Chapter 82: Daily Life with Thunder (2)
Chapter 82: Daily Life with Thunder (2)
Crackle.
The brief sound of thunder echoed. By the time I heard it, it was already too late, but that didn't mean I could just let go.
Thud.
Feeling the impact vibrate through my skin, I swung my hammer in that direction.
Whoosh.
Naturally, the Thunder God was already long gone. There was no way I could keep up with her speed.
If I was a being at the pinnacle of physical force, she was a being at the pinnacle of speed.
I sharpened all my senses.
I didn't need to catch up to her. I only needed to read the precursor—the sign of her attack.
My senses became infinitely keen.
My brain's calculation speed accelerated.
I felt a stinging precursor near my left flank. It was the sensation of a brief spark being scattered—a trait unique to lightning users to guide their own movement.
As I whipped my head toward it, my eyes met hers, glowing with a yellow light.
"Got you."
Vroom!
The Hammer’s afterburner, preheated for this very moment, roared as flames erupted, propelling it forward.
Caught in the middle of a wide kicking motion aimed at me, she was unable to dodge The Hammer’s overwhelming acceleration, which combined mechanical thrust with my own strength.
Whoosh.
The Hammer sliced through empty air.
"Huh?"
A surprised sound escaped my lips involuntarily.
I had seen it with my own eyes.
Her habits. The precursor. Combat experience. Based on all those deductions, I was certain she would be there.
Crackle.
As that ominous sound reached my ears, my accelerated brain realized exactly what I had just struck.
I see. It was a trap.
A mass of electricity taking her form. A decoy set out specifically to electrocute me.
Zzzzt!
"Urgh."
A powerful surge of electricity traveled up The Hammer. My entire body convulsed from the shock, and my muscles locked up.
I immediately circulated my mana to restore sensation to my right hand. As the surging mana pushed back the electricity, my hand began to move with a heavy, sluggish speed, and I reached out into the empty air.
Snap. Grab.
Two sounds occurred simultaneously.
The sensation of her skin in my hand.
I creaked my stiffened neck around. There she was, the Thunder God, her neck caught in my grip.
She was beaming at me. Still radiant.
"Got anything else left?"
I asked her, my lips parched and rough from the evaporated moisture.
She raised her hands, a beautiful smile on her face.
"No, I surrender."
Good to hear.
"Then that's the end of it!"
She clapped her raised hands right in front of my nose, declaring the end of the training session.
I felt like I was the only one who had lost out.
I was covered in bruises from being pummeled, and my skin felt raw from the electricity, yet all she got was a hand around her neck.
"Ha-ram."
She called out to me as I massaged my limbs to restore feeling.
"What?"
"How did you catch me at the end? I moved without leaving any precursors on purpose."
Even if she asked me how...
"Instinct...? I just had a feeling, a certainty, that you'd be there."
"Is that what they call 'Mutual Understanding'? You've been saying some pretty sweet things lately, Lee Ha-ram."
I think it's a bit different from that.
I thought about saying so, but seeing her bright smile, I figured it would be useless and kept my mouth shut.
Exchanging comments about each other's fighting styles, we returned to the picnic mat.
I turned my gaze toward the two girls sitting idly on the mat.
"I'll take questions now."
Blank.
My two foolish disciples sat there with their mouths agape, looking like the literal personification of a daze.
"Didn't you hear me? Han A-bin. Baek Si-hyun. I asked if you had any questions."
Perhaps hearing their names snapped them out of it. Finally closing their mouths, the two disciples raised their hands.
"Alright, Han A-bin first."
"I couldn't see a single thing, so I have no questions, Senior."
This sparring session was a failure from the start.
"...Fine, I'll review it with you later, so ask then. Baek Si-hyun. You go."
"How were you able to track Sister Thunder God’s movements?"
The question was too broad.
"Be more specific."
"Even with my Future Foresight, I can only read Sister's attacks after they've already finished. How did you swing your hammer like that, Master? I mean, it was a trap, but... you still caught her in the end!"
Ah, so that was the question.
