Reincarnated at Level Two Million - Chapter 100

Zell woke up the next morning and quickly departed for the kingdom of Tarm. He first teleported back to Kermonth and got pointed in the right direction. He then used his flight magic to fly over to Tarm. As he flew, he passed over fields of demon and human corpses, the war had been devastating to both sides. It reminded him of the importance of what he was doing.

He flew over the wall and landed at the castle. The guards were shocked by his sudden landing but too frightened by it to act. He made his way to the throne room where he found his companions grouped together preparing Samantha for her crowning.

Kaitlyn was the first to see him and she perked up with excitement. “Zell!” She shouted while jumping into the air. “You are back!”

Her shouts caused the others to turn and look at Zell as he entered the room. “My beloved you have returned!” Samantha said.

“Please don’t call me that.” Zell said with a sigh. “I heard you all had quite an eventful time. Killing a king and conquering a kingdom? Is that your idea of making alliances?”

“We had no choice lad.” Kilgon said. “That old fool was too much of a racist to align himself or his kingdom with some nonhumans. This was the only way we could secure an alliance.”

“You may be right.” Zell replied. “Still, we are not in the business of conquest. We do not need to create fear of our movement.”

“Why not?” Kilgon said. “If the goal is to change the hearts of man away from your sister then the best bet would be to give them something greater to fear. A nice show of force every now and then is good for embedding fear into their hearts.”

“Fear is not my goal.” Zell said. “If they change out of fear then they do not really change at all. When the threat subsides, they will go back to how they used to be. In order for fundamental change to occur we must make them want it.”

“They do though.” Samantha said. “This kingdom suffered for a long time under the rule of the old king. He taxed them heavily and because of their treatment of nonhumans they had a reduced workforce. People here begged me to take over. They wanted what Kermonth has. They wanted the peace and prosperity of every race working together for the common good. We had to remove the cancer at the top for the want to show through. I imagine it is the same with the other kingdoms as well. People are hurting and in pain. They are suffering for no reason other than blinded rage and hate.”

“So, you think we should just assassinate the heads of state and replace them with leaders that agree with our cause?” Zell asked. “Isn’t that against everything we are trying to accomplish? Does that not make us no better than the people we are trying to stop?”

“Idealism is good for some situations lad, but this is not one of them.” Kilgon said. “If you really want humankind to change their ways you need to show off that power of yours and have them bend their knee. As generations pass the hate will slowly fade.”

“There is truth to that.” Zell said. “In my old life I was born into a racist world that was much different from the one I died in. There was still racism, but it had died down a lot. It was no longer acceptable to be openly bigoted, but the systems created generations before were still racist to their core. If we change the system, then over time it could change the hearts of man. I see where you are coming from.”

“Glad you see it our way.” Kilgon said. “Because there are a lot more kingdoms between here and Neuval.”

“Speaking of Neuval, I no longer wish to save my sister’s life.” Zell said. “I have found out her true identity and her purpose. She does not deserve to live. She deserves no second chances.”

“So, we are killing the little bitch queen?” Kilgon said. “That’s good! Let’s go do it now.”

“Hey, don’t leave me before my crowning!” Samantha protested. “I want you here.”

“I guess we can go after.” Kilgon said with a sigh. “I was really looking forward to cleaving her asunder with my ax.”

“Before we kill her, I need my mother’s blessing.” Zell said. “That little girl is still her daughter, no matter how sick and twisted she is, I need to let my mother know of my intentions before I kill her.”

“You sure you want to tell her?” Kaitlyn asked. “That is a hard pill to swallow. One of your children needing to die by the hands of your other child. I don’t know how many mothers would be able to withstand such a pain. Are you really prepared to do that?”

“It would be better to tell her than to let her find some other way.” Zell said. “After the crowning I plan to teleport back to the beast village and talk to her. Kaitlyn, would you like to come and talk with your grandfather? It has been a good while since you have spoken to him.”

“Thanks.” Kaitlyn said. “I would love to go and see my village again. It has been far too long since I have seen my people.”

“I wouldn’t mind coming as well.” Kilgon said. “I have wondered what the home of the beast kin looked like.”

“Oh, it is very nice and peaceful.” Kaitlyn said. “Although I will admit that the dwarven city was way more impressive than my home. I am still amazed at the sights and sounds we experienced there. It was the most impressive place I have ever been.”

“Thanks.” Kilgon said, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “It was all our kings doing. We used to live in holes before he came along. Regardless, I still want to see your village, I am sure it is impressive in its own way.”

“Just stay away from the hut at the waterfall.” Zell said with a laugh.

“Oh yeah!” Kaitlyn agreed and began to laugh as well. “If Isabel caught you there, she would murder you. Speaking of Isabel, where is she?”

“She went into town to buy some ale.” Kilgon said. “This fancy wine at the castle doesn’t agree with me in the least. I didn’t complain but she noticed how unhappy I was without a simple ale and took it upon herself to save me. She really is a good woman.”

“By the way… Did something happen?” Zell asked. “You are covered in scars. I am fairly sure you were not covered in scars when I left, I had been thinking it must have been from the battles you fought the demons in, but there are just so many of them.”

“Oh that.” Kilgon laughed. “Just some markings of love. A willing sacrifice on my part to save the young Kaitlyn.”

“What do you mean?” Zell asked, with a concerned look on his face.

“After you left, like right after you left,” Kaitlyn explained, “Samantha and I were attacked by a demon general. We fought as hard as we could, but she was much too strong. She had mortally wounded me and was about to finish me off when Kilgon showed up and easily overpowered her. It was a truly heroic display… of a dwarf in his underpants. After he ended the threat, he gave me a potion that was supposed to heal his wounds he had acquired from love making with an Oni. He became scared so I could live to see another day.”

“I see.” Zell said. He turned and bowed down to Kilgon. “Thank you for saving my friend.”

“I only did what any man would have done in the situation.” Kilgon said. “Well, any real man!” He started laughing.

“Regardless it sounds like I will need to pay the demon lord a visit if he dares to attack my friends as soon as I leave.” Zell said. “That is not something that should remain unanswered.”

“So, lad enough talk about the past.” Kilgon said. “Did you finish your quest with the dragons? Are you immortal now?”

“Not yet.” Zell said. “But other things have happened. Like this.” Zell lifted his hand and ran his mana into it. It caused his mark to shine and glow. “Some odd fox woman with nine tails gave me this mark. From what I can tell as long as I have it, I am immune to a god’s attacks. Also, while it is active I can see things as they truly are… Samantha?”

Samantha appeared completely different to Zell under the effects of his mark. Her skin was black as night and her hair was pure white and her eyes were silver.. She had etchings of arcane markings all over her body that looked tattooed on with white bioluminescent ink.