218: Find the words

Find the words

Aito watched as one piece of grey matter after the other landed on the cathedral's marble floor, horrified by something he might have, no, he certainly caused.

Maba, now reduced to a bloody head, had been put in charge of the 10th floor, keeping it together. While the floor won't collapse after his death, there were bound to be consequences.

He wasn't exactly sure about the cause of the current events happening in front of his eyes, but he could take a pretty good guess at what it was.

The grayed area on Iris map had been a prison for fearmongers. Probably where they got their supply of fearmongers in the first place. With the moderator's death, no one could prevent them from escaping.

'Valinar, what are we looking at here? Valinar?' He asked mentally, seeking confirmation to his guesses. No response came. Remembering he had yet to take his candle piece back from the moderator's corpse, he gave up on asking her. There was no time for this.

Five puddle of grayish liquid had landed on the ground, without any sign of morphing into fearmonger.

"W, w, what's happening?" Sam asked, taking two steps backward.

"No idea… but keep… your guard up!" Lucius declared.

Myriads of thoughts flashed by Aito's mind, trying to look for the best solution out of this mess. Problem was, the only one who could get them out of this floor was dead.

A dozen fearmongers in forms of grey puddles were currently falling towards them and would probably awaken at any moment now.

'What should we do?'

He could probably handle Lv3 fearmongers but if a Lv4 appeared or if all of them leagued against him… the consequences would be disastrous. Moreover… apart from him, no one had the ability to resist their Fear.

Suddenly, a notification window flickered in front of his face.

[Find…the… words.]

'Valinar? Valinar!' Aito shouted mentally. Again, no reply came his way. 'Damn it!'

He knew what she meant. However, he didn't know what to say. What were the words? Were there even any words? Aito had once voiced out an oath on the island, clearing the goddess's test, but that had been purely coincidental, unintentional.

What were the words this time? He didn't know, couldn't know, and wouldn't know by just standing around, doing nothing.

As per usual, if no one gave him a clear path to follow, he would make his own.

Coating his ax with three skills, Aito hacked the air, hurtling a wind blade, aiming for a grey puddle. The weird liquid was severed in two upon contact, then reconnected as if nothing had happened.

Seeing his action, the other challengers followed his example, attacking the grey puddles, without much result.

"Stop!" He ordered, attracting everyone's attention. They weren't exactly dumb, just confused by the situation and almost instantaneously figured out what he meant.

'It seems that without the moderator, they can't manifest themselves immediately,' Aito thought. 'Or maybe it has something to do with the system. Earlier on, both fearmongers were paralyzed, as if their connection with Maba caused mental damage or something along that line. They are still recovering. If that is so… then we might be able to exploit this weakness.'

The first grey puddle to have touched the floor finally started morphing, changing into a burly figure. Before it completed its transformation, one wind blade tried to cut through it, to no avail.

However, once the fearmonger was whole, three wind blades showed up in front of its face and finally hit something solid.

BOOM!

Shockwaves caused by Impact pushed the Goliath back, its tough hide yielded to the air blades' sharpness, cutting through it, turning the fearmonger into sushi.

Aito didn't need words for his team to understand what should be done. Challengers attacked the fearmongers who completed their transformation, killing them before they could cause any harm.

Electricity, Frost, Wood, and Water.

Those four elements ravaged the enemy ranks, sparing no one. Mages and archer stayed to the back, killing from a distance.

Sam, Ogoro, and Aito rushed towards the fearmonger for a frontal assault, only to realize how bad of an idea it was as they barely dodged a falling liquid.

They didn't know if it was risky to touch it but better be careful than sorry.

Grey matter constantly rained from the ceiling, threatening to drown the hall. Keeping an eye on fearmongers and that nasty-looking liquid was difficult. Dodging and killing proved to be a hard endeavor.

"Eli! We need… cover from that… rain!" Lucius ordered, speaking in between two pauses.

"I'm on it!" Elizabeth immediately created a wooden structure using her skill Wooden Walls. Four pillars and a diagonal roof preventing the grey to fall on them and slide down the rooftop appeared.

Sam, Ogoro, and Aito dashed under the wooden shack's cover, looking with horror as the situation further deteriorated.

Around thirty puddles laid on the ground. Amongst those five were completing their transformation and five others were in the process of morphing. If even one were to use Fear, their formation might crumble.

