Return of the Fallen Volume 13 Chapter 16
Monsuta hurled, leaving a huge pile of vomited stone bigger than Kazuki was tall. He stood next to it and proudly proclaimed.
“Pretty amazing, right?”
Kazuki smiled awkwardly and gave a thumbs-up.
“Ye…yeah.”
Spinning his tail like a fan once again, combined with the heat of this world, caused the pile of vomited brown stone to dry in no time. A foul smell filled the air momentarily as the stone was baked in the heat. Finally, the brown pile no longer resembled a bunch of shit but instead something similar to a dull clay-like color.
Since the smell passed, Kazuki slowly walked over. Even though this was disgusting, it actually wasn’t the worst thing he’s ever encountered. With the smell now gone, this was simply materials to Kazuki and nothing more.
“Your aura is imbued within it. I guess that happens in your stomach. Do you do that on purpose or is it an automatic process outside of your control?”
Monsuta had no eyebrows but if he did he would be raising them now after listening to Kazuki’s strange words.
“Automatic…process?”
Kazuki shook his head.
“No, never mind that. What I mean is do you place your aura inside this special rock by yourself?”
Monsuta nodded.
“Yes. After raising the heat in my belly, I hit the rock as hard as I can with everything I’ve got. I do this over and over until the brown stone starts to act and change. I then make it even hotter inside my gut until the rock is the hottest thing ever and finally, I try and crush the rock with all of my aura like I’m trying to destroy it. This is what I end up with. My Monsuta stone.”
Kazuki could sense Monsuta’s aura inside the pile of rock. Once more he could only be impressed by how strong and thick this creature’s aura was.
“This is making more and more sense. Even the way you make these Monsuta stones as you call them uses your aura in one way. You use it with brute strength and brute strength alone. After making millions of these rocks in such a way, it’s no wonder why you’ve built up a bad habit.”
“Bad habit?”
Kazuki nodded.
“Yes. You’ve used your aura one way and one way only for this long. With brute strength comes unbelievable power but it also lacks accuracy and precision. This much strength is great in a fight but when you need to do some fine-tuning and get intricate detail, well let’s just say you’re lacking a bit. That’s where I come in.”
Monsuta was sad at first but Kazuki helped ease such feelings as he put in to help him.
“So Kazuki where do we start?”
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After hunting a few prey as well as gathering a few materials, Monsuta and Kazuki returned back home and sealed the cave shut. Filling their stomachs, the two relaxed for a little while before they finally got started.
Bringing the materials to the back of the cave, Monsuta set them down with a loud thud.
There were several different materials spread out here and there. Some objects large and small were different types of rocks the two found and picked up along the way. Besides that, there were bones from a few different beasts, some liquid from the black river carried in a makeshift container made of stone, and different types of crystals and gems.
“Let’s get something out of the way first. Your door is obviously off limits because it’s sentimental as well as our main source of protection from those shriekers but what of these statues? You have countless statues made from your special rock. Not all of them are Monsuta rocks but the millions that are made up of your rock all have a part of your aura within them. If you get rid of them, your aura will be returned right away, which will lead to your strength growing instantly, and with it, you will naturally have slightly more control over your aura.”
Monsuta looked at his statues and then back at Kazuki.
“I made them because I was lonely. Now I’m not lonely anymore.”
Monsuta gave a large toothy grin. Monsuta only had to think a single thought. With it, all throughout the cave, millions upon millions of statues suddenly began to crumble and fall apart all at once. His aura that was locked away inside of the many statues returned to him like a small flood.
These rocks could only maintain their special properties so long as the creator of them kept a portion of their aura sealed inside of them. The moment the aura was taken back, these statues were no longer the toughest material Kazuki had ever come across and instead were similar to loose wet sand.
Monsuta inhaled deeply as he felt his own aura being returned to him. These statues did not contain a lot of aura on their own but adding up millions of them together gave a great boost to Monsuta’s soul. He could tell the primordial flame within him was happy as his power suddenly rose. Not only that but his body went through a small change as well. He grew almost 10 feet taller almost instantly.
Along with this, his flesh toughened and his red skin grew several shades darker. His claws grew slightly longer and sharper and the spikes poking from his spinal column grew larger and became black as the night. Monsuta was already an intimidating creature. Now he was like a domineering predator ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
After a few moments, Monsuta’s growth spurt halted and he finally released his inhaled breath in a long drawn-out exhale.
*FSSSHHHHHHH*
Flames poured from his nostrils as if he were a flamethrower. Kazuki could feel from this simple breath, just how much hotter Monsuta’s fire had become.
(Damn, I have insane resistance to heat but this is causing my skin to itch and sting a little. Monsuta is quite powerful. I’m glad we aren’t enemies.)
Monsuta opened his eyes and looked over at the many piles of rock he left behind. Even though he now had a real friend, this was still a loss in a way. Seeing the look of amazement in Kazuki’s eyes, his sadness quickly faded and he felt his sense of pride and confidence rise.
“Kazuki, what do you think?”
Kazuki gave a thumbs up.
“I think those shriekers will soon be running from you instead of the other way around.”
Monsuta laughed.
“Don’t make fun of me Kazuki.”
After this was settled, Kazuki moved on to the next detail. It was a question he had.
“I understand how sacred your soul world is to you. As it should be. At the same time, there is a much swifter way to attain your goals. When it comes to aura control. I can confidently say that so long as someone is on my level, there are very few that have an advantage over me with aura. If you want, I can easily share these memories from my soul with yours.”
Monsuta frantically shook his head.
“No no no, absolutely never.”
Kazuki understood how precious one’s soul was to an individual. He had his trust and privacy breached far too many times to count. Each time it was out of his control and was done forcibly. It was an abuse of power and a complete invasion on the deepest of levels. Even now, just thinking about having outsiders see what was his and his alone caused rage to build in his chest and made his blood boil.
Even though Monsuta had said no multiple times, one no was more than enough.
(If that is his wish, I will not violate it.)
“Understood. I just wanted to be sure.”
Kazuki then moved on to the materials he asked Monsuta to bring back. After explaining a few things, he moved on to hands-on.
Lying on the ground was a piece of burning bone. While out and about, there was a forest they had come across. This forest was anything but ordinary. There wasn’t a single real tree. Instead, there were miles and miles of bones sticking up through the ground. These bones were all lit with fire and even after several days, they still burned brightly.
Kazuki had asked about them and apparently, they had been burning since before Monsuta could remember. Not only that but he had no clue as to which creature this bone belonged to. To add more to the weird shit list, this wasn’t the only type of bone. There were all kinds of bones in that bone forest. Each and every one of these bones was of a different species.
Kazuki determined that this was some type of mass graveyard. One that has existed for several million years if not longer. To top it off, each one had similar markings on the bone. He could not tell if these markings were made from a tool or if they were made by something with claws and teeth as they were degraded beyond recognition.
For now, he put the thoughts away and began to help Monsuta learn to control his aura.
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