Chapter 274: Repaying the Debt (5)

The silence lasted only a few seconds before the true elites of the lending firm pushed their way to the front. These were the Awakened enforcers, stepping over their unconscious comrades with glowing hands and drawn weapons.

A man radiating blazing heat hurled a condensed fireball directly at Solomon’s face, while a woman beside him slammed her palms onto the floorboards to summon rising pillars of stone.

Solomon vaulted over the erupting earth, letting the fireball crash harmlessly into the wall behind him. He landed right in the middle of the Awakened squad, delivering a spinning heel kick to the fire-user’s temple to knock him out instantly.

The earth-user tried to pull back, but Solomon grabbed her wrist, used her momentum to spin her around, and shoved her into a thug swinging a machete.

The corridor turned into chaotic close-quarters combat as the melee fighters surged forward. Enforcers carrying longswords, iron pipes, and battle axes flooded the ruined office.

Solomon bobbed under a horizontal sword slash, struck the attacker’s elbow to force him to drop the weapon, and caught the falling blade mid-air.

He gripped the leather hilt and gave the steel a quick test swing. The balance felt wrong, and the weight lacked the comforting density of his usual weapon.

’It just does not feel right holding a sword other than Eden’s Penance,’ Solomon thought, tossing the blade casually over his shoulder. The discarded weapon clattered against the shattered desk.

He ducked under another swinging pipe and swept his leg out, tripping a burly enforcer who carried a steel-bearded hand axe. Solomon snatched the axe from the falling man’s grip and flipped it in his hand to test the top-heavy design.

A wide grin stretched across his face.

"It has been a while," Solomon announced, shifting his stance to accommodate the new weapon. "Time to polish my basic axemanship."

He launched himself directly into the suffocating crowd of enforcers. Solomon wove through the incoming attacks, utilizing the hooked beard of the axe to catch their wrists and pull them off balance. When a swordsman lunged, Solomon parried the thrust with the sturdy wooden handle, pivoted on his heel, and drove the axe head straight into the man’s chest.

He hooked an incoming spear shaft, ripped it from the attacker’s hands, and delivered a kick to the man’s kneecap. Using the momentum from his swings, Solomon chained his strikes together flawlessly. He chopped through their shields, hooked their ankles to send them crashing onto the floorboards, and slammed the axe blade into their helmets.

The enforcers realized too late that giving him a weapon was a fatal error. Sparks flew as steel clashed against steel in the cramped hallway.

Solomon bypassed their clumsy guards, utilizing his superior footwork to stay constantly in their blind spots. He battered the remaining Awakened fighters, ducking under a gust of wind magic to deliver a rising uppercut with the axe handle that lifted the caster off the floor.

Within minutes, the corridor transformed into a pile of defeated thugs, leaving Solomon standing alone amidst the wreckage.

Some time passed, and the chaotic noise of combat stopped altogether.

Richard leaned his ear close to the shattered doorway of his office. Confirming the silence, a wide grin stretched across his face. He stepped out of his hiding spot, straightening his ruined suit jacket.

"That bastard was talking way too much," Richard muttered to himself, chuckling maliciously. "Threatening me about the basement... Now he is going to end up chained to a wall down there. I am going to have so much fun torturing him."

He turned the corner into the main corridor and froze. The color drained from his face, leaving him a sickly shade of white.

Solomon sat casually atop a towering pile of ’unconscious’ and broken bodies, resting the bloody hand axe over his shoulder.

Richard immediately darted back behind the wall, his heart beating frantically against his ribs. He could not believe his own eyes. ’Am I seeing this correctly?’ he asked himself in sheer panic. He peeked around the corner once again, desperately hoping it was just a hallucination.

He still could not comprehend the carnage. ’Was he just playing with Titan’s head the whole time?’ Richard wondered, shivering as he stared at the defeated army of enforcers.

He ducked back, counted to three, and peeked a third time.

Solomon was no longer sitting on the pile of bodies. The corridor was empty.

’Did he leave?’ Richard muttered, hope surging in his chest. ’This might be my chance to escape from here.’

"You cannot leave without paying your debt."

The voice echoed directly behind him. Richard spun around and saw Solomon standing mere inches away, staring down at him with silver eyes.

Richard shrieked, hastily retreating backward until his heel caught on a fallen enforcer’s arm. He stumbled and crashed onto the floorboards, scrambling away like a terrified crab.

"I will give you the two million dollars you asked for!" Richard stuttered, raising his hands to shield his face. "Just let me live! Please!"

"The price has increased," Solomon replied coldly, stepping closer. "It is now five million."

"Five million! Yes, you can have five million!" Richard agreed frantically. "I will get the money transferred to you once we are out of here safely!"

"I do not believe a single word you say," Solomon stated, resting the axe against his shoulder. "How can I possibly trust you after you pulled a stunt like this and sent an army of thugs to kill me?"

Richard swallowed hard, desperately searching for a bargaining chip. "I will give you the location of the company vault and the access code! You can go down there and take the money yourself!"

"Give me the code," Solomon demanded.

Richard hesitated, his eyes darting toward the bloody axe. "What if you just kill me the second I tell you the numbers?"

"I promise I will not do anything to you," Solomon assured him, offering a calm, reassuring nod.

Taking a trembling breath, Richard revealed the sub-level location and rattled off the numerical passcode.