Chapter 411: I surrender
"Should I come to you, or are you going to organize yourselves and face me head-on again?" Tiber smiled casually, the shadows around him growing even more profound, even stronger.
The three gritted their teeth, and although they were feeling fear, they decided to attack anyway! They exploded forward, far away from each other so as not to be caught in each other's attacks, and yet near enough to wake the others up in case they fell into a forced dream.
They began.
The fur on Aldwin shimmered with a luster. Some of the fur uprooted itself from his body, clustering together and then forming into small lifeforms that looked like five small monkeys made entirely of clusters of fur. They surged forward towards Tiber.
The fur on Aldwin came from the beast he tamed and ultimately transformed into, a type of highly venomous caterpillar. Each strand of fur contained enough venom to send a Knight Rank rolling on the ground in pain, and a single monkey, should it get to hug its target, could kill an Errant Knight with the venom.
Aldwin's strategy, when fighting alone, was to just shoot his fur out indiscriminately, with no care for his surroundings. But when he wasn't fighting alone, and against single targets, he would create those small "monkeys" that were actually small clones of himself!
As those monkeys ran forward, Xuehan also made his move. He made complicated symbols with his left hand, his fingers curling and straightening individually. His right hand then whipped forward as if he were drawing something to himself. The effect was instant! The space surrounding him flexed and seemed to swell, and a straight line of almost visible space instantly connected him with Tiber!
An invisible force came over Tiber, grasping hold of him and dragging him to align with Xuehan without the attraction actually drawing him in. It was simply holding him in place!
The attack that Xuehan used actually had a follow-up, which was the repel. But right now, he was only using the one to hold Tiber in place.
Fengzhi grunted, the muscles of her right hand flexing beneath her clothes. Yellow light blazed on her hand and lit up her spear. She took a deep breath, and then she moved.
So fast!
She moved four times in two seconds, thrusting her spear forward in a similar fashion to the same attack she used earlier. The four afterimages of the spear turned into blinding yellow light that plummeted forward at incredible speed!
Xuehan sneered. "How are you going to avoid all of this now?"
The onlookers felt the same way as well. Tiber was now cornered with nowhere to go. Even if he could break out of Xuehan's lock, it wouldn't be immediate, and that time was enough for the attacks to reach him!
But surprisingly, Tiber's face did not show panic. Instead, the shadows on his face deepened, his eyes appearing like two pools of vast holes, ready to swallow all things. The figures that flickered in his shadow became more pronounced and real, turning from illusionary to corporeal.
Tiber muttered. "Horror Manifest."
Then....three figures stepped out.
One of them had the image of Aldwin, as short as him. It even had the same fur on its body, only the fur on this one pierced through the body from the inside out, weeping with blood and gore. It was the nightmare that Tiber took from Aldwin!
The nightmare Aldwin ran forward and then did the same technique that Aldwin did, creating smaller clones of himself. Those clones ran to the real Aldwin's clones to intercept them while the nightmare Aldwin ran towards the spears to take the hit!
The nightmare Aldwin exploded in a shower of yellow light, a blast that destroyed it.
But Tiber wasn't fazed that three of the nightmares he had were destroyed. Instead, his voice took on a terrible tone as he whispered. "Horror Manifest—Self Corruption!"
The other two nightmares that Tiber took from the others flanked him, then they collapsed onto him, melting into his flesh and turning into something else.
[Horror Manifest] is a technique that lets him manifest the nightmares he took from people, while [Horror Manifest—Self Corruption] was the one that gave him the ability to merge with the nightmares, using their powers!
Tiber was glad with the techniques and power he gained from Vale's power-up. Not only did it boost his normal powers, it also upgraded his techniques, making his aspect even more tedious to deal with. But he was still faced with his usual limitations, that is, he could only use the powers that existed within the nightmares he took.
Right now, he had taken on a new form. He was three times taller but terribly hunched, so hunched that his chest was grazing the ground. He had no head, not in the usual way. His single red eye took up the only space in his head.
Numerous hands reached out from his back, all of them gripping spears.
When Tiber merged, he also couldn't control the form he took on. He had to work with what he got. But all forms were monstrous; they were terrible to look at.
A nightmare.
The onlookers had turned still and silent. Fear filled the air, their very minds shaking as they beheld a nightmare given form. Even Slya was struggling with it, and the two Master Knights, now expressionless, had to actually involve their minds to resist the subtle pressure of fear pushing against them.
The three had it worse as they took on the full attention of the nightmare.
It was terrible, it was a nightmare.
Then, the nightmare opened its mouth and roared. The single eye actually opened into a fanged mouth, and a sound like painful laughter bellowed out.
Aldwin broke. His legs shook and he almost fell. He was already destabilized when he saw the nightmare straight from his dreams. But now, with full terror crushing his mind, he simply gave up.
But Tiber wouldn't let him off the hook. Wouldn't let any of them off.
Without moving, he used a technique. The air hummed to life, and a force of attraction took effect right above Tiber. Something that resembled a small void appeared, spinning rapidly as it drew all three towards it.
Xuehan feared, above all, the feeling of the force of attraction. His nightmare was to be drawn to where he didn't want or know one day, and so his nightmare usually took this form. And now, Tiber was using it!
At that moment, Xuehan's eyes blanched and sweat broke out on his forehead. This brave, bold man simply turned and tried to run, but the force jerked them forward at incredible speed.
Fengzhi was already gone as well. The nightmare form that Tiber took was the one directly from her nightmare. It was a monster from when she was small and monsters slaughtered her family.
It was a disaster.
The three of them were jerked through the air, all three resisting to get away from Tiber for different reasons, and yet there was nowhere for them to go! They did not even have the mind to attack! They made no resistance!
That was how Tiber's power worked. He attacked both the mind and the physical. He could hold his own in a physical fight, and a mental one was where he thrived the most.
"I...I surrender!" Aldwin shouted.
"Me too! Me too!" Fengzhi shouted.
Tiber hesitated. He was feeling disappointed because he really didn't get to fight physically. '...have I showed enough strength? I still have a bit of essence in my core, I can continue...'
But he decided to stop, even though he'd not thrown a single punch!
He let the two drop from his attraction and now turned his full attention to Xuehan. But the man was more stubborn than the others and wouldn't allow himself to surrender even though his limbs were trembling as he felt as if he were getting dragged into the great unknown.
He shouted internally but still refused to yield! Even more, he began to counteract, using his own force to try and disrupt Tiber's.
"Enoughghhh!" Tiber screamed through his head, and then he jumped. His body jumped unnaturally through the air, his upper body moving surprisingly flexibly like a snake, his body coiling up and down like a whip, and hit Xuehan...right on the head.
Xuehan gasped as something heavy slammed into his head with enough force to turn his vision white and render him unconscious.
And when Xuehan came back to his senses, he found that he was staring up at Tiber in his human form, and his head seemed to be filled with walking stone men. He groaned. "W..wha..what?"
Commander Tiber grinned. "Welcome back, Captain Xuehan."
With Tiber partly satisfied with his show of strength, he returned to his place with Slya and the others.
Slya shook her head at him. "Your powers have grown even more impressive."