Chapter 87: Thunder God Descent (1)
Chapter 87: Thunder God Descent (1)
The place where the refugees and the Management Bureau had departed.
Only the Thunder God and I remained to watch over the site.
We stood on a shimmering sandy beach, the last two Heroes remaining to intercept the attacks pouring toward the ships.
“The last one!”
The Enemies from the Otherworld, who had swarmed the shore to hurl magic, vomit, and boulders, were finally subjugated as dawn broke over the coast.
Thump.
The vibration and echo of a massive buffalo-like creature collapsing rang out.
With that Giant Monster falling onto the sand as the final casualty, we relaxed our stances and looked out toward The Sea.
The people of the Bureau and the civilians were leaving Hokkaido aboard the transport ships.
Perhaps because the situation was so dire, even the residents of the Contaminated Zone whose appearances had been altered were taken aboard without exception before the ships departed.
Given the scale of the incident, they would surely be exposed to the media, leading to a societal debate. Whether they would be accepted back into society would depend on their own efforts.
The Sea was dyed yellow by the rising sun. I turned my gaze away from the ships floating on the water and looked at the Hero who stood alone with me.
“Why didn't you leave with them?”
She was drenched in sweat, her skin sparkling as it reflected the sunlight. Thunder God gave a smirk, then turned her head toward me and spoke.
“I still have work to do.”
Splash. Splash.
On the bright yellow shore, amidst the sand stained with the blood of corpses, she quietly walked out onto the water.
Step by step. She moved in a direction that slowly put distance between us.
With the rising sun as her backdrop, the glowing woman looked strangely sorrowful.
“Ha-ram.”
“I am Black Marauder.”
“I don't care if that’s what you want to call yourself. To me, you’re Lee Ha-ram. That way of speaking, those actions, that fighting style... there’s no way I wouldn't recognize you.”
It was an exchange we had repeated several times during this incident. She spoke with absolute certainty regarding my identity.
“Ah, don’t give me any boring stories about being a Clone Monster or anything like that. I’m not so dull that I can’t tell the difference. There’s no way I’m wrong; I’ve watched you for years.”
As I thought, being close to someone who knows me well is dangerous.
Splash. Splash.
She pivoted on one leg, turning her entire body toward me.
She bent her knees, taking a stance and extending both hands in my direction.
It was her combat posture.
“Why did you cause all of this?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“There’s no need to play innocent. There’s no one else around. It’s just you and me.”
“....”
“Did you think I wouldn't know? There’s the internet, and there was the television. I know everything about you—the Black Marauder incident, everything you’ve been through. All of it.”
I... did not open my mouth.
“So you’re not going to talk? Fine. I can guess well enough. In your words, you did this for 'justice,' right? Probably to instill a sense of crisis in the Bureau. Or maybe to increase your fame as the Black Marauder, the 'Mutant of Justice'? Or maybe both.”
“....”
I remained silent.
Because I felt like she was about to negate me.
“Ha-ram. If you keep your mouth shut like that, I’ll have no choice but to report the truth of this incident.”
She tilted her head, provoking me. Just as I was about to respond—
“Ah. I asked the wrong question. Sorry. Let me ask again. Is this the will of Lee Ha-ram? Or is it your will as Black Marauder?”
I felt like I had to answer.
For her sake, since she had kept quiet until now.
“It is my will as Lee Ha-ram.”
“Good. Then I’ll tell them this was the work of Black Marauder. I won’t bring up the name Lee Ha-ram.”
“Can’t you... just stay silent?”
At my question, she shook her head. It was an immediate response, without a hint of hesitation.
“I can’t. From where I’m standing, this has crossed the line. To put it in Black Marauder’s terms...”
A momentary breath. Her lungs expanded.
“It doesn't fit my justice.”
“Justice. It’s strange to hear that word coming from your mouth. Weren't you the one who reacted most violently to what we went through?”
“I was.”
“You said you know everything about me. Then don’t you know why I’m doing this?”
“I know. You probably couldn't stand those people who were laughing even though Dong-hun died.”
“Do you think I move based on such trivial emotions? Me?”
“Of course, it’s different now. But that must have been the start.”
“...What’s the problem with that? The beginning was always something simple. That basement, and my justice now. So, was that a mistake?”
“No, it wasn't a mistake. It’s just...”
“Just what?”
“People died. People who were just living their ordinary lives.”
“Are you talking about the Bureau people?”
“Yes.”
