1,000,000 Karma: My Reward Is a Quiet Life-Chapter 99: A City In Flames

From the nefarious edge, a slash of black mana manifested, cutting across the trail of gravel. Only by an abrupt stop in his pursuit was Hugo saved from being cut in half, stopping just short of the blade's malice.

"Hey, you bastard—!" The mercenary shouted, grabbing the sentient sword out of the air.

In Hugo's other hand, he brought a rock up before slamming it directly against the sword, which let out a distinct "Yowch!"

"Watch where you're swinging around! You almost cut me to bits, you dumb bastard!" Hugo reprimanded.

"I wish I did, you ugly oaf! Blehhh-!" Baluud taunted, sticking its tongue out.

"Let's kiss and make up, alright?" Hugo said with a smirk, holding the pommel of the sword by his mouth.

"As if! Who knows where that tongue of yours has been!" The cursed blade rejected with shrill laughter.

Noah could only look on in disbelief at what he was witnessing. A man and a sword, bickering like patrons in a tavern—though that was far from important to him.

With an exaggerated "Ho!", the mercenary tossed the sentient blade forth, letting it soar right for him. At this point, it was becoming more of a nuisance than a threat as he raised his hand in frustration:

[Spirit Binding]

Ethereal chains halted the cursed blade's approach, wrapping around its handle as the tip was inches from skewering the adventurer's chest.

"Hah?! Lemme at 'em! C'mon!" Baluud complained.

Using the moment to isolate a one-versus-one, he immediately bolted past the restrained sword, heading straight for the mercenary himself. Of course, the challenge was more than welcomed by Hugo, who widened his stance and pumped his own chest.

"Briiiiiing it on, yeah!" Hugo welcomed, shouting like a wild gorilla.

[Tintri] [Enhance] [Martial Master]

—The boisterous invitation was accepted with a sharp fist delivered right into the mercenary's gut. Hugo spat out the air in his lungs, only for his agape jaw to be closed with a palm strike from below.

In a harsh click, the top and bottom rows of Hugo's teeth were slammed together by the unseen uppercut.

The double-edged blessing led each hit to thoroughly rattle the mercenary, who was left stumbling and drooling.

"Ghh…?" Hugo let out.

["…A blessing perhaps, but also a curse—Hugo's unique body granted him many advantages, but in the face of overwhelming physical retaliation, he faltered."]

"You weren't much of a problem, were you?" Noah mumbled to himself as the mercenary dropped to the gravel.

Leaving the eccentric mercenary and his talking companion, he fled down the mountain. As he raced down, the scenery in the distance rattled him to his core—

The cityscape was shrouded in smoke and fire, rising up to block out the setting sun.

'Am I too late? No, I have to keep moving—there might still be time,' he thought, furthering his pace.

From bad to worse; the situation only seemed to worsen. Filling his lungs with air, he didn't breathe another breath as he ran, sliding down the rocky side.

The winds howled by his ear as he slid, racing downward before leaping off the edge. It was a fall that would immediately shatter every bone in an average person's body upon landing, but—

He was far from ordinary.

"Hff!"

An exhale escaped his lips as his feet touched down against the grass. He didn't let the landing halt his rush as he began his long sprint through the valley.

While maintaining a running pace, his stride broke the sound barrier, leaving him crossing distances that would take hours to travel in—

Seconds.

"Haah…!"

He exhaled, stopping just in front of the city gates. The sound was within earshot now; the screams of pure terror.

There were no guards at the gates as he simply passed through, though the moment he stepped into the town—everything changed.

It was as if he stepped into hell, immediately met with a scenery of bloodstained cobblestone and desecrated buildings. The jarring shift made it seem as though the city had long since fallen into apocalypse, yet it happened so quickly.

'What…happened? How did this happen? The moment I left—was it the moment I left?!' He questioned in frustration, looking at the bloody remnants left of the place.

Fire consumed multiple structures, and many screams simply died out, like a flame beneath the rain. He walked forward with slow steps, deprived of his optimism.

Down the road he walked, the malignant undead took notice of him, rushing down the street. They lacked any of their once humanity, though the thought of who these people used to be dulled his axe.

"Raaah!"

"Ruuuua—!"

