1,000,000 Karma: My Reward Is a Quiet Life-Chapter 79: Inhuman Adversary

Boos filled the colosseum in the presence of the stranger that nobody was familiar with. It was overwhelmingly noisy in the arena, though the robed enigma simply stood there.

"Woah, wouldn’t wanna be that guy...Talk about being the underdog, huh?" Otto remarked, looking around at the shouting crowd.

Rain shook her head, "At least some like to root for an underdog. That man has nobody in his corner–not a single person."

In the arena, left charred after the previous bout it hosted, the revered hero looked across at the enigmatic figure, granting a reassuring smile.

"I’m sorry, it seems the crowd is really letting you have it. Part of that is my fault, so I apologize," Galileo said in a good gesture.

There was no verbal response, though a more surprising turn of events as the silent figure suddenly tossed the veiling robes off their body. Beneath the cloth was a man as pale as snow with a body patched together by golden stitches.

Only baggy, black pants were worn by the mysterious, patchwork man, who bore his peculiar body inked with tattoos.

While Noah watched from his seat near the chef’s kitchen with the plate of noodles on his lap, he was entirely caught off-guard by the reactions of everybody else. It was like the entire colosseum gasped at once.

’What’s the big deal? I mean, he certainly has a surprising appearance,’ Noah thought.

Sylvan stared at the projection with a burning anger in her eyes, while Ogatrina looked fearful. None of that compared to the elven brawler, whose veins pressed against his skin in a hellish rage.

"That man, he’s..." Ogatrina said.

"Yeah, he’s one of them, alright..." Sylvan said through clenched teeth.

Lamore had utter violence in his eyes, staring at the unveiled competitor through the screen, "The Cult of Goetia."

"Cult? Excuse me, but...I haven’t heard of them," Noah joined in, trying to get a bit of information.

Everyone looked at him as if he just said he didn’t know what water was, though he had to excuse his ignorance by the fact he previously lived in isolation, not the fact he’s from an entirely different world.

Lamore answered begrudgingly, "The Cult of Goetia...There isn’t a whole lot known about them, but they’re responsible for countless atrocities over the years. What is known is that they worship demons, and act in accordance to their will. They’ve operated for centuries, as far as I know."

"I see...Sounds awful then," Noah agreed.

Sylvan joined in with a huff, "Awful is an understatement! Recently, they were responsible for massacring a village near the coastline. There were a handful of high-ranking adventurers sent, and well..."

"They all died, except one," Lamore finished. "This cult–they’re a disease to this world that needs to be wiped out."

In the heart of the arena, the patchwork man rolled his shoulders to warm up, not doing anything to hide the symbol tattooed on his chest in black ink: three malevolent eyes centered around a four-pointed star.

"Guess I was right to stay low until now," the nameless competitor said, ruffling his head of shaggy, black hair before slicking it back. "Guess my reputation is the other end of the spectrum from yours, Mr. Hero."

From the unshakeable kindness of the gentle soul, Galileo’s expression twisted into disdain, "You...Why are you here?!"

"I’m just here to compete for the prize, just like you. Am I not allowed to do that?" Blank shrugged his shoulders with a mischievous smirk.

Galileo lifted his enormous hammer readily, bringing his boot down with enough force to send a tremor through the shattered ground, "--The fact you’d dare step foot into this city after the atrocities your group have committed! I’ll crush you myself, right here, right now–!"

"Oh my, I don’t know if that’s very nice, Mr. Hero," Blank said with his hands up as if trying to avoid a fight, though only fueling the fire. "Try and contain yourself until the fight begins, alright? Don’t want you getting disqualified now." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"PLEASE REMAIN CALM, FOLKS...! IT’S A TURN OF EVENTS, BUT EVERYTHING IS ALRIGHT" The announcer spoke without any confidence before shouting heartily. "--BEGIIIIIIN!"

The exact moment the battle was given the green light, the beloved hero swung the colossal hammer at the air. From its flat side, the hole embedded in its flat side emitted a humming light. Off the swing, the shine shot from the hammer as a bullet of pure energy.

"Oh?--" Blank watched.

A flash of platinum light expanded upon impact; a direct hit. Cheers immediately flooded the arena as the voices shouted in favor of an overwhelming victory.

