Chapter 187: 187. Army of Fear

All of Dallion’s doubt vanished like fog at dawn. The voice was absolutely correct—giving in to his fears wasn’t the way he’d win this battle. Dallion was not a monster and had no intention of becoming one. As long as he knew where the line was and didn’t cross it, history wasn’t going to repeat itself.

A sword swished at the height of Dallion’s neck. Even without markers, avoiding it was elementary and immediately followed by a counterattack.

“Lux, blind him,” Dallion whispered.

The firebird flashed an incandescent blue. Caught off guard, Aspion tried to jump back, but it was already too late. He harpsisword pierces his chest.

CRITICAL STRIKE!

Damage dealt is increased by 200%

 

Any other time Dallion would have been pleased with such a result. Fighting against a humanoid echo, though, he felt cheated. Such an attack was supposed to kill it off, or at the very least incapacitate it to the point he would have to deal with one opponent less. Instead, there seemed to be no apparent difference. What was worse, the attack revealed an opening for Kiera to take advantage of. Even with the armadil shield extended, Dallion wasn’t able to get away unscathed.

MINOR WOUND

Your health has been decreased by 5%

 

Immediately Dallion split into three instances, aiming to finish off Aspion. In two versions his attacks were deflected, but in the third he did a clean strike through the enemy’s waist. Not the most elegant attack, but it was something. Dallion chose that instance. Before his blade could reach its target, though, a surprising force came out of nowhere, pushing him back a dozen steps through dirt and corpses. Moments later, Dallion saw that a new figure had joined the enemy team.

“Anything you can do I can do better,” the version of his grandfather said, standing in front of Aspion. “All this time you knew I’d be the strongest of the three. What did you think? That it’ll get easier when you defeat them? Or did you think that I would let you?”

Beside him, Aspion smirked. During Dallion’s life in Dherma he had seen the two as nothing but enemies, but there had been a time they were close friends, as close as Dallion now was with Gloria and Veil. Of course, his grandfather would do anything in his power to protect his friends, and this challenge illustrated that. Fighting two of them was difficult enough, but now that Dallion was facing all three, things had become impossible… Unless that was the point of the trial.

Taking a deep breath, Dallion considered things logically. When it came down to it, this was just a level up trial—a room in his realm that illustrated a deep fear to be overcome. Similar to the other awakening trials, there was a way he could win.

Similar to a breakthrough, Dallion thought, repeating Nil’s advice. The entire point of awakening trials was to determine if someone was capable of going beyond their current limits. As long as they had what it took, winning was the easiest thing in the world. If not, the task would be impossible. The important question was what skills did Dallion need to have this time.

Combining his music and forging skills, Dallion examined the gear of his enemies yet again. If there were major flaws, he definitely couldn’t see them. His grandfather had done a pretty good job constructing the items. Getting a chance to break them was looking highly unlikely.

Why were there three enemies, though? Back in the puzzle cube, the enemy had been just one. True, there were a lot of other crack-like creatures that kept him from reaching that point, but it wasn’t like numbers were of significant importance.

“What’s the matter?” Aspion asked. “Thinking of asking us to surrender?”

So far that hadn’t crossed Dallion’s mind. It was clear that they wouldn’t accept, although the question gave him an idea.

If that’s the way you want it… Dallion took a deep breath. In his mind, a spark burst into existence. Like a cell it grew, building on past feelings, emotions and past memories, until finally it formed a voice.

Wow, the spark said. I can’t believe you really did it.

I can’t either, Dallion responded.

Well, it’s only strange the first time.

A blink of the eye later, a second Dallion was standing beside him on the battlefield—his first echo, or rather the first echo he had created. Looking at it felt marginally less weird than he had thought it would. It was almost like looking at a picture of himself come to life.

The echo nodded at him, then summoned a copy of Dallion’s harpsisword.

That’s right, Dallion thought. Echoes shared the skills and items of their original. They also shared thoughts… which meant he could talk to his echo in real time without saying a word. Let’s get them, Dallion smiled.

Neither Dallion nor his echo charged forward. That wasn’t their plan. Possibly for the very same reason, Kraisten and his two companions dashed forward. They too had figured out what his plan was and were determined to stop it.

“Nox!” Dallion shouted as he let go of his harpsisword and summoned the Nox dagger instead. Behind him, his echo had already played the first chord of a melody. Now the only thing left was for both Dallions to start singing.

Sounds of weird filled the air, synching with Kraisten, Aspion, and Kierra. This was the first time that Dallion had used this power of music, but it seemed to have the desired effect. Slower than before, his enemies went for the echo in an attempt to end the playing, but Dallion intervened. Combat splitting again, he used his focus entirely on his guard skills to shield his music source from all attacks.

On the surface it seemed as if the attacks had intensified, but that wasn’t exactly true. The enemies were no longer attacking from a position of strength, but of weakness, desperate to kill off the echo and all Dallion had to do was prevent them from doing so.

