Gah!
Royl hit his stomach violently and puked all the contents out, feeling better already as he regained some clarity of mind, enough for his body to at least heed his will.
He got up and rushed at Iota, intending to constrict the opponent.
Thump! Thump!
His heart lurched in tension, experiencing a foreboding sensation when suddenly, his field of view tilted downward as he collapsed into the sludge. He got up slowly, noticing something had coiled around his leg.
He grabbed it and stared at Menl in despair, "You…"
"Don't do…it." Menl gasped as he used the string of his fishing rod to constrict and trip Royl, "I…can't live without it anymore."
"Just…give up, Royl."
"As if!" Royl shouted as he tried to rile up his Fear and attack Iota. Unfortunately, he hadn't regained that much control over his body yet.
Menl's string tightened around his leg, refusing to let go as Royl struggled. By this time, Iota gained a bit of focus, wiping his tears as he grunted and got up, facing his palm towards Royl as he tried to send out a syringe, only gasping in exhaustion.
Every usage of his syringe shaved off his stamina. And in his current body state, one still reeling from the side effects, he couldn't do much. "Hah…"
"You're exhausted too!" Royl shouted as he rolled in the sludge once, using it to grease the binding. Moreover, his rolls tugged the string, causing the fishing rod to slip out of Menl's hold.
Menl wasn't able to use his Fear to manipulate the string either. He had expected all his focus just before this, so when Royl pulled it hard, the fishing rod slipped out of his hold.
Once he removed the string around his leg, Royl got up and approached Iota, clenching his hand into a fist as he rained down a punch, "As long as you're dead, I'll be free of this influence."
Bang!
His punch slammed into Iota's stomach, causing him to puke out everything and collapse into the sludge. He had fallen with such force that his figure was buried under the sludge.
Royl stomped at the location, grunting in rage upon failing to come into contact with Iota, "Damn you, come face me like a man!"
"Sure," A voice resounded from behind as Iota leapt forward like a fish and latched onto his back, locking his neck with his hand as he tightened the grip.
"Gah!" Royl felt difficulty in prying away from the hold. Iota was way stronger than him after all. Even though the gills on his neck had subsided enough to allow sufficient functioning of his nose, it still hurt to be blocked there.
Royl crashed into the pipe, causing Iota to groan as his hold loosened.
Royl slipped through, unleashed a backhanded body slam, and backed away, panting as he stared at Iota's exhausted state, 'One more attack, and he'll be done for.'
"No, don't kill him!" Menl grabbed onto his legs tightly, causing Royl to tumble as he shouted, "I can't live without that medicine!"
"It's only a limited effect! Don't give in to that!" Royl gasped as he surfaced from the flowing sludge and tried to slip away from Menl.
"No, stop!" He shouted in despair when even Canl joined the fray, holding his hands tightly, "You guys are making a big mistake!"
"I'm…sorry," Canl said, tearing up in response, "My senses are getting overwhelmed. I can no longer battle it."
"Shit…no!" Royl shouted when he saw Iota walking towards him. He tried to wriggle away but Menl and Canl were holding him tight.
"You're strong-willed, Royl." Iota commented as he took in a deep breath before barely managing to condense a syringe with fish blood, observing Royl's despair as he smiled, "It won't hurt."
"You'll just be a bit happier after this."
"No…" Royl shouted as drool flooded out of his mouth while his eyes dilated. All signs of intelligence wafted out of his face as he drooped weakly, lacking any strength to resist.
"It's…finally done." Iota collapsed at one corner and rested while the three sat obediently before him. It wasn't possible to break free of the addiction anymore. Thankfully, as evidenced by Norda and Yakone, as long as he provided them with a syringe every day, they'll be able to behave just as usual.
This will make them dependent on him. Moreover, they were Merit Shamans, "Oh, what exactly are you guys?"
"You…don't know about Shamans?" Menl was the most lucid now. Hence, he took the charge to reply.
"Nothing concrete," Iota replied and urged Menl to continue.
"The process of creating both Shamans and Priests is the same," Menl said, sighing upon seemingly recalling a memory he wasn't fond of, "We're implanted with Deity Organs."
"Deity Organs?" Iota frowned, "What are they?"
"Let me use the example of the Sickle Deity of our city." Menl continued, "He has dozens of Spirits. Each Spirit wields one percent of the Sickle Deity's power."
"The Faith from the people flows into the Sickle Deity and through him, flows into the Spirits. Over time, as the Faith continues to flow through their bodies, their body becomes attuned to it. This process is termed Faith Induction."
"Over time, thanks to Faith Induction, the body parts become more attuned to Faith. And the stronger this attunement, the freer Faith flows through them, causing their powers to grow leaps and bounds. After all, even if a Spirit can theoretically wield one percent of the Sickle Deity's power, they can't even employ 0.1 percent power most of the time." Menl spoke.
'Is it similar to the electrical resistance displayed by objects? So maybe this Faith Induction is similar to magnetic induction which causes electricity to flow freely through conductors as their electrical resistance becomes less.' Iota made a conjunction and gained better clarity of the concept.
"Eventually, an organ or body part resonates with Faith and offers zero resistance to it from that point on. This is a state only seen in Deities, and hence, these organs are called Deity Organs." Menl spoke.
"That's amazing," Iota then asked in wonder, his expression serious as he focused on Menl's choice of words, "So, a Spirit can have more than one Deity Organ, right?"
"Yes," Menl spoke solemnly, "If they have enough Deity Organs, the Deity would upgrade them to a higher grade."
"An Apostle."