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Return of the Fallen Volume 2 Chapter 15

Author: Blue_Rat

ch15

Entering the large chamber, the ceiling was covered in thousands of blue and yellow gemstones of some kind. Each one gave off a slight glow that lit up this entire part of the cave.

Asuna and Shin were so focused on the glowing ceiling, that they completely missed the hundreds of panicked people before them.

“Ahhhh! intruders!”

“Quickly grab a weapon!”

“Be careful, they have the chief and the others. Ah look,the chief’s covered in blood.”

“You bastards! What did you do to our chief, wait the others are knocked out as well?”

Dozens of shouts rang out one after another and nearly 80 men grabbed whatever they could as a weapon and surrounded Kazuki and the others on three sides. Some had swords while others had pitchforks or clubs. The most desperate had no real weapons at all and had to resort to grabbing rocks off the ground.

Shin tossed the villagers he dragged behind him into the crowd but kept the chief by his side. Were he to keep them all next to him and they wake up it could put him in a dangerous spot.

Nearby women dragged the unconscious villagers away while all the men who could fight stood in front. The women went further in the back and held tightly onto the children. Kazuki drew his blade and Asuna already had both her daggers ready to go.

Kazuki looked back to Shin and gave him a knowing nod.

Stepping forward, Shin raised the unconscious old chief in front of him and placed a blade beside his neck. With a small nick, a thin line of red drew downard.

The approaching villagers, just as expected, upon seeing this stopped dead in their tracks.

“Vile bastards, how dare you threaten our chief.”

With the ever-increasing noise, the chief awoke in pain.

*Erh*

His body felt terrible. After being beaten up, knocked out, awakening only to be hurt and knocked out once more, his body ached and his head throbbed in pain as his head was awash with dizziness.

“What…What’s happening?”

The chief felt pressure around his neck and found it both difficult to breathe as well as talk but looking around he soon began to grasp the situation.

“Chief, are you OK? Don’t worry, we’ll rescue you soon enough.”

Kazuki stepped forward and cleared his throat.

*Ahem*

“Hello, my name is Ryuta and me and my friends have become a bit lost. I heard there may be a map here and was hoping to make a trade for it.”

The villagers, as well as the chief, couldn’t quite believe their ears and were taken aback.

“What did he just say, a map, a map to what?”

“He did say a map but who the hell has one of those and he still has our chief does he actually think we’re on friendly terms, is he crazy?”

“Who the hell is this guy?”

“It doesn’t matter who he is, we have the numeral advantage. Once we see an opening we’ll all attack at once.”

Although these people had said all of this under their breath with low whispers, how could Kazuki and the others not hear them with their enhanced senses? Shin couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“Hahahahaha. Are you people idiots, we can hear your every word. Ryuta, why bother discussing anything with them anymore, we don’t have to kill them but wasting any more time than this is pointless. Let’s hurry up and knock them all out so we can just look for the map on our own undisturbed.”

Asuna glared viciously at Shin and barked.

“Barely anything’s been said and you already want to beat everyone up, do you have any patience whatsoever?”

Shin had patience, he had plenty of it, but being pushed every time by Asuna, he was very quickly running low on his supply of patience.

“You.”

“Wait wait wait, that’s not necessary. A map, that’s really all you people want?”

The chief cut Shin off as he struggled to speak with fingers gripped tightly around his neck.

All of the villagers looked at their chief with both confusion and worry.

“Chief.”

The chief spoke with concern.

“Strangers, if you truly just want a map then I will gladly give it to you but please don’t harm any of my people, they are not your enemies.”

The chief had experienced Kazuki and the other’s strength earlier on and knew first hand that none of his people could stand against them.

The fact that Kazuki had come to negotiate with the villagers spoke volumes that he could be reasoned with even if earlier Kazuki had attacked him and his men, it was understandable why they did so.

(These strangers saw me and my men going after a child and a mother and nothing more. They don’t know the full situation. Maybe they can actually be reasoned with. If they simply want my old map, I have no reason to hang on to it.)

Kazuki looked out at the crowd of villagers and ordered.

“All of you, lower your weapons and I promise me and my friends will not kill you. Cooperate, stay out of our way and we will be gone in a few minutes.”