“Bureau staff, Heroes, me, you—we are all people who prepared for death. What does it matter if they died?”
My heart was growing twisted.
“That must be your justice, Lee Ha-ram. But my justice is different.”
That was obvious.
Justice is not an absolute thing.
My justice is the justice of Lee Ha-ram.
Thunder God’s justice is the justice of Thunder God.
Some justices blend together, finding a point of agreement. But some justices can never find common ground, and when such justices meet...
“Then... I’ll just have to stop you by force.”
“Ha.”
She...
And I...
We smiled.
Our hearts were in sync.
All that remained was for one of us to be broken.
Crackle.
Boom.
On the sandy beach where everyone had left, the two of us lunged at each other.
Sand sprayed in all directions from the impact of our forward thrusts, and before it could even land back on the ground—
I twisted my body in mid-air, focusing all my strength into my leg.
Magical Girl-style. Jingak.
CRASH!
My leg, carrying all my might, slammed into the beach. Sand erupted into the air or was compressed, creating a massive crater.
I turned my head to see if Thunder God had been caught in the shockwave, but of course, things wouldn't be that easy.
That was fine. I never expected Thunder God to be finished by a mere shockwave anyway.
The point of this action was to create a narrow combat zone within my reach—
Crackle.
And to scatter fine debris into the air that would react to sparks, allowing me to trace Thunder God’s electrical path.
“There you are.”
My body moved faster than I could speak toward the place where I felt the precursor.
I swung my Pry Bar. A humanoid bolt of lightning began to manifest at the predicted location.
Zap!
A massive flash and the sound of electricity confirmed the destination. The Pry Bar swung accurately toward its head.
Simultaneously, I sensed a short hook flying toward my jaw.
I couldn't dodge it.
My accelerated cognition perceived the attack, but there was no way to avoid it—a perfect counter.
In that brief moment of exchange, my eyes met Thunder God’s.
Grin.
We both smiled at each other. It wasn't a bright smile, but a distorted one with pupils wide open and teeth clenched.
Yet, for us, it was a natural smile. A smile blooming in the heat of battle, as if reflected in a mirror.
Even as we launched attacks that could kill one another, we smiled.
Perhaps we had already gone mad.
The Hero who kills for justice, and the Hero who kills a loved one for justice.
Even though we knew each other's hearts, our attacks never faltered. Aiming for the opponent's vitals to protect our own justice.
Crunch. Thud.
The hook caught my jaw, snapping my head upward.
I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them to find my vision had shifted. Thunder God was nowhere to be seen.
Was it a brief concussion? What happened to my attack?
Seeing as I was still standing with the Pry Bar in hand, it seemed I hadn't lost.
I quickly expanded my senses, but I couldn't feel any further movement...
Crackle.
I swung the Pry Bar toward the precursor.
Clang!
The sound of her palm strike colliding with my Pry Bar, causing her follow-up attack to fail.
“Dammit.”
Zap.
I missed her.
Normally, I should have pursued her immediately, but I let the Pry Bar hang low and shook my head.
“...Why don't we stop?”
For a split second.
I had seen her face in my vision.
Her face was covered in blood, distorted with pain.
The Pry Bar hadn't landed a direct hit, but it seemed I had dealt enough damage to at least fracture her forehead.
Crackle. Clang.
Sensing another precursor, I swung the Pry Bar again, feeling her attack being blocked.
She had definitely slowed down.
“The moment you failed to take me down with that first blow, Thunder God... you lost. Let’s end this cleanly.”
Even though she had regained some of her strength after retiring, it was difficult for her now.
“Can you even use Thunder God Descent to turn completely into lightning? Or the Thunder God Spear that completely destroys the entire nervous system?”
Crackle. Spark.
Sparks continued to fly through the sand, but she didn't attack. She must have realized the clear difference in power.
“Give up. The battle is already over—”
“It’s not over.”
I heard her voice.
I saw Thunder God materialize at a spot as far away from me as possible, above the crater in the sand.
Her beautiful blonde hair was now soiled and stained red with blood, and a patch of skin on her forehead had been torn away.
Blood was trickling down from the wound above her eyelid. She kept her left eye closed, unable to withstand the flowing blood.
“I... will stand... by your side. I am... not... lacking.”
Bzzzt. Bzzzzzt.
Was her strength failing?
Her words were fragmented, and her hair, which always shone brightly, was flickering and losing its luster.
“...Stop it.”
This is enough.
“There’s still... more. This is definitely... something I shouldn't do.”
