Return of the Woodcutter

Something came out of the labyrinth's darkness. Something most of them had only recently heard about from the moderator.

Something... dreadful.

A Goliath emerged from one of the nearby corridors. The floor trembled under its feat. Lucius lifted his eyes to look at the monstrosity measuring a bit more than 3 meters tall, particularly staring at the mouth riddled with square teeth on its broad torso.

The monster sniffed the emotions that came out of the challenges like a hellhound, reveling in their fear. Its toothy first mouth on its head smiled with delight.

"Six days and you've finally gone mad. How marvelous. It's been such a long time since I had this much fun following a group of challengers until they turn against themselves." It took another deep breath, sighing with joy, "Ah… yes."

Every challengers' body was slightly shaking as the Fear invaded their mind and soul like a virus.

"Yes… this it. This feeling is the best."

Unable to deactivate his gift under the Fear, Ogoro could feel much more than the others, the vibrations pressed against his palms like ocean waves, becoming increasingly more aggressive as the Goliath approached them.

He had barely been able to believe what Aito had told them back on the 5th floor. After all, monsters who feed on the fear of people had never existed on Earth.

Even here, in this world of sword and magic, he had had difficulty believing such monsters truly existed, although he had already seen berserkers.

And yet, here it was, walking like it reigned supreme on every living being. And here he was, kneeling as if the fearmonger was his lord.

Ogoro felt the tremors stop, and the Goliath halted its steps in front of the nearest human. A woman with short hair, part of Lucius's team, Marta.

"Let's start with you. Yes, you're cooked just as I like it. Medium rare," It grabbed her, more for show than necessity. Marta could barely move. She stood still, trembling in its huge four hands gripping each of her limbs. Urine trickled down her leather armor to the Goliath's greatest pleasure. To it, this was akin to the cherry on top of the cake.

At first, nothing seemed to happen when the eyeless monster stared intently at Marta.

Soon after, every challenger felt the pressure keeping them down slightly lighten as Marta's body, who has already been trembling, shook uncontrollably.

Her eyes turned entirely grey. Her body bubbled from the inside while it underwent horrifying changes.

The pain was such that she screamed her lungs out until she tore her vocal cords. Her voice still resonated in the surroundings when her skin turned grey, her arms bulked up and hair fell onto the cold floor.

A new berserker was born. It roared, announcing its birth and presence in this world.

"Fearlord blesses you, youngling," the Goliath said, releasing the newborn berserker. "Remain still as I continue feeding."

Ogoro cursed his own weakness internally as the pressure returned and he sensed the floor trembling, indicating the Goliath moved again to pick another target.

It stopped in front of Elizabeth, and this time did not pick her up. It had already shown its strength before, so it wasn't necessary to be flashy this time. They all understood struggling was pointless.

Feeling the pressure on him lighten once again, Ogoro knew Elizabeth was about to be changed… to be corrupted.

Angry and also scared, Ogoro tried to move. He had to move if he did not want his sister to end up changing into a bald and raging monster. But despite his best effort, only his fingers moved slightly while Elizabeth screamed from fear and pain.

That's when he noticed something, vibrations. The same vibrations he had felt earlier, which made little sense since the Goliath was still corrupting Lucius's wife, thus remaining still.

Now that he thought about it, the Goliath might be heavy but not as heavy as to cause such powerful vibrations that came from another direction. Thanks to the Fear's pressure being lighter on him, he could feel the difference now.

It felt as if someone was destroying... something. 

The Goliath enjoyed himself to his fullest and Fear consumed other challengers too much for them to notice. Only Ogoro perceived the approaching vibrations thanks to his gift. Despite the Fear, a slight smile grew on his face.

"Leave… her… alone," Lucius said in a low voice akin to a whisper as he somehow managed to gather the strength to get on his feet.

"Ah, how amusing," the Goliath replied, temporarily stopping the corruption to shift his attention towards Lucius. "You who ridiculed and slapped a woman who supported you despite your stupidity during your whole time in this labyrinth, certainly even outside, have no right to demand this from me. And yet, you are. And yet… you are."

"I…, I was not myself. You… did this... to me," Lucius replied.

