Chapter 182 Fear

—1 Hour Prior | Immortal Skye Perimeter—

Kiera stood in the center of a grassy field in the northwest corner of Immortal Skye's perimeter. The twenty-foot T-Wall in front of her had a massive hole twenty feet wide, made of sharp, jagged edges.

While Mary's wind blades had reduced the wall to rubble, every piece had uniform cuts through the concrete and iron rods. Each piece was smooth, proving that the woman's wind blades could easily cut through anything human-made, like butter.

On the outside, the electric fences lay on top of hundreds of corpses stacked up before the fences broke.

The west wall to her right was different. It had a 50-foot-wide hole from when Crux blocked Mary's Sorrow Blades technique, triggering an explosion. Otherwise, the story was the same.

Massive holes in the ground from cultivation attacks held corpses, body parts, and blood filled them like moats.

Kiera nearly threw up multiple times, looking at the devastation. However, she didn't because everyone in the area was glaring at her, focusing on her pristine clothing.

"I can't do this, Kaze." She winced with closed eyes, "I can't even look."

—

If you can't face the world for yourself, face it for me.

—

Her eyes snapped open when she remembered his message. "No, I must look… for Kaze. To help his vision… because I owe him more than I can ever repay."

The pink-haired teen turned around and saw Crux still inside the lake, in panther form. She was instructed not to try healing her for various reasons, but she still wanted to check on her.

"Hey… whatever your name is." A soldier called out bluntly, "I'm not complaining or anything, but are you gonna tell us why you're here? Or are you just gonna stand there making us wait for your words?"

Her heart violently pounded when she felt thousands of gazes turn to her. She wanted to flee since she had no social confidence. However, Kaze's words rang out in her head again.

—

If you're afraid, develop confidence for me.

—

She opened and closed her mouth multiple times, trying to find words to say before she finally found them and spoke.

"I'm here to help with the healing." Kiera announced, "I'm not very good with people or logistics.

However, if possible, I'd appreciate it if someone told me who needs the care the most. I need to know who to prioritize."

The area fell dead silent, save for the cries of the wounded. There were already teams using Minor Healing, but they had already run out of Qi, so hundreds were still in excruciating pain.

"No offense, girl, but listen to the sounds around you." A blonde snapped coldly, "Does it [sound] like anyone needs care the most?"

"That's not what I meant!" Kiera cried, "As I said, I need to know who I need to [prioritize] care for."

"I get you mean well, but think about what you're asking." A brown-haired soldier said, "You're asking someone to choose who lives and dies. That's your job, not ours."

His words triggered a flurry of assenting statements and jeering.

"This is pointless." The pink-haired teen whispered, closing her eyes, "I can't use this technique at all. Now, people ask me to heal randos as if they don't understand what I'm saying.

They just don't want to help me, so I won't be able to do my job. This is pointless; everything is so fucking point—"

—

If your life feels pointless, live for mine, as it's not.

—

After a deep breath, the slang riddler opened her eyes resolutely.

"I suppose I should clarify what I'm doing here." She said with fierce golden eyes, "Kaze brought me here to heal people. Therefore, I need to heal important—"

"Did you just say the word important?" A redhead scoffed aggressively, triggering a wave of jeering, "Are you trying to pick a fight with everyone?"

—

If you're afraid, develop confidence for me.

—

"No, that's not what I meant." Kiera replied dryly, "You know—"

"Look, lady, dozens of people with healing techniques are helping the wounded. So unless you don't have a real reason, just sit down. We'll handle things ourselves."

—

If your life feels pointless, live for mine, as it's not.

—

"Look around you! You weren't here, so why do you think you can help!? Look!"

—

If you can't face the world for yourself, face it for me.

—

Statement after statement flew in until there was a trigger.

"Look, we didn't need Kaze's help tonight to stay alive, so we definitely don't need the help of his girlfriend, okay?"

The area calmed down in an instant. Emotions were explosive, screams were driving people into insanity, and trauma was twisting people's mindsets.

Most people were afraid someone had insulted Kaze. However, dozens who were twisted into irrationality jumped in, saying similar statements.

"Hah! That fucker left us to die, came back, and dropped off his kid to save all of us. What a joke."

"You know he went off to [cultivate], right? People are dying, and Faction Leader took our real leader to bed. Disturbing."

Kiera's mind churned through everything around her. She processed her dream-life shattering, the apocalypse, and the death and devastation.

Through all of it, she was worthless, but the emperor wasn't. He trained Evalyn, provided everyone with techniques, and made things happen.

While he didn't do all the work, he was the glue—the foundation—everything revolved around.

Without Kaze Lexicon, Immortal Skye wouldn't have existed, there wouldn't be peace, and they'd all probably be dead. She could see that clear as day, yet these people… these people….

"Shut up." Kiera growled.

"Did you just tell us to shut up?"

"Hah, can you believe this woman?"

"Shut up!" The teen snapped louder.

"What are you still doing here?"

"We don't need you! So just go and do something."

"Shut up, all of you!" She barked loudly.

