Gleam [Karma Cultivator Isekai] - Chapter 108: Justice

“Everyone ready?” Chance asked.

Aside from Quinn, they all stood with their hands linked at the edge of the rune circle. A distant explosion rang out, followed by a shockwave that shook the tops of the trees at the edges of the small valley. Quinn stood the closest to the circle, tensed as if she was about to pounce. Everyone nodded.

“Let’s get out of here before a bunch of cultivators come down on our heads,” Bella said. “Make sure Quinn is the first one to step on. Once she activates the portal, the rest of us run after her.”

She started the countdown. When Bella hit zero, Quinn took a step forward. Her foot fell on the stone circle and a ripple of energy washed out, lighting the runes covering it. She took another step, fully entering the circle.

Energy whirred, growing in intensity. With a deep thrum, a blast of Essence erupted from the ground and enveloped Quinn in a beam of light. She vanished.

“Now!” Bella yelled over the roar.

All of them ran forward, holding onto each other. Chance summoned some of his golden mist, just to give the others a little bit of luck. He was pretty sure they wouldn’t’ need it, but luck never hurt.

The energy enveloped him, tingling like a thousand little spiders all running over his body, and then the world was consumed by a wall of light. Essence rushed past his ears, and the only things he could still feel were Bella and Jade’s hands. His body felt weightless for a few moments, and he couldn’t see anything other than glowing blue energy.

And then something materialized beneath his feet. The energy faded, and it took the tingling sensation and brilliant light with it. Chance blinked furiously, squinting as a room came into vision around them.

They were standing in the center of a large, strangely decorated room. A soft, brownish purple rug covered the ground beneath their feet. A dozen chairs were arranged along the sides of the room, and the only exit was a nice but plain door at the far end of it. Quinn stood in the room as well, her back facing them.

Chance released Jade and Bella’s hands. Jade looked around the room, resting a palm on the hilt of her huge sword.

“Where do we go? And what can we expect here?” Jade asked.

“Follow me, but keep your voice down,” Quinn replied in a low hiss, sending a glance back at them. Jade reddened and nodded. The three of them crept up behind Quinn as she approached the door, pressing her ear to it for a moment before nodding and taking a step back, opening it.

Chance had expected the room to be part of a house, but for some reason, it was literally a building entirely on its own. They all stepped out onto a paved stone path in what looked to be a fairly normal city.

Houses, ranging from one to two stories and made mostly of gray brick, rose all around them in neat rows. There were a few taller buildings scattered throughout the city, their tops poking over the roofs, and Chance could see walls rising in the distance.

There wasn’t anyone on the street directly in front of them, but Chance could hear the distant sounds of chatter from what sounded like a market.

Quinn quickly made for the cover of a small, nearby alley. The rest of them followed after her. It wound to the side, but it wasn’t exactly the best spot to hide. Chance could still see flashes of the street from his spot in the shadows. Quinn led them for several minutes, taking turns confidently and with the ease of someone who had traveled the area many times before.

“Okay,” Quinn said, finally coming to a stop as the alley let them out into a small, run down street. It was blocked in on either end by large, bulky buildings. Chance could hear the sounds of conversation and clanking metal on ceramic coming from within it, but there weren’t any windows to look through.

“Restaurant?” Bella guessed.

Quinn waggled a hand, still keeping her voice low. “Dining hall. Nobody comes back here. I used to use it to hide before Nimea got her head chopped off.”

“So, what are we up against?” Chance asked. He paused for a moment. “And is there any chance we’re going to be able to convince them to do the right thing the proper way?”

“By proper, do you mean by talking to them?” Quinn raised an eyebrow.

Chance gave her a sheepish grin. “I mean, it worked with Jade.”

“There’s some things that talking doesn’t solve,” Jade said, a note of steel in her voice. “Evil of this manner cannot be tolerated – assuming Quinn isn’t lying.”

Quinn’s eyes narrowed in anger. “What? I’m not–”

“I never said you were,” Jade said. “But it’s my duty to ensure that the justice I carry out is actually proper. I am not a sword for hire. If you haven’t lied, then I will do everything in my power to ensure that we can help. But, if you have, I will need to assess the situation and make sure that I’m acting properly.”

Chance and Bella exchanged a glance.

“Why does it sound like you’re quoting someone?” Chance asked.

