3 bar menu

Return of the Fallen Volume 6 Chapter 90

Author: Blue_Rat

ch90

As soon as Kazuki realized that he was covered in the titan’s aura, he felt as though he were punched in the gut and his face paled. Instinctually he released his own aura and covered his body with it. This wasn’t near enough though. Kazuki felt his body being crushed. Quickly he gathered his focus and folded his aura overtop itself, creating several layers of protection. At the same time, he circulated his ki to the maximum.

Kazuki could now move. He tried to stand but the pressure was far too much. The most he could do was roll onto his stomach. Reaching a hand out took time and was painful. Grabbing a chunk of the ground he slowly crawled towards the exit of the cave.

(This aura shouldn’t last. This is the titan’s aura/breath. It follows a set rhythm and pattern. If memory serves me, this aura should last for exactly 37 seconds before it’s pulled back into the cave. I just need to last 37 seconds and I can make my escape. That goat-headed bastard on the other hand. It wanted to do this. As soon as it figured out that it couldn’t shake me off, it was so desperate to survive that it actually dove into Zetrazz’s lair.)

The opposite of Kazuki, the goat-headed monster crawled as well, albeit deeper into the titan’s lair.

Even with its large body being squeezed from the titan’s aura, the monster didn’t care. With no legs from the knee down, it only thought about survival, though Kazuki didn’t see how it could survive by going deeper into the titan’s territory.

(If the goat freak stays in here, I can only give up on killing it. Fuck why did I insist on torturing it. I should have finished it and then left this shit hole trench once and for all.)

Time felt as though it drew out with unnatural slowness. Even as he counted down in his mind, it seemed longer than what it actually was. Still, with no air in his lungs and organs and blood pushed toward the bottom of his chest, Kazuki got down to the last seconds with maddening endurance.

(3…2…1. NOW!)

Right at that moment, like clockwork, the aura suppressing the two began to reverse with a rush of wind.

The aura flew behind him and his body was once more felt as light as a tiny pebble. Power was already in his legs and he didn’t hesitate to kick off the ground and push forward. With Kazuki’s speed and strength, he could cover 10 miles in an instant. Both he and the goat-headed monster had only entered the titan’s lair by a few hundred feet. The distance for him was so minuscule, so insignificant and yet, as his body blurred and he left after images in his wake, he hadn’t escaped the cave.

No, instead, his body which should have already landed miles outside of the cave, was being pulled backward by an unseen force. With his aura, Kazuki could sense a large cloud of dark energy clasped around his body. Aura no longer suppressed his body yet he felt as if a mountain was on his back.

Kazuki stretched out his aura and ki and grabbed at the walls with it. He extended his sword and pierced the walls on either side of him, wedging it into the cave. With that move, he thought the power wouldn’t be able to drag him away, at least he hoped. Unfortunately, the power around him was not something that a human such as he could contend with.

The power holding him easily tore his aura and ki away and continued to pull at him. Kazuki held onto the wedged blade with everything he had but the energy still forced him backward. The strength of this energy was far too much. Kazuki could feel his muscles beginning to tear as he held onto his weapon. If he didn’t release it, he knew his arms would be torn off and he would lose this piece of orichalcum.

In the end, Kazuki stored the piece of legendary metal and was forcibly pulled deeper and deeper into the depths of this large cavern.

His body was pulled through the air and tumbled about recklessly around corners and down holes. In no time at all, he caught up to the goat-headed monster. An opportunity he thought. Drawing out his blade once more, he prepared to take the goat monster’s head. The monster as well screamed out in the struggle.

“NOS! Don Kills mE!”

Kazuki ignored the dumb monster’s cries and slashed at it with everything he had.

…

…

Kazuki’s blade stopped in mid-air, causing the two to stare dumbfoundedly. Kazuki found that he couldn’t swing his blade any further no matter what he tried. The monster as well thought that Kazuki was frozen and therefore vulnerable and tried to tare off Kazuki’s head to put an end to things once and for all but in the end, the monster as well could cause no harm with the dark power around him.

Neither one could make a single vicious move against the other whilst surrounded by the titan’s power and eventually, Kazuki gave up with a sigh before storing his blade once more.

The two were dragged deeper and deeper until the world around them became so black that even with his eyes, Kazuki could no longer see a thing. Not only could he no longer see, but his hearing also faded as well. SNiffing the air brought no notes of any odor. He grabbed his own arm or at least he thought he had but he could not feel it. He tried screaming in this infinite blackness but not a sound came out. He couldn’t even hear his heartbeat nor the circulation of his blood.

Stretching out his aura and ki, he sensed nothing.

(How can there be just nothing. How can I not sense a damn thing.)

A terrifying thought crossed Kazuki’s mind.

(Is this what death is? Am I actually dead?)

His thinking was not a far leap forward. The moment the titan grabbed him with its power, Kazuki became powerless. With its aura alone it could crush Kazuki so why couldn’t it simply kill him with a touch of its power. A sinking feeling filled Kazuki and he couldn’t help but wonder if this was not the truth.

(Stop…Think calmly. I can still feel the power of my aura. That at least means my soul is still around. Not only that but I can still feel the presence of my ki and I can command it. Ki is the power of life and it can not be used without a body and yet I can still use it. That means my body is still somewhere and it means I’m still alive. Then my other senses being cut off…it must be the titan’s power interfering with my surroundings.)

As he thought deeper about it, it made more and more sense.

(The titan’s aura/breath is everywhere throughout this underground world and it interferes with magic. This, in turn, should mean that its power is more concentrated the deeper within the lair. If just casually being around this power can block magic and distort or destroy the natural elements, thereby blocking one’s senses with said magic then could a higher concentration block the other senses of a being as well. Is that what this is? Are my sense simply being blocked by too much of the titan’s aura/breath? If so…”

Kazuki could not feel his body nor sense it at the moment but he knew his body literally inside and out. First, he extended his aura outward toward his surroundings. He didn’t know where his body currently is but he knew his aura’s range. It could only go so far from his body before being cut off. After extending it outward in all directions, he soon found the cut off location. Using that information he followed his aura backward until he hit pay dirt.

As soon as he found his body, he quickly surrounded it in a barrier of aura.

(With a barrier around me, no more unwanted energy should get in. Now to get rid of it.)

Now that Kazuki knew where his body was, he could use his magic to activate his ring. This ring was made from orichalcum and had a special ability that could absorb all types of energy.

Kazuki sent energy into his ring and sure enough, a small force began to pull the energy dark energy from his surroundings. As a small amount was absorbed by Kazuki’s ring, his senses began to return. At the same time, he could now sense his body. He could see that his insides were coated with dark energy but it was different this time. Now that he had the ring and had gone through the baptism, the dark energy wasn’t clinging to him and with a push with his ki, he could remove the dark energy very very slowly. As he did this, he used his ki to push the energy out of his entire body and then out of the barrier he made from aura.

The moment he was done he felt the energy around him completely change and dissipate as a booming voice clapped in his ears like thunder.

“WHAT LOWLY LIFE FORM DARES TAMPER WITH MY POWER!?”