The couple of husks lunged at him with blood leaking from their mouths. He ducked down before dashing forward, leaving the undead bodies dropping into pieces behind him.

[EXP: +10,000] [161,000/250,000]

As the two dropped down, a figure crashed down in front of him, landing with such force the stone beneath its feet shattered.

It stood twice the height of a normal man, with flesh morphed to resemble an organic armor around its body.

[Greater Identification] [A-Rank Close-Quarters Combat Skill] 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

["Morphed Husk"] [Designated Level: Appx. 20] [Species: Undead]

[Weaknesses: ???]

Along its limbs and chest, bone acted like an exoskeleton as it took a stance departed from the usual of husks. Rather than lunging at him to tear into his flesh, it held both arms out, raised as if ready to engage in combat.

'This one is intelligent? Somewhat, at least,' he observed.

It blocked his path of going further down the street, once again attempting to rob him of his pursuit. He didn't waste any time, immediately holding his hand out, pointing at the defending husk:

Lightning coalesced at his finger tip, swirling and building up in intensity before firing—THWOOM. The azure bolt roared out, shattering the nearby windows before colliding with the armored limbs of the towering husk. It blew right through, leaving a downpour of putrid flesh as the sturdy zombie was left de-limbed.

"Out of the way."

Noah impatiently cast away the fiend with a swing of his axe, leaving it bisected on the street.

[EXP: +10,000] [171,000/250,000]

The further he ventured into the city, the bloodier it became, the more abundant "death" was; a living graveyard.

It was a promenade with a fountain now corrupted by blood ran, with streets painted in crimson. In the center of the countless corpses, one man remained.

'There's someone still…?' Noah thought.

An adventurer; the brunette man in blood-soaked armor leaned on his own sword, huffing to catch his breath.

"Hey!" Noah called out.

"Get back…!" The lone swordswoman shouted, holding a hand up. "Stay back…Just stay back—"

"There's help on the way! Calm down, alright? It's going to be fine—" Noah assured, holding his hand up as he carefully approached.

While he slowly stepped towards his college, the blood-soaked adventurer suddenly convulsed. All at once, corrupted groans escaped the man's mouth as his limbs shook violently.

Terrible "cracking" filled the block, as if each bone was being reconfigured beneath the poor soul's skin. It was a terrible sight; the once noble sight was turned into something monstrous as flesh bubbled and expanded, being reshaped into something anew–

[Greater Identification] [A-Rank Close-Quarters Combat Skill]

["Ascended Husk"] [Designated Level: Appx. 25] [Species: Undead]

[Weaknesses: ???]

Any semblance of the wounded hero's face was gone, the eye sockets covered by skin as only a lipless smile remained. It was different from the normal husk, a path astray from the mindless savagery before; the undead retained its swordsmanship, taking up a stance.

'Is it the blood? Was he bitten?' Noah thought hurriedly.

In hopes of not letting himself be attacked, he raised his axe in defense before–the transformed being approached. It was more like a "lung" and "dash" in one, as the sheer agility of the eyeless husk caused the lake of blood to split and rise.

[The Snake's Eye]

[Enhance]

Planting his boots firmly down into the bloodied cobble, he held the opposing blade at bay. It took some elbow grease, but he pushed the hostile undead back, causing sparks to flutter amidst the maroon promenade.

'Right now, I have to operate under the assumption that the city is lost…I have to accept that and move on to preventing the next stage…Whatever it is the Followers of GOETIA are planning with the husks here,' he thought.

By the time he settled himself, the eyeless hostile was already closing the distance, sprinting in front of him before quickly pivoting, striking from the left.

[Quake Stomp]

–With the quick slam of his boot, he cratered the ground beneath him, sending a force that rippled through the stone and disrupted the husk's assault. He used the momentary stun to spin around, delivering a brutal kick to the transformed swordsman's ribs.

The blow was enough to force the mutated adventurer back, leaving Noah following up with a snap of his fingers, sending bolts of lightning chasing after the husk. In an act of unusual aptitude, the eyeless fighter stomped the ground, prompting the rise of stone between itself and the incoming strands of electricity.

'It's able to still use magic? I've noticed by now some husks are wildly different from others–does it have to do with how powerful the host is when they transform? Or is it another factor? Either way, this guy must've been strong,' he thought.