after several minutes of absolute silence.
I almost flinched, but I think I did an admirable job of hiding it.
“A part of me wondered whether or not I should continue training with you,” she continued, heedless of my increasing sense of guilt. It felt like a lead ball had been dropped onto my stomach. “I kept wondering if it was even worth it. I kept thinking that if I saw you again, it would just hurt me even more.”
“I understand,” I said in a soft voice. I took a deep breath. “Have you come to a decision? On what you want to do, I mean.”
Fay opened her eyes and glanced at me. Her narrowed green eyes held a seductive quality that Kari didn’t have. What made it more powerful was that I didn’t think she was aware of her own seductiveness.
“I have,” she said quietly, staring into my eyes with a determined glimmer. “I’m not going to give up. I understand that you are in love with someone else… but I have also come to realize that I...” She paused, blushed, and looked away. “Ahem. I realized that I am in love with you. That is why, even if you love someone else, I won’t give up. I’ll convince you to fall in love with me.”
It was impossible for me not to admire this girl’s determination. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, her words also made my chest feel both warm and tight.
“Well…” I drew out the word as I tried to think of what I could say. “I can’t really stop you if you’ve decided not to give up…” I paused long enough to grimace. “That said, I really do think you should. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
I wasn’t sure why, but Fay smiled when I spoke. Something seemed to have made her pleased. She uncrossed her legs, placed her hands behind her, and used them as support as she leaned back. Her eyes never left mine.
“The fact that you don’t want to hurt me proves that I still have a chance,” Fay said with quiet confidence. “You care about me.”
“Of course I care about you.” I couldn’t concentrate on my exercises anymore, not that they were needed, so I stopped. The leaves and sticks balanced on my fingers fell to the ground. “You’re a good person, a good friend, and I admire your strong desire and determination to become stronger. But I only care about you as a friend.”
“I’m not sure I believe that.” Fay smiled as if she knew something that I didn’t. It left a moment later as she bit her lip, took in a deep breath, and then regained her confident expression. “I’ve seen the occasional looks you give me. You may not say anything, but I can tell you are attracted to me.”
“Well, yes,” I confessed. “I do find you attractive, but that’s my prerogative as a male. Finding someone attractive doesn’t necessarily equate to love. I’m sure Grant Leucht finds you attractive. I am also sure he doesn’t love you.”
“He might not, but I don’t think your feelings are quite so shallow. You are nothing like Grant Leucht.”
There was little I could say in defense of that. I looked away from Fay, whose eyes I could no longer stand to stare at, and gazed at the sky. A lot of thoughts went through my head in that moment. Since it had come down to this, I decided I should tell her some things about myself that may or may not convince her to give up.
“You know… I’ve only ever loved two women before,” I said.
“Two?” Fay questioned.
I nodded. “One of them is the girl I’ve been in love with for many years now. She means everything to me. The other is… well, I don’t really know who the other woman is.”
A confused frown worked itself onto Fay’s face. “How can you love someone if you don’t know who they are?”
“It’s complicated.” I thought for a moment, rearranging the words in my mind before nodding. “A long time ago, when I was in a dark place, a woman whose name I never learned and whose face was always hidden by a cloak rescued me. She saved my life. I spent over a year with this woman. She taught me many things during that time, including how to refine some of those alchemy pills you’ve seen me make.”
Fay’s eyes went wide, causing me to smile.
The woman I was speaking of was someone I’d met after Kari was killed. At the time, my mind had been lost in darkness. I traveled the world, learning new Spiritual Techniques, killing people who got in my way, all for the sake of getting revenge against the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plane. During this time, I had returned to Nevaria and recklessly attacked the Demon Beasts inhabiting it. I’d been nearly killed as a result. The woman I was telling Fay about saved my life, and then she saved my heart.
“She didn’t teach me all of them, just a few. Some of the pills I learned to make from her are ones I haven’t made yet. However, the Spiritual Cleaning Pill is one of the pills she taught me how to refine.” As I spoke, my snake roommate slithered up to me and placed its head on my lap. I ran my hand over its head almost absently. “I never saw her face or body because of the cloak she always wore. However, thanks to her, both my life and my heart were saved. She helped me overcome one of the greatest hurdles I have ever faced. However…”
“However?” Fay asked when I trailed off.
I shook my head. “She died. Her body was incredibly weak. She was suffering from the same Spiritual Poisoning you had, only hers was far worse. It had reached such an advanced stage that nothing could be done to save her. The alchemy pills she refined could only extend her life by a bit. Even then, her body grew weaker and weaker, until it one day gave out.”
“I’m sorry,” Fay softly apologized, her head tilted down in depression.
