Chaos Carrier With A Broken Talent-Chapter 44: Willor and the Cross Pendant

Not everyone who came to the Desolate Meadow to take part in the Thunder of Four Howls was a swordsman.

There were plenty of people like Ethan who fought with daggers, archers from Vaelinor, or even someone like Aime, who carried no weapon at all. Sure, she had an artifact, her bracelets, but that was no match for a blade.

However, the Lost Knight only recognized those who had chosen the sword path. Whether they were alive or dead – it didn’t matter.

Many of the previously deceased participants rose from the ground at the call of the second howl. They were nothing more than bodies sustained by energy, with a single purpose – to find out which of the participants was worthy to move on.

For some, this became a matter of completely different importance.

Aime stared intently at one fallen warrior who looked just like her father, who had died here.

Obviously, he looked completely different from when she last saw him several years ago, but a daughter can easily recognize her father among a thousand men.

Further proof was the cross pendant, the one Aime hoped to find at the Desolate Meadow. She thought she would have to go through the trial and search for her father’s grave, but now he was standing before her.

Klaus spun around, shocked.

"What? That’s your father?!"

"Yes, this..."

Ethan stood between them, his gaze dark.

"That’s not important right now. Aime, you wanted to finish your father’s mission and get the pendant? We’ll do it, all we need is to defeat your father as well as the rest... the ones who came back from the dead."

A storm of emotions raged inside Aime, but she knew Ethan was right. Her father had been dead for a long time, and the same could happen to her if she acted carelessly.

Wiping the first tears from her eyes, Aime rose from the ground as she nodded.

"Alright, what should we do?"

Ethan looked at Klaus. If anyone knew the rules, it was him.

"Well, same as before, defeat them and get the means to protect ourselves, but we must be careful." Klaus stared at the fallen warriors as they dispersed. "They are all much stronger than the knights, since the ones we see have almost reached the end."

"Hmm? What does that mean?"

Klaus held up three fingers.

"There are three conditions for a fallen participant to return in the next trial as a dead guard. The participant must possess a sword, their body must remain intact, and they must survive until the third howl, at least, and possibly until the very end, where they face the Lost Knight."

After a short pause, Ethan nodded.

"I see. So if we survive this stage and die in the next one, we’ll end up in their place for the next participants. That’s... that’s pretty ironic."

Strangely enough, this brought a smile to Aime’s face. It meant that even though her father ultimately lost, his attempt was a decent one.

Slash.

Klaus drew his sword from its sheath as he slowly advanced toward Aime’s father.

"I take it he’s our main target?"

"Yeah." Ethan nodded casually.

Aime’s eyes darted from one to the other, worried.

"W-Wait, guys, you don’t have to do this! This... It’s my wish that you think about how to get through this stage."

"Don’t worry about it." Ethan shrugged. "It’s called multitasking. Either way, we still have to defeat them. There’s no reason why it can’t be your father."

She wanted to say something, but seeing the determination in their eyes, she stopped and nodded weakly.

"Thanks... both of you."

Then, they moved forward so that someone else wouldn’t run into Aime’s father first.

At that moment, Ethan glanced around. Because the dark fog pushed everyone toward the center where the grass was low, he could easily see how many participants were left and where they were.

Well, they were in the same situation, but Ethan doubted that anyone would decide to attack them from a distance when there was a more important problem to deal with.

’Eighteen, nineteen, and... twenty. Is that all? Hmm, if no one is hiding in the grass, then that’s it, considering the three of us.’

Soon, they got close enough for Aime’s father to notice them. His empty, lifeless eyes turned toward them.

Klaus gripped the hilt tightly. "Be careful. We don’t know how far he went. If he died at the end, by the Lost Knight’s sword, he could be dangerously strong. The same goes for the other dead guards."

"Hey, Aime, what was your father’s name?" Ethan suddenly asked something unrelated to the battle.

"Willor! That’s my father, there’s no doubt about it!"

A flash ran across Ethan’s dagger.

"Good, judging by you, he was a good father."

Aime bit her lip almost to the point of bleeding.

"He was!"

"Then he deserves a proper death and a grave."

"But even if we defeat my father... the Lost Knight can use him in the next Thunder of Four Howls."

With eyes full of calm, Ethan nodded.

"That is why we must resort to extreme measures."

"Agh...?"

"Of the three conditions Klaus mentioned, we can only change one."

Klaus’s eyes widened. Willor couldn’t stop being a swordsman, nor could they influence how many stages he had passed, but the part about his intact body was within their power.

"It won’t be very pleasant, but it’s the only way your father can have a proper death."

Aime’s eyes were filled with doubt. She understood what he was proposing.

"Ethan, if your grandfather were in the same situation... Would you do it?"

The answer was immediate.

"There’s no question about it. The dead should be dead, not used as tools. Death is a rest that everyone deserves. No one should be denied that privilege!"

At that moment, Willor stopped. He had been moving in the other direction, but quickly realized that these three would be his opponents.

He looked at Aime with the same indifference as he looked at Klaus and Ethan. He didn’t see his daughter in her, just another participant.

Aime glanced at the cross pendant.

’Don’t worry, Father. I’ll free you soon... I’ll make sure you see Mother!’