3 bar menu

Return of the Fallen Volume 11 Chapter 69

Kazuki and Marty moved at unparalleled speed and arrived on the lower deck of the ship. They were the first to arrive and immediately they discovered Simmon’s charred body in the core room. A single hair of Kazuki’s laid on the floor near his now blackened and burnt body. It was the hair he had left the first time he accessed this room. Marty picked it up and examined it.

“Jentson, this has inklings of a talisman. So ya can even make an effective tool on one individual hair, now that is interesting.”

Marty quickly plucked one of her own hairs and tried to replicate the same technique and succeeded right away. She then plucked one of Kazuki’s hairs and replicated it again.

“So I can create a talisman on basically any surface. I can see why this had its uses back on Resadez’s rotting eye. In this world though where one can use magic freely, is there actually any point in using talismans?”

Kazuki nodded before pointing at Simmons with his chin.

“It worked in this particular situation. If Simmons was cautious he would have been looking out for traps but to the ordinary eye, my hair resembles just that hair. In actuality, it was made using ki as the catalyst. An energy that though exists in the Higher Realms, it is a rare sight. If I had used my aura or actual magic, he would have sensed something was off. If he were a Demigod he also would have been able to of seen right through my trap but as he is, he was left completely unprepared.”

Just then, Samuel as well as the few remaining survivors had made it below the deck and saw Simmon’s crispy body lying on the floor. Samuel became frantic seeing this.

“SIMMONS!”

Rushing to Simmon’s side, Samuel tried to touch him but his body was still unbelievably hot for a 3rd stage like Samuel and he quickly pulled his hands back in pain.

The other crew saw this and they were all shocked and didn’t know what had happened.

Samuel was upset and tears fell from his eyes.

Kazuki shook his head before giving Simmons a good kick. Everyone was stunned but the moment he kicked him, Simmons released an ugly and pained groan.

*Erugh*

“He’s not dead yet. I only put in enough power to make him crumble, not enough to kill.”

Kazuki stuck out his hand and a small wave of ki flowed over Simmons and the wounds on his face alone healed revealing that it really was Simmons. Once more the crew was stunned as well as confused.

Marty on the other hand chuckled.

“Heh, that amount of power, your lucky this traitor is still alive. Learn to hold back some will ya?”

Kazuki shrugged.

He truly did put in barely a fraction of his power. It’s just that his power compared to others at the same level was like the distance between the sky and ground. No, even more than that. Simmons was at the same stage as he but Kazuki could crush him with a single finger. Comparing the two was laughable.

Samuel was still crying and now the men overheard the word traitor and a commotion had begun but Samuel was no ordinary child. He wiped his tears right away before shouting at the men.

“Men, Simmons is a traitor. Most likely we will be in battle again fairly soon. To your stations and prepare to engage the enemy!”

This scared many of the men. They had barely just barely survived the previous fight. If another demigod showed up…they couldn’t help but shake in fear. AT this time Marty released a fraction of her aura.

“Ya heard your master. Go!”

The men almost tripped over themselves as they rushed to the upper deck as fast as they could.

Samuel nodded.

“Thank you, Lady Marty.”

Marty smiled teasingly.

“Sometimes men need a little motivation is all.”

Samuel looked at Kazuki before apologizing.

“I’m sorry Sir Jentson, It seems you were right about my servant. To think I believed you were just dragging names through the dirt. I was naive, that is for sure. Simmons, why have you done this? You betrayed father, you betrayed me. What of your loyalty for all those centuries, was it all just an act?”

Simmons was still in extreme pain. Kazuki had healed his face and his face alone. Everywhere else was covered in burns. Parts of his flesh and muscle had become no more than ash by this time and much of his fat had melted into the floor, releasing a foul smell.

*Urgh*

“Young Master would not understand. It’s something you never could. Not when it comes to those below your status, not when it comes to those who have been loyal.”

Samuel was taken aback.

“What mistreatment have you suffered under me to speak like that? Maybe I’ve said some things in reprimand but I’ve never accosted you, nor harmed you in any way. Yet this is how you repay me, this is how you repay the Cortails. You dare call me master after this.”

Simmons went quiet before he looked back at Kazuki and Marty with a hateful glare. He looked back at Samuel and his expression changed.

“This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Now everything is forfeit.”

Kazuki was growing bored of this conversation.

“This is taking far too long. I’ll take a look myself and have all of his schemes be revealed.”

Kazuki extended his aura and Simmons quickly countered with his own but who was Kazuki? He released his aura breath and Simmon’s soul was immediately suppressed and his power contained. Kazuki no longer felt any resistance and his soul invaded Simmon’s soul world.

(YOU BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU ENTER MY SOUL WORLD! I’LL DESTROY YOU!)

Kazuki found this last bluff to be utterly stupid. He had literally broken past Simmon’s soul with no effort at all and now he was making threats as if he actually stood a chance. Kazuki’s soul was like a shapeless blade as it cut away at anything that blocked him. Inside here the only defense the traitor had was his soul. So each act of defiance and Kazuki cut apart another part of his soul-destroying fragments here and there. The feeling of having parts of your soul cut and slashed apart was not for the faint of heart.

It took only a few swings before Simmons could no longer take the pain and his soul retreated into his soul tree.

(Leave!)

Kazuki approached the traitor’s soul tree and Simmon’s anger became panic and fear.

(No, Don’t Come Any Closer!)

Kazuki’s soul came into contact with Simmon’s soul tree and before he could utter another word Kazuki’s soul completely surrounded Simmon’s and trapped it within the soul tree. In this way, Simmons would no longer be able to use his soul or anything else, not while Kazuki was in control.

In an instant, Kazuki witnessed every single memory within Simmons. He knew of every breath he ever breathed and every shit the man had ever taken. The lives he took the lives he saved and everything else in between. With his soul reading ability he was able to perceive far more. A while ago Simmons had truly been loyal beyond doubt but something happened. A relative of his was kidnapped. He tried to go to the head of the Cortail family, the man he had served loyally most of his life but received nothing in return.

Kazuki saw Samuel’s father, the head of the Cortail’s. The man came off rather cold and uncaring. The man’s exact words to Simmons in his time of need were. “Do not trouble me with such measly matters. It’s your family, handle it yourself.”

After all this time, Simmons found out that he was absolutely worthless in the eyes of Samuel’s father. No more than a tool to be used and thrown away when no longer of use. It was then and there that the seed of hate had been planted and Simmon’s course had changed. Kazuki saw everything. He saw who Simmons had dealings with and exactly what the plan was. Half a second later, Kazuki pulled his soul back and shook his head.

“So that’s what’s going on. I can understand why you did what you did but still, Samuel is innocent in all of this and that’s where you crossed the line but I am not one to judge.”

Samuel and Marty were both curious. Kazuki allowed Marty to see but held back on showing Samuel.

“Sir Jentson why will you not allow me to see?”

“If I show you, you will not be the same. Not only that you may end up hating your father. At the same time, since this involves you, I’d say you have the right to know. So the choice is yours, just be prepared for what’s to come. Do you really wish to know?”

Samuel swallowed hard. He was already disillusioned from Simmons being a traitor, he didn’t know if he could take another blow like that but at the same time, he wished for the truth, even if it was ugly and could harm him.

“Please, I want to see the truth.”

Kazuki nodded.

“Very well, but first, we should deal with the enemies. They should be arriving momentarily.”