WIEDERGEBURT: Legend of the Reincarnated Warrior: Volume 2

by Brandon Varnell

  WIEDERGEBURT: Legend of the Reincarnated Warrior

  Volume 2

  Brandon Varnell

  Illustrated by

  Mykel Harford

  Kitsune Incorporated

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  WIEDERGEBURT: Legend of the Reincarnated Warrior, Vol. 2

  Copyright © 2020 Brandon Varnell & Kitsune Incorporated

  Illustration Copyright © 2020 Mykkel Harford

  All rights reserved.

  Brandon Varnell and Kitsune Incorporated supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use the material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact the publisher. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  To see Brandon Varnell’s other works, or to ask for permission to use his works, visit him at www.varnell-brandon.com, facebook, twitter, Patreon, and instagram.

  If you’d like to know when I’m releasing a new book, you can sign up for my mailing list at https://www.varnell-brandon.com/mailing-list.

  ISBN: 978-0-9989942-7-7

  Dedication

  This page is made in dedication to my amazing patrons. Without them, my characters would never get lewded by so many wonderful artists:

  Aaron Harris

  Alarinnise

  Charles Dorfueille

  Feitochan

  Jacob Flores

  Jacob Wonjo

  James Leon-Moore

  Matthew Wallace

  Max A Kramer

  Michael Moneymaker

  Seismic Wolf

  Victor Parick Bauer

  Chapter 1

  Getting Stronger Together

  The situation had been tense for several days. Some of the people pulling the night shift guard duty had said they spotted several shadows in the sky. If they had been birds, not only would it not have been worth mentioning, but the guards wouldn’t have even seen a shadow of them. There was no bird in this world with a wingspan over ten meters long.

  I had posted more guards outside at night, in the event that what people claimed they saw were Demon Beasts. Several days passed and nothing happened. Many of the Nevarian Spiritualists grew complacent. I supposed it was only inevitable, given the situation. People could remain high-strung and fully alert for only so long before the lack of danger lulled them into a false sense of security.

  “KKKKEEEEE!!!”

  It was late one night when a loud screech woke me up. Kari and I both jolted as the sound tore through our souls. We were heedless of our own nakedness as we jumped out of bed and rushed toward the window.

  What we found horrified us.

  “Those are…” Kari’s eyes widened.

  “Yeah,” I said as a chill raced through my heart. “Those are Demon Beasts. Pteranodons.”

  A large number of creatures were soaring through the air. They had long crests and beaks filled with needle-like teeth. Their wingspan was impressive. While their leathery bodies weren’t all that big, their wings must have been at least a couple meters long. What’s more, they might not have any hands, but their tri-pronged feet were covered in sharp claws that could easily rend flesh from bone. The one nearest to our window opened its mouth and unleashed a terrifying screech that rattled the windows. Its mouth was filled with razor sharp teeth.

  “Let’s hurry outside!” Kari shouted.

  I nodded. “I’m right behind you!”

  The two of us quickly donned our armor. Since we were rushed, Kari did not bother with her breast bindings. However, she did grab her weapon. It was a ranseur, a type of polearm with a spear tip affixed with a cross hilt at its base. The hilt possessed a crescent shape, giving it an appearance similar to a trident. The spear was blood red in color. Kari once told me it was made by mixing adamantium with the blood of a strong B-Rank Demon Beast that her mother had slain.

  My weapon was nowhere near as powerful or sturdy. It was just a regular broadsword.

  Several Spiritualists had the same idea as us. They were running out of their bedrooms and heading toward the entrance hall. Many of them were carrying weapons, but a few looked like they were going out barehanded.

  We rushed outside to find pandemonium had already spread. The Pteranodons swooped down and slammed their massively clawed feet into the roofs of several buildings, destroying them outright. People from inside the buildings came rushing out, screaming in terror, where the Pteranodons picked them off one by one.

  As I saw a young man get grabbed by the shoulders and lifted off the ground, I hardened myself and rushed forward alongside Kari.

  “Spiritualists!!” I shouted. “Form up and protect those who cannot fight! Anyone who can’t fight, get inside the mansion!”

  My words were barely heard over the Pteranodons’ shrieks and the people’s horrified screams, but those who did hear me immediately did as I instructed and helped those who couldn’t hear me. The Spiritualists alongside me raced toward where the Pteranodon threat was thickest. They motioned with their arms, tapped their feet against the ground, and launched elemental Spiritual Techniques that flew from their weapons.

  A young woman wearing heavy armor swung her Zweihänder in a simple slashing motion followed by an upward swing. The first swing did nothing except make the blade glow red, but on the second swing, the generated Spiritual Power was unleashed. A powerful crescent wave of flames emerged from the blade, which struck one of the Pteranodons in the chest. The creature shrieked as it was forced back. Another tried to swoop down and attack her from above, but Kari twirled her body around, gathered her Spiritual Power, and launched it at the Pteranodon with a thrust of her ranseur. A powerful bolt of light shot from the tip and pierced the Demon Beast’s heart.