I sighed as a heavy feeling pushed against my chest. “I do not know why you’re saying sorry, but there’s no need. I’m telling you this so you understand. There are only two people who’ve ever been able to make it inside of my heart, and while you may not believe it, I have known many women in my life. The chances of you being able to reach the same place as them is very slim.”
“But it’s not a complete certainty, is it?” Fay asked, her expression turning just a tad sly as she leaned forward, retracting her hands from the ground and placing them on her knees. “There is still a chance.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her words. “Well, I guess there is. Still, I feel like your time would be better spent finding someone who can actually give you the love and attention you deserve.”
“Your advice has been duly noted and subsequently ignored.”
When I heard those wor
ds, all I could do was shake my head. I didn’t think she had a chance of reaching my heart. If Kari wasn’t alive, then maybe (and that was a very big maybe), but that was just it. Kari was alive, and I intended to protect her this time around. I would not let her die.
“By the way…” Fay began in a voice that contained a hint of uncertainty. “Is it just me, or does your snake look agitated?”
I glanced down at the snake resting its head on my lap, only to frown when I saw that it was hissing at Fay for reasons I couldn’t begin to fathom. It did seem kind of angry. That said, no matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t understand this snake all that well.
“It gets like that sometimes,” I muttered. “Pay it no mind.”
“Uh-huh… well, if you’re sure.”
“I am.”
As I spoke with an absolute certainty that I didn’t truly feel, the snake gave me an aggrieved look like I had said something insulting.
I’ll never understand reptiles.
Chapter 9
A Date with Kari
I spent two days inside of that building, quietly regaining my strength. My arms were sore because they had kept me locked up this whole time. The cuffs wrapping around my wrists were also rubbing my skin raw, though I did my best to ignore the pain and focused on circulating my Spiritual Power through my body.
Several Lamia would come by on occasion and deliver food and water to me. I was pretty sure both the food and the water were poisoned. Every time I ate or drank, my body would begin to feel sluggish and my mind hazy. To counter the effects, I would channel the lightning and water elements through my body. Water had healing properties and lightning could be used to neutralize the effects of poison, though it wasn’t anywhere near as effective as fire.
I was pretty confident that I could break out of the chains any time I wanted now, but I needed to wait for an opportunity to escape. If I were to just shatter these chains and leave, the next time someone came in, they would discover me missing and sound the alarm.
There were several other problems that kept me from outright breaking free. The first was that I didn’t know how many Lamia there were. If this was a large community with thousands or, heavens forbid, tens of thousands of Lamia, then escaping from this place would be incredibly difficult if not impossible. That said, I knew that I would eventually have no choice but to act.
That time came on the third day I’d woken up. A snake-man entered the room, which was different. All the people who had brought me water and food before were women. I believed Medusa had made women attend to me because she thought it would make me lower my guard. After all, it was very hard for a man to focus on escaping or attacking when there was a beautiful and naked woman involved.
It wouldn’t have mattered to me, but she didn’t know that.
“It’s time.” The male Lamia’s eyes gleamed as he slithered over to me. He had a khopesh strapped to his waist. “The ritual has been prepared. I hope you are ready to give your life for the sake of My Queen’s child. You should feel quite honored. Your life will ensure that My Queen’s second child will grow up strong.”
“Oh, I am honored,” I said as the male Lamia began undoing the chains from the wall. I guess it was too much to ask that he just undo the chains around my wrists. “So honored, in fact, that I don’t plan on sticking around to become snake food for an unborn child.”
The snake-man hissed at my words, but it was more like a surprised or confused hiss. He didn’t seem to understand what I meant. That was okay. I had no intention of letting him figure it out.
Lightning flowed through my hands as I channeled my Spiritual Power into the chains. An electric
rush spread through my body. Arcs of pale blue electricity surged up the chains, striking the Lamia’s hands and shocking him. The snake-man let out a surprised hiss as steam rose from his hands. He jerked his hands back, slithering away as though stumbling.
I released my aura of Spiritual Power, which covered my body in swirling motes and arcs of lightning, and used the strength it gave me to shatter the chains binding me to the wall. After which, I shoved myself off the ground and launched myself at the snake-man.
Credit had to be given where it was due. This man was quick to respond. He unsheathed his khopesh and swung it at me, but his movements were jerky and twitchy, the results of remnant electricity from my last attack scrambling his nerves.
I ducked underneath his swing and threw out my left hand, causing the half-a-meter-long chain still attached to my wrist to wrap around the khopesh. It encircled the blade. I tugged, yanking the sword out of the Lamia’s grip. As the blade soared through the air, I took two steps forward, moving into the Lamia’s guard.
