1,000,000 Karma: My Reward Is a Quiet Life-Chapter 87: Curse Affliction
By pure instinct of the gifts driven into his body, he subconsciously activated the power adapted into his soul:
[Reversal] [S-Rank Cosmic Skill]
Around him, the flow of time was forcibly pulled back. From his outstretched hand, he conducted it, entirely rejecting the very premise of what had happened.
The cheers of the crowd, the enthusiastic jumping and clapping of those invested in the battle, all of their motions were warped as the core concept of the universe was reversed. Most importantly, the curses were lifted from his flesh, and the elemental beasts pulled away from him.
"Nngh…!"
[Five Seconds.]
As time resumed from its reset point, he gasped as blood seeped from his nose. It felt as though every muscle was used to perform herculean trials, aching and twitching.
'I reversed time…? When did I gain this skill? Either way, it's tiring,' he thought in disbelief.
With his renewed insight, he turned his attention to the predators that closed in from the west and east. He flicked his wrist, causing stone to erupt in the shape of giant fists that punched up and through the sharks.
"Tch!" Sylvan made her frustration heard.
Around the debuted rookie, the lightning beasts continued their pursuit. He could sense the trajectory of their movements without looking, feeling the static in the air like a new sense.
[Download]
While exhibiting perfection evasion, he closed the distance between himself and the swordswoman. A wild strike forced her to defend herself as the axe clashed against her claymore while the elemental beasts closed in behind.
'You're resistant to your own magic, but not immune–I doubt even you want to be hit by it,' he challenged her, meeting her frantic gaze with his own.
'Are you serious?!' Sylvan thought, locking eyes as she clenched her teeth. 'You're really calling my bluff, are you?!'
He kept his axe pressing against her claymore, not letting up the claymore as even the battle-loving swordswoman began to sweat.
"WHAT IS NOAH DOING?! THE BEASTS ARE COMING IN…! IS HE PLANNING ON THEM BOTH BEING HIT?!"
At the last moment, Sylvan huffed, simultaneously releasing the elemental sharks before they could make contact. A sense of relief immediately flooded Noah's body, though he hid it, instead adding to the pressure as he swung his weapon with quick strikes.
CLING. CLANG.
Sparks ignited each time their steel was reunited, the force of each collision ringing through his bones. With every parry and deflection, his arms ached, feeling as though they were a moment from simply falling from his shoulders.
In terms of raw power, Sylvan had the slight edge; the density of her mana undoubtedly led to superior reinforcement. To add to that, the unyielding way she fought added ferociousness to each strike, never letting up with anything less than one-hundred percent.
A clash led him sliding back, catching himself as he found the swordswoman pulling her weapon back while inhaling greatly. Sylvan's cheeks filled as if forcing the air to stay in her lungs, carrying across her blade a heaping amount of mana.
'Dense! Is she planning on just hitting me with raw magical energy?' He observed that moment.
The air quivered with the movement of the claymore, carrying with it a groaning mass of mana. He ducked down and prayed as the blade was swung, unleashing the unrestrained energy in a wild storm of black and purple.
The heat of the unrefined mana roaring above his head burned hotter than a raging fire. As it missed, the raw release scraped along the barrier, leaving the audience behind the magical walls screaming in fright.
[Mega-Chop]
If she was willing to turn him to a crisp, he granted her the same consideration, or lack thereof, running the axe against her chiseled abdomen. A last second clench from the swordswoman made the contact feel as though the blade was grinding against impervious diamonds.
–Nonetheless, the axe managed to leave a cut across the tough skin.
Sylvan expelled a quick breath, moving her scarlet hair out of her face as sweat dripped down her cheek, "Those reflexes of yours are somethin' else! I swear, it's kinda annoyin' actually–just like fightin' the Champ." The words combined of frustration and respect were paired with a sharp slap she gave to her own wound, as if commanding the pain to stop.
"That's high praise, but if I don't dodge, I'm finished–not like I have any other choice here," Noah responded, giving his own compliment.
"Hah! Guess that's true!" Sylvan agreed. "--Enough talkin', though! I'm fired up to the max, so let's kick up the intensity, yeah!?"
