Tale of Discovery

Chapter 201: Brimir ; Cruelty ; Gate

Hearing the loud voice, I am about to check the source out using Clairvoyance, however, before I can do so, Gaia places her hand on my shoulder.

Turning my head to face her, I find a composed look on her face as she raises her left arm.

The next moment, a giant vine emerges from the ground right underneath the staircase of elongated grass and carries us to the sky.

"Verethragna!" I hear the raging voice once again as a figure makes its way over to us at an astounding speed.

Soon, the figure is less than ten meters away from me and seems to be readying to cast a spell.

I commit all of my focus to him as I prepare to pull Excalibur out at any moment. All of a sudden, multiple sharp and small projectiles seem to appear out of nowhere and pierce him from all sides.

This seems to do a lot of damage as the figure immediately falls to the ground and lands face-first into the now-green grass.

Curious about my assailant, I casually jump off the large vine and land right in front of his head.

As if sensing my presence, he raises his head to reveal an unfamiliar face soaked in hatred.

"You're finally here," he grits his teeth and says while getting back on his feet, "I've waited. Waited so long"

Looking at his expression that seems to turn worse by the second, I shake my head and say, "Why?"

What exactly have I done to deserve this rude treatment?

"Hundreds of years" he continues, seemingly unwilling to answer me, "I've waited for this very moment."

Letting out a sigh of mild exasperation, I nonchalantly state, "Sorry to burst your bubble of revenge, but I don't even know who you are."

Silence ensues as the guy gawks at me with a look that's a mixture of hatred and bewilderment.

"You don't remember?" he mutters chuckling, "You don't remember?!"

"You took everything from me, everything! My love, my people, and my dreams! I don't care if you're a god. No, that doesn't matter. I will kill you!"

Before I can remark how idiotic he sounds, the guy's blonde hair begins to shimmer as his eyes become a dull brown.

Then, he waves his hand, which results in a rather strong gust of wind to strike my side, however, it's unable to make me budge.

"That's all?" I mockingly say before kicking his guts with enough force to launch him a dozen or so meters into the distance.

Covered in dirt and dust, he rises from the ground as if the kick just now didn't shatter his bones.

I'm aware that I'm doing right now is risky, however, my curiosity must be satiated. I must find out about the past. Hearing him speak about me taking everything from him seems to have sparked something strange inside me

"At least, tell me your name," I casually say while checking the state of his body.

"You don't remember," he grunts in a voice full of malice, "Fine."

Raising his head, he looks me directly in the eyes as blood flows out of the corner of his eyes before he says, "I'm Brimir. Brimir of Niaovellir."

Adopting a look of deliberation, I shake my head and say, "Nope. Doesn't ring any bells."

This successfully makes Brimir angrier as he begins to chant a spell that strengthens his body before he dashes at me.

His current speed is comparable to when my parameters were restricted outside this place. As such, it wouldn't take me much effort to punch the guy out of his misery.

As I swiftly move to the side to dodge his attack, I hear some rumbling in the distance.

Checking it out, I am met with the sight of the girls fighting against giant lizards and the dark figures who are now slowly turning back to 'normal'.

"Don't ignore me!" I loud voice reaches my ears before Brimir attempts to punch me while covered in flames.

Shaking my head in disappointment, I cancel all his vectors before grabbing the pest by his neck and throwing him in the direction the girls are fighting at.

Then, I appear right at the center of the 'battlefield' where the girls are easily obliterating every single one of their foes.

In no time, every enemy has deceased, with more than half of them having been crushed by Gaia's giant vines.

Being the only one left, Brimir stands on his feet while surrounded by us with hatred seething out of him.

"If only you weren't there," he says in a melancholic tone, "All of us would be living in peace. No one would've died. She wouldn't have hated me. Everything. Everything is your fault!"

None of us present are fazed by his words as we continue to observe him while he spews everything he has to say.

"You cursed me with eternal life, for the sole purpose of entertaining yourself by my suffering. You imprisoned me here along with everyone I couldn't save."

