Return of the Fallen Volume 4 Chapter 10
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Author: Blue_Rat
ch10
Kazuki turned around in time to see something charging towards him with crazy speed. Kazuki was ready to throw a punch but before he could Kai appeared next to him and grabbed his shoulder, the very next moment the two were teleported to a branch on the nearby tree.
“Kai, why did you stop me? I need to destroy that soul fragment if I’m to claim that Beast core as my own.”
Kai slapped Kazuki on the back of the head.
*Pah*
“And how exactly are you going to destroy it with your fist? You have no physical strength here.”
Kazuki’s eyes widened as he looked at his own hands.
It was true. He was currently in his soul world with what he assumed was his consciousness. The body he inhabited in this place was his old body when he was a child and that was something that wasn’t actually physical.
“Little bro, in here you don’t actually have a body. Right now, you are more like a manifestation of energy formed by your own consciousness. That thing down there is the Beast core’s last line of defense. That disfigured thing is the fused soul fragments from the three beasts”
Kai pointed down at the ground where the two had just been standing. In that spot, an ugly beast stood where they were. Its body was blurry as though a haze veiled it. Kazuki though could still make out a few features. It had a large body like a horse but the legs that supported it were all different from one another. One seemed like a tiger’s leg, while one resembled a backward bird’s foot. The last one resembled that of a goat.
On its back it had dark wings, similar to a Mangshi’s, except there were several holes of wear and tear torn through it. At its sides were two arms jutting out from its large body. Two looked strong and formidable while the other one was twisted in a knot and dangled lifelessly. Three long necks stretched from the top of its body, each one different. One was a Mangshi head, one was a horse’s head and the final one resembled a tiger.
Occasionally the heads would butt one another or snap at the others exposed neck. The fur on this creature was spotted with all kinds of different colors and it looked like a mismatched matted quilt.
The heads searched for their prey but couldn’t find Kazuki nor Kai.
“This doesn’t make sense though. Why would I need energy in order to beat that thing? I can still punch and kick it can’t I?”
As soon as Kazuki said that he realized something. Taking his hand he slowly reached out and touched Kai’s shoulder but his hand passed straight through him. Kazuki then began to withdraw his hand when Kai smirked at him and his body seemingly solidified and Kazuki’s hand became stuck in Kai’s shoulder.
“This is…?”
Kai then released Kazuki’s hand.
“In this soul world, I can make myself so you can touch me or I can make so you can’t. It’s a trick I’ve learned from a while ago. You, however, might not even be able to touch that creature down below but I guarantee that thing will be able to touch you. And if it destroys you inside this place…”
“Let me guess, my soul will be destroyed?”
Kai shook his head.
“This whole place is your soul. A fragment from a weakened soul like that freak over there can not harm your soul but right now, your mind is in here. If that thing destroys your conscious manifestation, it will break your mind. All of your memories, all of your thoughts, everything that makes you you will crumble away. More or less you will be like one of those rabid animals, no, actually you will definitely be less than a rabid animal. A rabid animal will go off instincts and will still fight if it has to. You, however, will no longer have any thought or control over yourself and will only wander around mindlessly. Even when you become cold or slowly start to starve, you won’t care in the slightest and will be a puppet with cut strings. You will become nothing.”
Kazuki stared down at the ugly creature below and felt a few drops of cold sweat on his forehead. Reaching up he went to wipe them only to realize that there was nothing there in the first place and that he was wiping nothing. Just as his thoughts were filling up with concern, Kai slapped him on the back.
“Well, I suppose it’s a good thing your genius brother is here. As an older brother, I think I can help you out just a tiny bit.”
“Brother you…”
Kazuki didn’t know what to say. He felt a warm feeling rise up in his heart, as he recalled fond memories. Just as he was becoming lost in thought, however, Kai added on.
“Of course after I help you with this, you’ll owe me.”
Before Kazuki could say anything, Kai leaped from the high-up branch and fell toward the ground.
(This brother, what in the 7 realms of hell could a soul want from me?)
As Kai was falling he grabbed onto a nearby branch. Giving it a tug on his way down, the branch broke off.
*Snap*
The noise wasn’t particularly loud but it caught the Odd Beast’s attention. The creature looked up in curiosity only to see Kai falling toward it. The eyes on all three heads glowed in excitement and two of the heads opened their mouths wide in anticipation. Kai simply chuckled to himself and right before he landed into any open mouths, he swung the branch from high above his head and slammed it down on the closest open mouth.
*Thwack*
Kai used the heavy branch like a hammer and pounded away on the tiger. At the same time as the Mangshi snapped its mouth shut at Kai’s exposed frame, Kai simply teleported below the creature, completely dodging the Mangshi’s razor-sharp teeth.
Kai grabbed one end of the branch with a tight grip before pulling his hand across the branch in one quick motion. All of the smaller branches and leaves that were attached to this big branch were ripped away exposing a clean wooden rod.
It was still clearly a branch but by removing the excess from it, it became a much more suitable weapon.
Before the creature knew what happened, Kai stabbed this branch upward and struck the horse’s head in its lower jaw. This caused the horse’s head to whip back in pain. The Mangshi head realized what was going on and snapped downward. Kai stood perfectly still but he couldn’t help but whisper under his breath.
“Slow, far too slow.”
Just before the Mangshi head bit Kai, his lowe body rotated and he spun around the Mangshi’s head, extending his elbow, he struck the Mangshi in the side of the head. His movements were perfect and flowed like water. The strike to the Mangshi mouth landed on the horse’s neck who had just now snapped forward from the recoil a second ago.
Kai then took what would be the hilt of the branch and slammed it down on top of the Mangshi’s head while simultaneously delivering a solid knee to the bottom of its mouth.
*Crunch*
The Mangshi’s razor-sharp teeth, due to Kai’s flawless attack, tore into the horse’s exposed neck and bit it off cleanly.
The head fell to the ground and disappeared into particles of light. The Mangshi head knew what it had just done but didn’t have any concern or care. The only thing it could feel was hatred. Hatred for Kai, hatred for Kazuki, hatred for the ugly form it shared with the tiger bastard connected to it.
“ROOOOAAARRRRRRRRR!*
The tiger as well felt hatred and its instincts told it what must be done.
The two together bucked upward and kicked out. Even though this should have unbalanced the three-legged creature, it didn’t. Instead, its feet came flying down in a wild fit of rage.
Kai simply teleported a few feet away and prepared his next strike. Just as he raised his blade though, the weird creature charged at him. Kai raised a brow.
(Hmm, its movements have gotten better.)
Kai stepped to the side with ease and dodged. As he turned around, the beast was already upon him again with another charge. Kai teleported dozens of feet away.
(It’s not just my imagination, this beast is moving better. Could it be from losing that horse head? Now the body is being handled by two heads instead of three so it can control it’s nasty body better.)
“Good, this might actually be fun.”
Kazuki didn’t know why his brother was getting excited but at least things didn’t seem to be difficult. Seeing his older brother in a child’s body, fighting a beast the size of a house though was quite an odd sight. Kazuki though didn’t like this useless feeling he got while watching his brother.
He grabbed at a nearby branch and his hand went right through it. He couldn’t understand this at all but then his eyes looked toward his feet.
(How can I stand upon this branch and not go through it.)
It was only now that he observed his feet closely and felt something.
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