The villagers didn’t know what to do and stood there in a slight daze. Only when the chief yelled at them did they finally relent.

“You heard him! hurry and drop your weapons! I’ve already decided to give them my map and this already no longer concerns any of you, so do it.”

Shin chuckled.

“Hehe, this was more of a negotiation with you old man instead of your people. Ryuta, it looks like your way does have some merit.”

“I have no way, I simply do what must be done. Had they not dropped their weapons…”

Kazuki’s expression darkened and Shin didn’t have to guess at what he meant.

Asuna, on the other hand, didn’t like this side of Kazuki and felt he was headed down a bad path.

(Ryuta has been stressed lately and it’s causing him to act differently. We need to hurry up and get out of this damn forest and find a safe place so he can rest properly.)

Shin lowered the old man to the ground and he limped toward a space near the center of the large chamber. The surrounding men parted a path for him and Kazuki and the others followed. The chamber, although huge, wasn’t so big that this many people could live here properly. Everyone was in quite close proximity and once they laid down it wouldn’t be strange to see a few people getting kicked with a rogue foot in the middle of the night.

Coming to the center of the chamber, there were a few bags and boxes with items in them. Some had scraps of food and others were just a few papers or books. The things these people had were very few. Now that things weren’t as hostile, Kazuki actually had a chance to look around. At the back end of the chamber, he could see a few pathways leading somewhere, and with a bit of focus, he could hear the sound of trickling water.

The sound was light though indicating that the water source did not run very well and came out slow. Seeing only a few scraps of food inside the chief belongings, Kazuki now got a good look at the people inside. Many of them had sunken faces and their bodies were actually quite thin.

(These people really are low on food. So Tsura was telling the truth about that part.)

Seeing how the people in the cave acted, none of them seemed to be especially violent. Of course one couldn’t really tell by looks but Kazuki had grown a sense for people, especially the dangerous ones, so he could tell most of the time when someone was not so… Agreeable.

(None of these people look like they would force a mother and child out but at the same time, starvation can cloud anyone’s judgment.)

Thinking about the situation a strange thought appeared in Kazuki’s head and the more he thought about it the more curious he became. So curious in fact that he couldn’t help but ask the old chief.

“Why were you and your men trying to capture Tsura and Mei? She said you forced her husband out in search of food but that doesn’t explain why they went out as well, nor why you went after them.”

The old chief sighed deeply.

*Haaaa*

“Before I answer you, can you answer something for me?”

Kazuki didn’t know what the old man wanted but nodded anyway.

“What is it old man? What do you want to ask?”

The old chief felt a weight upon his chest but he needed to know as soon as possible, otherwise, his people could be in danger.

“Is Mei…did she and her mother leave yet?”

“Hmm.”

Hearing this question from their chief, many villagers started to grow nervous.

“Chief, you mean to say that you didn’t kill her.”

The chief shook his head.

“I thought I could capture her and bring her back but…”

Hearing this another villager exploded in anger.

“What! You tried to capture her. No no no, she’s supposed to die, she can’t be alive, she can’t be.”

Several voices followed one by one after the first. All of which were tainted with panic, fear and anger.

“Oh my god, she’s still out there.”

“Will we never be free of her, why couldn’t she die?”

“Things will never go back to normal now?”

“Mommy I’m scared I don’t want to be eaten, I don’t want the monster to get me.”

The entire chamber erupted with great alarm. Kazuki and the others had no clue what the hell was going on. Asuna grabbed the old chief by the collar and gave him a shake.

“What is going on? Why does everyone hate a child so? To go after an innocent mother and child, Is everyone in your village just a bunch of cruel monsters?”

With Asuna’s words, the chamber went deathly silent. Glares of scorn and disgust were fully directed at him. Even the chief’s attitude completely changed.

“Everything I’ve ever done was to protect my village. Even up to this point I have fought and struggled to bring peace and prosperity to my home. There is a monster, there truly is but it is no one here.”

The old man threw the map to Kazuki and spoke callously toward Asuna.

“That innocent girl you speak of, she is the most dangerous monster in this entire forest and now thanks to you and your friends, no one can stop her.”