"Thunder God. Didn't you tell her?"
I directed the question toward the temporary instructor beside me as if to interrogate her.
"She has to figure it out for herself. What's the point in just telling her?"
The Thunder God met my sharp gaze head-on.
"I told you this was a crash course. You could afford to tell her a little."
"Then you tell her yourself."
What was her problem now?
"Sigh..."
I let out a sigh and looked back at Baek Si-hyun.
"Lightning abilities have what's called a 'precursor.'"
"So you're telling her anyway?"
Let's keep the side chatter to a minimum.
"A lightning user at the pinnacle can move or attack at incredible speeds, but at that point, their thoughts can't keep up with their body's speed."
"I can, though."
That damn side chatter.
"You can't control it perfectly either, which is why you leave precursors behind."
I silenced the background noise and continued my explanation to Baek Si-hyun.
"That's why they lay down guiding sparks at the location they intend to go and then move there. Once they get used to it, they do it subconsciously."
I glanced at the Thunder God, and as if she understood my intent, she created a small spark in front of Baek Si-hyun.
"Try to catch it."
"Yes!"
The obedient Baek Si-hyun reached out.
Flash. Flash.
Two flashes of light later, Baek Si-hyun was standing with her hand outstretched, her neck already caught by the Thunder God, who had moved behind her.
"In this way, it can be used for consecutive movements or as a trap."
Having witnessed the Thunder God’s rapid movement, Baek Si-hyun stood with her mouth hanging open before she finally understood my words and replied.
"So, Master, you sensed that spark in advance and attacked?"
"Exactly. I ended up falling for a trap because she used it against me, but that's the basic way to deal with a lightning-type user."
Once the explanation was over and the Thunder God let her go, Baek Si-hyun began to mutter something to herself.
"Lightning induction properties... traps... calculation enhancement... precursors..."
Crackle. Zzzzt.
She began scattering electric sparks everywhere, nearly singeing her own hands.
"What is she doing?"
"Leave her be, and she'll show you something interesting."
She'd probably arrange it in her own way and create something bizarre again.
Knowing this, I left Baek Si-hyun alone and approached Han A-bin.
"Now then. For my poor disciple Han A-bin, who couldn't follow our fight with her eyes, I'll review the battle for you."
"Yes!"
"First, let's feel it with your body. It'll be easier to understand if you experience exactly what happened to me."
"Huh?"
Zzzzzzt! Bang!
The Thunder God’s fist slammed cleanly into Han A-bin’s stomach. Even without me saying a word, she knew exactly what to do.
Sitting on the mat, I watched Han A-bin as she went flying through the air.
Seeing her bouncing around in the sky, she actually looked like she was having quite a bit of fun.
And so, today's special training session for the disciples passed peacefully.
* * *
"Everything seems fine, Hammer? You're practically reeking of women, too."
After dinner, a voice stopped me as I was heading back to my room.
"Prohibition? I haven't seen you lately. What have you been up to?"
And her personality was reversed again.
"I was asked by the branch here to handle some things. I've been busy bombarding some kids on a regular basis."
She approached me with a snicker, a faint scent of gunpowder wafting from her.
"So. What are you going to do?"
"About what?"
"The Thunder God, I mean. Haven't you two been sleeping together for the past few weeks?"
She was bringing up an uncomfortable topic.
"Nothing special happened."
"That's just because you're a brat, Hammer. A guy who can't do anything when he's with a woman..."
Thud.
Irritation flared, and I punched The Wall.
Crumble.
Perhaps the impact had reached the foundation; I heard something crumbling overhead, but I ignored it and glared at Prohibition, letting my inner anger show.
"What are you trying to say, Prohibition? Are you saying we're in that kind of relationship?"
It was a level of spirit and killing intent that would make an ordinary person faint. Despite the pressure, Prohibition actually intensified her unique eerie aura and stepped closer to me.
"Isn't it obvious? Two people who look like that to everyone else? And nothing happened? Then someone's got a problem. Be honest, Hammer Kid."
She distorted the world around her and reached out with both hands to grab my head.