He sure likes to talk a lot. Is he trying to earn my sympathy? But, if I was the way he makes me out to have been, his efforts are meaningless.

"Why are you telling me all this?" I bluntly ask.

Brimir remains silent for a few seconds before he falls to his knees and says in a desolate tone, "Please, kill me. I don't want revenge. I just want it all to end."

The dark clouds above us slowly dissipate, allowing light to shine through on the broken being in front of me.

His expression is that of pure agony at the moment, with no hint of the hatred he showed moments prior.

{Father. It's recommended to use Destruction to eliminate the entity identified as Brimir.}

Destruction, huh? Whatever.

Letting out a small sigh, I slowly approach Brimir and crouch near him.

"I shall grant your wish," I mutter, startling Brimir by no small amount.

Tears begin to flow out of the corner of his eyes as a quivering smile appears on his lips.

Reaching my arm out, I pierce Brimir's throat by my fingers before inserting waves of Destruction into him.

After a few seconds, I use Termination to end this once and for all.

Brimir's body slowly begins to wither away under the blazing light

---

"So," I say while facing the charming woman, "How should I refer to you?"

"You can call me whatever you wish," a soft voice escapes from her soft lips.

"Then, Gaia it is," I say.

As a response to this, she just beams a smile that stuns me for a few seconds.

"Let's not waste time anymore," Krul groans, "Hey, how do we leave this place?"

Instead of answering her, Gaia just stares at Krul with the same smile still on her face.

Annoyed, Krul seems like she wants to fight Gaia, so I stop her by placing my hand on top of her head and saying, "Krul. Everything in due time."

"Hmph," she scoffs before walking to where Yuno is preparing some Sigilla.

"This place is safe now, right?" I inquire.

"Yes," she immediately responds.

Nodding my head, I intone, "Arena."

--

"Woah!" Tiffa voices excitedly upon exiting the Arena with me, "What happened? How is this place so beautiful now?"

I chuckle a little before saying, "There was a curse on this land. All it took was removing the curse for the place to return to what it was in the past."

Hearing this, Tiffa nods her head before looking around the place with stars shimmering in her eyes.

"This child," Gaia says, "She's a gifted one."

Both Tiffa and I shift our focus to her with curiosity apparent on our faces.

"She appears to have inherited one of the four founding familiar's blood."

"Hold on a moment. Are you saying that she is a familiar?" I inquire.

"No," she simply responds, "Once a familiar signs a contract with her, they will become Lfrasir."

Lfrasir? It somewhat reminds me of what Louise granted me through the contract we had formed - Gandalfr.

Perhaps, they're related? Gaia did say there are four of them, after all.

"Let's set that aside for now," I say, "How can we go back to Halkeginia?"

The smile on Gaia's lips grows as before she says, "Don't leave."

Perplexed by her statement, I question, "Why?"

"The Core," she simply says, causing my eyes to widen.

"It's here?" I inquire, while a little excited at the prospect of returning to the Rift and reuniting with So- everyone.

"Yes," she says before turning around and pointing at the statue that has no upper half, "It's there."

I almost dash toward it but manage to hold back from doing so. For now, I should settle everything here properly before returning to the Rift. Besides, I can't just leave Ddraig and Saturnus here.

Letting out a sigh, I look over at where Gabriel, Aruru, and Siesta are before shifting my sight to Krul and Yuno.

Shaking my head, I face Gaia and say, "I can't leave just yet. There should be a way to get back to Halkeginia, right? And I believe that we can return here the same way we first entered."

"I understand," she says, "You can leave through the gate you came from and return here from it as well."

"But, the gate is deactivated," Tiffa says.

"Reactivating it is but a simple feat," Gaia says before raising her arm and snapping her fingers.

All of a sudden, the ground trembles once again as I sense something moving toward us at an extreme speed.

Soon, a certain circular stone gets placed near us by a giant vine.

The rest of the girls make their way over to us while Gaia presses her palm against the stone and mutters, "pli." (A/N: Greek word for gate/portal.)