Return of the Fallen Volume 12 Chapter 26
Kazuki held out a hand over the child’s corpse and sent out a small wave of ki.
“Come back.”
Kazuki’s ki swept through the kid’s body and regenerated every single part within a split second. The sound of a strong heartbeat echoed in Kazuki’s ear but just because the body had been healed did not mean this person had been brought back. The kid’s soul had been nearly shattered and was fading away from an earlier attack.
With a thought, Kazuki’s soul-reading ability went into full effect as he repaired the girl’s soul and he reattached it to the body itself.
A soft inhale and a full breath as the girl’s chest began slowly rising and falling. Her little eyes slowly opened and she was still out of it as she looked up and saw Kazuki above her. With light shining down through the trees of this overgrown forest, the light blanketed Kazuki in a way that made him seem ethereal.
She spoke softly.
“I dreamed of you.”
Kazuki raised a brow.
“Your mind is still coming back to you it seems. Forget it, you’re alive now.”
Hearing these words the little girl was confused before her eyes suddenly went wide and she began grabbing her stomach and inspecting herself. There was not a trace of a wound. Tears welled up in her eyes and she began crying a river.
Even without his soul-reading ability, it was obvious the child was overwhelmed.
Kazuki placed a hand on top of her head and sent another wave of ki into her mind and body. This ki was filled with life energy and it felt incredibly warm and comforting. The girl’s outburst began to settle and her confusion cleared just as her eyes did.
As soon as she was calm she took another look at Kazuki before her face suddenly turned red and she tried to slap Kazuki in the face.
Kazuki could already read through the kid’s movement and caught her small hand.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
This question was easily answered as the kid slammed her eyes shut and turned her head away in embarrassment and screamed.
“PERVERT!”
Kazuki instantly realized what this was about. He stood there with not a single thread of cloth covering him. He was naked as the day he was born.
(Ah, that’s right.)
The moment Kazuki was plunged into Chaotic space, the overwhelming force and pressure destroyed every object he had. This meant not only the storage ring and the many tiny worlds he had created and all the items he had within but also the very clothes on his back. All of it had been obliterated instantaneously which of course left him naked.
When he finally got out of that shit hole, he was just so happy to be alive again and safe that he hadn’t given his nude persona a second thought. Though he wasn’t alone so he felt slightly annoyed.
(You three knew I was naked this entire time and none of you said anything.)
Sword only danced around as if it found the situation funny while Codex didn’t really see a problem with it.
(Who cares if you have no clothes? They offer no protection from enemies or any benefit at all for that matter. Why would I remind you of something that bares no meaning to any of us?)
(Heh, Brat, the empty book is right. None of us wear clothes nor care about them. Why should we pay attention to you’re human customs, fashions, or trends? Naked, clothed, it makes not an ounce of difference at the end of the day. Besides, if it was so important to you, it should have been you that handles that shit. Why rely on Artifacts to remind you to wear pants.)
Kazuki could only sigh inwardly. These Artifacts did not wear clothes in the first place and to them, the idea was already stupid and made no sense so there really was no reason for any of them to care. Kazuki found no point in arguing with them as it was his responsibility at the end of the day.
Kazuki looked over toward the beasts he had slain moments ago. With a thought, a strand of Chaotic energy formed around the scattered remains of said beasts, and its fur and hide were stripped away in an instant. From these remains, a fine outfit was made in an instant before it flew over to Kazuki and wrapped around him with a perfect fit.
“Little one, sorry for the unsightly appearance but calling me a pervert is harsh is it not?”
The kid didn’t answer and refused to even acknowledge Kazuki’s presence nor open her eyes to look at him.
Kazuki couldn’t fault her for that and decided to just move on.
He released his aura from the child’s pet and as soon as he did this, the beasts ran over and stood guard in front of the kid. Even though it was still scarred by Kazuki’s aura, it was intelligent and knew Kazuki and saved its master. Its fear for its master and its thankfulness to its master’s savior was causing conflicting thoughts inside of it and it did not know whether to bear its fangs or roll over and show its stomach.
The fur on its back was constantly raising and falling and its tail was tucking and untucking from between its legs.
Kazuki could care less as his thoughts were elsewhere.
(Arc, now that the kid is alive and well, will the Origin energy allow you to take it now?)
Arc flashed momentarily and the medallion around the pet’s neck flashed back.
…
Arc was immediately annoyed.
(This petty bastard. It says it won’t let me absorb it until the girl is safe. It wants us to return her to her family in the nearest city. Otherwise, it’s a no-go.)
Kazuki as well was now feeling annoyed.
(Arc, can’t you just crush it and take the energy forcefully?)
(If I could don’t you think I already would have by now? I am tapped dry of Origin energy. I could use Chaotic energy but that would just make the Origin energy inside the medallion use itself as fuel to fight back. In the end, I would win but the Oring energy would run out and we would be left with nothing. The Origin energy inside there is stubborn and won’t negotiate nor compromise.)
(I don’t get it, why is Origin energy so obsessed with this child’s safety?)
Arc went quiet for a second before answering back.
(This bastard says it’s one of our concern.)
Kazuki and Arc still needed to find Kosaru and the others as fast as possible and felt it would waste more time to argue and fight than deliver the child back to her family.
(Whatever, let’s just get this done.)
Kazuki’s power circled around the child and her strange wolf-looking beast.
“Little one, I’ll return you to your family. It’s dangerous to be out in the wild all alone. Well, I guess you already know that firsthand.”
With a single step, Kazuki, the girl, and her pet were several miles off the ground. The girl felt a sudden rush of wind around her and couldn’t help but open her eyes in curiosity.
“Mister, you…you’ll take me home?”
Her words were soft like a whisper. She was both shy and scarred but at the same time, she now recognized that Kazuki wasn’t there to hurt her. Kazuki gave a small smile.
“Yes, I’ll take you home but I don’t know the way. Could you tell me?”
Of course Kazuki already knew the way from Arc but he said this to get the girl to ease up a little so she was frightened.
The girl had a little round face and she looked as if she were trying really hard to remember. Finally, she shook her head in disappointment.
“I don’t know the way just yet. Papa says all the time I should have learned it by now but I always forget. Papa and Mama will be mad because I’m lost.”
Kazuki didn’t expect the girl to not know. Reading her soul he knew the girl was no older than six but at the same time, she was already at the 5th stage. She had no problems with memory from what he could tell, instead, it was obvious she really didn’t know. Kazuki had checked her memories earlier and she was quite sheltered and this was literally her first time outside of the city.
(To think she would die the first time she left the city.)
If Kazuki just mentioned he already knew the way to her home, it would look suspicious. He was about to just say fuck it and take her right home anyway. Even if it looked off, he would not be around long anyway. Just as he was going to head toward the direction of the city, the girls weird-looking pet wolf stood straight like an iron rod. Its entire body pointed toward the city and it barked.
The girl’s eyes lit up.
“Mister, Sofie is saying home is that way. We have to go that way.”
The kid pointed in excitement. Kazuki raised a brow and spoke to the wolf.
(So you can talk?)
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