Return of the Fallen Volume 6 Chapter 58
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Author: Blue_Rat
ch58
Names aside, the fact that this old ape before him claimed to be the previous king and that Groud was his son was a mind blow.
“Hold on, did you just say Groud is your son and that you used to be king?”
The old ape continued to stroke his beard with one of his free feet.
(“Hmm, you don’t look like a monkey but you sure know how to mimic. Yes, I’m Groud’s handsome father, though ya never get that bastard to admit it. As for being the previous king, can’t ya tell just by looking at my kingly appearance, hehe.”)
Kazuki didn’t know whether to believe this old fellow or not and wore a doubtful expression.
(“Hmm, ya don’t believe me. Well, I guess it’d be difficult to believe a complete stranger. Tell ya what let me introduce myself once more, that way we won’t be strangers anymore……Hang on…um…Damn, I seem to have forgotten once more. Ah well, what were we talking about again?”)
“Old one, your mind seems to be out of sorts. You said your son was Groud and…”
(“Yes that’s it! Thank ya young one. I was gonna introduce myself. Unfortunately, It’s hard for me to remember some things ever since I got this.”)
The old ape spread some fur apart on top of the side of his head, revealing a four-inch scar.
Giving it a few knocks, the old ape laughed.
(“Ever since I took that blow s long ago, my mind’s not as sharp. It’s hard to remember some things here and there.”)
Kazuki was now starting to understand why this gorilla acted so off.
“How did you get that scar?”
The ape tilted his head in deep thought and went quiet for several minutes. Kazuki was gonna ask again but then the old ape’s expression twisted into that of anger.
(“That bastard son of mine, I remember now. He attacked me in my sleep and cut my head open bloody. If I ever get my hands on that unfilial piece of ape scum, I’ll rip his limbs from his torso and beat him to a pulp.”)
Seeing this unbridled rage, Kazuki could now feel the family resemblance. Just like Groud beat one of his soldiers with their own limbs, this old ape had made the exact same threat.
“If you really were the previous king, why did Groud take over in the first place, also why not just kill you instead of keeping you locked down here for who knows how long?”
The old ape shook his head.
(“The reason he took over was simple, power. Might makes right, and Groud is especially obsessed with power and strength. He craves battle like a drunk for a drink. As to why he still keeps me alive, even I couldn’t say. Maybe its because I’m his biggest shame that he can’t outright kill.”)
“Why can’t he. What’s to stop him from just coming down here and snapping your neck?”
The old ape stroked his beard.
(“To that, I’d have to say is something a coward would do. He probably wouldn’t be able to live with himself knowing he killed me in such a way. He’s probably hoping for the day when I recover fully so he can properly challenge me. My son’s pride is as big as this city if not more. With the state I’m in though, I don’t ever see us doing combat, and I bet that eats him up even more, hehe. My devilish son, you fighting me at full strength will never happen, hehahahaha.”)
The old ape continued to laugh out loud for a while until he ran out of breath. Eventually, he went dead quiet and stared off into space.
Kazuki sighed and wondered what he should do now. Groud had already lied to him earlier and Kazuki knew his upcoming fight with him would not end in a simple defeat.
(The way Groud sees battle was described almost drug-like by his father. When we engage with one another it won’t end with a simple knockout. This will most likely end in death. The question is, how can I win. My strength and his are close enough but I do outmatch him when it comes to speed. Now that he knows I can’t use magic down here, he’ll most likely keep the distance from me. Not only that, but he also knows I have aura, and although he doesn’t know what my ki is, he knows I have that as a hidden card as well. Now that he knows I’m susceptible to the orichalcum ground, it would be no surprise if he simply opens it up beneath me to swallow me whole. I have to close the gap somehow otherwise I’m guaranteed to lose and losing means death.)
Kazuki went deep in thought as he tried to come up with a strategy to overcome the distance between the two. He knew if he got close, he had a chance but the opposite was well the opposite. If he couldn’t come within arms reach then it was all over. The question was how.
Even after a long while, Kazuki was sumped and opted to seek advice from Danny. Just as he shut his eyes however, an old voice came from the other cell opposite of Kazuki’s.
(“Hey ya boy, are ya trying to sleep. Your trying to sleep aren’t ya. If ya are I’ll leave ya be………….So are ya trying to sleep?”)
Kazuki didn’t know why this nagging voice bothered him in so little time but it definitely did. Whether it was do to the situation at hand or the fact that it had been a few hours since he’d last eaten and his stomach mind was telling him he was hungry, either way, his irritation was well beyond its capacity.
Grinding his teeth he spoke.
“No, I was just trying to think. Why, what do you want old one?”
The old ape shrugged his shoulders.
(“Nothing really. Just a tiny tiny bit curious. Me being alive I can somewhat understand seeing as I’m the best king who ever lived, hehehahahaha but you, your a weird naked thing. Why did my bastard of a son keep ya alive and also why is that golden thing around ya neck leaking out aura like that? Is it a weapon of some kind?”)
Kazuki looked down at his golden compass hanging around his neck and was a little surprised. The godly aura coming from his compass was small and could hardly be noticed. Even Retsu Gai barely noticed and he was up close when he discovered it. The old ape across the cells on the other hand was not a being from a higher realm and was even about 20 feet away, yet he discovered the aura coming from the compass.
“For you to be able to sense it so easily, even your son who felt my aura during combat didn’t feel a single thing from my compass and he was right next to me when he escorted me through the city. Incredible.”
Groud rubbed his nose with his foot and smiled.
“Of course, that young blood hasn’t even formed his own aura unlike me whos long since mastered it. The little bastard is a hundred years too early to start forming his own aura. That’s not the point though. Ya didn’t answer me, boy. Why did my son keep you alive and with a weapon to boot?”)
Kazuki laughed self deprecatingly.
“You said it yourself, Groud is obsessed with battle. A little while ago he and I were locked in combat. The advantage if anyone had it, it probably would have been me. During the final bits of it, one of his warriors interfered and I lost because of that. Groud said that he and I are going to fight in a few days to settle it, seeing as how our battle was interrupted. As for my compass, I don’t understand all of it’s mysterious but It’s definitely not a weapon, how can it be?”
the old ape shook his head.
(“Hmm, I’m not convinced. Are ya dumb or something or just playing dumb? It has an aura right. Anything with an aura can be used as a weapon. You probably just aren’t using it in the right way.”)
Kazuki was taken aback. He knew very little about aura’s in general. He had only gleaned a bit of information from Glacious’s memories on the topic and added to the fact of things he discovered along the way, which admittedly was not a lot. Kazuki’s understanding of aura’s, in general, was the basic of the basics. He only had a small fragment of that part of Glacious’s memory. He would have received more of Glacious’s memories but after entering the 4th stage things went to shit outside of Glacious’s tiny world and that all led him to the bottom of this trench.
Every day was a constant struggle for survival so he had no time to really sit down and learn and discover the full extent of an aura’s abilities.
Hearing the old ape talk about aura’s being able to be used as a weapon, he saw a small light of hope and asked.
“Old one, It’s as you say, I am very ignorant of aura’s and the like. Could senior please inform me?”
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