Gleam [Karma Cultivator Isekai] - Chapter 84: Hold true

Chance called on his Essence and it flowed to his will. He lowered his stance and let it fill his mind and body. A gentle smile crossed over his face and he swayed with the wind. Seleth lowered back to all fours.

For an instant, all was still.

The dirt beneath Chance’s feet exploded as he blurred forward, his urumi whistling through the air beside him. Seleth’s tail whipped out and Chance vaulted over it, hitting the ground in a roll and rising to his feet with a spin.

His urumi scraped along Seleth’s scales with a clean, ringing note. He vaulted backward, avoiding the crocodile’s huge claws as the arced through the air where he’d been standing. Golden mist swirled around Seleth, trying to push its way into the monster, but it couldn’t find any purchase.

Its aura was too strong. Chance idly made note of that, recognizing that it meant Seleth was likely stronger than he was. That didn’t matter. A laugh slipped from his lips and he staggered toward Seleth, allowing the thrill of the fight to consume him completely.

He leapt and spun around it like a mosquito, his urumi singing its ringing song every time it connected with the monster’s scales. Each time, the blows rang off harmlessly. Seleth’s attacks were equally as ineffective on Chance.

It was completely unable to land a single blow on him. He danced beneath its legs and bounced off its limbs, laughing all the while. Even if it could have likely crushed him with a single blow, it couldn’t keep him in one spot for long enough to ever land it.

Chance sent Essence into his urumi, setting it alight with golden mist just before another blow slammed into Seleth’s back. To his surprise, instead of cutting into the scales, it rang off with a resounding crack.

Seleth’s tail whipped out for Chance and he sprung over it, landing in a handstand and launching himself to safety before Seleth’s jaws slammed shut in the air behind him. Its aura was incredible. Even with his Essence infusing the urumi, Chance couldn’t damage it.

Essence pumped through Chance’s veins and rose up into his forehead, opening his third eye. Hundreds of Karmic strands materialized in the air around Seleth, lighting the crocodile up in their golden hue.

Chance flicked the urumi and it carved through a thick Karmic thread that depicted a tall, hairless monkey with bulging muscles and bloodshot eyes. He’d never seen a monster like it before, but it looked strong.

Energy flooded into him, reinforcing every aspect of his body. Seleth took the brief instant that he stood still to lunge and flick his tail at Chance. Instinctively, Chance swayed to the side and swung his arm to block it.

A shockwave rippled across the grass as their bodies clashed. Seleth’s tail slammed to a stop and Chance staggered back, shaking his hand. Seleth’s eyes widened, then he inclined his head slightly in respect.

Chance returned the gesture and they dashed at each other once more. The thunder of their strikes shook the grassy field as their battle intensified and each struggled to gain an advantage over the other.

***

Jade was greeted by a thunderous crash as she took form beside the wooden wall. She dropped into a fighting stance, preparing to block an attack that never came. A second crash echoed out and she lowered her hands with a curse. “The fight already started.”

She ran over to a group of ill equipped militia that stood gathered around the gate of the shoddy wooden wall, all trying to squint through the cracks.

“What’s going on? How bad are things?” Jade called. “I’m a Shikari from Gleam. I received your distress call and have come to help.”

The men spun toward her, their eyes alight with both hope and fear. An elderly soldier emerged from their ranks.

“Thank the gods,” he said. “We might be saved after all. Please, help us. We’ve got a Rank Two cultivator already fighting to keep the monster back, but I don’t know if he can defeat it on his own. He forbade us from aiding because he feared for our lives, but a Shikari would be able to handle themselves. Please assist him.”

Jade blinked in surprise.

A Rank Two is putting the lives of mortals ahead of his own against a monster strong enough to fight like this? Completely on his own? Incredible. If my team had half that courage…

“I will do everything in my power,” Jade swore, pressing a hand to her chest and drawing her broadsword. “Open the gate! We will defeat the monster!”

The men cheered and the wooden gate rose into the air with a steady rumble. Jade called on her Essence and it lit a burning light within her heart, flooding energy into every part of her body.

Her sword lit up with a holy glow and she charged out of the village, allowing her aura to seep out and envelop her body in a protective shell. Jade’s eyes widened slightly as she caught her first sight of the fight. Another shockwave rippled through the air as an enormous crocodilian creature drove its palm down on top of the comparatively miniscule cultivator wreathed in golden light standing before it.

Jade blurred forward in a futile attempt to arrive before the blow could connect – but it had already landed before she’d moved.

Righteous fury welled in Jade’s heart and her Essence burned even brighter. Her feet thundered against the ground as she raced toward the monster.

I can’t let someone bold enough to try and take on a monster of this size on their own die like this. I –

Jade missed a step and nearly tripped over her own feet. The monster hadn’t crushed the cultivator. He’d raised his own hand and had caught the blow, somehow managing to remain standing upright beneath the enormous weight and power of the crocodile.

Despite herself, Jade stood still, her legs tied down by sheer awe. The two combatants showed no such restraint and continued their deadly dance. Loud crashes and the ring of metal on scales filled the air.