"We are not killing them fast enough!" George exclaimed, hurtling another water cannonball.

"Why isn't it ending!" Sam complained, shoving his sword into a Paineater's head.

"There are too many!" Elizabeth shouted, covering their backs with her husband. Liquid fearmongers who had landed on the rooftop sled down to the back of their formation. If they didn't take care of them, they'd be flanked.

"Focus!" Aito ordered, slashing, sending one wind blade after the other, faster than before. Left and right. Front and back.

Thanks to him and his team's efforts, they could barely keep up with the numbers of fearmongers materializing.

"Hold on!"

Their only hope of surviving was to kill them all and rid that incredibly wide Iris map of grey matter.

[Find... the… words.]

'Get out of my face!' He thought, slapping the notification window away. The goddess has been bothering him for some time now. Always about those mysterious words. What was he supposed to say?

I'll protect the weak and save the damsel in distress?

I swear by my ax to purge corruption from this world and reestablish peace?

I will save them all?

[Find... the… words.]

Aito ignored the notification window and slashed at empty air, killing a Paineater. His gaze turned towards another puddle about to complete its transformation.

A particularly large Goliath manifested this time. It measured one head taller than the others Aito had encountered until now.

Instinctively, without the need to use Domain, he knew that thing was a Lv4 fearmonger. Activating Aura of Bravery, just in case, he focused all his attacks on it.

SLASH!

SLASH!

SLASH!

The fearmonger, reveling in its new freedom, didn't exactly like its welcoming party and the gifts that came with it.

Roaring with fury as others had done before it, the Goliath coated its four arms with grayish liquid, countering Aito's air blades that still managed to slightly cut through its skin.

Failing to kill it instantly after the Goliath completed its transformation, Aito cursed inwardly, feeling the sudden cold pressures of the Fear spreading to the entire hall, weakening his defenses.

Invaded by the Fear, Ogoro and Sam stopped their attacks, dropping their swords. Elizabeth and George's casting were interrupted they struggled for air. Sheyla clenched her teeth, trying to move but all that was in vein.

Only Lucius, coated in a golden aura, managed to stay standing. Out of all the challengers, he was strongest and closest to level 3. If they were to have a shot at survival, Aito ought to pick him above any others. Aura of Bravery could only shield two people after all, its user included.

However, even a genius couldn't fill the emptiness of those paralyzed by the fear. More and more Goliath completed their transformation. All attracted to their potential easy meals.1

The level 4 Goliath stepped towards Aito who was still trying to bring him down.

[Find the… words.]

In front of him, the notification became clearer, more urging as he started to fear and dread the inevitable outcome.

A sudden increase in pressure came crashing down on him when more Goliaths materialized, fusing their Fear to bring him to his knees.

Unable to contend against it, Lucius lost control of his body and aura, returning to a paralyzed state.

[Find the… words.]

Clenching his teeth, Aito tried to overload Aura of Bravery. Unfortunately for him, the Goliaths and Paineaters in the hall disagreed.

The map of Iris had poured all its grey content on the marble floor. Now numbering around fifty, the fearmongers, feeling the return of the accursed skill, focused on one little puny human.

"A new braver? And a strong one at that," the Level 4 Goliath said, towering over Aito. "Strong enough to kill a moderator on his own. We ought to thank you for that but, you understand we cannot let you leave this Tower alive, don't you?"

"Fuck… you," barely able to move despite Aura of Bravery, Aito only managed to lift his middle finger.

The Goliath grinned, its toothy mouths showing rows of pointy teeth. It was about to pummel the puny human to dust when one of its kin interrupted it.

"Hold up, brother," said a man who looked more human than fearmonger. "We might have another use for him."

"Don't waste our time on this," the Goliath replied. "If we wait too long the Tower System will be repaired, this braver will escape and certainly wreak havoc in our midst outside."

"*Sigh* Goliaths. You big brutes always fail to see the big picture. I say we corrupt him. Do you know what a corrupted braver becomes? How powerful and useful they are?"

Intrigued by the two creatures having a debate over what to do with his life, Aito lifted his eyes, only to see a man with long, dark hair, a disheveled beard, broad shoulders, and an extremely familiar face.

He saw himself.

*** 

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