Return of the Fallen Volume 10 Chapter 25
The celebration continued deep into the night until, eventually, Kazuki sent an exhausted and sleepy Mei back to the tiny world with Tsura, Danny, and Lamia. Everyone else was still going, but it was clear that it was starting to wind down when there was a knock on the door.
Degra looked pissed. Who would dare interrupt his celebration in his own place, especially when he had such important guests?
Just as he was wondering who it was, the door opened without permission. Degra was now about to explode on whoever dared interrupt and walk in, but before he could open his mouth, two tall beauties entered. Both were stunning. One he didn’t recognize, while one there was absolutely no way he wouldn’t.
“De…Detra!”
Detra walked in with Alutra, who was curiously looking around until she spotted Kazuki. She excitedly sat down nearby.
“So you two are the ones Zephris made bodies for. Kazuki, your ladies are gorgeous in person.”
Alutra had only seen Asuna and Nunully through the compass when Orberus showed many memories of what he observed of the whole Kazuki going around Earth and Gordonia.
Asuna was still wary of this woman. When Alutra first met Kazuki, her personality seemed to flip out of nowhere from one moment to the next. Not to mention her flirty personality, Asuna didn’t trust Alutra, not one bit.
Nunully, as well, wasn’t overly fond of Kazuki’s aunt and pulled Kazuki closer to her.
Alutra smiled upon seeing this.
“Gorgeous but also hostile; I like them Kazuki.”
Kazuki could see that there were a lot of confused expressions pointing in his and Alutra’s directions, so he quickly gave an introduction. Once everyone knew, their looks of confusion only deepened. Since it got to here, and everyone had eaten their fill, Kazuki went ahead and explained most of what happened, leaving out things no one else needed to know, of course.
Kazuki had mentioned some of it before, but after hearing again how Asuna and Nunully readily sacrificed themselves and trusted Kazuki would take care of the rest, the others felt immense bitterness. They were upset that Kazuki didn’t trust them enough with the plan, but remembering how they acted and treated both him and Danny, they understood why Kazuki couldn’t relay the plan to them.
Sam wasn’t one who was overly emotional but he realized he would have acted completely differently had he known that Asuna would be fine. If he had acted like that, then Fera surely would have known something was off, and she wouldn’t have been caught off guard.
They understood where Kazuki was coming from and were now mad at themselves for not trusting him or Danny.
“Kazuki, I…I’m sorry for hitting you. When Asuna was struck by the lightning, when she died just like that, I was devastated, and even when you returned, I was still having trouble thinking clearly. I made a mistake.”
Sam apologized, and even Kimi felt bad. She couldn’t even say anything, let alone look Kazuki in the face.
Kazuki shook his head.
“I also wanted to tell you guys right away after I killed Fera, but then my grandfather summoned both me and her soul and I missed that opportunity. Not only that but when I came back and Zephris had already made new bodies, I wanted to have a little fun and mess with you guys. I’ll admit that was fucked up on my end. You two were literally grieving, and I took that and spit on it. Besides, you may hit hard, but you need a lot more strength than that to harm me, hehe.”
Kazuki knew he wouldn’t get much out of Kimi, and let it be. The fact that she looked away in shame or guilt, at least, meant she cared to some degree. That was enough for him.
He still felt bad about messing with them.
While Asuna and Nunully were cold towards Alutra, Shaila, Tozu, and Sasai were left awestruck and felt even more respect and reverence for Kazuki. For them to be not only allies but also friends with someone who was not only the strongest in this Lower Realm but who also was a descendent of the gods themselves. The three were beyond excited. Even Sasai who was not one to see women for anything else but monstrous creatures couldn’t help but be thrilled just by being in the same room as Alutra.
Shaila quickly jumped off of Tozu’s lap and sat across from Alutra and immediately poured her a cup.
“Sister this is for you.”
Alutra smiled and took the cup.
The alcohol was unfamiliar, but it gave off both a sweet and slightly bitter smell. Alutra took a small sip at first, and her eyes lit up.
