Return of the Fallen Volume 6 Chapter 57
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Author: Blue_Rat
ch57
(Orichalcum.)
That word repeatedly echoed inside Kazuki’s mind almost to the point that it no longer held any meaning.
Kazuki almost stammered as he spoke.
“Y..you mean the mythical metal said to be so rare it can not be found by normal means. Said to be so incredibly tough that nothing can break it. A metal with a value so rich that even a fist-size was equivalent in value to a whole countries wealth. Are we speaking of the same thing!?”
Groud’s grin grew wider and wider as he saw Kazuki’s jaw hang loose.
(“Indeed, that mythical metal, this staff is made from it. So too is my crown and so is this road and every building in my city. All of it is Orichalcum. Impressed?”)
Kazuki was far beyond that and his thoughts became muddled and lost.
“How can this be true? How can an entire city…No, how can this path that stretches for thousands of miles be made from the rarest known metal in all of Gordonia. How did any of it come to be, this doesn’t make any sense.”
Groud shrugged his shoulders.
(“Your right, it doesn’t make much sense yet the proof is right in front of your very eyes. How it came to be and by whom is something even the archives are unclear of though. In the records, the only time Orichalcum is ever mentioned, an unfamiliar word I don’t understand tends to follow it.”)
“A word, what word?”
Groud rubbed his chin.
(“A word called Zephris. I’ve seen this same word repeated over and over again when the mention of Orichalcum and alchemy come up. As to what the word means, I still haven’t a clue.”)
Groud stopped chatting as he noticed a slight change in Kazuki’s expression.
(“What’s wrong, have you actually heard that word before, do you know what it means?”)
Kazuki really did know. He had heard it once before, except it wasn’t some random word but rather a name. Zephris was the name of an alchemist who had lived over 200 years ago. It was this alchemist that had created the Mind Frey.
“I think that word isn’t some profound word rather it’s a name. I’ve only heard of one Zephris and he was an alchemist from 200 years ago.”
Hearing the name being mentioned again after all of this time, Kazuki wondered about the age of this place.
“How old is this city exactly?”
Groud thought about the name Zephris before chuckling.
(“I think we are thinking of different things. My city is almost 10,000 years old. There’s no way some weird creature like you built Ape city. First off in order to live for 10,000 years, a being would either have to be at the 7th stage, an Ancient beast or a Titan, that or have equivalent power. The being you described seemed to be a mortal. What we are describing must be two different things. This Zephris you know and the one in my archives are not the same.”)
Kazuki himself wasn’t sure. The information he had about Zephris was no more than a few short sentences so he couldn’t be sure.
—————————————————————————-
Approaching a large palace, Groud walked up the steps leading inside. A few guards stood at the entrance. Just as Kazuki was about to follow him, Groud snapped his fingers. The guards blocked his path and Kazuki was confused. Before he could say anything else, Groud snapped his fingers once more and the ground beneath his feet crawled up Kazuki’s legs and hardened, keeping him in place.
“What is this. I told you I wouldn’t run and there’s no way I could escape even if I wanted to. I thought we had an understanding.”
Groud turned around.
(“Your right, but at the same time, you are a stranger in my lands, who knows what you might do. We’re not enemies but were not friends either. Seeing as your strength is comparable to mine, I can’t allow such a powerhouse to roam my city freely with no understanding of your true intention. I find it strange really. You who told me you had lost your way, instead of asking if I knew of a way back to the surface or a map to follow or really anything that would lead you back to the world above, asked not for these vital things. Instead, you were curious about my people’s weapons as well as my city and the roads to and fro. This is why I gave you vague information about my Orichalcum. You have no idea of how it works nor how we use magic in the first place while the Titan’s breath is all over. Because of these things, I can’t let you roam about. Instead, you will stay here, locked away until our match.”)
“Wait! I don’t have any intention of anything. I was just curious because I have never seen such material. I have no ill intent!”
Groud shook his head.
(“Sorry but this time, I don’t believe you. Guards, take him to a cell.”)
As soon as Groud commanded, a few guards waved their staffs and each one began to glow. Before Kazuki could protest,t he ground opened up beneath him and swallowed him whole.
“NOOOOOO!”
—————————————————————————-
Surrounded on all sides by darkness, Kazuki felt his entire body being squeezed and pushed downward like a fat turd through a tight ass.
*CLANK CLANK CLANK CLANK*
The sound of metal clashing and grinding rang out a few times as Kazuki’s body was moved into a large open cell. He tried to resist but his body was encased in orichalcum. Several large apes stood around him and waved their staffs and the orichalcum responded. Kazuki’s body floated to the wall and large cuffs that could wrap around a tree closed around his wrist and ankles. All at once, the cuffs shrank down until they fit his limbs perfectly. With that, he was completely chained to the wall behind him.
The guards grunted a few times between one another before each one ascended upward through the ceiling. With that, the world grew silent.
Kazuki felt tricked. Not only did Groud imprison him once again, he did it with little resistance all because Kazuki thought the two had garnered a small amount of trust in that short time. What a fool he was. Not only that, Kazuki had given an outline on how to create Aura while Groud had barely scratched the surface about the staffs and the rest, going completely back on his word.
Kazuki had felt no need to kill Groud earlier, after all, the two seemed to of had an understanding, now, however, things had flipped. A flame grew in the pit of Kazuki’s stomach as he itched to rip that fucking ape’s head clean off.
Kazuki tried using all of his strength along with his ki circulating as fast as possible. He used all of it but he couldn’t tear the chains from the wall nor break them. Hell, he couldn’t even leave a scratch.
The frustration built until he could take it no more and roared at the top of his lungs.
*RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!*
Even his voice ripping through the air at full blast couldn’t even shake the walls down here. Kazuki felt powerless. As the echo faded away, a voice reached Kazuki’s mind.
(“Hmm, since when did I start receiving such guest. Kiddo, I don’t mind a good old screaming every now and again, after all, it’s good for clearing the cobwebs from ya ears but could ya at least give an old ape some warning beforehand. Hearing that shout, I almost thought I’d swallow my own heart when it jumped in my throat just now.”)
Kazuki strained his eyes trying to see in this darkness but he found nothing in his vision. Listening carefully with his ears, he picked up the image of a large ape, almost as big as Groud. This ape had both arms chained to the wall similar to Kazuki. It had a long grey beard that hung well below its waist and long thick brows. It had two spike horn-like things protruding from both shoulders. One was dulled completely while the other one had been broken in half.
The old ape looked at Kazuki and noticed he was using his ears instead of his eyes.
(“How odd, you are not an ape at all. Not only are you not an ape but your eyes don’t seem to work too well. I guess ya use those ears of yours to take in your surroundings. Isn’t that difficult for ya? It kind of makes ya roar stupid then. If ya damage ya ears with ya own shout, how are ya suppose to know whats around ya?”)
Kazuki was surprised to find that there was another prisoner beside himself. After all, what he knew about these apes was they liked to kill. To him, they didn’t seem the prison taken type. Kazuki was an exception and he understood that because of the weird circumstances, he wasn’t killed just yet and would fight Groud in a few days. Knowing this, it made the presence of another prisoner and oddity.
Kazuki couldn’t help but ask.
“You, who are you?”
The ape lifted a foot and stroked his long scraggly beard in thought.
(“Me…I’m the king or rather I used to be. That damn son of mine stole my crown and my throne along with it. Ah, ya don’t care about all that nonsense, ya asked for my name. Of course, it’s…um…its…I seem to have forgotten.”)
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