  I leapt forward as the Demon Beast fell, jumping on top of it and using the carcass as a springboard to launch myself through the sky. My parabolic arc took me to another Pteranodon. I stabbed my blade into its back as I fell. The Demon Beast released a horrified shriek as it tried to tear me off. It slammed into the wall of the mansion, which crumbled like it was made of bread.

  Still hanging on, I gritted my teeth and channeled lightning through my weapon. A surge of Spiritual Power flowed through me. My weapon lit up as lightning coursed along the blade, entered the Pteranodon’s body, and fried its insides. Smoke poured out of the creature’s nose, mouth, and ears. I could hear the sizzling as its body was electrocuted, though I felt nothing thanks to the creature’s strong hide.

  The creature died before it hit the ground. I leapt off and rushed back toward Kari, who was spinning her weapon around in terrifyingly powerful arcs. Light emitted from the blade. Each bit of light became a small orb that emerged from the weapon’s tip, which crackled with repressed power. With another motion of her ranseur, the orbs zipped through the air, piercing through several smaller Pteranodons as though their bodies were made of dried parchment.

  It looked like the battle was progressing smoothly, even though we had already lost two Spiritualists. Most of the civilians had survived. However, there were not that many Spiritualists from the start. There were only ten of us to begin with. Now that we had lost two, our forces were down to eight. To make matt
ers worse, Pteranodons were C-Rank Demon Beasts, which often required a squad to defeat. Only Kari and I could defeat them on our own.

  “THERE ARE MORE DEMON BEASTS COMING FROM THE PATH!”

  A loud cry went up. I looked over to where one of the Spiritualists was standing, a young woman who’d been guarding the entrance. At that moment, one of the Pteranodons grabbed her by the skull with one of its claws and carried her off. Now we were down to seven.

  As if the world was trying to make matters worse, the outer wall surrounding the mansion near the gate exploded and a horde of Demon Beasts rushed in. There were small ones, large ones, ones with horns, and others with claws. I wasn’t very knowledgeable about Demon Beasts, so I couldn’t tell what each type was, but I knew we were in trouble.

  “There are too many!” a cry went up.

  “What are we going to do?!” another scream echoed.

  “Everyone, calm down and follow me!” Kari shouted as she raised her ranseur and slammed it into the ground. A powerful surge of energy raced out from the weapon’s bottom and spread toward the Demon Beasts running at them. The ground cracked, swelled, and then exploded, sending a large number of Demon Beasts into the air.

  “Civilians! Gather between the Spiritualists! Spiritualists, form up on Kari!” I ordered as Kari rushed into the gap her attack created.

  Left with no other choice, the civilians and Spiritualists could only do as I said. They followed after Kari and I with resigned looks. It was like they believed they were going to their deaths.

  I did not let their expressions bother me. Rushing headlong into the fray with Kari, I summoned my Spiritual Power and channeled it through my sword. The sword cracked, a small line that appeared on the gleaming surface, but I ignored that as lightning agglomerated along the weapon, then extended, and then transformed into a ten-meter long blade, which I swung in a horizontal motion.

  The lightning blade cut through the legs of many Demon Beasts, causing the entire group in front to crash against the ground. Pools of blood spread across the grass. The Demon Beasts behind the frontline slammed into the ones in front, creating a massive pileup.

  Kari took several swift steps forward, spun around, and gathered Spiritual Power. With a loud cry, she spun her ranseur in a complicated pattern and thrust it forward. A massive, cylindrical beam of energy burst from the spear. It grazed the ground, shot forward, and overwhelmed the horde of Demon Beasts. Numerous D and C-Rank Demon Beasts simply disappeared. They weren’t killed. They were incinerated. This created a massive hole in the Demon Beasts’ formation, which myself, Kari, and everyone else charged through.

  I had no time to pay attention to anything happening around me as I hacked away at the Demon Beasts that came close. A monster on four legs and covered in fur leapt at me. I swung my broadsword, still coated in lightning, and cleaved right through it. Spinning around, I waved my hand and released a surge of Spiritual Power that created a wave of lightning. It struck several more Demon Beasts, paralyzing their bodies.

  Kari remained at the front. She danced across the ground, swung her ranseur, and unleashed a multitude of attacks. White spears were formed in the air and rained down, impaling a large number of Demon Beasts. Beams of condensed light shot from her ranseur and slammed into more of her foes. When she waved her weapon in a circle formation, she created a ripple of white light that spread outward and sliced through the bodies of numerous Demon Beasts.

  Her incredible prowess stunned me. I liked to think I was strong, but Kari was a monster on the battlefield. My chest swelled with pride.

  We had reached the end of the path. I could see the mountain pass up ahead. It was a twenty-meter-wide path set between two cliffs, and it was the only way to get to this place. That was part of the reason we had chosen it. We thought it would keep us safe by limiting the number of attack points. Instead we had become trapped.

  “We’re almost there!” Kari shouted. “Just a little further!”

  Just as we were about to reach the pass, a loud roar shook our bodies. The ground rumbled. Everyone was forced to stop as a massive creature appeared inside of the pass. It stood on four legs thicker than several tree trunks combined. Each time it raised a massive paw and brought it down, the ground shook. Its elongated body rippled with muscle as it moved. Lips peeled back in a snarling muzzle, revealing row upon row of sharp teeth. Located on its forehead were two large horns, one near the top, and another slightly smaller one immediately beneath it.

