Gleam [Karma Cultivator Isekai] - Chapter 113: Tension

“Are you all insane?” Jie rasped as they sprinted. “We’re all going to–”

His words caught in his throat as he spotted Quinn standing beside Jade, a worried expression on her face. He skidded to a stop, stumbling and nearly tripping over his own feet. Quinn ran forward, grabbing Jie and pulling him into a tight hug.

Jie stiffened for a moment, then let his shoulders slump and returned the gesture. They only held it for a moment before Quinn stepped back, holding Jie at arm’s length.

“I’m sorry. I should have helped fight, but–”

“You would have just gotten in the way,” Bella said. “I haven’t fought together with you before. It wasn’t the time – and this isn’t either. We need to move. Is there somewhere safe we can hide? You can talk there.”

Quinn looked to Jie. He paused for a moment, then gave them a sharp nod. “Yes. There’s an abandoned house that I and some of the others use at night when we need to be left alone. Follow me.”

Jie took off and the rest of them sprinted after them. They shot through the dark alleys, even as shouts started to rise up from the street as the Brackern Sect’s reinforcements arrived, only to find one of their sect elders dead on the street.

Chance could help but feel a little abashed about the entire performance. It was supposed to be a quick talk and a stealthy escape, not a giant fight that called the entire sect down on them. Still, he couldn’t think of a single thing he would have changed. The two men he’d killed had deserved it.

His words to Nimea floated through his mind as they ran. Chance had said that he didn’t have the right to choose who lived and died, but then he’d gone and killed one man with a surprise attack, then aided in killing a second.

It wasn’t the first time he’d thought about it, but the thoughts were growing more prominent with every fight he had. Self defense was one thing, but he was actively hunting people down now.

For an instant, Chance felt as if he could feel Yamish’s gaze on his back.

I wonder if this is what happened to Yamish. He cultivates Balance, but maybe at one point, he was trying to cultivate Good Karma as well at the start. But that’s not the same. He was actively working to keep balance with good and evil acts. I’m doing the right thing.

…or am I just deluded?

That thought didn’t sit too well with Chance, but it didn’t change the visions he’d seen in Drayan and Earn’s Karma. No, there was no doubt in his mind that they’d deserved death. He was just the instrument the universe had chosen to deliver their Karma.

Something warmed deep within Chance’s chest, but he didn’t have time to properly look at it while they were running. He’d take a look later, once they were safer. Relatively safer, at least.

Jie led them through alley after alley, weaving through them with the expert skill of a man who had made this particular trip hundreds of times before. The shouts of the guards soon faded into the distance as they traveled deep into the sect.

Their rushed pace slowed as the alleys started to erode and the age of the buildings increased significantly. Chance could practically feel the average cost of living drop as they continued on, stepping over molding food tossed into the alley days or weeks ago from the streets.

Even the streets outside of the shadows were less populous and darker. The glimpses Chance caught through the alleys showed run down shops and abandoned houses, their materials old and often starting to collapse.

“Here,” Jie said as they arrived at a crumbling two story building. The top floor had completely given away, and rubble littered the alleyway around them. He stepped through the door, which was already cracked open. “Watch your head when you step in. Your foot too.”

Quinn slipped inside and Chance followed after her. His foot slipped slightly as he ducked inside, saving him from smacking his forehead against a jutting rock, and he staggered over a hole in the ground.

The room was small, with a tiny old bed stuffed into the corner and a stairwell leading up to the second floor. The rest of it had been done in by fallen rubble, and even the stairwell led to nothing, as a big section of the wall had fallen right on top of it, blocking the path off.

Jie stared at Chance. “I told you to be careful.”

“I was,” Chance replied, turning as Bella stepped inside. Her forehead rippled with crystalline Essence as she avoided the hole in the ground – and walked straight into the brick. It cracked, snapping in half. Bella didn’t even blink.

“Right,” Jie muttered under his breath. “Cultivators.”

Jade was the last of them to enter. They all piled into the corner of the room and sat down, finally taking a few moments to gather their breath and think.

“I can’t believe you survived,” Jie said. His eyes were locked onto Quinn as if the rest of them weren’t even there. “When Nimea took you into the Ancient Realm, I thought–”

“I did too,” Quinn said. She swallowed heavily and glanced at Chance. “I should have been. Nimea got herself killed by some crazy cultivator. That doesn’t matter now, though. We need to get everyone else out of here.”

Jie looked down at his hands. He turned them over, shaking his head in disbelief. “All these years, and you just killed Drayan on a whim. I can’t believe it. I’m actually free.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and turned away, wiping a sleeve across his face and clearing his throat. Jie shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, though. All of you need to leave. You’re strong enough to get out of here. If you stay–”

“Shut up, Jie,” Quinn said, her words nowhere near as harsh as their meaning. “I’m going to free the Brackern sect. All of it.”

“As are we,” Jade said, setting her jaw. “Chance was supposed to confirm with you if the Brackern sect was keeping slaves, but I think this is confirmation enough.”