"You're planning to just brush it off again, aren't you? Because you're leaving soon? What do you plan to do about the Thunder God?"
Her firm hands tightened around my skull like a vice, and words of madness poured into my ears.
"Dense. Stupid. Stubborn as a mule. Insensitive. Crude. Old-fashioned. Isn't it exhausting acting like that on purpose? You're just like me. You're just putting up a barrier to forget your past and your emotions. I do it with madness. You do it with a thick iron plate."
Her very manipulation of matter became power, squeezing my mind.
Her hands, turned as hard as iron, tightened around my skull from both sides.
Creak.
I heard the sound of something twisting, but I ignored the pain, exerting my own strength as I looked into her face.
"I don't know what you're talking about. The disciples have learned enough, and when the time comes, I'm simply leaving."
"Did you ever ask her to go with you? Or anything even close to that?"
Since when did Prohibition become the type to meddle in other people's business?
"Unless she says something, I won't bring up unnecessary words either."
Creak. Crackle.
The sound of metal screaming. And the sound of something breaking.
"If you have nothing else to say, I'm leaving. If I'm late, she'll have something to say about it."
"Thunder God. Thunder God, indeed. You idiot."
She held up her broken hand—her metallic hand that had shattered, unable to withstand the immense force.
Passing by her as she reattached the severed hand to her wrist, I asked a necessary question.
"What about you? Are you leaving with us?"
If she stayed, that would be one S-Rank Hero. The damage would be greater than I thought...
"Ah? I'm leaving tomorrow. I have business in South America."
Then we wouldn't be clashing here.
"I'll wish you a safe trip. Let's not see each other while injured."
"You looked like you were going to kill me just now, so what's the angle? Trying to create an alibi? Kill me and dump the body in the Pacific?"
Her original personality was back. She had seemed so serious just a moment ago.
"Aren't we friends? I'd rather not have any fewer friends than I already do."
We might have exchanged ill will here, but wasn't she one of the few friends I had left? Even a rival is still a friend.
"...Friend. A friend, huh."
My words must have been unexpected. She stopped laughing and stared into the air with a grave expression.
"Mmmmmmmmmmm."
Then came a bizarre vocalization.
I couldn't deal with her. I should just go. Just as I was about to move my feet—
"Hammer Kid. I'll give you some advice as a friend."
A chilling voice rang out. A cold shiver ran down my spine.
Sharp nails grabbed my cheek and began to dig into the flesh.
"Tell the Thunder God. Tell her to leave with you."
I didn't have to look to know. This was her.
The being whose emotional lines had completely vanished, running on emptiness, exerting all her power.
Why now?
Blonde hair blocked my vision as her head tilted forward from behind my back to meet my eyes.
Her face was upside down.
In the face that was nothing but a silhouette, hidden behind a dark veil of dull blonde hair, her eyes—the only things shining—locked onto mine.
As her face drew inches from mine, I noticed something. The smell of alcohol. Was she drunk? Was she really doing that here?
Her S-Rank Technique: drinking alcohol by her own judgment to stabilize her mind and utilize all her power.
But the price was not cheap. The happy memories that sustained her would vanish. That was the cost of this technique.
Was this matter that important?
Important enough to advise me about the Thunder God even at the cost of erasing her past happiness?
And for someone like me, whom she wasn't even close to?
"The atmosphere is strange. Something is going to happen here. I don't know what, but I know. I know."
An eerie chill began to dominate my body. Even though I wasn't exerting force like before, I couldn't move.
All she was doing was making eye contact and scratching my cheek with her finger, yet the pressure made it impossible to move.
"If you don't tell her... you'll probably regret it for the rest of your life. Like me."
Her eyes narrowed, and a single shining drop of water fell.
How much time had passed?
"So. Make your choice. Lee Ha-ram."
Slide.
With a faint sound, she slowly vanished.
As if to avoid facing me, she turned her back and walked away.
"...What a load of bullshit."
Shaking off her chill, I returned to my room.
To my room, where the Thunder God was waiting.