1,000,000 Karma: My Reward Is a Quiet Life-Chapter 83: Discussion With a Madman

As the electricity ceased, the malignant hound remained upright, exuding a low growl. It seemed entirely unaffected by the effect of the lightning, only with bits of its slipper flesh dripping and sizzling on the stone tiles.

’Yer kiddine me, right? It had no effect? Well, I’m not exactly surprised...This thing is made of nefarious stuff, ain’t no doubt about it,’ Sylvan begrudgingly accepted with a grunt.

From both sides of the room, the two noticed the peculiar phenomena occurring with the "Shadow-Thing":

Its flesh bubbled, the tar popping and expanding like a foul soup brewing in a witch’s cauldron.

’Is that the Cursed Lightning taking effect?’ Noah guessed.

’--No, it’s not that,’ Sylvan instinctively knew, sharing the same thought.

Rather than waiting around and letting the monstrosity do what it pleased, Noah swung his axe–

[Mega-Chop] [Soul Rend]

The eviscerating light entered the room with a howl, shining with its magenta glow as it closed in on the transforming creature. As the ethereal line closed in on the familiar from behind, it suddenly dropped to all fours, ducking beneath before leaping up.

A distinct "buzz" emitted from its anomalous body as its hollow eyes locked onto the one who swung the axe. Static electricity coiled around its limbs as it spun around in the air, swinging its tail from a distance.

’What–? Seriously—?’ Noah questioned.

From the grotesque tail, the foul electricity was expelled in the form of a line cutting through the pillars between them. He slipped back as the mimicked discharge sliced the tile in front of him, leaving a sizzling trail of heat.

It only took one encounter for the two to understand what they saw–

’That was my Soul Rend,’ Noah thought.

’My Cursed Lightning–it copied the element?’ Sylvan observed.

A putrid imitation of both adventurers’ techniques; the Shadow-Thing adapted seamlessly. With each passing moment, the two started to gain a grasp of their situation.

At the same time, they sprinted towards the hound-faced anomaly. As she ran, Sylvan threw formations of lightning that swam through the air in the shape of sharks, hunting down the familiar.

The horror moved erratically, using its slimy feet to slip and slide around the smooth tiles while wildly expelling electricity from its body. Noah sidestepped the aimless discharges, retaliating with his own castings of sharp light.

It was the definition of "slippery"; the adaptive creature dislocated its own skeleton to maneuver in the air to avoid being struck. As it landed, the elemental sharks closed in from both sides, snapping onto the familiar.

Each of the massive jaws bit into the tar, scattering its slimy flesh before dispersing, yet again, the abnormality only seemed to shift its body after receiving damage.

’It’s immune to her lightning? No–’ He realized.

Getting his discovery across hurriedly, he shouted across the room, "--You’re feeding it! Your lightning–it’s absorbing it!"

"Huh?!" Sylvan reacted with an immediate look of rejection.

In that moment that the swordswoman halted her constant firing of electricity, the beast-faced malevolence launched itself through the air, leaping right for her. A shrill sound escaped its mouth, its body expanding as if harboring a swelling energy–

BOOM.

An expanse of static rippled outward in a perfect sphere, shocking anything that came within the range of the pitch-black zone. He attempted to get close, though the heat alone pouring off the sphere of static prompted him to rethink.

"Sylvan!" Noah called out.

From within the scope of the unstable energy, the rough woman shouted in return, "--I’m fine! Just stay outta the way of this stuff!"

The dome of static fizzled out, leaving the monstrosity deflating to its normal state. The air still buzzed around the creature as it faced towards the swordswoman.

Sylvan had some scratches, bleeding from her lip as she huffed, leaning on her claymore, though looked much better than Noah would’ve guessed.

’Good thing the Cursed Lightning it recreated is half-assed at best. Helps I’m resistant to my own element, too...Still, that hurts like hell,’ Sylvan thought before straightening herself out with a sharp smile.

"Hey, rook!" Sylvan shouted past the familiar. "--You’ve got a crazy swing, dontcha?!"

"I guess so?!" Noah yelled in return.

The swordswoman jumped towards the creature, crashing down blade-first, forcing it to evade on all-fours, "--Good! Give it your best shot, then! He’s got the hots for me, so let ’em have it!"