She lifted her head.
For some reason, even though everything was glowing brightly in the sunlight, her face seemed hidden in shadow, invisible.
“Ha-ram. Do you know? I... can hear voices.”
The atmosphere was strange.
The distance wasn't that great. Just a short gap. A distance I could cover in less than 0.1 seconds if I kicked off the ground.
But I couldn't approach her. Something was acting as a heavy pressure, preventing me from moving.
A sensation as if a direct command was being sent to my brain: Do not move.
“I guess this is what they call falling. Everyone... went through this process.”
Rumble.
A massive amount of Otherworldly Power began to gather, making the space vibrate.
It was a sight I had never seen before.
A tangible black energy poured in from all directions, beginning to congregate above Thunder God’s head.
I had to stop it.
I didn't know what that was, but I couldn't let Thunder God be defiled.
A strange whispering reached my ears.
‘You must not move.’
My brain itself began to issue the command.
My body wouldn't move.
It was a bizarre sensation, as if my very will was not being transmitted to my body.
“So what?”
I knew countless ways to move limbs that refused to budge.
Even if my nerves, muscles, and brain—everything made of flesh and blood—betrayed me.
I... can move.
I am a lifeform made of spirit.
A Magical Girl.
The moment I thought that, the mana inside my body began to swirl like a tempest.
If the body won't move, make it move with mana.
Tens. Hundreds. Thousands. Tens of thousands. Hundreds of millions of times, I had repeated this. Since I couldn't even use a basic magic formula like physical reinforcement.
I manually manipulated every bit of mana, every flow. I kept doing it until it became second nature.
That was the true nature of my physical reinforcement.
Not even magic, but something brutish.
The mana poured into my legs forcibly twisted the muscles to make them move.
I lifted my foot. Like an infant taking its very first step.
It couldn't be helped, since it was my first time moving with pure mana without even using my muscles.
Thump.
I took that first arduous step, but—
Gurgle.
With a strange sound, part of the Otherworldly Power gathering toward her began to clump toward me.
Countless hands and arms made of darkness sprouted from the empty air, binding me.
They grabbed my limbs. Shadowy hands and feet wrapped around my entire body.
I felt an overwhelming power.
A force so great it might even be stronger than an O-Rank Monster. Such restraints blocked my path, but—
“Get... out of... my way!”
I swung my arm and shattered the restraints.
The bindings that held me turned into Black Particles and vanished into the air.
Then, suddenly, my body began to move with strange naturalness.
This time, I didn't even conscious of the flow of mana. The mana flowed naturally, making my body move.
Had my consciousness realized the urgency of the situation and unlocked my latent potential? Whatever the case, such contemplation didn't matter. Right now, I had to—Thunder God!
“Thunder God!”
One step.
Gurgle.
The restraints reappeared.
Boom.
I broke the restraints and took another step.
The intervals gradually shortened.
As if perceiving me as a threat, the restraints on my body grew even stronger, but they crumbled, unable to stop my strength. Repeating this, I reached the point right in front of Thunder God.
“I... want to stop you. Ha-ram.”
A Black Candy, formed in the sky, fell into her mouth.
“I think I know why people swallowed this.”
The black sphere was still in her mouth. Wet with her saliva, the Black Orb rolled along her tongue.
“This is... the final option. The last choice for someone who has something they want to gain, even if it means throwing everything else away.”
“If you know that, don't swallow it!”
I reached out toward her mouth.
Just before my hand could touch her—
“Sorry.”
Gulp. Her throat made a small sound.
That was definitely...
“I’ll throw everything away to stop you. Because that’s what it takes to earn the right to stand by your side.”
It hurt.
The flash of black lightning.
The impact that struck my body.
【Time shall dwell in the high places】
The voice of Otherworld Erosion reached me slower than my pain.
I had experienced this many times before.
Thunder God’s attack, accelerated to a speed faster than perception.
Boom. Crackle. Boom. Crackle.
I ignored the continuous pain.
“THUNDER GOOOOOD!”
With all my might, I kicked the ground.
BOOM!
It was an unsightly act. To not counterattack, but to let rage take over and blow away the surroundings.
However, it was effective. Thunder God’s attack was interrupted, and she came into view, her speed clearly slowed by The Resistance of the sand.
The girl from eleven years ago, who hadn't yet grown up. Clad in a murky yellow light mixed with black, she was looking at me.
“Round two, Ha-ram.”
Crackle.