He tried to swing his tail at me. A loud whooshing sound echoed all around us as his powerful tail rushed toward my head, but it couldn’t reach me. I was already too close. With a grunt, I exerted the strength in my left arm, swinging it around as I channeled lightning through the chain once more. My attack struck the Lamia in the face. Lightning skittered across his cheek as he spun around and crumpled to the floor. His body twitched several times, but he didn’t get up.
“Is he alive or dead?” I wondered.
I went over and pressed a hand to the Lamia’s neck. He had a pulse. I wondered what I should do for a moment. Kill him? Shaking my head, I decided not to. If he had died from that last attack I dealt him, I’d have shed no tears over his death, but I wasn’t such a cruel person that I’d kill someone when they couldn’t fight back.
Breaking the chains off my arms, I wrapped them around the Lamia, tying up his hands and tail. I even went a step further and used lightning to melt the ends of the broken chains and merge them together. With luck, he would not be able to break free for a good while. Once I was sure he was tied up good, his body looking like a pretzel, I grabbed his khopesh and took a few practice swings.
“This sword is a bit unorthodox…”
The weight, the way it cut the air, all of it felt wrong. That said, I didn’t really have a whole lot of time to familiarize myself with this weapon. I couldn’t go outside empty-handed. These Lamia were too strong to deal with using just my fists.
Nodding to myself, I went over to the curtain, pulled it back, and took a peek outside. There were numerous buildings around me. All of them were square shaped, had flat roofs, and looked like they were made of mudbricks. No one was around. I wondered why for a moment. Were they all at the ritual site maybe?
I decided not to question my good fortune. While it was important to remain wary, it was also important not to look a gift Strut in the mouth.
As I made my way past numerous buildings, I heard a loud commotion somewhere in the distance. The loud clanging of metal rang out. There were several angry roars. I recognized the sounds of combat, but what confused me was that it sounded like people were cheering. After debating for a moment, I changed directions and traveled toward the sound. Something told me I should see what was going on.
My instincts turned out to be right. As I rounded a corner, I found a large group of Lamia gathered around something. The sound of steel clashing against steel was echoing from within that group. Someone was fighting.
I climbed onto one of the buildings. There were several loose mudbricks that I could use as support, which made it easier to climb. When I got to the top, I looked down to see that the Lamia had made a circle in the center of their formation, and in the middle of that circle was…
“Kari?” I whispered.
The person in the center of the circle was indeed Kari. She had changed outfits since I last saw her. Her flat stomach was completely exposed. A leather chestplate kept her heart protected at least, but she didn’t have much else. The shoulder pads she wore also looked like a type of leather. A skirt wrapped around her hips and shook as she danced around several swift attacks, the sandals on her feet digging concentric circle patterns into the sand.
She twirled her ranseur around as she moved, fighting against the wom
an I recognized as Queen Medusa. It looked like both of them had been fighting for some time. Their bodies were covered in lacerations and bruises. Kari’s left arm had turned a deep purple. Meanwhile, Queen Medusa’s torso had numerous burn marks on it, which I recognized as burns from the light element.
The two of them had an intense Spiritual Aura surrounding their bodies. Kari’s body glowed with a bright, golden color that seemed almost divine. Meanwhile, Queen Medusa’s aura was a dark purple. It felt cold and venomous.
“You have barged into this queen’s city, killed her people, and interrupted the ritual that will bless her child with strength!” Queen Medusa hissed, her golden eyes narrowed. “What’s more, you have attacked this queen’s belly, where her child is growing! This queen will punish you greatly for this offense! She hopes you are prepared to face torture that is far worse than death!”
“The only one who’s going to be tortured here is you!” Kari snarled. “Where is Eryk?! Tell me now, or so help me, I’ll slice open that stomach of yours right now!”
“You dare speak to me with such insolence?!” Queen Medusa looked enraged as she lunged at Kari. Her face was bright red.
Kari was quick to move, dancing across the desert sand on nimble feet as she twirled her ranseur in intricate patterns. Light erupted from the tip. It transformed into a spear that was sent hurtling at Queen Medusa, who was forced to dodge the attack. However, just because she had dodged didn’t mean no damage was done. Several Lamia from the surrounding crowd were pierced as the light spear blasted a hole straight through them.
Seeing her people die angered Queen Medusa, causing her eyes to bleed red as she roared and attacked Kari with renewed zeal. She swung the two khopesh in her hands. Left. Right. Diagonal. Up. Down. Across. Her swings cut through the air, causing it to release a piercing shriek. However, while several attacks came close to dealing real damage, only a few cuts managed to land, and all of them were deflected by Kari’s Spiritual Aura.
WIEDERGEBURT: Legend of the Reincarnated Warrior: Volume 2 Page 16