Jade reddened and rubbed the back of her neck. “Technically, Gibson kind of said it. I just paraphrased a little bit. Was it that obvious?”

“A bit stiff,” Bella said. “But Jade is right, Quinn. I don’t want to seem doubtful, but Chance is a bit too easy to dupe. No offense, Chance. But you really do try to see the best in everyone.”

Chance grimaced. “I don’t think I can argue that bit.”

Quinn sighed. She glanced out into the street, then hunched back down. “You’ll have proof when we go to meet some of my friends, but it’s going to be very difficult to get all of you in. Is anyone good at stealth?”

They all exchanged a glance. Chance scratched his head. “I don’t know if I’d say I’m good at stealth per say, but I’m pretty damn lucky.”

“There’s a big difference between being stealthy and being lucky.”

“When I say I’m lucky, I mean I’m really lucky,” Chance said. “If we’re going to take any sort of risk, I’m the best one to do it. Why? What are you thinking?”

Quinn pointed down the street and through an alley leading into the more populated road just behind it. “One of my friends is in the house over there. She can corroborate my story. She’s not a servant, but she’s not much better off.”

“Is there anyone else in there?” Bella asked. “If someone spots you walking around, it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the Brackern sect gets alerted that Nimea didn’t return with you and something is wrong.”

“There might be,” Quinn admitted, chewing her lower lip in worry. “I’m not sure. There are a few people that can use the Essence of Binding, and they were all part of Nimea’s family – the elders of the sect.”

Bella scrunched her nose and squinted across the street. “All of them? Talk about inbreeding.”

A grin flickered across Quinn’s face, but she quickly wiped it away. “Maybe Chance could just try to enter on his own? Without me. It’s not like we never have travelers come through. He could verify things himself that way.”

They fell silent. Somehow, the idea was so simple that it just hadn’t struck the rest of them. Chance cleared his throat.

“I’m going to pretend we weren’t going to try to come up with some fancy plan when the answer was staring us right in the face. I think that might be the best strategy.”

“What about the rest of us, then?” Bella asked. “If Quinn stays hidden, maybe we should–”

Jade shook her head. “No, it’s actually better if he goes alone. It’ll be less threatening if he pretends to be a lone wanderer from some other sect. They’ll be more concerned with figuring out where he’s from than attacking him. As long as he doesn’t show any aggression, it’ll be fine. Besides, from what I’ve seen, he can handle himself and we’ll be close.”

Bella frowned, a wave of concern passing over her features. She looked back to Quinn. “How powerful are the strongest members of the sect? Is it something a group of Knight Rank cultivators could handle?”

Quinn thought for a moment. “I’m not sure. I’ve never seen Naveed – the Sect Head, that is – I’ve never seen him fight. Nimea was considered pretty strong amongst the sect, though.”

“Okay,” Bella said. She gave Chance a serious look. “You good with this?”

Chance nodded. “Yeah. I can handle things, and Ocie can always help me out if things go really south. You’ll definitely hear it.”

Bella gave him a brief grin and nodded. “Okay.”

Quinn turned, nodding for Chance to follow her as she started toward the exit of the alley. Bella raised a hand, catching their attention before they could leave.

“One last thing before the two of you go. What do we do in the inevitable scenario where the two of you get into a fight saving Quinn’s friend and the entire sect comes down on top of us?”

“We won’t do that,” Quinn said. “She’s not in any danger. We can just talk.”

“I know Chance better than you do,” Bella said flatly. “He’s going to try to do something.”

“Hey!” Chance exclaimed. “I can handle myself. I’m not that impulsive.”

Bella raised an eyebrow. “And if Quinn’s friend is in any sort of discomfort or danger?”

Chance cleared his throat. “I mean, the logical thing to do would be to help.”

“Okay, I see the problem,” Quinn admitted, crossing her arms. “Fine. We need a plan, then. I’ll be honest, my plan was just to break as many people out as possible and make a run for it.”

Jade leaned against the wall and her brow creased in thought as she tapped her fingers on her thigh. “Does everyone here have the Essence of Binding? You said it was just the Sect heads and their family, right? So, if we kill all of them…”

Quinn’s eyes widened. “I thought you were the ‘save everyone’ type?”

“I’m the ‘deliver justice mercifully but without remorse’ type,” Jade corrected, her eyes flashing with anger. “And if what you’ve been saying is correct, then the justice is going to take the form of an execution.”