Chương 16: 16
The ground started to tremble like there was an earthquake, some of the children among the crowd tumbled to the ground. Even some of the adult started to go seek shelter, afraid that a real earthquake was coming.
Emile's heart squeezed because he knew he was about to get hit with everything Arthur got. Based on the things that had happened so far, he did not feel good about his prospect. He tried his best to steady himself and fight back but before he found his footing, the air waves rushed at him like a palpable tsunami.
Initially, Emile tried to stand his ground but like a piece of floating wood facing an engulfing sea, he was soon swallowed by the blast of sound wave elicited from Arthur's mouth. Emile could feel the sensation of his feet being lifted off the ground, carried into the air by the force in Arthur's voice.
Emile's face was scrunched up in pain as the shout echoed endlessly in his mind, like it was trying to hollow out his every thought.
Without realizing it, Emile's grasp on his sword loosened as he moved his hands to cover his ears. The sword was blasted away by the power in Arthur's voice and it flew like an arrow before it stuck into a nearby wall.
Like a dam finally breaking over due the accumulative force of water pressure, Emile felt a great gathering of force pressing against his body and it eventually pushed beyond his resistance threshold.
Emile was shot backwards like a loosened arrow. He screamed but the volume was far lesser than the shout that was engulfing him and pushing him forward. This created a confusion in Emile because he could not tell the scream that escaped from his lips was his own or Arthur's that was reverberating in his mind.
Emile crashed into the walls of a nearby home and his head bumped against the hard surface. The last thing that swamped his senses was not the sensation of pain but the loud scream that was still ongoing. In a way, his fainting was a blessing in disguise because if not, Emile's senses might have snapped and crumbled under the auditory overload.
Emile collapsed in a heap on the ground and several seconds later, the shout finally petered off. The whole village was silent before chaos erupted among the crowd.
"Holy sh*t! Did you see that?"
"Yes, Arthur just knocked a level D adventurer out! Arthur, the eternal failure just won a duel with the local instructor!"
"Is the world changing?! What is happening?"
"And what about that Voice magic that Arthur mentioned? Apparently, that was the magic he used to win this duel."
"Arthur won the duel with a shout! That has to be the most ridiculous thing!"
"I bet that is the secret of the Voice magic. Did you not feel the power in the air when he shouted earlier? His voice lifted Emile up into the air and sent him flying into the wall!"
"Can someone please check up on Emile? Don't tell me he has died?!"
"So what if he has died? He was the one who initiated the duel to the death, Arthur won it fair and square."
"But are we sure a shout can kill a man?"
A few of the villagers did rush forward to inspect the fainted Emile. They clarified that Emile had only lost his consciousness, he still had his breathing.
Arthur did not know what to think about that. He gave it his all for his last scream. He did not have the intention of killing Emile but he would not have shed a tear if the man died. In other words, Arthur left it to fate to decide whether Emile should be spared or not. Arthur supposed luck was still smiling on Emile that fine afternoon.
The villagers that checked up on Emile, picked the man up from the floor and sent the man to the local doctor. Emile should be happy because he was going to have a reunion with his little brother.
After Emile was rushed away, the villagers came forth to surround Arthur. They bombarded him with questions.
"Arthur, where did you learn such a form of magic?"
"Who taught it to you?"
"Would you be teaching it to other people?"
"What kind of talent do you need to master this form of magic?"
"Can you tell us a bit more about the Voice magic?"
Arthur had never been such a centre of attention before in his life so he was quite flustered. He did promise Aoide to spread her name when he took on the mantle to be her disciple so Arthur explained to the adoring crowd what had happened to him on his latest quest.
The crowd ooh-ed and ahh-ed along to his story and Arthur noticed the Echo was close to its completion. He just needed a little bit more. Therefore, Arthur shared with them the story of Aoide and the goddess that appeared to him in her amphitheater. Arthur did not share the details about the Voice Library and the training he did under the goddess' guidance because he doubted the villagers would have been able to understand him. After all, they were not users of the Voice.
After hearing Arthur's stories, some of the villagers started to form a party to pay tribute at Aoide's shrine. Perhaps they might end up acquiring the same magical power as Arthur did.
Arthur did not mind having more Voice users in the world to trade resources with but he remembered what happened to Emilio. It was an understatement to say Aoide had a tempestuous personality, he didn't want the villagers to lose their mind over this. Therefore, he quickly called them back to share with them the warning tale of Emilio.
The villagers gasped and started to have second thoughts. That was the last push Arthur needed to mature the Echo. As he pulled the Echo into his psyche, the crowd suddenly parted to allow a small group to pass through. Arthur could see several familiar faces among them.
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