Chapter 380 - 378:“Welcome to your reckoning.”
"Damn it. Just my fucking luck," Malachi growled as he hung helpless on the massive gates of IBNIS AL’KABIN.
He had appeared within an underground cultivation chamber of one of the imperial princes.
And true to his name as Monkey King, he had defeated and even eaten the heart of the Abyss Walker after a very straining battle.
He had just decided to take a breather when two young men had attacked.
Despite his best efforts to fight back and save himself, he was ultimately overpowered.
Outmanned and outgunned, he could only be captured.
The two young men hadn’t bothered to kill him or torture him, merely handing him over to another man that looked eerily similar to the Abyss Walker he had killed earlier.
It was that man that had turned him into a public spectacle.
"Fucking bastards. I swear, if I ever get my hands on them, they’ll regret being born." He ground his teeth so hard they almost cracked.
He couldn’t even save himself as he had been impaled to the gates with a crimson-black material that was making his entire system fall into disorder. Nothing was working as it should, and he had no control over his own abilities.
"FUCK! I just hope nobody sees me like..." He had hardly finished his words before—
WAP!
He felt it.
"No..."
A presence he knew all too well.
"Oh my monkey days, please no."
A presence he wanted to see the least in this position of his.
"Don’t let this motherfu..."
"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!" A thunderous laugh shook his eardrums as his worst fears became reality.
"Fuck my life..."
.....
We appeared before the massive gates of a city too large to put into words, but that wasn’t what had my attention.
"What?" My eyes widened as I noticed a gathered crowd of Abyss Walkers. Their heated gazes and discussions centered around a figure impaled to the city gates.
"Monkey?" I couldn’t believe it.
The monkey I was coming to find.
Here he was, impaled to some gates and turned into a city-wide attraction?
My teeth suddenly clenched. My eyes popped out of their sockets.
Leo wasn’t any better. His diminutive form was trembling atop my head as he tried to hold it in.
"Pfft...." Paku was the last straw as...
"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" I erupted in a loud and raucous laugh.
"Pfft.... HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Both Leo and Paku joined in soon enough as I found myself clenching my stomach for dear life.
"The monkey... he.. he hahahahahahahha!!" I couldn’t. Words were failing me.
That look on his face.
The embarrassment coloring his hairy features. With the way he was spread out on those gates...
"Hahahahahahahahaha!!!" It was golden. I dare say, a golden-furred monkey impaled to gates was about as gold as it could get.
"Motherfucker!! Are you going to stop?" A roar of frustration reached my ears as I tried to stop the laughter from bursting out once more.
"Hahaha..." Slowly, we made our way toward the trapped figure of Malachi.
"Damn! Monkey brain. What happened?" Leo beat me to the punch.
"You freaking chicken-cat. Who the fuck are you calling monkey brain?" Malachi roared.
"If you weren’t a monkey brain, how’d you end up in such a... majestic position?"
"Leo, I swear on everything hairy, I will turn you into chicken soup."
"Heh! Get yourself down first."
"Fuck! Dante! Won’t you do somethin’?" The monkey roared in frustration, directing his attention to me.
"Oh no. Don’t mind me. You two continue with your little reunion; I’m loving it." I grinned. A shameless, toothy expression. One meant to irk the monkey properly.
"Motherfucker!!! I will.. @&*€£\£¥\..." And it worked, as the monkey devolved into a fit of curses even my own foul-mouthed self couldn’t believe existed.
"Haa... Haa... Haa..." Breathing heavily, Malachi’s hate-filled gaze rested on our figures.
"I hate you guys, I hope you know that," he huffed.
"Awww.. done already? And I thought there would be more," I laughed, putting away the bucket of popcorn I had pulled out from my inventory.
"Fuck. You. Dante. Now get me off of here," he growled.
"Hahaha.. fine. Fine. I guess that’s enough monkeying around for one day." I laughed as I snapped my fingers and the things holding him up shattered.
"Ahhh!!!" Malachi’s body plummeted from the sudden release, but before he could go far...
"Up you go." Salazar pulled him up.
"Haa... Who the fuck are you?" Credit to the monkey, his first words weren’t even those of appreciation.
"You know what? I’m not even surprised. I already expected something like this from someone that calls himself a friend of that bastard over there." Shaking his head, Salazar released his hold as Malachi continued plummeting.
"Ahhh!!! Fuck!" A golden radiance covered his entire form as he stopped.
BANG!
The glow shattered and Malachi reappeared, adorned in radiant golden armor, a golden staff resting on his shoulder, and a crown-like golden band around his head.
He radiated a subtle aura of majesty and pride that was easy to feel even from a distance.
"Heh! What? Trying to show off now?" I laughed.
"Shut up, Dante. I’m not in the mood." The monkey growled as he appeared before us.
"And you, bastard. Why did you let go?" He growled at Salazar.
"Let’s start by fixing that attitude. I might laugh, but I don’t take too kindly to disrespect. So, let this be the last time you speak to me like a subordinate." Salazar’s voice had gone cold, devoid of any semblance of the over-enthusiastic researcher from earlier.
"Hmm?" I must say, this was probably the first time I was seeing him this upset. And I could understand, Malachi’s words were sounding a bit on the nose.
No. It wasn’t anything like our teasing, he was sounding genuinely like an asshole, which was why I hadn’t bothered to release him earlier as well. The Malachi I know would’ve cursed out at us, but never act this overbearing.
And it seems he finally noticed his behavior as well, as he took a deep breath, letting out a long exhale from his nose.
"I’m sorry for that. I didn’t mean to come off as overbearing. My apologies." He apologized to Salazar, his voice honest.
"Haa.. I guess it’s fine. You looked pretty rough earlier, so I can understand being upset. Just don’t direct that attitude toward me next time. You can direct it toward that bastard over there." He pointed at me.
"Oi! Salazar! You dickhead freak! What’s that supposed to mean?" I retorted.
"That’s exactly what I’m talking about."
I decided to ignore the infuriating prick, turning my attention toward something more serious.
"Monkey, seriously. How did you end up in such a situation? Were the people you encountered really that powerful?" I asked, curious.
"Haa... Don’t get me started on that, Dante. I get upset just thinking about those..." He couldn’t complete his words as an arrogant and irritating voice suddenly interrupted him.
"Well, well, well. I guess we finally meet face-to-face." We all turned our attention to the ground, where the voice was coming from.
"Welcome, Dante Draven, to your reckoning."
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A/N: Haa.. I wanted the abyss arc to be a bit longer, but it seems we’re reaching the climax of the outer fringes arc. I hadn’t asked before, but did you guys enjoy this arc? If no, then why? And as always...
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Thanks for reading...