Return of the Woodcutter

47th wave.

Aito and Krugan unleashed hell on their enemies. Patiently waiting at the barricade near the fire, they both adopted a simple formation; Aito to the front, Krugan to the back.

It took but a mere two minutes for the berserkers to cross over the 2 or 3 km bridge, showing just how fast those bulgy creatures' charges were. If Aito had to guess, they were running at around 40 or 50kmph.

However, they were soon confronted to an unbreakable gate called the black challenger by some or the Khan by orcs.

Moving in tight organized formation, they looked like a past era Roman army on Earth. That formation proved great strength in their numbers and would overwhelm normal challengers.

However, Aito broke their momentum with Cleave, reducing their numbers from a safe distance, disturbing their formation. Although not enough to kill them all, around twenty of them died under his air strikes.

Before they could collide with Aito, Krugan stomped the bridge, shaking the ground, destabilizing the berserkers that tripped and fell.

Aito launched himself into the air while Krugan took this opportunity to push out a deafening war cry, Warlord's Roar, stunning every berserker in a radius of five meters.

Using Weight Control, Aito dropped like a falling meteor, crushing a berserker under his feet and used Cyclone to kill every stunned corrupted humans.

Together, they rammed through this wave faster than Aito would have alone. Hacking, slashing, stunning and killing. No berserkers were spared.

The 47th to the 54rd wave came with more berserkers than before and a drop in the temperature. Before the start of the 55th wave, it became crucial to stay near the fireplace that was burning quite brightly.

Aito examined the wooden wall, only to see strong flames consuming the wood in a time record. He did not know if that were true but… it seemed oil burned faster when frozen. He was no scientist, however, he knew that was a bad sign.

In this weather, Aito needed the fire's warmth to survive. With only snow and no trees around, he could only rely on this wooden wall for warmth.

"You're okay?" Aito asked, looking a Krugan panting heavily.

"Yes," the orc replied, "I'm just hyperventilating on purpose. I can recover my stamina faster this way."

"Is that so?"

There was a higher chance the orc had obtained some kind of passive skill rather than his statement being true. Well, it made sense in a way, but Aito doubted hyperventilating on purpose was the real trick to recover stamina faster.

Aito looked at the timer on top of Krugan's head that was only visible to him.

[5 minutes.]

He estimated that he spent around 7-10 minutes per wave, alone. Considering Krugan had cleared a wave alone, that they fought together afterward and cleared waved much faster, it looked about right.

'Five minutes left before he is unsummoned,' Aito thought. 'Let's hope this'll end soon.'

[Be careful of what you wish for. I can sense an unusual shift in the air. There is something different about this wave, Aito. Thread carefully. Just…] Valinar warned.

Shivers ran down his spine as multiple roars echoed in the mountains. It could be the cold or the roars progressively growing louder, more numerous, more intimating, more… dreadful.

A feeling long forgotten started growing in him again.

Fear.

His thoughts were in shamble.

"Shit, shit, shit! Krugan, to the bridge, now!" Aito exclaimed, leaving the dwindling fire's warmth followed by his loyal subordinate.

Standing at the barricade, he watched numerous berserkers rushing at him, discarding the corpses of their brethren down the bridge. They looked like an endless grey tide, ready to devour Aito's tiny frame.

Their roars were so loud it provoked an avalanche. Behind Aito, the mountain trembled. Snow tumbled down the mountain en masse, ravaging the nothingness of this barren place. Soon the avalanche reached the plateau, engulfing Aito's blazing wooden wall like a white wave extinguishing all warmth.

Most of the avalanche ended up dropping down the bridge. However, without a place to warm themselves up, Aito and Krugan were now at the mercy of the temperature that… kept dropping.

He didn't know if it was the cold messing with his head, or the fear he felt towards the fearmongers approaching at great speed but he had this sudden urge… to run.

Fear!

[Aito! Calm yourself and…]

Next to him, Krugan, the mighty orc warrior, trembled and dropped to his knees, "W, w, what are they? My Khan, what should we do? Khan?"

Aito remained paralyzed as if something was keeping him in place. It felt familiar, somehow. When was the last time he felt this way? No… now was not the time to think, it was the time to fight! Yes! Fight to survive! Just fight and fight! Fight to flee! No fight, then flee!

No, just fight!

Confused, struck by the urge to fight and or flee, Aito grabbed his ax and rushed towards the grey tide, abandoning his subordinate who was seeking his advice.

[Rem…]

Snow brought by violent gusts of wind brushed past Aito's face turning pale blue as the temperature dropped below -60°C. Reaching a blockade made of monsters, he hacked at the berserker formation.

"Out of my way! Die!"

Growing weak by the passing second, unaware that something was blinding his thoughts, Aito rampaged like a scared or cornered beast, torn between the urge to flee and fight. The pitiful sight of his Khan losing his composure further increased Krugan's despair.

[Rem…]

Fear!

In his mind, Soulcleaver whispered vicious thoughts, trying to corrupt him and at the same time berate him, break him.

'Kill them!'

'So Weak!'

"Shut up!" Aito roared. The voices got more intense, so did the fear, the bloodlust, the need to flee, and the cold.

