Chapter 88: Thunder God Descent (2)
Chapter 88: Thunder God Descent (2)
Never stop moving.
This battle will be decided in an instant.
Crackle. Snap. Sizzle. Boom.
The sound of roiling electricity now reaches my ears like a song. A piece of music with a certain rhythm, clashing against The Resistance of reality, rising and falling in random pitches. However, its tempo is far beyond what any human could ever hope to follow.
Even if I were to give my all, it is a violent tempo I could never reach, blocked by The Resistance of physical laws.
But for the woman before me, it is possible.
A Young Girl, slightly taller than me. A bolt of lightning given mass. For her, shrouded in that murky yellow glow, such a realm is attainable.
Thunder God Descent.
Of all the Heroes combined, this is the power that has reached the pinnacle of speed.
Pain flares continuously throughout my body. Hand-blades. Thrusts. Punches. Kicks.
Individually, they aren't that dangerous.
But when they follow one after another without end, they become a display of overwhelming violence.
In a situation like this—where the opponent is faster but each individual strike is bearable—the standard tactic is to protect your vitals and wait for a chance to land one heavy blow.
However, I did not follow the standard.
I left my vitals exposed, swinging my Pry Bar and reaching out toward the precursors of her movements.
My hand cuts through empty air.
An attack lands.
Pain follows.
I thought I could catch her.
"Tsk."
Clicking my tongue, I continued to repeat these meaningless actions. There were two reasons for this approach.
First: the damage from each strike wasn't that great. At most, they left lacerations on my skin and sent jolts of electricity through me, causing brief paralysis.
I could feel my body gradually seizing up as the damage accumulated, but I could surely endure hundreds, even thousands more.
The second reason was the important one.
"There's... no time!"
I had to stop her before she was completely corrupted.
Truthfully, I didn't have a clever plan. This was my first time witnessing a Hero fall to corruption, and my first time trying to turn one back.
But still.
"If she swallowed something, she'll be back to normal once she spits it out."
I reached out, pinning my hopes on that single thought.
"That's so like you, Lee Ha-ram! I love how straightforward you are! Give it your best shot!"
Ignoring her cheers—which didn't sound like cheers at all—echoing through the air, I kept reaching into the void.
Without any tricks, with stubborn persistence. Enduring every attack with my body.
Solely to reach her.
Zap.
Close range.
The target: her chin.
I snapped my head back and thrust my left hand forward.
Slice.
A brief sensation of contact; a flash of light passing before my eyes.
Her hand, aimed at my jaw, missed, and the edge of my palm grazed her chin.
It was a partial miss, but in this fight, it was effectively a decisive blow.
The fact that I was able to counter at a speed where a counterattack should have been impossible was likely because the Thunder God had miscalculated.
Perhaps she grew impatient because I wouldn't fall no matter how many times she struck my vitals. This time, she had lunged in too deep.
It was certainly something to be happy about. And yet.
"This isn't like you, Thunder God."
I spoke as I flicked the blood from my hand.
"Weren't you the type to chip away at your opponent's health? Why the sudden gamble?"
That last move had been dangerous. A swift strike to the jaw—if I had lost consciousness for even a second, she would have fried every nerve in my body.
The blood flying from my hand shimmered and vanished into the sunlight.
Zap.
Again. Close range. This time, from behind.
I immediately spun the Pry Bar with my fingers and thrust it toward my flank.
Slice.
That brief sensation of contact again.
It was certain now. For some reason, the Thunder God had abandoned her usual style and was obsessively targeting my vitals. This time, it was likely the back of my neck.
"That's the second time, Thunder God."
So just take the punch quietly.
It hadn't even been a minute since the corruption began. If it's now...
"Shut... up!"
Startled by the sudden voice, I turned my head and saw her.
I saw her being slowly consumed, her yellow lightning turning black.
I saw her clutching her ears with both hands, letting out a scream of agony.
"I won't... listen to you...!"
"Thunder God?"
Something was wrong. I thought she was talking to me, but her reaction suggested she was arguing with someone else.
"I don't... need... that kind of power!"
Sizzzzzzzle!
A massive discharge.
I jumped back to avoid the expanding electrical field, my eyes never leaving her.
A brief silence followed.
The blackened lightning returned to yellow. It was as if two forces were fighting for dominance.
"..."
Was she struggling against the corruption? Trying her best to fight as herself.
"Thanks for waiting."
As if nothing had happened, she took her stance again with a bright expression.
Even as she broke into a cold sweat, with long gashes on her stomach and chin.
In response, I gripped my Pry Bar and charged.
"I'm not going to defend anymore."
Before she becomes something other than herself, I have to end this.
"You come at me with everything you've got too, Thunder God."
"That's the spirit!"
Now, it was a pure brawl.
Zap, boom.
Overwhelming power.
And overwhelming speed collided.
Two beings at the pinnacle of physical force clashed. The resulting shockwave blew everything in the vicinity away.
Above me!
A crater formed beneath us, and as I was launched into the air, I swung my Pry Bar over my head.
Thwip. Crack.
I felt a brief hit, but my arm was kicked aside in return.
Dammit. I should have landed a wound there. The ground was the problem.
The terrain was far softer than expected. Because of that, I was left suspended in the air, unable to regain my footing, becoming nothing more than prey for the Thunder God.
Jaw. Solar plexus. Eyes. Nape. Bridge of the nose. Knees. Spine. Between the ribs.
Every spot that could be called a vital point was hammered.
My consciousness flickered in and out, but as I had declared, I abandoned all defense and swept the air around me with my Pry Bar.
Each time my consciousness returned, the scenery had changed.
The cliffs were gone, replaced by magnificent rock formations by the shore.
