Return of the Fallen Volume 11 Chapter 34
Racing up the stairs, the weight crushing down on them was brutality in itself. A world where your body relied on its own muscle, bone, and blood to keep moving. Weighing hundreds of millions, billions of pounds. Without ki, neither would have made it this far without already being caught. The worms who were normally slow on the surface had a much greater speed underground.
Marty and Kazuki pushed themselves as they climbed as fast as possible. Steps that went on for miles were the worst scenario they could have come across. The further they climbed, the slower they became. Marty who was wounded and lacking divine power was falling off at a faster rate and her endurance was fading.
Very quickly the giant sandworms had gained on them and were right on their asses. Kazuki could feel the heat on the back of his neck as they opened their mouths ready to suck their souls. This time he kept his barrier of ki around his body fully intact. He learned his lesson from last time.
Just as they got a little too close for comfort, Kazuki bit his wrist as hard as possible and flung his arm behind him sending a wave of gushing crimson flying at the worms. The blood sank into two of the worm’s open mouths and hit the nostrils inside. Immediately those two began to freak out and thrash around wildly causing the ceiling all around to cave inwards. At the same time, they began spitting up globs of mucus left and right.
Kazuki and Marty had to dodge both mucus from behind as well as falling rocks and boulders from above. The falling rocks were no problem but the mucus coming up from behind was incredibly fast and Kazuki and Marty both couldn’t help but get splashed by some of the retched fluid. Both knew what would happen if this mucus hardened and so without hesitation, they tore off the clothes that got soaked. In an instant, Marty lost her cloak and Kazuki his pants.
In any other situation, this would be hilarious but neither were in a laughing mood. The two giant sandworms had been passed by the other two sandworms and the fallen behind only paused for a moment before they began their chase once more.
The worms moved as if there was an unending hunger within. They craved the two souls in front of them as if this were their last meal. They would not quit, they would not slow as they slithered with astonishing speed.
Kazuki felt his lungs burning. His muscles were aching and his ki was circulating at his fastest speed. It had been so long since he last felt such aches and pains from using his muscles. He was used to recovering nearly instantly but with this worlds crushing weight, many of his advantages suffered. He was struggling up the steps and he wasn’t alone. Whatever he was dealing with, Marty was going through much worse. She was injured and lacked power and she had to use even more power just to rescue Kazuki.
Kazuki was slowing more and more but Marty’s speed was decreasing at a much faster and more noticeable rate. She knew it and so too did he.
“Jentson, I’m not going to make it. I’ll hold them off for as long as possible so just get to the surface and make it out of this hell hole alive.”
The worms came closer and Kazuki once again threw some blood behind him.
The worms again vomited their nasty mucus, launching it at Marty and Kazuki. Kazuki purposely let some get on his arm before he wrapped it around Marty’s arm. Marty watched this with widened eyes.
“Why? If ya stick with me, I’ll only drag ya down. Don’t ya want to live?”
Kazuki nodded.
“Of course, I want to live. I have no intention of leaving these old bones behind just yet. So just be quiet and push yourself until your lungs are lave and then push yourself even further.”
Kazuki pulled out a talisman and activated it. Space warped slightly and he tried to access his storage ring but this one talisman was not enough. He didn’t know if it would work but he had hoped it would. With that done he pulled out more talismans and tossed them behind him.
A large amount of water, lightning, and gravity flew out and crashed into the worms this barely even slowed them.
“I hope that wasn’t your bright idea. If so, we can go ahead and just give up now, heh.”
Kazuki looked around for anything but there was nothing around he could use. They were stuck on a single path going up these steps.
(Something…there has to be something I can use…anything!)
Suddenly something came to him.
“You said their weakness was water. How much water!?”
Marty shook her head.
“Not an amount ya can summon. It would take a river at least and that would do little more than slow these things, not kill them.”
“Just wait and see!”
(I need talismans, I need more and more but what can I use.)
Kazuki looked at Marty’s clothes and his own shirt.
(Marty I showed you how to make talismans before, do you think you can spare some ki.)
Marty put on a brave smile but she shook her head.
“I… I have nothing in the tank to spare…sorry.”
Kazuki didn’t blame her, how could he.
(Fine, I’ll do it myself!)
Kazuki suddenly bit down hard on his arm. Not just or twice but again and again until he was bleeding from dozens of spots. His entire arm was covered in blood and it was pouring like a fountain. Marty watched this and was dumbfounded.
“Old kid what in the seven realms of hell are ya doing!?”
“Just watch!”
Kazuki used his ki to force his blood out at a terrifying rate. His body could replenish this loss of blood at an almost supernatural rate. With a thought, he used his ki to send his blood flying all over the walls floor, and ceiling. At the same time, he began writing on every surface his blood touched as he drew millions upon millions of microscopic talismans. It wasn’t the size of the talisman that mattered just the fact that it was a talisman. The power would neither decrease nor increase depending on the size.
Because of this, it was the quantity that mattered. Kazuki recalled Danny doing something similar with a large amount of paper when they faced Fera. Now though the walls, ceiling and steps became his canvas. As Kazuki continued to run up the steps, he left millions upon millions of blood-painted talismans soaking all around him. Many were destoryed as the worms crashed their way through chasing after the pair but Kazuki didn’t care. As long as the vast majority of the talismans remained intact, that’s all that mattered.
Millions upon millions of talismans very quickly became billions and then hundreds of billions of tiny talismans. Marty quickly caught on to what Kazuki was doing and her hopeless expression started to change.
(Is he really about to…)
Just as her thoughts came to here, the worms were about to crush them. Kazuki wanted to wait a little bit longer and make a few more but it was now or never.
(ACTIVATE!)
A single thought sent a ripple effect through the stairs and below. This underground suddenly lit up with radiant light as billions upon billions of talismans activated all at once.
The entire path shook violently like never before and it felt as if the whole world was about to collapse when a fresh mist hit both Kazuki and Marty in the face.
*FWHOOOOOSHHHH!*
All at once, water materialized from every single one of these talismans. It was as if god had unleashed the oceans and tides as an almighty force of seemingly endless water appeared and came flooding down the steps with a force strong enough to give even these giant sand worms some form of pause.
Kazuki and Marty didn’t dare look back. A mere two seconds after all of this water appeared, the worms had already made it past and continued their chase. A force of water that could easily destroy worlds, to the worms, it could only slow them for two measly seconds.
Still, this two seconds gap allowed Kazuki and Marty to climb higher and further than ever before. It was as if this provided their second wind and they maintained this two-second lead for well over a mile.
“A little more, just a little more and we’ll be at the S.T.I.R room.”
Marty didn’t know why Kazuki sounded so hopeful but she swallowed her complaints and continued to push herself.
The worms got closer and closer and the pair were only a few hundred feet from the next layer. Finally, after pushing themselves for so long, after expending so much energy, they came face to face with a wall. Only now did the two remember the wall repaired itself after they came through.
They came face to face with the worms and Marty felt it was over.
“Sorry old Kid, this looks like the end for us.”
Kazuki held onto Marty and shook his head.
“It’s not over just yet.”
The worms opened their mouths at the same time and rushed at the two. Just as they were about to collide. Kazuki grabbed Marty and jumped straight ahead, directly into one of the sandworm’s mouths.
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