Transcendence - Chapter 83

***Sera***

All of us kids are in the living room. The others are listening to me while I hold a grand speech on top of the dinner table.

“I am really not sure what to think of this situation. Why do we have to hide? We aren’t weak! I mean, is it really necessary for us to stay in the mansion while Sarn is under attack by those terrorists from the Inquisition?” I shake my fist at the group of kids around me. “I say that we should go out there and have some fun!”

“Oi! I always wanted to test myself against a real opponent!” Violetta gets up from her seat at the sofa.

“That’s what I want to hear! I could even teach you one or two things if we get our hands on some enemies.” I form a fist and smile at Violetta.

“We should stay here and hide. Some of the explosions sound like they are getting closer to our mansion.” Fergus fiddles with his fingers.

Arran isn’t convinced either. “Our parents and grandparents aren’t that weak. I am sure that they are able to deal with those Inquisitors. You should keep in mind that we may be stronger than we look, but our bodies are still those of children. Maybe we can overpower a few trained adults if we work together. But something could always go wrong.”

“I am not sure about this. As the oldest I hold responsibility for all of you.” Liandra opposes me.

“To be precise. Sera is the oldest one here if you count her memories from her previous lives. The second oldest is me and you are third.” Arran points at Liandra.

“That… That doesn’t count! You guys act much too childish! This is a matter of mental age and not of memories!” Liandra turns red. “We were told to stay here, so we stay!”

“This whole story interests me too. Could you two explain yourselves? You aren’t acting like people with the experience of several lifetimes. I think that someone with so much wisdom would act completely different. Are you two playing a game with us to make us more comfortable?” Fergus arches an eyebrow and switches his gaze between Arran and me.

“I am at a loss on how to answer this. I guess it has something to do with our bodies? And that it’s more convenient to act like you are expected to?” Arran looks at me with a complicated face.

I nod. “First of all there is the issue that we may be old and have seen a lot of stuff, but at the same time our memory isn’t perfect. Arran, what did you do during your eight hundredth reincarnation?”

Arran throw his hand up in the air. “How the hell should I know? But I could tell you what I did during my four hundred fifty sixth!” His expression turns creepy as he remembers something.

I smile and continue. “See? It’s not like we remember every little detail. Everything starts to blur at some point. We remember events and lives which were out of the ordinary or worth remembering. I think that if someone would remember such a long timespan without forgetting anything…”

“… I would turn insane! Although I would like to remember some things in more detail.” Arran finishes my sentence for me and starts to drool with a stupid expression.

“And there are also events which we don’t want to remember. Like being caught by a particular demon lord.” I smile as Arran curls up into a ball and starts to shiver.

“There is also the fact that you start acting on your impulses and whims at some point. Think about it. Would you want to be a responsible person for thousands of years? Being the perfect cool headed adult like you guys imagine it also means to leave out on a lot of fun. At my age I am mostly interested in having fun and doing something new and interesting. I don’t want to know how it’s for my parents who are much older than me.” I end my speech and look down at the others.

“I guess that sounds reasonable.” Fergus shrugs his shoulders after thinking for a moment.

“So in the end you guys are just playing around because everything will start anew anyway!” Violetta points an accusing finger at me.

“Eh!? Nooo! I’ve been found out!” I wriggle a little on my table.

Fergus looks up with a worried expression. “Now that explosion was really close. And that sounded like a breaking door!”

Just at this moment the door to our room bursts open and three hooded figures enter the room. They are heavily armed and one of them points his dagger at us. “Take them! They’ll be good hostages!”

***Norfolk, Sarn***

***Irda***

I have to get back to the mansion! A group of them managed to get past me! Oh, my cute little granddaughter. Those bastards attacked the townsfolk just to draw our attention away from the mansion. Their actions are inexcusable.

The street takes another turn and I find our guards at the entrance to my son’s property on the ground. A hooded figure is standing beside them. Probably a lookout. I attack without thinking and summon an arcane spear. One of my favourite spells.

The hooded figure turns his head towards me and I launch my spell at him. He tries to stop it but isn’t in time. The arcane spear nails the Inquisitor to the wall beside the entrance and I continue on my way. Inside our property I find several unconscious guards on the ground. Probably the attackers used some kind of poison to knock them out.

A dreadful feeling crawls up my spine as I start to imagine what those bastards did to the kids. How could they even overpower all the guards?

I continue to walk rapidly towards the mansion. Everything looks deserted and without a sign of life. There are some of the hooded figures on the ground. Probably they didn’t manage to put all our guards to sleep.

The main door of the mansion is broken and I continue forward with careful steps. There is nobody inside the reception room.

A distant scream alarms me and I storm towards the private area. Another scream leads me to the upper floor and I find the door to the living room broken open.

“AAAAAA!”

“Sera!”

I dash into the living room and find a gruesome scene. There is blood everywhere and a dead Inquisitor is lying on the ground. It looks like he received the combined force of several magical attacks.

Another one is bound and gagged while sitting on a chair. His gaze turns towards me with pleading eyes.

Arran is sitting on the sofa with a book in his hands. He gives off an impression that nothing is wrong. Then he looks up and smiles. “Hi, aunti. Is the attack over?”

My gaze wanders across the room and I find Fergus in a corner with a pale face. He is teetering back and forth while mumbling something.

A third attacker is bound with his belly upside onto the table in the middle of the room. Sera is sitting on top of him with a kitchen knife in her hand. Liandra and Violetta are listening with interested expressions to her explanations. “And that’s another good spot. If you stab there you cause unbelievable pain, but the subject won’t die. At least not immediately.” She stabs the blade into the Inquisitors belly and starts to twist.

“AAARRGH!”

“Isn’t twisting bad? If he bleeds too much he’ll lose consciousness.” Violetta points out a valid point.

“That’s not that big of a problem. Humans don’t die as fast as you might expect. Hmm. Time to heal him up again. I think we covered most of the non vital parts of the body. Should we continue with the vital ones?” Sera asks and the person under her starts to wriggle like mad.

The knife flashes down again and the wriggling stops. “That’s a basic one. Simply severing the spinal cord is instantaneous and without risk. ~Heal!~ ~Electrify!~” The Inquisitor opens his eyes again while he twitches without control. “Remember that combo. It restarts almost everyone as long as the brain wasn’t destroyed. Remember to apply it immediately. The chance for success gets lower if you wait too long.”

“As long as you don’t cause a trauma, you can always heal them back up again. Are you ready to try it Liandra?” Sera looks up and turns around.

Liandra starts to fiddle with her fingers. “I am not sure. My healing magic isn’t that good.”

Sera smiles. “Don’t worry, we have a replacement in case you mess up. There is still much to learn. We aren’t even done with the basics yet! Violetta, you can practice on the other one while I train with Liandra.”

The bound Inquisitor in the chair throws himself to the ground and crawls towards me on his stomach.

Then my cute little granddaughter finally realizes my presence.

“~Hi, Grandma! How is the subjugation going?~”

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