Around the hot-headed adventurer, black bolts rained down upon her own body, coiling around and spreading across her skin. There was no way to even attempt to close the distance amidst the peculiar development, as the cursed lightning danced wildly around Sylvan.
"WOAH, WOAH, WOAH! WHAT'S THIS?! DOES SHE HAVE A TRUMP CARD UP HER SLEEVE THAT SHE HID EVEN AGAINST THE FORMER CHAMPION?!"
The crowd watched in suspense as the decaying element morphed into the swordswoman's own pitch-black armor, completely enveloping her body. A helmet resembling the head of a mantis concealed even her smirk, though he felt the pride emanating from beneath it.
'Some kind of magic armor? Is it a spell or an innate ability?' He considered.
As the question popped into his head, a sharp answer arrived–
[Auto-Reflex]
It was by the grace of a miracle his body allowed him to lean back, avoiding the foot that passed inches over his nose. Static coiled around the armored boot, grazing his own skin like sharp needles running over his face.
He slipped back, only to feel a sudden fit of nausea that cleared only after coughing and spitting out.
'The cursed effect…? Just from the static? It's nothing much, but if she doesn't need a direct hit–this is going to be annoying,' the thought surfaced as he readied himself.
[Tintri]
Into the world of superspeed, he met the armored swordswoman. With lightning at her feet, Sylvan skated across the sleek stone, encircling him before closing in with a rapid slash.
He slipped beneath it, lending a chunk of the battlefield to being callously cut away.
'Complete physical upgrades, using her cursed lightning as an aura–why didn't she use this armor before?' Noah considered while staying on the move.
With the idea of a counterattack taking the forefront of his attention, he found himself suddenly trapped from all sides–bolts of lightning came from all directions.
'When did she?--'
Rather than focusing on where the attacks came from, he turned his wrist. It was a gamble in that millisecond, though required–
[Reversal]
Contorting the pathways of time just slightly, he pulled it back just enough without hemorrhaging his brain.
[0.5 second(s).]
Pushed back to barely enough time to react now, he prompted the ground at his feet to rise into a pillar, rising above the bolts as they slammed into the structure.
'I managed to pull it back just slightly. Feels like I've got nails in my head, but it's manageable,' he assessed.
He quickly looked around, having a higher vantage point atop the pillar–
[Auto-Reflex] [Iron Body] [Enhance]
His body reacted before he did, tightening up as a visceral force cut against his torso. A direct slash from the claymore, bathed in the accursed lightning.
'I can't reverse again…not so soon–my brain is at its limit already?' He realized.
Taking a note out of his opponent's book, he endured, only suffering a laceration across his chest as his shirt was torn open.
"A DIRECT HIIIIIIIT–!"
Equally, the crowd cheered for both fighters. Cries of triumph came for Sylvan at the blow that might settle the new champion, and shouts of support bolstered the debut contender.
[Mega-Chop]
Out of pure reflex to defend himself, he swung wildly, though hit nothing but sparks as the swordswoman proved as elusive as a phantom. He was left nauseous with the wound across his chest that bled, spreading beneath his skin with a foul curse.
"Noah…!" Astrid cried out.
"Stay strong, buddy…!" Otto prayed. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
[Regeneration] [Red Engine]
Standing atop the pillar while holding back the urge to vomit, his body attempted to repair itself, though only wound up sicker in the process.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
A timer was now set; the corruption of the lightning left him rapidly deteriorating in health as a fever set in.
"Only the best healers in the world can purge my cursed lightning," Sylvan called out from the middle of the arena. "A hit like that–it means you're done here. The sooner you accept that, the sooner the curse will be released."
It only took seconds for his vision to begin to blur, each breath leaving his lungs as if the oxygen itself was formed of tiny needles. He could feel it beneath his skin; miniscule sparks that continuously inflicted the curses.
"Just concede already!" Sylvan shouted. "I'm not tryna kill ya!"
As he stood there, wheezing for air as the curses spread throughout his body, the crowd watched anxiously. Each of Noah's companions looked on, only hopeful at this point that he could pull through as little by little, he was eroded from within.
Yet–
Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
["It's a theory. But, it's all I've got, so–"]
[Mana Surge]