Galileo didn’t prematurely claim triumph, instead looking towards the fading light and dust as he flipped the colossal hammer around, resting it against the ground.

As the smoke settled, the silhouette emerged unbroken, much to the heartbreak of all. There was no harm at all to be seen on the man held together by golden threads.

"Oh wow, so that’s Moria? I’ve always wanted to see that legendary hammer in action," Blank remarked, brushing the dust off his body.

"How did you...?" Galileo watched in utter confusion.

"What?" Blank looked at him, confused at his own perplexion, unblinking with his platinum irises before laughing, "Oh, right. The energy that emits from that hammer has the properties of ignoring any defenses, so that’s why you’re confused, I’m assuming?"

"--" Galileo remained quiet.

The cult member stuck out his tongue, shrugging his shoulders, "Well, I’m not telling you."

Boos filled the stadium in response to the vulgar expression, though the mysterious man only laughed along to the crowd’s displeasure. There was no hiding it now, even with that fake smile: the unnamed competitor had no intent on respecting the competition.

"Tell me why you’re here," Galileo repeated himself, demanding as the mystical hammer was hoisted up again, causing the air to be pushed aside by its tremendous weight. "You’re up to something! I know that for certain–so cease your flimsy attempt at deception!"

The platinum-eyed cultist waved his hands, "Hey, hey, don’t go swinging that thing around haphazardly now, alright? I told you why I’m here."

"If you’re unwilling to speak the truth..." Galileo scorned, bringing the mighty hammer back as its pure-white steel hummed. "...I’ll beat it out of you!"

Like a raging bull clad in steel, the hero rushed forward, leaving shattered stone in his first step.

The hammer, a cube of enchanted steel as large as a boulder, was brought down upon the cultist. It slammed into the ground, forming a crater in the battlegrounds with a secondary impact of blistering light, erupting from the cracks.

"Impressive! Are you forgetting about the "no-kill" rule of this tournament, though? You seriously could’ve killed me there!" Blank taunted, standing on top of the massive weapon.

–Again, the hero found his attack insufficient in harming the strange man.

Galileo quietly clenched in frustration before swinging the hammer up, launching the one who used it as a foothold. Laughter rang out as Blank let himself soar upward towards the tall ceiling before coming down, freely falling.

"Ahh, this is pretty fun, Mr. Hero!" The cultist called out, laughing like a kid playing catch, looking down as his messy hair was pulled back by the wind. "--What else are you gonna show me?"

On the surface, the hammer was pulled back by the beloved figure, who looked up, biding his time until his opponent would fall directly into range. For Noah, he likened the stance taken by Galileo to be like that of a Major League batter, getting ready to hit a homerun, only with a "bat" tenfold the size of any other.

’Forgive me,’ the guilt was accepted by the hero, ’I do not know this man, nor do I know the extent of his sins, but–for the sanctity of this city and its people, I must kill this man!’

Resolve imbued itself in the swing of the colossal weapon, unleashing from its blessed steel a shock wave born of humming light. As the glow rippled upwards towards the descending cultist, only a giddy smile reflected off it.

–It hit.

The impact reeled screams from those in the crowd, silencing others in the sheer brutality of it. Mercilessly, the ripple of light tore through the cultist, blasting through him as the man laughing just a moment ago was left in a dozen pieces.

"A..Aahh..." A groan left the decapitated head of Blank before the lifeless expression twisted into a smile, sticking his tongue out. "--Just kidding!"

"What?!" Galileo let out.

From the pieces of shredded flesh descending in the air, golden threads extended, anchoring each segment. The grotesque act defied death and logic, bringing the patchwork figure back together as though nothing had happened.

All eyes watched in disbelief as the mystery landed on his feet with none of the grace of a feline, as his ankles snapped from the impact. Only laughter emitted from the cultist as the golden threads went to work like unseen doctors, fixing his broken bones and repairing the flesh as he stumbled around.

"Oh, man, I’m glad I came here!" Blank joyously exclaimed. "This is a blast!"

Galileo looked on in a mixture of disgust and horror, "How did you...? What are you?’

"What’s your guess?" Blank shrugged in defiance of giving a direct answer. "A monster? Some kind of shapeshifter? Maybe a demon? Or what if I’m just a human, like you?"

"You’re anything but human," Galileo scorned.