Return of the Fallen Volume 13 Chapter 78
“If you wish to die so badly, Kazuki, shall I convince my lord or will you act right?”
There was no room for negotiation. No place for a snarky comment or a twist of a silver tongue. Verick was not playing games and spoke in absolutes. The choice was to fall in line or be destroyed.
Kazuki could not read Verick’s soul, but even if he could, he doubted Verick was bluffing. Kazuki could only follow suit.
Just as he was about to give his answer, a laugh echoed out from high above.
*HEH*
“Kazuki, you seem to cause problems at every turn. Is my man right? Would it be best to destroy you here and now and prevent any future troubles…or is he exaggerating?”
Mefius appeared in the sky. Next, to him was his older brother, Bodock. The light from the blue sun hanging high in the sky cast two large shadows down below. The moment Mefius spoke, everyone knelt to the ground and bowed, respectively, while shouting in unison.
“Lord of Fire, we greet thee!”
Mefius nodded in approval before descending.
He stood in front of Verick and Kazuki and smirked. Bodock stood just behind him and, as always, wore a glaring expression. The man was never in a good mood.
Seeing Bodock, Kazuki couldn’t help but wonder.
(If Bodock is no longer guarding the underground room, does this mean Bearon has been released from the painting prison? Could he possibly still be inside the painting, If so, that could mean the secret room has been left unattended.)
Kazuki desperately wished to use his aura and take a look underground, but he could not do so in the presence of so many experts. Before all of that though he needed to answer Mefius.
“I have made a mistake. Please forgive me; it will not happen again, I swear.”
Mefius’s tail unfurled from his waist like a belt and he struck the ground in front of Kazuki’s feet.
*BAM!*
The ground split as if it were made of paper as Mefius’s expression went cold.
“Mistakes do tend to happen around me. For some reason, it’s as if I’m surrounded by incompetent folks. But, at the same time, what you did was no mistake. You used my precious little gem’s anger against her. Your acting…It’s already getting tiring…Right?”
Kazuki swallowed hard before admitting it.
“Yes…”
Mefius nodded before curling his finger. With a thought, Runa was lifted from the ground and brought to his side. Mefius grabbed her chin and turned her head left and right, inspecting her face. With a nod, he stood her in front of Kazuki.
“My daughter was tricked by you. A mere slave tricked my blood, now that is something else.”
Mefius stroked Runa’s hair and Runa felt a chill run up her spine. He had never been affectionate and by his tone, he was obviously annoyed.
“Father I didn’t
Before she could finish her words, Mefius covered her mouth with the end of his tail, silencing her.
Verick was about to step forward when Mefius glared at him.
“Not a word Verick. As you can see I am in no mood.”
Verick’s words paused in his throat and both he and Runa shared a look. Runa also looked to Bodock but he avoided her eyes and kept to himself.
“It’s one thing for a slave to play tricks right under the nose of their master. It’s something entirely different for my own blood to disregard my words. I already punished you once for messing with my things, yet just after returning, in your infinite wisdom decided to once more play with my things. Not only did you not listen to my words, you even fell for a slave’s foolish tactics. Sometimes I find it hard to believe you are actually my child.”
Mefius held out a hand and that same painting of a frozen hellscape appeared floating above his palm. Inside the painting, there were frozen mountains and an iced-over lake. A blizzard raged continuously with no end in sight. Maybe because he was out of it before he hadn’t noticed but now he could feel a cold chill emanating from this painting.
Not just him but several others in the surroundings could feel the same cold energy spilling out of this painting which caused them to tremble.
Runa began to struggle in her father’s grip but she could not escape him.
“Now now my precious little gem. Be still, papa won’t let you die.”
This terrified Runa even more and her struggling got even more violent. Mefius released some of his aura before his voice got boomed in the field.
“I SAID BE STILL!”
Runa trembled one more time before she was overcome by fear and froze on the spot. She dared not move under her father’s threatening tone.
Mefius’s tail came away from her mouth and gently stroked her cheek.
“Now that’s better my child, much better.”
Kazuki could see the cold energy was affecting Runa and her body was starting to turn blue. She was already pale so this blue really looked extreme. Her face contorted in pain as the cold pierced her skin as if it was drilling to the depths of her soul.
To Kazuki this cold was nothing. From what he could see though, it really affected Runa and the others.
Without hesitation, Mefius threw Runa directly into the painting. As soon as she entered she screamed in terror or at least it looked as if she was shouting to the high heavens but no sound escaped the painting.
With that, the painting vanished into Mefius’s ring.
Mefius then looked at Kazuki.
“If I could fit another inside, I wouldn’t mind giving you a little taste of my frozen tundra world, pity. No, you will enjoy something a bit different. In order to teach, a Master must be patient but…Everyone has a limit to their patience. RIGHT!!!?”
Mefius roared at his subordinates and they all shook before agreeing. He turned to them and even without shouting his voice boomed and spread across the entire city.
“Those that don’t fall in line are those who are my enemy. I will break all of my foes and if they still do not obey, they can only be turned to ash and disappear as the southern wind blows.”
Mefius’s voice was so loud that several servants collapsed and fell unconscious. In the city, there were many cries of anguish as several weaker people simply died from just a few of his words. A moment after he finished speaking and people had died, the eyes of the large statue sitting at the end of the field lit up as souls and primordial flame were taken in by the statue.
It was obvious Mefius cared not for a single inhabitant of his city. Kazuki could read all of the souls that had just passed by and counted a few thousand of them. Each one had a single thought before they were devoured by the statue.
WHY.
The souls of the innocent could not understand what they had done wrong to deserve such tragedy. Were they not loyal enough were they sinners and blasphemers? A swirl of confusion rage, sadness, and fear all boil together in one maddening concoction before vanishing into the depth of the giant Gerian statue.
Seeing the statue take in more power, several servants and soldiers began to mutter something under their breath. At first, it just sounded like nonsense but listening closely Kazuki could distinguish praises for the Primordial one and hopes for even more sacrifices.
Kazuki could see just how insane some of these people were and was at a loss for words and thoughts.
Following this display of power, Mefius commanded.
“Now, I’m sure everyone is tired of waiting. It’s time to get started. Verick, begin!”
Verick had no change in expression as he carried out his Master’s will. With a snap of his fingers, several soldiers and servants started moving about. As they scrambled around the field, the servants carried several different ingredients and spread them out around the field.
The servants dug up small holes here and there in certain locations before burying the ingredients they had brought over. Some of the ingredients were bones or stones. One particular pile was several hundred of these stones. The same dull brown-looking ones Monsuta used to make his special Monsuta stone. There were also strange-looking minerals. Black coal-like objects with tiny golden spots speckled all over.
When the servants were done burying these ingredients, then came the soldiers who carried with them sets of poles or rods. These rods were made of some type of metal black in color. The soldiers stabbed them into the ground where each of the ingredients was buried. Very quickly Kazuki could make out a pattern in the ground.
(This is an inscription but this type of inscription…It looks like one used for locating something.)
As Kazuki thought this, Editrix came out and walked over with his short stubby green legs. He bowed before Mefius and spoke.
“Master, everything has been prepared, shall we test it?”
Mefius was cold.
“What do you think?”
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