Slashes, blocks, and parries continued in rapid succession. Hindered by the music’s effects, the enemies’ movements were made more predictable, although still requiring Dallion to resort to both the armadil shield and the firebird from reaching his echo. On occasion the echo itself also assisted with a brief block or parry before returning to playing the harp. Unlike Dallion, it didn’t seem capable of splitting.

At one point, Aspion changed approach. Foregoing the echo, he targeted Dallion directly with an arc slash. The strike was perfect, combining acrobatics, athletics, and attack skills. From his splitting instances, Dallion saw that in half of the cases the result would be a moderate wound in the right leg. The normal approach was to choose one of the instances in which he wasn’t wounded. However, this time this wasn’t his intention. Thanks to Lux, sustained injuries were not a concern. Getting in the perfect position for a counterattack, on the other hand, was.

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There was a momentary prick of pain as Aspion’s sword sliced through part of Dallion’s leg. Taking advantage of the opening, Dallion counterattacked, aiming for the other’s throat. Similar to before, Dallion’s grandfather stepped in, protecting his teammate with a shield. This was the moment Dallion was waiting for.

Now, Nox!

Instead of stopping his attack, Dallion went on, slashing across the shield with his dagger. The tip of the blade slid across the metal surface, leaving a thin line. Moments later, half of the shield fell off. Clearly the crackling had powered up considerably after his level boost. Dallion, of course, didn’t stop there. Taking advantage of the momentary confusion, he twirled around, performing a second attack that targeted Aspion. Unprotected, the blond attempted to parry, only to have the blade of his sword snapped off a few inches from the hilt.

“Back!” Kraisten retreated.

Dallion threw the dagger at Aspion and summoned his dartbow. A bolt split the air. From such a distance, evasion was impossible.

FATAL STRIKE!

Damage dealt is increased by 500%

 

For a split second a smile appeared on Aspion’s face—a genuine smile, not the smirks he’d made before. After that the entire echo disappeared in a cloud of red dust.

“One down,” Dallion’s echo said, putting an end to the singing. “Now is the time you surrender,” he voiced Dallion’s thoughts.

“I guess you have some backbone after all,” his grandfather said. “I was worried you might straight up quit and go crying somewhere. Nice to know that I can be surprised now and again.”

“Is there any point in going on?” Dallion asked. “Your advantage is gone. From here on I have the advantage.”

“So it would seem.” Kraisten gave Kierra a nod. “Tell me one thing. What do you expect to find here once the fight is over?”

Dallion hesitated.

“Don’t worry, it’s not a trick or warning. I’m just genuinely curious. Let’s say that you level up. What are you going to do with a battlefield in your mind?”

“Clean it up?”

“And bury the past? Not the best choice.”

“That’s your past,” Dallion said. “Or something I think could have been your past.”

The truth was that Dallion knew precious little. Events might have gone down just as he imagined, or maybe they had been worse. Either way, it was all speculation based on a few fragments of information he had obtained.

“And even if it is. I don’t have to see it to remember it.”

“That’s true. You don’t have to see something in order for it to be real.” Kraisten moved further back. “But I respect your choice. I’ll even help you out.” He clapped his hands.

The sound echoed throughout the battlefield. Initially nothing happened, then the first signs became visible. It all started with a faint grain of anger in the decaying bodies. Like a seed, the grain grew, turning them from lifeless piles of flesh into living entities… hostile evil entities with rusty weapons and armor.

So much for a number advantage and just when Dallion had worked so far to earn it. Still, they were only blockers. The white rectangles above their heads only described them as falling warriors with no additional information. More than likely they were weak, relying on numbers to take him down. Dallion’s only concern was whether they would merge or not.

Taking a defensive stance and replacing his dagger with the harpsisword, he waited.

“They don’t look that tough,” his echo said in support. “Want to try a duet?”

“No, better stick to the plan. You play, I'll defend.”

“Sure. You know you don’t have to reply. I know your answer when you think of it.”

“It’s more polite this way,” Dallion said, but in his mind, he was also laughing at himself for forgetting the fact.

One of the nearby zombie-soldiers leapt forward in an attack. Technically, they weren’t exactly zombie soldiers. Along with their return to life, all wounds on their bodies had disappeared, restoring them to their previous state. Only the state of their armor and weapons reminded that they had been “dead” at some point.

Dallion blocked the attack with his shield, then took a step to the side and performed a double slash at his enemy’s torso. Based on his experience in the sphere items, in the majority of the cases the blocker creature would die from the first strike, although some would manage to parry the blow. In this case, not only did the soldier block both blows but also engaged in a counterattack of her own.

What the heck? Dallion reacted instantly with a parry, then twirled to the other side of his attacker in an attempt to land a fatal blow. That too was evaded, even if barely. Meanwhile, the rest of the soldiers were keeping their distance, forming a large circle with a ten-foot radius around Dallion and his echo.

“Surprised?” Dallion’s grandfather asked. “Who said that the fallen ones would be weak? They were brought to life by your fears, after all. And, boy, do you have many fears.”

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