  “That’s a Behemoth!” Kari shouted in shock.

  A Behemoth. That was a B-Rank Demon Beast, a creature that only a group of highly skilled and especially powerful Spiritualists could take down. Most Spiritualists who hunted for resources in the Demon Beast Mountain Range tried to avoid these. It normally required a group of people who each possessed the strength of a Royal Guard or Nevarian Spiritualist Captain just to defeat one.

  “This is the end! We’re going to die!” someone screamed.

  “No one is going to die!” I snapped before turning to Kari. “What do you think?”

  “It’s going to be difficult with just the two of us.” Kari bit her lip. “But we can’t escape from here unless we defeat this thing.”

  I nodded. “I was thinking the same thing.” I turned toward the others. “Spiritualists! Protect the civilians while Kari and I take care of this!”

  I couldn’t hear their response. The Behemoth’s roaring drowned out everything else.

  Kari and I rushed forward, her in front and me slightly behind her. She was faster than I was. Her speed allowed her to zip right underneath the Behemoth before it could even try to squash her. She swung her glowing white ranseur at the Demon Beast’s left front leg, but all that happened was that her weapon glanced off. Sparks flew as she was knocked back. Her eyes went wide as it tried to stomp on her, but she recovered swiftly and leapt away before she could be crushed.

  “It’s hide is too thick!” she shouted.

  “Let me try!”

  The Behemoth glared at me as it opened its mouth, unleashing a powerful cone of fire that was at least a meter in diameter. I could feel the heat from here. It was hot enough that I felt my skin getting singed.

  Part of what made B-Rank Demon Beasts so difficult to kill was their ability to use Spiritual Attacks.

  I dodged the fire breath and channeled lightning through my blade. An explosion behind me created a gale wind force that pushed at my back, but I kept myself steady as I charged forward and merely used the resulting force to increase my speed. I ignored the cracking sounds that issued from my weapon as I poured Spiritual Power into it and swung as hard as I could at the Behemoth’s left leg. I gritted my teeth as my lightning blade met the leg. Nothing happened at first, but as I roared and unleashed even more Spiritual Power, the blade slowly bit into the leg before taking the whole thing off.

  The Behemoth roared in agony and anger as it crashed to the ground, causing everything to shake. Kari had already darted out from underneath the creature. She ran around toward the front, leapt into the air, and thrust her ranseur forward.

  “Take this!!”

  Her ranseur impaled the Behemoth through the eye. Blood gushed from the wound and sprayed Kari’s breastplate, but she completely ignored that and continued shoving her weapon further and further into its body. The creature roared as it tried to shake her off. Kari planted her feet on its muzzle, pulled her ranseur out, and jumped backward. She landed on the ground next to me as blood gushed from the now-destroyed ocular organ.

  “Now, Eryk!” Kari shouted.

  “HAAAA!!!”

  I channeled more Spiritual Power into my sword, creating another massive blade composed of lightning. It was easily three times the length of my body. A loud shrieking emitted from the blade, but it was overpowered by my scream as I swung the weapon down, striking the Behemoth in the middle if its torso and splitting it in half. The creature released an agonized cry, but that soon died down into a pained whimper as it bled out. />
  “Ha… ha…” I breathed heavily as the sword in my hand shattered, shards falling to the ground. Dropping the now bladeless hilt, I tried to stand up straight but nearly fell over. Pouring all that Spiritual Power into a single attack was exhausting.

  “You okay?” Kari let me lean on her.

  “Yeah...” I puffed. “Just... need to catch my breath.”

  Nodding, Kari turned to look behind her.

  “Everyone!” she shouted at the Spiritualists and civilians who had survived. “Let’s go! Keep running! Do not look back for any reason!”

  There weren’t as many people when I turned around and looked. Two more Spiritualists and about five of the remaining twenty civilians had been killed, mauled by Dire Wolves and other Demon Beasts. I could see a pair of women, three men, and two children: one young boy and a girl around eleven or twelve. Despite how many died, those who survived followed our lead and ran. We rushed through the pass, Demon Beasts nipping at our heels, and as we did, my heart grew heavy.

  The home that we had lived in for three whole peaceful months was gone.

  It was early in the morning, and I didn’t have to work at the library today, which was why the entire day was going to be dedicated to training.

  “Come on! Try to keep up!” I shouted to the person behind me as I continued running, leaping over obstacles, weaving around trees, and jumping onto boulders.

  “Ha… ha… just keep going! I won’t exhaust myself on a simple obstacle course!” my training partner said.

  “That’s good! Now less talking and more running!”

  “Ugh…”

  I had extended the obstacle course from thirty minutes to one hour. When combined with the increased weight of my clothing, which now amounted to about 348 kilos, it was a pretty exhausting challenge. That said, I had been doing this for a while now. After factoring in the Body Forging Pills I’d been taking every night, something like a ten-kilometer obstacle course with 348 kilos of extra weight was… well, it wasn’t nothing, but I could handle it.