A Rank Two cultivator is holding off a monster this strong? Who is this? Are they from some powerful sect or family? Maybe one of the other Scholar Cities?

Jade’s eyes narrowed as she watched the battle. The cultivator was putting up an incredible show, but she’d slightly misread the situation. The monster’s blows weren’t getting any weaker or slower, while none of the cultivator’s attacks had even injured it.

He’s not holding his own. The fight is heavily in the monster’s favor. A single mistake and he’ll die, while he doesn’t look like he has any real way to damage that monster. And still he fights like this. I can’t stand around watching any longer.

Essence swirled around Jade’s feet. It poured into her sword and vanished into it, absorbed within the silvery metal. The monster hadn’t noticed her arrival yet – it was distracted. If she landed a powerful attack on it, the fight would end.

Sure, it’ll leave me open for a few moments, but it’s so caught up that I doubt it’ll even realize I’m here until it’s too late.

Jade dashed forward. She leapt into the air, raising the sword high above her head, and let Essence pour from her hands and into the weapon. All the energy that had been stored within it finally released. The weapon lit up like a falling star, burning with light so brilliant that heat emanated off the blade. Anyone that looked at the blade would have been temporarily blinded.

Even if the monster knew she was there, there was no way for it to block her attack without seeing where it would land. She let a victorious grin cross her face as she looked down at her prey.

The monster was staring straight up at her, unblinking. Thin, clear eyelids had slipped over its eyes, shielding them from the bright light without forcing them to close. Her heart skipped a beat.

Oops. This is going to hurt.

A sparkle of amusement twinkled in the crocodile’s eyes and it lunged up. Its huge maw split open to swallow Jade and her sword whole. She desperately twisted her body, but there was no way to redirect herself once she was already in the air.

The monster’s head snapped to the side as a massive golden fist crashed into it, sending the crocodile rolling across the ground. Jade landed on the ground, looking up in disbelief at the crocodile as it skidded to a stop.

Glowing gold Essence poured off the cultivator as he darted past Jade. The crocodile roared, rising to meet his charge. Right before they met, the cultivator threw himself to the side and reached out, seemingly grabbing at nothing.

Mist gathered behind the crocodile, forming into the form of a towering, armored figure bearing a halberd. It reared back and drove the blade of the weapon down into the monster’s back.

Scales shattered beneath the strike and blood splattered across the ground. The crocodile roared in pain, lashing its tail through the misty figure. It dissipated, blowing away in the wind as if it had never been there.

That did nothing to undo the crippling blow that the apparition had dealt. Jade pushed herself to her feet, unable to contain the awe welling up in her chest.

He was holding back. All that time, the cultivator was holding back?

The cultivator walked up to the crocodile and raised his sword.

Yes! Finish it!

He stopped walking. Jade stared at him, baffled.

“Well fought, Seleth,” he said, inclining his head with the same amount of respect that Jade would have shown a teacher. “Sorry. I couldn’t beat you any other way.”

The monster let out a rattling hiss. “A fatal blow, dealt to me by one who I slaid years ago. How is this possible?”

“Unsolved Karma,” the cultivator replied. “All things must be accounted for in the end. I just paid this particular debt out a little earlier than the others.”

“I see.” The monster’s body rippled with a mixture of pain and amusement. “I am defeated. Well fought.”

“Are you sure about this?” the cultivator asked. “You could leave. There aren’t any absolutes in this world. I’ve learned that much. Maybe we could find a different way for you to cultivate.”

“Perhaps, but not for me,” Seleth said, pushing itself back to its feet. Its tongue ran along its scaled lips. “Will you hold true to your promise?”

The cultivator nodded. “I will.”

“Then come, Chance.”

It charged, letting out an earsplitting roar. The cultivator met it, golden mist swirling around his body. He waited until right before Seleth was upon him, then drunkenly stumbled to the side.

Jaws crashed shut, just barely missing him, and he vaulted onto the monster’s back. His sword flashed in the glowing light pouring off him and, for an instant, the world stood still. Then he plunged it into the open wound.

Seleth crashed to the ground, skidding several feet through the grass before sliding to a stop, the light in his eyes gone. The cultivator pulled his blade free, staring at the blood covering it as it dripped onto the beast’s scales.

He knelt, reaching into the monster, and pulled its pumping heart out with a grunt. Jade’s eyes widened in shock as he raised the organ to his lips and bit into it, tearing a large chunk off and swallowing it.

Jade scrambled to her feet, her eyes wide in horror, but the cultivator didn’t die. He wiped his lips, grimacing, then slid to the ground. He walked up to Seleth’s head and gently closed the monster’s eyes with the back of his hand.

“I hope you find what you were looking for,” the cultivator said, so softly that Jade could barely hear his words.

He finally turned, looking at her for the first time. At the same instant, Jade’s mind finally caught up to the conversation that the cultivator had had with the monster.

Segmented whip sword. Golden mist and Karma magic. His name is Chance. This is the cultivator that murdered the other Shikari. Oh, shit.

I’m dead.