Return of the Fallen Volume 6 Chapter 21
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Author: Blue_Rat
ch21
*Crunch*
Kazuki took a large bite and pierced the fruit’s flesh. A soft spongy texture followed by a warm juice. As the juice touched the tip of his tongue…
*Bleurgh barf*
Kazuki keeled over and began to vomit. The taste of rotting meat filled his mouth and he emptied the contents of his stomach right there and then.
(How can something taste so bad.)
The fruits in his hand fell to the ground one by one as Kazuki continued to hurl. With nothing left in his stomach, he dry heaved for a while. Opening his container, he tried to drown the taste out of his mouth with the odor filled water but even that wasn’t enough to purge the taste from his tongue.
Kazuki became so desperate, that he ended up grabbing a handful of dirt from the ground and stuffed it into his mouth. Only then did the urge to vomit subside.
(For the smell to be so enticing yet the taste is that of rotting meat, what kind of fucked up cursed food is this? Those flying lizard things were all too eager to snatch these fruits up. Even going so far as to allow one of their comrades to be sacrificed for the fruit yet this is the taste.)
Kazuki could hardly believe that those creatures actually ate the fruit but with them now gone, he couldn’t prove it either way.
Using his senses, he located the tall carnivorous tree nearby and inspected it once more. Sensing the dried blood streaking down its frame and the fact that he just witnessed the tree eat another creature just like that, it now made sense why the fruit tasted like rotten meat.
(This thing eats meat and then produces fruit that in turn tastes like turned meat, it makes sense but still, what a nasty trick. To entice things with a sweet smell, leading them into a trap, this tree suits this place incredibly well.)
Kazuki couldn’t even be surprised anymore by what he encountered down here. He had only come across a few things but everything that he found or found him, wanted to kill him and eat him. A tree such as this was now just a normal day for him. That didn’t mean he would lower his guard just because he was becoming accustomed, rather he was done being shocked. he had no time for it.
Kazuki kicked one of the fruits into the distance and continued deeper into the depths of the trench. He still had things to do and couldn’t waste even a second.
Moving several miles deeper into the trench, Kazuki discovered more of those carnivorous trees. Since these trees tricked prey into landing near the top before opening their bark to wrap them up and swallow them, Kazuki was unafraid of them.
(It seems these trees only trigger when you land near the top of them where the fruit is located. As long as I stay down here on the ground, they shouldn’t bother me.)
Making his way through the trees, although he knew they opened from the top, he was still wary of them and avoided even touching them. However the further he traveled, the more these eater trees appeared. From a few to dozens to hundreds and more. Very soon Kazuki found himself in a forest of these carnivorous trees and had trouble avoiding these trees.
*Bump*
Kazuki took a small misstep and his shoulder simply brushed against one of these trees.
*Swish*
Kazuki’s ears picked up the wind being torn apart from above and he could sense the top of the tree he just brushed up against, flying down at him like a whip. Kazuki felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand and he jumped backward.
*Crack*
The top of the tree became flexible and slapped the ground where he had just stood. The ground split open from this attack before the tree snapped back up and into place.
Kazuki stopped moving and observed both the tree and the broken ground.
(That type of impact would have broken a few of my bones and torn my flesh apart. These trees are more than just eaters, they’re living weapons.)
Kazuki calmed down a bit and grabbed a handful of rocks. Taking one, he tossed it at one of the trees in front of him.
*Tak*
The rock barely hit the tree but as soon as it did, once more, Kazuki could hear the air being torn apart as the tree began to swing its upper part down like a whip.
*Crack*
The ground exploded and some bots of debris went flying in every direction. As soon as this happened, Kazuki felt his spine shutter as he realized that the debris was about to hit other nearby trees.
(NO! iF THAT DEBRIS HITS THE OTHER TREES, IT WILL SET OFF A CHAIN REACTION IN THIS FOREST!)
As soon as this thought occurred, Kazuki didn’t hesitate. He filled his body with ki, circulating it as fast as possible, and took off faster than the wind. As soon as he moved, in every single direction, the scattered debris landed on several trees and all at once.