“You can’t take on an entire sect,” Jie said with a firm shake of his head. “I can never repay what you’ve done for me – and Quinn. But it took two of you to kill Drayan, and he’s not the strongest elder in the sect. They’ll be on their guards now.”

“What are we supposed to do?” Quinn pounded a fist into her thigh. “I won’t leave anyone like this, Jie. Not you. Not them. We actually have help! Three real cultivators. If we work together, we have a chance.”

Jie let out a heavy sigh. “Or you’ll just get killed. You’re free, Quinn. I’m honored that you returned for me, but–”

Bella’s hand fell on Jie’s shoulder. He twitched, jerking to stare up at her. A blue dome rippled out of Bella’s shoulders, passing through him and solidifying around them. Quinn’s eyes widened and she shot to her feet, nearly hitting her head on the stone above them.

“What’s she doing?”

“Don’t worry,” Chance said. “Bella wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

She would, however, share some choice words. Chance couldn’t hear any of what Bella said through the dome, but he could see Bella furiously gesturing and pointing as she spoke. Jie shrunk back from her, his face going pale, and nodded his understanding.

Bella snapped her fingers and the dome dropped. All of them stared at her.

“What?” Bella asked.

“Nothing,” Quinn said, quickly averting her eyes. Chance didn’t blame her. If he didn’t know Bella better, he probably would have been terrified himself.

Now that I think about it, Bella’s situation wasn’t all that different from theirs. She wasn’t a slave, but if she did anything that Vex disapproved of, he would either hurt her or the people around her.

“Let’s get back on topic,” Bella said. “Exactly how many sect elders are we up against, and how strong are they?”

Quinn glanced at Jie, but he didn’t offer up any more protests. She pursed her lips in thought.

“There are six of them. Five now that Drayan is dead. Arlen, a Rank Four. Rial, a Rank Five. Timone, a Rank Five. Vernan, a Rank Six. And Naveed, who is at least a Rank Six. I’ve never seen him fight, but as I mentioned before, he’s the head of the sect. I don’t think we can directly fight them unless any of you are hiding something really powerful.”

Chance and Bella exchanged a glance. They both still had the artifacts they’d taken out of the Ancient Realm, but they had absolutely no idea what they did yet. And, no matter what they were, Chance doubted they were going to sway the scales nearly enough to let a group of Rank Threes challenge the elders of a sect.

Nobody spoke for several seconds.

“We might be a little bit outmatched,” Jade admitted. “But that doesn’t mean we can stop. If we can pick them off one by one, then we have a chance.”

“Against a Rank Four, sure,” Chance agreed. “But a Rank Five? Or a Six? I don’t know about that. Even if we’re using Wards to isolate them one by one, I don’t think we can handle someone that much stronger than we are in a direct fight.”

“So this whole argument was for nothing?” Jie asked.

“No,” Bella said with a shake of her head. “Just because we can’t challenge them directly doesn’t mean we can’t find a way to get people out of their grasp somehow.”

“Well, we aren’t doing anything today,” Quinn said, chewing her lower lip. “After breaking Jie out, the whole sect is going to be on guard.”

“As good a time as any to work on figuring out a plan,” Bella agreed. “What’s the likelihood that anyone finds us here?”

“I’ve never seen anyone come here before, but I’ve also never seen a sect elder get killed,” Jie said. He shrugged. “I’ve got no idea, but there’s absolutely no way we’re going to get out of the city right now. We’re probably safer here than anywhere else.”

“Then I propose we take the rest of the day to recuperate,” Bella said. “I haven’t had proper sleep in a while, and I know Chance hasn’t either. I’d imagine it’s not much different for Quinn at that matter. Why don’t we rest for the next few hours, then reconvene at night and see if anyone’s thought of something useful?”

Nobody voiced any issue with that.

“I’m going to try to clear a little area upstairs,” Bella said. “That’ll make it less packed down here.”

“I’ll guard the door. We can swap off,” Jade offered.

Chance followed Bella up the stairs, stopping before the fallen section of wall. Bella’s body rippled as her Essence activated and she dug her fingers into the stone, lifting it with a grunt. She pushed it back slowly, taking care not to make too much noise. Chance tried not to stare too hard when Bella literally lifted the stone off the ground with one hand, clearing the stairwell in one move.

She stepped out onto the top floor, carefully setting the stone to the side. Chance poked his head over her shoulder. The top floor even smaller than the bottom floor, as the majority of it had caved in. It was basically just a small nook with a roof and a stairwell.

Bella walked over to the corner and sat down against the wall. Chance flopped down beside her.

“Well,” Bella said, drawing the word out and keeping her voice low. “That could have gone better.”

“Could have gone worse.”

She let out a soft laugh. “Always optimistic. I guess you’re right.”

“Maybe we should take your own advice and just rest for a little,” Chance suggested. “We can figure out what we’ll do about this later. I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.”

“Yeah,” Bella muttered.

Neither of them spoke for a few moments. Bella shifted, leaning to rest her head on Chance’s shoulder. Chance froze, then let the tension seep out of his body and rested his own head against Bella’s.

Of all the ways he could have imagined taking a break to get some rest, this certainly wasn’t one he’d complain about.