"Look, I get you mean well, but—

"I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Kiera screamed, raising her hand to the sky.

"W-What the fuck!?"

"That sound!"

"That's the same fucking sound!"

A massive cyclone of wind blades slowly lowered from the sky, howling on their way to the ground to create a blender.

It was [Sorrow Winds], the sky-grade technique Crux gave her on June 2nd. While she had the technique since the beginning, everyone else knew it because it had nearly killed half a thousand Immortals and Crux in one attack.

Naturally, the scale of her technique and the Cultivation Lord's was incomparable. However, the [sound] of Sorrow Winds, like Harrowing Winds, was distinctive. So anyone that heard it instantly jumped up with terrified expressions.

"ARE YOU AFRAID YET!?" Kiera yelled, swinging her hand down.

BOOOOOM!

An eruption of dirt followed as thousands of blades rained down on the exact location, creating a moat around her.

When the debris cleared, after cutting the technique, the pink-haired teen used a small amount of wind to remove the half-inch of dirt covering her clothing like an overpowered hairdryer.

Everyone was stunned by sight and fell silent for the first time, trembling in fear.

"I'll ask again: are you afraid yet!?" Kiera screamed at the top of her lungs, "Are you? Or is anyone stupid enough to make themselves into a demonstration!?"

A few panicked Immortals drew arrows with shaky hands. However—

"Guh!"

"Agh!"

"Fuck!"

Crisp bullets of raw Qi cut through the air and hit everyone who tried to attack. While those who got hit were shocked, they weren't nearly as bewildered at the people watching.

The pink-haired teen was flicking her middle finger with her thumb to send micro air slashes at everyone at a nearly incomprehensible speed.

It continued even after people fell silent, confusing many.

"Hey, idiots gritting your teeth and barking!" Kiera yelled, "Yeah, you! The ones screaming on the ground from a shoulder injury! If you bare your teeth at me again—"

"AGH!"

"How the fuck!"

"STOP!"

"It seems people [still] aren't afraid!" Kiera yelled in a vitriolic rage, "The next ten people who make so much as an evil face at me will take a blunt Qi strikes to their jugular veins to prove I won't miss.

Everyone will get the same after that, but they'll be squirting life juice all over their neighbors. Look around you—I've yet to miss a person's shoulder. So I suggest you give up!"

A wave of people turned to the head elites, including Rein, Brad, Sammy, and Veronica. However, all looked petrified, sweating.

Icy chills crawled down everyone's spines when they saw Rein trembling slightly. The same was accurate of Sandra, Kane, and General Michaels, all holding their breath in panic.

Lastly, Kylie and Sage stood, watching with strained expressions that showcased heavy stress levels.

After panning the area and seeing all their leaders in unified terror, waves of horrifying anxiety crashed through them.

"That's more like it!" Kiera commented grandly, "You feel that? That's what [fear] feels like!

It's an emotion that people get when they're living on the street and people are trying to kidnap them daily. The feeling of not knowing when you'll eat again or if people will kick you out of school because you don't have proper identification. That's true fear!"

She paned their shocked gazes and flinched at anyone who even looked at her wrong.

"It's one hell of an emotion, isn't it?" The slang riddler asked boldly, "Very distinctive, too.

Ya'll know why you haven't fuckin' felt that and weren't afraid to shit talk the person with authority here? Anyone?"

The teen panned everyone's faces with a malicious gaze laced with genuine hatred.

"It's because Kaze has given you fucking EVERYTHING!" Kiera screamed at the top of her lungs, "Mansions for housing, good food, and free education to start!

Protection, military training, and self-defense techniques! He built these walls to protect you! He brought you Crux and trained Evalyn! He's even fought against the Maltian military for you! "

Everyone felt a twisting pain in the heart when they heard the teen's anguished cry. It provided a direct contrast to what they were feeling.

"That's why you haven't felt true fear!" She screamed, "Yet you're going to sit here, alive after this nightmare, and talk shit about him!?

Say that he abandoned you!?

That you don't need him!?

Imply he's feeding primal desires while you suffer, even though you know his cultivation is real!?

His decision to send me was pointless, as if he's yet to prove you wrong!?"

Those who got angry held their breaths sharply. Even those who [thought] negatively about Kaze felt guilty and horrified internally, fearing it may have leaked through.

"Really!?" Kiera scoffed in disdain, "I don't know what the fuck happened here, but if Crux is out of commission, it meant that whoever or whatever came through her was far stronger than Evalyn. So tell me, hive-mind, who the fuck took care of the life-threatening situation?"

She panned the gazes with a wild smile, bending upward and relaxing in a strange pattern as she saw people realize the obvious for the first time.

"What? Ya'll just realize the bottom line?" The teen laughed in disdain, "Kaze saved your life—as always—just like every other day for the last two weeks, yet people claim they don't need him.

Well, guess what, party people!? I'm fucking sick of people getting everything and then shit-talking the person giving it to them, so [I'm] now your life-threatening situation. The question is—

—who's going to save you?"