*Swish swoosh swoosh swish*
As dozens of trees came crashing down, the world around Kazuki began to explode in chaos.
*Bang Crack Smash Bam!*
A chain reaction did indeed pop off. When the dozens of trees slammed into the ground, they sent more debris flying in every direction. That debris then connected with even more carnivorous trees and the effect multiplied.
Kazuki ran through this forest without the use of his eyes. Trees came crashing towards him from all around.
One came from his back, and another came cracking down towards his waist. Kazuki dove forward. The one aiming at his back flew overhead while the one going for his waist hit nothing but air. Kazuki turned his dive into a front flip and as the one flying overhead passed, Kazuki grabbed it and was pulled forward like a slingshot.
Kazuki was pulled from the ground at an incredible speed. However, he wasn’t safe just yet. Since he had grabbed the tree near its top, the bark on the tree, unwrapped itself and revealed a large mouth with rows of sharp teeth. As soon as this mouth opened up in front of him, Kazuki caught a whiff of rotten flesh. He instinctively grabbed the container at his waist and with a squeeze, he shot a stream of acid into the carnivorous tree’s large gapping mouth.
*Tsssshss!*
The acid tore into the mouth and started to melt the fleshy inside of the tree’s mouth.
*RAHHHHHHH!*
The tree unleashed an odd roar and slammed its mouth shut but the damage was done. The tree seemed enraged or maybe it became unhinged from the attack and it began to swing itself about madly. Kazuki held on until he found the right timing and used the momentum to fly forward.
He was launched into the air once more. Several trees in his path unraveled their bark and also revealed large monstrous mouths. Kazuki had his container ready but it was already empty. It seems in a panic, he had squeezed the acid out all at once. Now all he had was the foul-smelling water and Azirian blood inside.
Kazuki gripped his container and fed it plenty of his aura.
“You trees actually think I’ll just let you eat me! Have a taste of this and then see if you can still eat me!”
The container in his hands changed shape in an instant and became a long black spear. With his aura supplying it, it became terrifyingly sharp at one end. While flying forward, Kazuki met one of the tree’s head-ons and pierced deeply into its mouth.
*RAHHHHHHHHHHH!*
The thing screamed out in agony but Kazuki wasn’t done yet. Placing both feet on the edges of the tree’s mouth, Kazuki avoided being bitten and pulled the spear backward.
*Sgwhick*
He tore the blade out kicked off the tree toward another one. His body spun in the air and he automatically changed the shape of his spear into that of a long sword. While spinning in the air, he became like a tornado of death as he sliced cleanly through 4 nearby trees all at once. Kazuki found that he could cut through multiple of them as long as he continued to supply energy to his broken ruler. Its sharpness became something quite disastrous for these trees.
Landing on the ground, Kazuki immediately kicked off the ground and dodged another tree crashing down from up above. He moved like a master of wind. His body agile and never stopping, Kazuki weaved between the trees and slashed through them as he went.
Two more trees came slamming in from both his left and right.
(Is this all?)
Kazuki began to pivot from his left foot and prepared to spin and cut through the incoming trees one after the other when something caught his foot. It only took an instant to realize that a root had come out of the ground and wrapped up his foot for but a moment. Kazuki quickly sliced through the root holding his foot and came loose. He then leaped into the air and cut through the tree coming in from his left, using his momentum he continued to spin with his slashing sword but he was too late.
*Bang*
A tree slammed into Kazuki’s side and launched him into the distance.
He felt several ribs crack all at once and the world spun around him as he tumbled through the air. Another tree came slamming at him while he was still unbalanced in the air. Kazuki tried to swing his blade but because his ribs were broken, he couldn’t swing properly. He quickly changed the shape of the sword into that of a large shield and took the blow head-on.
*Bam!*
Kazuki was sent flying again until…
*SPLASH!*
Kazuki felt a cold sensation cover his entire body and found his breath lacking.
He could feel his head still dizzy from being bashed just moments ago. For some reason, though he didn’t feel fear.
As he started to sink downward, he felt a wave of nostalgia.
(Isn’t this… just like when senior…)
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