It wasn't difficult to get Jonas and his little group to join me. A simple "I'm going after the monster that hurt your sister" was all it took.
We set out just as the sun rose, the four of them trailing behind me as we followed the path of the greater monster across the plains and into the forest. So far, it's been easy to follow. Trees are scattered everywhere and the ground has been torn up from the greater monster's claws. Occasionally, we see large spatters of blood where the beast has crashed into something on its way through the large forest.
The creature has a few days head start on us, and I still can't sense its mana, but with the amount of damage Elizabeth and I inflicted, there's no way it can go without rest.
We pass by a pile of goblin corpses, their ribcages cracked in half and their innards exposed to the elements.
Or they would be, if they had any.
The only things left of their stomachs, hearts, and intestines, are gooey splotches strewn around their bodies. Something has gouged itself upon them.
The bodies are still fresh. The monster can't be far.
It's some time past noon before I sense the concentrated mana of the greater monster. Walking beside a lake, we halt at the bottom of a large cliff. A large cavern is set into it and specks of blood cover the walls.
I turn to Jonas.
"I can sense it inside the cave."
"Then let's go get it," he exclaims.
What is he, an idiot?
"If you want to die, be my guest."
"Wha-"
"The cave is way too small. Where are you planning on dodging to, if the monster attacks you?"
"Well, that's-"
"He's right, Jonas," the mage says. "We should find a way to get it out here, so it's easier for us to fight it."
She turns to me.
"What if I cast Rogsfulnert and smoke it out?"
I don't know that spell, but if she intends to smoke it out, it's probably fire-based.
"Works for me. You two," I point to the twins, "keep the mage safe. Jonas, you try to lead the beast into the lake when it comes out."
The twins nod at me. Jonas seems skeptical, though.
"And what, exactly, are you going to do?"
I pull out my - Elizabeth's - sword, which glows bright in my hand.
"I'm going to strike it from behind."
It takes a bit to convince Jonas, but once we manage it, we all get into our designated positions. I hide among the trees beside the cave entrance, Elizabeth's sword plunged into the ground, so its light doesn't attract the greater monster's attention. The mage looks to me and I give her the sign to start.
Focusing, she starts drawing glowing shapes in the air, connecting them together to form complex symbols. I suppose this is how the spell is cast. It's taking a lot longer than when I cast the barrier spell, but I can't tell if it's because the spell is stronger, or if she's just weaker than me.
Apparently completing the symbol, she screams at the top of her lungs, "Rogsfulnert!!!"
A beam of fire grows from the symbol floating in the air. I can feel the wave of heat all the way behind the trees. This young lady must actually be decently strong. She could probably one-hit goblins and, at the very least, cause serious burns to orcs. Against a greater monster, though...
As the mage lets out a deep breath and drops to her knees, the spell complete, a roar of anger radiates from the cave.
It's coming.
The greater monster bursts from the cave entrance, striking the side of the cave entrance and causing it to crumble in half. Its neck swivels about as the beast searches for the source of the spell. Its eye has swelled up, grotesquely, and burst veins are clearly visible all across the eyeball.
Jonas, taking the initiative, rushes forward, his golden plating shimmering in the light of the sun. The monster screams and swings its long claws towards Jonas.
Despite its injuries, it's a bad idea to underestimate the speed and power of a greater monster. Caught off guard by its speed, Jonas leaps back to avoid the blow.
I might've overestimated these guys. Both Elizabeth and I are a lot faster than them.
A gash appears in Jonas' arm as a long claw nearly misses his neck. He stumbles as far back as possible, panicking slightly.
Come on, get it into the lake. It'll spot me if I attack now.
My thoughts must have reached him because Jonas, having caught the beast's attention, turns and runs into the lake. The lake doesn't go past his knees, but it's already hindering his movements and reducing his speed. The greater monster barrels in behind him. Unfortunately for him, it's far too big for a little water to be a problem.
The beast closes in and Jonas twists around just in time to parry a long fang, aiming directly for his head.
I'm left wondering if it was an accident, as he drops flat on his back into the large pool of water.
This is it.
I pull out Elizabeth's sword and sprint towards the greater monster, whose back is turned to me.
The glow of Elizabeth's sword passes over the mage, unsteadily getting to her feet, and the twins, who have barely had time to move. I dash across the path and leap across the lake's boundary, aiming for the monster. I land hard on its spine.
Using my legs to grip to the monster's back, I grab the sword with both hands and plunge it deep into the creature. I feel it crush one of the bones on the creature's spine and then move further in, past the muscles and fat. It doesn't feel like I hit any vital organs, but it's possible that I pierced the stomach sack.
Every muscle in the greater monster's body tenses up and its matted fur seems to stand on end. An endless cacophony of screams fills my head. The noise echoes off the cliff and seems to reverberate in my mind.
I cover my ears to stop the agony.
Big mistake.
I'm hurled into the air with enough pressure to make me nauseous. I hit the cliff hard, my head slamming directly into the rock.
I fall down into the water. Half unconscious, I try to get to my feet, but my head is spinning. The screaming sounds muffled and distant, but it still feels like my head is going to split in two.
Looking up, the blurred figure of the greater monster writhes before me. A gradient of red starts to emanate from it, rolling over a golden blob lying in front of it.
Then, all of a sudden, the screaming is quelled.
Is it done?
Is it dead?
...
What. The hell. Is that.
A green glow pierces through my blurred vision. I see the red blob of the monster behind the light, looking directly at me. A complex mesh of shapes and symbols burn bright in the green light.
It can't be. It simply isn't possible.
A muffled scream from the young mage confirms my fear.
"WHAT?! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!! RUN!!! IT-IT'S CASTING MAGIC!!"
That's. Not. Possible.