It seemed like a half-baked plan given little to zero thought, but Noah couldn’t help but go along with it, seeing as the swordswoman was actively clashing with the beast. He was cautious on what he chose to attack it with, already knowing the consequences of half-hazardly doing so.

’If it adapts, I assume it also gains resistance to what it mimics. An offense-and-defensive killing machine...If I feed into it, it could end up growing into something we can’t handle. So, I have to end this with one, well-placed attack,’ he planned.

Being afforded space, he breathed in and held his axe to his side, kneeling down in complete focus.

"Ten Souls: Open."

[Ten Souls] [SS-Rank Exorcist Skill]

[First Soul: Spirit Guardian of The Imbuing Star, Harmonus]

Beckoned to him, a two-faced woman of ethereal beauty wrapped her arms around his body in a gentle embrace.

"Accept this kindness, and defend the light,’ Harmonus whispered kindly into his ear.

Strength filled his body with the abundance no less than a sunflower taking in the light of a star at the peak of summer. The ritual was completed as the spirit placed her lush, pink lips against the summoner’s cheek with a "smooch" sound being made.

Noah composed himself with utter focus before setting forth. The first step he took left a wave of light in his trail. Like a feather, he glided through the air after one stride, carrying the transient spirit on his back.

["The Blessing given by Harmonus had a condition that could not be ignored: while utilizing the empowered effect, Noah could only attack those recognized as "threats harmful to the world."

The sinful monstrosity met that condition."]

Sylvan intercepted the beast’s claws with her blade, kicking her boot against its gut to knock it away, "—Go for it, rook!"

In his majestic stride, he hopped high, bringing the axe over his head. Into its fine steel, the radiance imbued itself, casting its shine outward. He descended, pulling down with his axe a purifying light that manifested through angelic wings.

The monstrosity turned around only to be met by a bisection, straight down the middle. A whistling sound came from the beast’s tar flesh as it began to bubble and sizzle, bursting with glows of light from beneath.

"Ruuuuah–!"

It burned away from the inside out, being split in half by the enlightened axe before ceasing into a puddle of grotesque liquid.

[EXP: +10,000] [Current Experience: 50,000/90,000]

["Demon Hunting" Proficiency +1] [1/999]

"Phew," Noah exhaled, straightening himself. "Thanks for your help, Harmonus."

Giving his gratitude to the spirit that clung to his shoulders, the soft-spoken woman placed one more kiss on his cheek. The golden lipstick left an imprint on his cheek that faded into spiritual energy within moments, along with the guardian.

Between himself and Sylvan, the puddle that remained of the familiar soon evaporated, leaving them both catching their breath.

He extended his hand to Sylvan, who was resting on a knee, accepting the helping hand as she rose with a cheeky smile.

"Good stuff, rook!" Sylvan complimented, giving him a slap on the back.

Noah brushed off the rough encouragement, glancing back at the now evaporated puddle, "Do you think that was the only one of those things that got summoned here?"

"I hope so," Sylvan admitted, folding her arms. "I like a good scrap, but those things–urgh, there’s nothin’ fun about fighting somethin’ like that."

"Guess we have to keep moving...The way ahead, this thing was stationed here like it was meant to block the path onward," Noah observed, looking towards the doorway across the room of pillars.

"Y’think so? I guess that makes sense, actually," Sylvan noted, looking up at the ceiling. "Just what the hell are those crazy bastards planning?"

–

Deeper within the underground tunnels, in a dimly-lit chamber that housed an unused space, the elf and goblin stood together.

"Ogatrina–!" Lamore called out.

It was no use; the pint-sized adventurer was unconscious, bleeding from the head as she was leaning against the far wall. Lamore’s body wasn’t in much better condition, suffering a dislocated shoulder along with bruising covering his chest.

"Haah..." The silver-haired elf breathed out, looking ahead.

Standing in front of the gargantuan wall at the end of the chamber, a man with skin paler than white stared towards the obscure structure. It stood at least fifteen meters tall, and ten across; the colossal doorway was kept bound by chain links large enough to keep mountains in check.

"Tell me, have you heard of the Transient Realm?" The peculiar man asked with wide, unblinking eyes that stared at the sealed gateway. "It’s a world just like ours, only an infinitesimal fragment of an atom in size."