Return of the Fallen Volume 13 Chapter 75
“Chasing the shriekers beneath the surface would be the same as courting death.”
Verut did not hold back as he described what he called facts.
“Not only are you entering their territory down below, but you are also entering a place of pure poison. The very air you breathe is coated in their degrading power. Thicker than sap, it can easily eat away at the flesh and erode one’s very soul. The only light is the constant burning of yellow and green flames. Something we know very little about, but still, these flames have always signaled their attack on the surface world and therefore can be nothing good. The place is a maze of tunnels and broken passages. Some paths narrow to the size of a Gerian fist, while others are as large as a fiery mountain. One can be cornered instantly or surrounded on all sides with no means of escape. The temperatures down there are said to be hotter than our blue sun hanging in the sky above. We Gerians are tough, but even we know that one cannot survive in a sun. If that alone does not send a chill down your very spine, just knowing you would be down there with any of the Shrieker Kings…”
Verut trembled just mentioning this last part.
“All in all, you would have a much better time being ripped apart by some random beasts up here on the surface than having your soul torn asunder and eaten whole.”
Kazuki could agree with that any day of the week. It was one thing to endure physical pain. The feeling of having an arm torn off by a vice-like grip or having one’s intestines shredded by claws and fangs was much preferable to the agony of soul pain. The two were like night and day.
Verut and Kazuki stopped on the field.
“Kazuki, to bring this back to my original point. All of these things were made possible because of the betrayer. If not for this traitor, this crazed religious scum. If not for him stealing from the champions of the other races, the shriekers would not have had a chance to recover and become such a threat to the rest of us. The alliances of the many worlds would not have collapsed, and we would not have been plotted against one another. Now, only this single world remains. Atrea, it is small by far compared to what once was, but it is a beautiful world and the only one we have.”
Verut shook his head in regret. Kazuki could sense from his soul that he was sad and disappointed that the other races had all fought and been wiped out one after another. This was his genuine feeling that caused slight confusion for Kazuki.
(According to the shadowy Artifact Yidriss’s account, it was Mefius who was the betrayer. Yidriss even admitted to helping Mefius at first in betraying the other champions and races. Verut though only mentioned a crazed zealot and said it was this traitor that led all astray. I could read both of their souls and both truly believe their story to be the truth. How can this be? There are inconsistencies. Verut did not even mention Mefius as the cause of any of the inciting incidents. Is Verut lying or is it Yidriss who is spinning a tale.)
Kazuki understood that he could not have Yidriss’s full trust in such a short period of time but at the same time, he did not doubt this Artifact. Verut as well had absolutely no reason to lie to him and Kazuki could sense no falsehoods from his soul.
(It could be they are both telling the truth or at least they both believe they are speaking the truth. If things are seen from one perspective and information is passed from one to another without actually being a witness, it is easy to see the truth become a big blur. Either way, I do not need the full truth. I can only go with what I actually know and make decisions whether they be right or wrong based on that. If new evidence comes along, I will process it and apply it in the way that gives me the best outcome.)
Kazuki could only go off of what was. He was currently being held against his will with the slave collar. Mefius is his enemy and therefore all of his subordinates even if they have no evil intent could be his enemy as well. Verut was good-willed but was also loyal to Mefius. Knowing this, he could not place his trust in Verut or any other who serves Mefius.
At the same time, trusting every word of Yidriss would not exactly be the wisest choice. At least he would keep this thought in the back of his mind. Kazuki had heard Mefius’s and Yidriss’s conversation. Mefius was trying to attempt something and needed Yidriss in some way. Kazuki had confirmed that Yidriss was an Artifact and he had already learned how valuable Artifacts were in this Hell Realm as one of the giant shrieker kings had sensed the fact that he had Artifacts and tried to forcefully claim them.
(The fact that the shrieker wanted my artifact and Mefius wishes to use Yidriss as an artifact may be unrelated but for now, I have to assume it is connected. The shrieker king wanted my artifact and seemed rather desperate. Maybe it knows about this so-called ritual and wants to interfere or maybe benefit in some way.)
At this point Kazuki could not tell if he was being paranoid or possibly reading far too deeply into things. He needed more information.
Verut pointed at the ground.
“Let’s take a look at your friend.”
Verut’s red eyes glowed even redder. With that, the ground split open revealing a deep hole. His wings unwrapped from his body and stretched out covering a wide area. He smirked and joked.
“Want me to carry you down, young lad.”
Kazuki laughed at this dumb joke before jumping down into the darkness. Verut was shocked and his heart skipped a beat for an instant. If one did not slow their descent from this height it could be rather dangerous. Only someone like his master or his brothers could take such an impact and come out unharmed. He was about to dive in and catch Kazuki when he remembered just how tough Kazuki was. He and everyone else in the mansion had also already heard many rumors of how incredible Kauzki’s recovery rate was.
Verut smiled before diving into the darkness.
(This human is very confident and odd. I like him.)
After falling for a few hundred feet, Kazuki could see the orb of light he left behind.
(The light has trouble penetrating this dark chamber. Only after getting this close can it actually be spotted more easily.)
For his eyes, he could see perfectly in the dark but he knew for others they would not be able to locate this light without coming much closer to it.
Just before Kazuki was about to hit the ground, he was going to use the ancient hand signs to create a platform of wind and slow his fast-paced fall. This is when he saw something that had not been in this dark chamber before.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an observing crystal orb floating silently in the dark.
(Damn, that clearly wasn’t here before. Did I mess up somewhere and Mefius took notice? This is no coincidence. Just after I have a secret conversation with Yidriss and now there is a spy floating around and in the dark no less. He does not know about my superior sight and must think it would go unnoticed.)
*BANG CRACK!*
Kazuki landed with a loud boom. He took the full force but was unscathed. He knew faking an injury here would easily be seen through.
(He doesn’t care about my strength. I am a mere speck in his eye. He is more interested in the things I know or could possibly know. He must have gotten suspicious when I lead Bearon by the nose and he destroyed the observing orb outside the secret room. If not that it could have been when I was attempting to understand the inscriptions within the collar. He may not have been aware of my conversation with Yidriss but when messing with my collar, it would be clear to all something wasn’t right as sparks of red lightning jumped about in my tiny room.)
Kazuki saw Monsuta was awake and walked over with a smile. He pretended as if he did not notice the observing orb floating just out of the way.
(Verut said someone saw the light coming from my room. This really could have been a servant who saw it or Mefius simply telling Verut to come and check on me. If not that, Mefius could have simply commanded a servant to inform Verut and then he came to find me.)
Again Kazuki did not know if he was being too paranoid or if this really was the case. The fact that there was now an observing crystal down here with a handful of creatures that were too scared to move due to the darkness, led him to believe there was no reason to observe them.
(It makes no sense to watch over these beasts that he does not even deem important. There is one reason and one reason alone to suddenly start watching this area where there is no place to go…Me!)
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