I see the light of the mage on the shore trying to cast another spell, but failing. My vision is finally starting to come back into focus, but it's too late. There's nothing I can do now. I see the twins jump forward at the creature, each swinging a double-sided axe at the slowly crumpling mass of the greater monster.
Jonas is back on his feet, thrusting his sword up through the monster's gaping maw.
It's all pointless. It's already finished. It's just dying slowly. Dealing more injuries is doing nothing.
The mage is right. They should run.
The complex, green shape spins slowly in the air.
I swallow. I recognize this spell.
I've cast it before, but where? When??? I've only ever cast one spell as Stencil and this definitely wasn't it so WHERE THE HELL-
"Greater Lightning, Tier 2. Cast complete."
My eyes grow wide in shock. The lightning spell hits the water beneath my feet.
That was my voice.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! We're now officially over the 15.000 word mark!
As a bolt of lightning hits the water beneath my feet, I feel it coursing through my body. Then, in an instant, the world around me fades to black.
Memories of my past lives have always been a bit hazy, but Numbers 10 to 12 have been all but blank. Now, however, I find that the fog is dissolving, and my own memories are slowly being returned to me.
Number 10 was about the same as I am now.
In a word: "Jaded."
It was the fastest I had ever killed the Demon Lord. Only slightly older than 20, I found myself alone and without purpose. I had distanced myself from my family, and I hadn't bothered to gain any friends. I was left with nothing but time, waiting for the next reincarnation.
It was during this period that I began studying the force known as mana. I had begun to notice of how it differed between worlds. And how its use in magic differed.
I soon found that my mana store, and mine alone, contained a mix of mana from across worlds, each slightly different from the other. It took me years to figure out how to distinguish between them, and even longer to separate them.
Intriguing as it was, it was of no real use to me. None of the other forms of mana worked in this world. It was useless. I thought I had wasted my time. With no point to their existence, the mana containers collected dust in a corner of my house.
It wasn't until many, many years later, that I realized the significance of my research.
I had reached a great age, and was walking steadily toward a slow and lonely death, when I heard the gods call upon me once more.
"Your work here is done. We thank you. Now, you will be reborn once more."
It was only once the voice had stopped that I noticed it; A series of bright, flashing lights, radiated out from the corner of my room, lighting up my house in all the colors of the rainbow. It seemed to me to be a chaotic, random sequence at first, though I soon thought that I could see the semblance of a pattern in the chaos.
Then it all disappeared, and I opened my eyes to a blurry world, with two adults looking down upon me. Number 11 had begun his new life.
---
As Number 11 neared the age of 14, I had started to speculate about the nature of the sequence. Why had I never experienced that phenomenon before? There was only one conclusion that I could reasonably come to.
The sequence must be a result of the gods' interaction with the different worlds. Perhaps the gods draw mana, not from one world, but from many?
I was unsure about the details, but as soon as I was able to take use of my mana store, I hurried to separate more of my mana. Luckily, I had plenty to spend, as I had only separated very little as Number 10.
Planning to replicate the experiment, I travelled from the small village where I lived, all the way to the capital. There, I visited a cathedral. With me, I brought a series of small canisters, each containing a separated form of mana.
Placing the canisters in a circle around me, I closed my eyes and recounted the ritual I was taught by Gaia, to contact her.
Beyond my closed eyelids, I, once again, witnessed the series of flashing colors. It was hard to make out, but the sequence was undoubtedly different.
Determined to see my research through, I delayed my battle against the Demon Lord, who slowly began gaining power. By the time I had finally managed to record the entire sequence, I believe Gaia was starting to notice that I wasn't doing anything to quell the Demon Lord's forces. Unsurprising, considering the amount of excuses I had to make for the amount of times I contacted her.
If she had paid more attention, she may have noticed earlier, but I've long gotten the sense that she rarely watches me on my travels.
If she *had* been watching, I may not have been able to perform my research so uninterrupted, so I suppose I got lucky.
I knew that if I took any longer, I would be in trouble. They might force me to reincarnate, wiping my memories in the process, and I might never be able to complete my research. That's when I had the idea.
If this is truly related to the gods' magic, might there be a way for me to replicate it? To cast their magic?
Could there be a way back to Princess Sofia? If I could force a reincarnation, for example?
Maybe.
Just "maybe."
I decided to dedicate the remainder of my time to my battle with the Demon Lord and the greater monsters. On my travels, everywhere I went, and with every monster I killed, I wrote down the pattern of their magic. The sequence that would pave the road to the gods' magic, scattered across my mind.
It took longer than expected, but I eventually found myself fading away, the words of Gaia echoing in my mind.
---
When Number 12 was born, I found that my memory was in worse shape than ever before. It took me many years before I managed to compile enough to continue my work.
The sequence wasn't easy to reconstruct, but my plan had worked; Gaia hadn't been able to find and remove every instance of the pattern, but she must surely have known what I was trying to do.
Decades of work. Centuries, if you count my past lives. All leading up to this.
Nearing the end of my life as Number 12, I had finally done it. A magic so powerful, it could equal the power of the very gods whose torture I've had to endure for so long.
It was just one spell, but if it worked, it would be proof. Definitive evidence that it was possible to replicate the power of the gods.
What was the spell?
It was a way to overcome the biggest, most imminent problem. The gods - Gaia - was meddling with my brain. My memories.
The spell, if it worked, would be able to transfer memories, and even mana, across worlds, so I would never again forget.
---
I open my eyes to a vaguely familiar ceiling. I'm lying in a bed in the healers' building. There's a lightly burnt smell in the air around me and I can sense people in the room. A golden shape moves beside my bed and a young woman with blonde hair enters my field of vision.
My body aches as I move to speak to her. She must have woken up while we were away.
An exhausted voice leaves my lips.
"Elizabeth..?"