Return of the Fallen Volume 12 Chapter 118
Kazuki and everyone else had but a moment of reprieve before a cold voice rang out at the entrance of the dome-shaped chamber.
“So that’s the treasure.”
No one knew when he had arrived nor how. Kazuki had witnessed the dark path he traversed vanish after each step he took forward. Still, this God appeared behind them all.
Standing tall with fiery red hair and a look that saw all beneath him, Gardius had arrived and already had eyes for the floating stone jewel in the center of this mountainous chamber.
His words were spoken to no one as he saw no one as a challenge. He was a matter of fact. When he spoke it was to himself. Kauzk and the others did not even register as anything more than a waste of space.
Specxzu was frozen on the spot and so to were Fleck and Nala. All three of them could not speak nor dare move. They felt death upon them. Gardius released no aura nor any pressure. Just his mere presence caused them to feel as if they would die if they breathed wrong.
Kazuki was only a little better off. He had never felt such power from any being ever. He could tell in an instant that Gardius was the strongest being he’s ever faced. Stronger than his grandfather, stronger than lord Viz, stronger than everyone.
(How can there be this much danger and all he’s done is say a few words? All the hair on my body has stood on end. What is this presence!?)
Kazuki knew he was no match in terms of power but speed was another matter entirely.
(If I just get to the Artifact first, Arc should absorb it and all of its power should return.)
Kazuki’s thoughts were simple and straightforward. There was nothing difficult in them, and no need for a plan. All he needed to do was move a few thousand feet into the air and reach out and grab the purplish black and hollowed jewel.
A distance he could easily cover faster than lightning can strike.
He flew forward without another thought, his speed leaving after images behind him. He appeared before the treasure and Gardius had yet to move. Reaching out, all he had to do was snatch it out of the air. Close his hand around it and Arc would be restored. Nothing could be simpler. Rather that’s how it should have been.
As his fingers began to close around the diamond-shaped stone jewel, Gardius called out.
“You are trying to take something that already belongs to me. What ignorance!”
Kazuki’s fingers had almost fully closed around the Artifact when he felt the back of a hand slam into his face with a force enough to crush billions of Lower Realms.
His neck twisted dangerously and he felt the muscles beneath his flesh rip apart before he was sent flying away into the side of the pyramid wall.
*BANG!*
His body sank half a foot into the wall and he felt the air rush out of his lungs as he had the wind knocked out of him. His consciousness buzzed and he was left in a daze as all of his blood was pushed to one side of his body.
His insides had been eviscerated and his body was like a bag of liquid.
He quickly regenerated but he did not immediately leave the inside of the wall.
(If I hadn’t absorbed the dark energy from earlier and forged my body into what it is now…That blow would have destroyed my entire body.)
Kazuki was shocked. He had absorbed enough energy to fuel 10’s of millions of Lower Realms. Even if he had not tested it yet, he was confident his body could now completely resist several exchanges from a God’s Divine Soul weapon. Here and now though, he had to reconsider if this was true or if the God before him was just that much stronger.
Gardius gave Kazuki a side-eye.
“Hmmm, I held back but to think you lived through that. It must be one of those Artifacts that kept you alive. 1…2, 3 no 4. So many Artifacts but only one of them is actually under your control, you are an odd one aren’t you?”
Gardius lifted a single finger and pointed it at Kazuki. A large power gathered at his fingertip and he was about to fire it when he stopped.
“Normally one who takes what doesn’t belong to them is considered a thief but for you to survive one of my attacks, well my interest has grown. For escaping death, I shall let you live for a few moments longer so that you and the other peasants below may bear witness to my achievement. With this Artifact, I will become the supreme ruler of the three Higher Realms and everything below them. This will be the start of my infinite era of rule.”
Gardius was still planning on killing them all but he wanted someone to still see his moment. He had long since known how powerful he was. There were only a few in all of the three Higher Realms that could actually challenge him. He was about to ascend to a level none had achieved before him and none would achieve after. This was a moment he wanted an audience for, even if it was small.
After knocking Kazuki into a wall, he floated in front of the purplish black hollowed-out jewel. Just as he was about to grab it, Kauzki began to laugh as if he were insane.
*Bwahahahehehahaha*
Gardius felt like his moment was being ruined and became irritated.
“I grant you a few more moments of life so that you can witness greatness and yet you mock me with that aggravating laughter.”
Kazuki slowly removed himself from the wall. his bones creaking and cracking as they healed and snapped back into place. After taking this hit, he was shocked that he had taken this much damage but at the same time, he couldn’t help but start laughing listening to Gardius’s statement. Not only that, the pain he experienced just now, it was nothing compared to the 2 million years of self-torture he endured inside of his Soul world.
“You would laugh too or rather you would be embarrassed if you just thought about what you just said. You said this was the start of your infinite era of rule. An era has a clear beginning and a clear endpoint. By your very words, you are dooming yourself to failure. I just found that to be absolutely hilarious is all.”
Gardius’s eyes widened as he understood why Kazuki laughed and mocked.
“I see. My words were a slip of the tongue but your words were spoken purposely. A weakling dared try and humiliate me. I’ve changed my mind, you won’t have to wait to die.”
Gardius raised a single finger and his power once more gathered at his fingertip. The elements mixed and fused several times over. The feeling Kazuki got from this power was death. He knew instantly that if that energy struck him, it would completely destroy his existence.
(He’s fusing five different elements into one. He’s not trying to hold back. Does he not care about reserving energy in this suppressive world?)
Kazuki’s ki circulated through his body at a high rate. His strength multiplied several times over.
As soon as he circulated his ki, Gardiu’s fired off a bolt of plasma. This magic contained a combination of different elements. To Kauzki’s shock, these elements were perfectly fused together without a hint of inefficiency nor loss of power.
Kazuki could do something similar with three different elements but this was on a whole other level. Even when the decaying eye world, Resadez self-destructed the remainder of his energy, even it did not compare to this bolt of high-density energy.
The beam came racing at Kazuki at an unbelievable speed and Kazuki surpassed said speed by a hairs breath.
He kicked off the wall and shot toward the ground.
The bolt of fused plasma struck the wall and a hole the exact size of the beam pierced through the pyramid, leaving a small tunnel to the outside world. A tiny bit of light shined through.
The entire pyramid shook under this blast before the hole quickly began to close and sealed itself shut.
Gardius was surprised. He did not know how Kazuki had suddenly accelerated and moved slightly faster than his magic attack.
Kazuki did not care about Gardius’s surprise or this that and the other. Instead, he drew Gardius’s attention away from the Artifact behind him.
The moment he touched down on the ground, he launched himself forward scooping up Specxzu, and relayed a few thoughts. After that, he just barely managed to open his storage ring and he stored Secxzu in one of his many tiny worlds.
“Oh, another surprise. You can actually open your ring in this place. You wish to remove your friends from danger. You think I’ll let you.”
Gardius’s ring flashed and then he shot another bolt of fused magic. This single bolt promptly split into three and went after Kazuki, Nala, and Fleck simultaneously.
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