Return of the Fallen Volume 11 Chapter 28
Kazuki covered himself head to toe in blood before turning to Marty and before she could protest, he sprayed her down with his blood. She was thankful she still had her goggles on. This though was the only thing she could be thankful for as she stood their arms out absolutely drenched in blood.
“Why did ya cover me too!?”
“The ball of clothes was just a distraction but this time I really want to try smell. I want to test out whether or not the worms will be able to find us or will avoid us. Remember when you first found me and the way the worm reacted to my blood? Is it just taste or can it smell the blood as well?”
Marty was very annoyed.
“That’s not what I’m talking about. Didn’t the worm avoid you because of the ki in your blood? If that’s the case, I could have USED MY OWN!”
Kazuki shrugged.
“Hmm, maybe so. Anyway, let’s test it out. Oh and also create a small barrier of ki around your entire body. Earlier, it seemed the sandworm couldn’t sense my ki at all when I used it. If that is the case, then
Marty’s eyes lit up and she interrupted.
“There’s a possibility that a barrier of ki may block the worm from sensing our souls. Do ya really think it will work though? It may just not have the capability of sensing ki and in its mind, there would just be nothing there. Even if we cover ourselves in a barrier of ki, its fin may still detect our souls.”
Kazuki nodded.
“True but you never know. So why don’t we test our theories out.”
Kazuki raised a foot before stomping it down as hard as possible. Just as before, the ground only trembled beneath his might and didn’t leave a mark. Even if he knew this would happen, it was still insane to him. He could break Lower Realms with a simple flick but could not even damage a decaying eye in a Higher Realm.
The ground shook momentarily before three sandworms suddenly broke through the surface. The three surrounded both Kazuki and Marty and the fins atop their heads turned left and right as they started their search for prey. To the pair’s joy, the worms really couldn’t find them. They began slithering like snakes around them but they really couldn’t seem to locate them. This both gave hope as well as annoyance.
(It seems they may not be able to smell at all. I can’t see a nose or anything that looks like it would fill that role. At the same time, the barrier of ki looks to be working. They can’t find us.)
Kazuki became even more curious and lifted a foot. Marty’s eyes widened but she could do nothing to stop him without the looming threat coming to fruition. Kazuki leaned forward and took a full step forward. The very moment his foot touched the ground, the spiky hairs along the worms’ bodies twitched and they all made a move at once.
The speed was almost unnatural as they all dove toward Kazuki’s location at once. Kazuki expected a reaction but damn. Just as he was about to try and dodge, all three worms opened their large mouths at once and froze altogether. Kazuki was close enough to see into the depths of all three and he could smell the foul stench of the beasts. More than that, though, he could see two long slits inside of each of the worm’s mouths. These slits opened and closed rapidly as it drew in the surrounding air.
(Could that be the nose?)
Kazuki didn’t waste this opportunity. He flicked a drop of blood directly into one of these slits and a new reaction happened. The other two worms simply shrank back to avoid whatever was in front of them but the one that received the drop of blood began to freak out. Its body curled and stretched and it began thrashing seemingly uncontrollably. It roared out something fierce before it began vomiting up mucus. Some of the mucus got on Kazuki and Marty while the rest went all over their surroundings.
The other worms did not know what was happening and the two dove back into the depths of the world, disappearing in a flash. Even though Kazuki was covered in foul-smelling mucus, he couldn’t help but shout.
“YES!”
The moment he celebrated, the worm turned its attention back to him and once more opened its mouth and prepared to attack but Kazuki stood there confidently and shook his head.
“Bitch! You really don’t learn, do you?”
With another flick of his finger, the blood went directly into the slit he assumed was a nostril. The worm shot backward as if it had just been dealt a terrible blow and once more it did the dance of tragedy and began vomiting more and more.
Kazuki spoke up again and even took a few steps forward.
“Care to try your luck again?”
As if the worm understood Kazuki, it recognized where he was, and its mouth that was about to open slammed shut. A tiny roar, that was more house cat than lion came out but it put up no more fight. Turning away, it dove into the sand and vanished without a trace.
Marty stared at Kazuki as if he were a crazy person.
“Did ya really just call a sandworm a bitch. Jentson, maybe I was mistaken when I said ya were boring.”
“You called my life boring, not me.”
“Oh, right I did, heheha.”
Marty then avoided Kazuki’s glare and pulled out a small flask. She then poured the contents over herself before tossing the flask to Kazuki.
“I hope ya don’t surprise me with any more of your so-called tests without warning. By the way, that is the last of the grimer. After this, if ya get covered in mucus, you’re done for. You’ll harden up more than a Galactus stone.”
“Wait, this is it? Can’t you get any more?”
Marty shook her head.
“This stuff isn’t something ya can just pick up down the road. It’s a special enzyme that comes directly from inside of a sandworm. They make it naturally somewhere inside of their gut. Guess they use their mucus for other purposes than puking all over the pair of us.”
“Who figured that out? That’s not something you just come by.”
“There was a man way back. He fell into a pit of sandworms one day. One would think that would be the end but he didn’t give up. He used his divine power and soul weapon and cut down more than 40 sandworms before he managed to escape. That was the biggest harvest for us, at least when it came to what we know about the creatures. We extracted some of this fluid, and I’ve had it for a while. Honestly, I never thought I’d even need it and only had it for emergencies. Now it’s gone.”
“Wait, wait, wait, forget the nasty juice. What happened to this guy that killed so many sandworms? I didn’t even think they could be killed with how tough their bodies were. Yet this man fell into a pit of them and slaughtered his way out.”
“Divine Soul weapons are pretty incredible. With mine, I may be able to crack a sandworm open if I get a hundred blows in. That guy, though, had a bit of an advantage. His soul weapon contained the mastered element of water. It’s one of the sandworm’s biggest weaknesses. He could cut one apart in only a few swings. As for what happened, he went mad. He wished to lead everyone to the depths of the world and kill them all in one go but no one could fight and kill the way he could. He called us cowards before going his separate way and deciding to do things on his own. Whether it was overconfidence that cracked him or just could no longer take being on the food chain, he just lost it and left.”
“So is he still alive out there or dead?”
Marty shrugged.
“Can’t say for sure but he should be dead. The way he fought with all of his power nonstop. There’s simply no way he could recover enough energy and keep going before getting overwhelmed. It’s a shame. The more time passes, I wonder if everyone should have just fought with everything they have, instead of the alternative.”
“Which is?”
“A long, slow death. Even if we Demigods are immortal, eventually, how much can ya take? The heat, never being able to use your own soul weapon, never having the pleasure of tasting food, never being able to use your power to the fullest, no entertainment, looking older and older just to maintain the tower. It can get to ya. I’ve seen it happen time and time again. People who just lose any and all hope. It can be a dangerous thing.”
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