Return of the Fallen Volume 11 Chapter 32
“My soul weapon! Are ya Crazy!?”
Kazuki shook his head.
“Think about it. Your weapon is the only thing we can use to crack open the path, otherwise, we have to return to the surface. That or do you really want to waste time taking this things simulation training? Who knows how long that would take to complete.”
Just as Kazuki said that the black diamond following them answered.
“S.T.I.R’s Protocols And Training Average Time Of Completion, One Hundred And Thirty-Nine Thousand Hours Fifty Minutes And Twenty Seconds.”
Kazuki looked back, stunned.
“You see that. The path forward is up to you, I can’t break these walls. At the same time if you’re worried about the sandworms, don’t forget that we have a new tool against them. We can hide the presence of our souls with a barrier of ki. We can also use my blood to drive them away.”
“It’s not just about that Jentson. Ya also have to take into account the amount of power required. Even using my soul weapon for a moment can take a chunk out of my reserves. In this environment, it could take days to recover what I use in a single second.”
Kazuki nodded.
“Sure but at the same time, what point is there holding onto that energy? You are no longer part of Oasis Seven, what need do you have for divine energy exactly?”
Marty thought for a moment.
“That’s a fair point.”
She had originally needed power to help keep the tower afloat and for self-defense purposes. Now though she was no longer a part of the tower and she had a new option when it came to defense. With ki, as long as she didn’t make any noise or movements she was basically invisible. Holding her power back didn’t make much sense.
“Fine. I don’t see a reason not to. If this attracts too many sandworms though, we should still retreat just in case.”
Even if they had a new way of defending themselves, Marty still didn’t wish to push her luck too much.
Marty and Kazuki first made their way around the room. Using their ki they penetrated past the walls searching for the true exit to the lower layers. There was the exit behind them that led upward to the surface and with a few minutes of searching, they quickly found a path that led further down.
“Marty, this is the spot.”
Marty inspected the spot with her ki and agreed.
“Stand back old kid. With your weak frame, some of this debris could potentially kill you if it hits ya.”
Kazuki laughed inwardly. If he really was at the 5th stage for sure the material this wall was made from could most certainly kill him but at his current level and regeneration capability, this would leave not a single scar. Still, Kazuki played his part and pretended to be weak as he ran back to the opposite side of the room. Marty looked at him as if he was ridiculous.
“Ya didn’t have to go that far. Are ya that afraid of death?”
Kazuki shook his head.
“It’s been a while since you’ve used your weapon right? I’m just being cautious. Wouldn’t want you to swing back and hit me in the head.”
Marty’s mouth fell open.
“What, ya saying I don’t know how to use my own weapon. Hmph, take a look at this skill old kid, and say that again.”
Marty faced the wall and focused on a single spot.
(One second…Not an ounce more than that.)
Taking a deep breath, her soul weapon appeared in her hand. A short silver sword. The very second it appeared in her hand a silver light collected at the tip of the blade and she thrust forward. Kazuki stood more than two hundred feet away on the opposite side of the room and the moment her soul weapon appeared, he could feel a torrent of wind pull at his entire body. If this wind was focused on him he would have been tossed into the air and thrown about.
Marty’s blade pierced forward. The wind resting at the tip of the blade exploded outward and became a storm. Thousands of wind blades spun and transformed into bolts of lightning as they drilled into the wall.
*CRACK-KABOOOOOM!*
The wall fell and broke apart with a thunderous crack and the wind suddenly reversed and threw Kazuki back against the wall. Kazuki was shocked. The A.I. program had basically said that Marty was average when it came to Demigod’s but Kazuki felt that power just now. It was classes above his aunt and uncle.
(If I were to get hit by such an attack, my body would most likely explode into a million pieces. All of that power was concentrated to such a fine point. Could I survive such an attack.)
Kazuki really wasn’t sure. For a while, his confidence was incredibly high. When it came to physicality, he did not fear Demigods. He could see that among all of the Demigods at the tower, only about two or three were comparable when it came to strength. The only thing he really feared was the divine energy and their soul weapons. Just getting cut by one could send a powerful surge of divine energy into his soul world causing his soul to shatter on the spot. He thought this was his biggest obstacle and that so long as he avoided getting slashed by a Demigod he could walk away and tell the tale but witnessing Marty’s power. It was something else entirely.
(That magic, I cannot compete with it. No matter what, never get on her bad side.)
Kazuki got up and came over.
“Old kid are ya alright? I wanted to hold back but if I did this wall might not have been broken.”
“I’m good. I was just surprised. Your magic is this strong. If there was a way to use it against the sandworms without them eating your power first, wouldn’t you be able to slay them all?”
“If only it were so simple. Even if I could take out a few here and there, their sheer size and strength places me at a disadvantage. They could literally just start falling on top of me. Maybe the first few wouldn’t crush me but eventually…well let’s just say it’s not a good time.”
Kazuki and Marty took a look at the path that led downward.
“Well, let’s keep going.”
Before they left, the A.I. began to flash.
“Interior Damage 7% Repair Mode Activated.”
The wall that had just been destroyed, as if someone had reversed time, the wall began to repair itself and the hole started to rapidly shrink.
Marty quickly stored her soul weapon and grabbed Kazuki by the arm before jumping through the ever-closing gap. A second later, the entire hole had fused back together and the damage was no more.
Kazuki sent his ki into the wall to inspect it and found that there were tiny devices of some type that were moving around the wall. They were so small one could not see them with the naked eye and could only sense them. He could not for the life of him figure out how they operated or what energy they ran off of. He wondered if it could be one of the over 30,000 so-called lesser energies he now knew about or if it could be something entirely different.
“Come on let’s keep moving. As for the wall, I guess when we come back I’ll use my move again. Let’s hope there’s no more though because that depleted a good portion of my power.”
“It did?”
“Of course it did. I’ve had less than one percent of my overall power for some years now and that just reduced it by nearly a third. This damn place is just so empty when it comes to divine energy.”
Marty mumbled something else before they continued on. At the same time, Kazuki was taken aback.
(That means that attack just now used only a third of a percent of her overall power. What would happen if she could use 100% of her power? Just how devastating would that attack be?)
Walking down a set of stairs in the pitch-black darkness, the two traveled for a much longer time than they initially thought they would. Each layer seemed to be about a hundred feet apart or deep from one another. A hundred feet between layers was the norm but going down this time, they had traveled for at least three or four miles downward. They couldn’t be exactly sure because the path sometimes led up before going back down.
Eventually, though they finally reached the bottom of the steps which led to a wide-open space. Similar to the first floor, there were pillars all around. These pillars though went up for miles. The room itself went on for as far as the eye could see. The moment they stepped onto this level, Marty’s eyes went wide and she began to shake.
All around, in every direction, for miles and miles, there were hills of…junk. There were scraps of this here and metal pieces of that there. Each one looked like the tech Marty had been collecting ever since she arrived here. She immediately became like a kid in a candy store and she threw all caution to the wind as she began running around picking up this here and that there in excitement.
“Jentson Jentson look at this piece. No look at this one! Holy crap this is a treasure trove. This is the greatest day of my life!”
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