"Oooh, human. All I did was give you all a little push by adding a slight amount of Fear to the equation. The rest was anxiety, exhaustion, failure, and mostly what you already had inside. You did this to yourself, to your wife. It was always there, waiting to emerge.

"You were always and still despicable, beyond saving. Pushing your weakness onto others while all you had to do was to accept it and move forward. But no, of course, no. You were too stubborn and full of yourself.

"Even I, who had observed for only a few days, can tell that much. Just look at the others. Despite having endured the same treatment, they did not crack, at least not before you did. Don't you understand?

"YOU are the weakest amongst them." 

Lucius looked down, staring at his feet as shame washed over him like an avalanche of truth. He was indeed pitiful. Unwilling to relive the powerlessness and boredom he had felt in his previous life, Lucius had let his thirst for power consume him.

His wife's previous sentence resonated inside him, 'Just look at you now, a man capable of bending lightning and wind to his will. A man capable of wielding a spear like no other challengers. And yet, you are lesser now than you have ever been.'

'I….' At that moment, something broke inside him.

It's been so long since the Goliath had this much fun! So it needed to prolong it, savor it. Amused by Lucius, the Goliath released its hold on him and the puny man did exactly as it expected.

"I AM NOT WEAK!" Lucius dashed towards the fearmonger, spear in hand, without even coating himself in Durability.

Both of the creature's mouths smirked, "No, you're weak and foolish." 

"WAAAH!"

It effortlessly grabbed Lucius's spear using one hand, with two others it swat the puny man like the miserable fly he was. 

BAM!

Lucius impacted a real wall that cracked upon his landing. He coughed up a mouthful of blood due to internal injuries. The lower part of his back was broken.

He had no feeling beneath the waist. His toes, knees, even genitals did not respond to his brain's signals. A few broken ribs pushing inwards threatened to perforate his lungs if he were to but breathe too hastily.

"What are you if not weak? Look at what just one of my blows did to you. Broken. Battered. On the verge of death. But don't worry, you'll survive long enough to see all the others fall until it is your turn."

He clenched his teeth so hard that, like the wall, they cracked. Lucius knew it. He knew it all along. He just never took the time to understand it, accept it, for it required strength he used to have but currently lacked. 

'I...' 

Reborn into a new world. Granted powers beyond Lucius's imagination. Becoming one of the strongest challengers in the Tower. Having a talent for the lighting and wind element even moderators were jealous of.

But in the process, he had lost sight of what truly mattered.

"Ah…, so you've finally realized. How lowly and pitiful you are," the Goliath said.

'I…' Lucius admonished himself silently, his back against the wall, seeking support from an inanimate object since no living being was willing to support him anymore. But he deserved this treatment. He knew it.

"I like that face you're making, human. It suits you and your weakness. Fear your weakness. Fear your pitifulness. Fear yourself because all you ever had will forever be lost. A question for you. Whose fault do you think it is I suddenly appeared, now of all time?" 

Indeed, why would the creature appear now? 

"Mine…, it's because of me," Lucius replied.

The fearmonger took immense pleasure to twist a knife already deep in the wound. "Yes, yes indeed. Your weakness drew me in. I couldn't resist it any longer. But… I'll savor the others slowly and save you for last so that you can see the result of your powerlessness." It shivered in excitement at its own plan.

Clouded by his guilt, Lucius's mind blurred into a spiral of self-accusation. It was his fault, his guilt, his mistakes. He knew it, felt it deep within his bones.

'I am… weak.' 

The Goliath left Lucius in a broken state and didn't even bother applying Fear on the man. After all, he was already broken beyond repair. What could he do when barely alive?

And thus, it shifted its focus back to Elizabeth.

Too busy playing with its toy, it did not notice the tiny sparks manifesting above Lucius's skin.

*****

"What pushes a person to fall so low as to forsake everything he had before for power? Most would think it is greed. But I think sticking to this explanation is too simplistic. Is it truly just greed? Would you call greed the desire of a man to create a place for him and his wife in a new world? In the end, what truly blinded Lucius wasn't greed but his love that pushed him to seek power beyond anything else to the point forsook everything even… his wife."

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