The cold… it was so cold. In need of warmth, he used his ring to set himself on fire. Although realistic, it was just an illusion. Yes, just an illusion that brought him warmth and… pain. He felt his skin bubbling, heating up, even though, in reality, nothing really happened.

The pain temporarily erased his fear, but increased his madness.

'KILL!'

Berserkers encircled him. Out of his mind, Aito whirled around, swinging his ax in every direction, wasting his stamina. At some point, they ganged upon him.

Like bullies in a dark street ganging up on a little kid, the berserkers thrashed him as hard as they could. Covered in Durability, his armor held on, providing a durable defense against the overwhelming numbers.

'Weak! Too weak!'

"Shut up!"

Activating Cyclone, he turned the berserkers into minced meat. Air blade propelled on all sides, slicing nearby and distant berserkers.

That's when a deafening roar resounded. The grey creatures stepped back, leaving Aito to his lonely madness. Heavy footsteps burdened the bridge. Cracking frozen purple blood under its feet, a huge creature with a frame rivaling the Khül made its way through the berserker ranks.

It was bulgy, entirely black, and tall. The creature had no eyes, two deformed holes for nostrils, and a mouth filled with square teeth made for mashing fleshing into blood mush. On its torso was a second mouth so wide it could swallow a human whole. Two of its four powerful arms pushed aside the berserkers that looked tiny compared to this monstrosity.

Bloodshot eyes, Aito looked up, grabbing his ax with all his strength that weighed so heavily in his hand. Why was it so heavy? That he didn't know. However, laying his eyes upon the monstrosity in front of him… he knew, he knew what that thing was.

[Remem…]

Something he should kill!

"Ha, how kind of the gods to send me a snack after so long," the creature said. Compared to the Paineater, its voice had just one tone, low and coarse. "I'm glad you made it this far. It only adds flavor to the meal that's apparently cooking on his own."

Flames still covered Aito's body. Due to the pain, the wind, Soulcleaver's voice, Aito couldn't really hear the creature's mockery. He knew, however, he was being ridiculed.

"WAAAAH!"

Arming himself with his ax that felt heavier the more time passed, Aito rushed at his enemy, unknowingly taking its bait.

A grey light covered the creature's arms as it parried Aito's ax with such strength it sent it flying out of the bridge, down into the chasm.

[Remember…]

Fear struck Aito like a deadly avalanche as the creature lifted its fists high, preparing for an attack. As it brought down its powerful arms, someone passed by Aito, but he could not see nor feel him.

Having mustered every ounce of courage he had, Krugan rushed to his Khan's aid with the orcs' war cry, "Glory and Death!"

BAM!

The creature's fist impacted Krugan's tower shield so violently it sent ripples of shockwaves in the surroundings. Krugan's feet were hammered into the stone bridge, cracking the floor.

"You dare come between my prey and me!" The creature said, grabbing the orc's shield to hurl it down the chasm and join Soulcleaver. "You tiny little black bug!"

[Remember what…]

Aito's gaze shifted to Krugan. The timer atop his head showed one minute. One minute… seemed so long. One minute… the orc would never be able to hold on for so long.

'So long… how long has it been since I've felt this confused and… afraid?' Aito wondered, his body burning with an illusionary fire.

"Kneel!" The creature ordered, applying an invisible pressure on the orc.

Krugan's knees weakened and so did his courage. Exhausted and afraid, they trembled and finally gave up their support.

However, despite it all, the orc smiled.

He grabbed Aito's shoulder, gripping it as hard as he could, "My Khan…."

Feeling the despair, the creature sniffed the air, appreciating every moment of its victory.

Aito's vision blurred as he felt the warmth of a hand grabbing his shoulder, despite the cold. In this brief moment, he turned towards Krugan, whose eyes were filled with familiar emotions he knew too well.

He had seen them on the 6th floor during his fight with the Khül. He had seen them on the 5th floor within Sheyla and Ogoro's eyes. He had seen them in the cave where a fearmonger had played tricks on him.

Yes, he has seen those. He had felt those emotions in moments where he was invaded by Fear. When he had been influenced by Fear.

It has been just a few months since the last time he had felt those and yet… why couldn't he remember sooner? Why couldn't he…

The creature grabbed Krugan's by his throat and lifted him, "What a peculiar thing. I've never seen the likes of you before."

Aito looked up, as his vision finally cleared. There he saw the notification window that had kept harassing him for his own good.

[Remember what you are! Do not let the Fear control you!]

"What are you?" The creature asked, seemingly intrigued. Unable to breathe, Krugan couldn't possibly give it a proper answer.

A blinding golden light covered Aito's body, erasing the flames of his madness, eclipsing the Fear.

"Arg! This accursed light!" The creature shielded itself, dropping Krugan.

He remembered now. That thing was a fearmonger, a Goliath.

Aito reached to the side. Soulcleaver flew from the bottom of the chasm, passing by the bridge, killing berserkers on its way, nestling itself in Aito's hand.

"That person you called a thing is my subordinate, you bastard."

*****

Lore: 

"While reaching level 3, Berserkers evolved into a most fearsome creature, a Goliath. This particular type of fearmonger is strength-oriented and can deal devastating blows. Bigger, stronger, and smarter than berserkers, they are adversaries one should not take lightly."

Extract from "Yggdrasil Chronicles, the Woodcutter of Iris," by Roan the Merchant.