“So tasty.”
She had tried so many alcohols and liquors in the Higher Realm but these were tried when she was already a god. When one reaches such a height, their bodies change and such drinks like this one are considerably weaker and less flavorful compared to what’s in the Higher Realm. Now that she was in a Lower Realm and her body was forcibly changed and basically downgraded into a lesser form, a Demigod, her body still had many aspects related to a human. Therefore this drink actually tasted surprisingly pleasant. A weird benefit of becoming weaker.
“Sister is the drink to your liking?”
Alutra nodded.
“Mmm, it suits my taste perfectly. So you are called Shaila, I saw you fighting side by side with Kazuki, your fur is so beautiful in your natural state.”
Hearing this compliment from Alutra who herself was incredibly beautiful, Shaila surprisingly felt a little shy.
“Sister how can you say that when you are even more beautiful.”
Alutra chuckled.
“Hehe, you’re not wrong but still, when you are in your panther form, that black fur with that golden spot on your head, I can’t help but want to stroke it. Promise you’ll let me someday.”
Shaila didn’t know how to answer this. Alutra was kind of like her in a way with how forward she was. Alutra then looked at Sasai and winked at him.
“That goes for you two handsome.”
This time it was Sasai who was dumbstruck and didn’t know what to say or do as his cheeks flushed red.
Tozu looked at him with a tilted head.
“Little brother, are you actually blushing from a woman’s words, Now this is unexpected. Kazuki, your aunt is very dangerous. First my wife and now my little brother, who’s next?”
Kazuki gave Alutra a look.
“Alutra can you please not hit on everyone I know.”
Alutra didn’t answer and only smiled teasingly. This made Asuna and Nunully’s guards rise and they quickly moved around so they were blocking her sight of him. Kazuki thought they were doing too much but he let it go.
Alutra though paid them no mind and began eating and chatting happily with Shaila, Tozu, and Kimi while Sasai just sat frozen as if he were stun locked and Sam went back to his usual quiet self.
Shin told a joke every now and then and if Alutra laughed at it, Triska would grab Shin’s arm and squeeze tightly. Shin chuckled inwardly, as Triska never acted jealous, but this time she did. He couldn’t wait until later, when the two were alone together.
Detra hadn’t said much when she arrived but when she saw Alutra’s interaction she let slip a small giggle. This made Kazuki do a double-take.
“Was that a laugh?”
Detra coughed and cleared her throat until her expression went back to normal.
“Your aunt, she has a way of sweeping you up along with her. I was surprised earlier when she wanted me to show her around. At first, I thought it would be a pain but as we went, Alutra’s demeanor and the nice atmosphere and talk we had was fun. I haven’t had any fun since…forever. Maybe when I first struck a deal with Danny but that was more of an intellectual stimulant while with Alutra I just felt relaxed and comfortable. She knows what it’s like to be crushed by responsibility, we share that in common.”
“Since you came back, it seems the fun is over now. I guess you showed her everything.”
Detra shook her head.
“Not even close. We are going to go out tomorrow and see much much more. No the reason I came back is to give you something.”
Detra curled her finger and stepped out into the hall. Obviously indicating this was not something for others to see or hear. Asuna and Nunully went back to conversing and having fun with Kimi and the others so Kazuki found this a good opportunity to step out and not disturb their fun.
The moment he stepped out into the hallway, he stepped into one of Detra’s rifts and they appeared in a completely different world. It was like Glacious’s tiny world. A dimension of its very own cut off completely from the outside world. A place all on its own. Looking around, this world was one filled with fields of flowers for tens of thousands of miles in every direction. An artificial wind blew across the field causing the flowers to flow and sway gently with each passing breeze.
In the center of this tiny world, there was a tall, broad tree that stretched up toward the sky. Inside of this tree, there was a small home.
“This is your world?”
As the wind gently blew across the sea of colorful flowers, the world was a sight to behold. Detra smiled.
“Whose else would it be?”
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