Dust and massive boulders flew through the sky, obscuring my vision.
The sandy beach vanished, and suddenly I was standing on a plain. Had I been blown that far?
I closed my eyes and opened them to find myself in yet another location. How many times had I blacked out?
It didn't matter.
I will never break.
Zap. I saw her.
I saw her bleeding, her body broken in various places.
Had she slowed down after being caught in a shockwave? It was only a slight deceleration, but it was enough.
I happened to wake from my blackout at that exact moment.
She happened to be moving toward the very spot where I could swing my Pry Bar.
And finally, I confirmed her physical form and her movements.
The slight movement of her pupils.
The shift in her center of gravity.
Through all that information, I was certain she would come to my right.
And so, I swung the Pry Bar.
Zap.
There was no sensation of impact.
"It's a trap. You fell for it again, Ha-ram."
A voice came from behind me.
Sizzzzzzzle!
The mass of electricity shaped like her exploded. It was the same trap she had used during our sparring sessions.
It was amplified dozens, hundreds of times over as it slammed into my body. The current, exceeding all limits, fried my nerves and sent my body into convulsions.
How was it that my consciousness remained intact and my senses still functioned amidst such agony?
My twitching muscles forced my head up, and in my floating vision, I saw it.
A massive spear of lightning.
The Ultimate Technique held in her right hand, now returned to physical form.
Yellow and black lightning intertwined beautifully, forming an eerie pattern as it glowed.
Thunder God’s Spear.
An S-Rank Technique that compressed all her power into a small bolt of lightning to be brought down upon The Enemy.
It was a move I had to dodge, but with my entire body paralyzed, I had no way to move.
Her right hand swung down.
There was no sound.
Only a momentary flash.
And an endless, searing pain.
My scorched nerves continued to relay the final agony to my brain, and my brain continued to process that single pulse of pain from the nerves that were now gone.
Because of my resilient body, the pain persisted.
In the midst of it, I gritted my teeth and endured, tracking her form.
She began to fly toward me to finish me off, using the last of her strength to maintain Thunder God Descent.
Surely, this would be the end.
I would be defeated, and she would broadcast my plans to the entire world.
Amidst the blinding flashes and the deafening roar of thunder.
Crunch.
An eerie sound rang out.
The sound of flesh meeting flesh.
"How...?"
The sound of my right hand meeting her throat.
Yes. Normally, I would have lost. If I were the person I was not long ago.
"I've already reached the point where I don't need nerves to move my body."
Whether my flesh burns, my nerves are shattered, or my brain is blown away—it has nothing to do with me.
Because I exist right here.
You're the one who fell into the trap, Thunder God.
"Let's end this."
My fist, slow but packed with all my strength, raced toward her stomach.
The Black Particles within her lightning were sucked toward me. As if clinging to the stronger side.
Skreeeeee.
A black glove formed over my left hand with a bizarre screech.
It wasn't my usual gauntlet, but a thin glove like something you'd see at a ball, stretching from my hand to my elbow and clinging to my skin.
Boom.
"Cough... gah."
The impact was greater than that of the gauntlet.
Even in her Thunder God Descent state, which ignored a certain amount of physical damage, her waist buckled. The remaining force surged behind her, raking through the area in her wake.
A long, long ridge rose from the earth.
None of that mattered.
What mattered was the black sphere.
My gaze was fixed on her mouth.
Gulp.
Had my sincerity reached her?
A Black Orb slid out of her mouth. It was covered in saliva, but the fact that it was out was a relief.
"It looks a bit smaller, but it should be fine."
Thud.
Gripping the Thunder God by the neck, I landed on the ground and threw her down. I stepped on her stomach as she lay there and spoke.
"You're... quite rough with women..."
"One last question, Thunder God."
I began my pronouncement as the victor.
"Come with me quietly. You won't be able to communicate with the outside, but I'll make sure you have everything else you need. We can talk as much as you want, and I'll visit as often as I can. Once you get to know them, the Mutants are actually quite pleasant. It'll be okay."
Why was it? Why did I, the victor, sound like I was pleading?
I looked down at her, her body broken and dying, and I begged.
For some reason, even though the Black Orb had been removed, her body was beginning to turn black.
I thought the pain would be excruciating.
But contrary to my expectations, she grinned and spoke.
"I can't. I'm going to struggle as much as I can. Even if I'm captured, I'll burn the Mutants, and if there's even a tiny opening, I'll cut off my own limbs to escape and expose this incident."
Even with her internal organs being crushed under my foot, she spoke boldly.
Her breath. Her will. Her movements were transmitted through my foot.
The sensation I had once felt when our skin touched.
Hiding my surging emotions within the murky darkness, I spat out my feelings.
"Are you saying... that I'm wrong too? That we... that I am wrong?"
Who had said that?
No one had said those words.
But I couldn't endure without letting them out. Because she was the one I had shared the most emotions with.
Perhaps this was the last chance. The last story that could stop my rampage.
She reached out toward me.
It was a clear act of hostility, but I simply watched.
Her hands, made of electricity, touched my cheeks. Tingling lightning flowed across my face.
For some reason, it felt as if the lightning was flowing past my cheeks and into my eyes.
"Don't stop, Lee Ha-ram. If you think you're right, go until the very end. That's your strength. Who knows? Maybe you were right after all."
She... didn't stop me. She pushed me forward. Telling me to go to the end.
Her smile was dazzling. Just like that time I saw her under the sunlight not long ago.
"Then... come with..."
"Sorry, I can't. I'd like to, but I can't follow you."
I didn't need to hear the rest to know. Because she was kind, she wouldn't be able to bear my actions.
"Even now, I hear voices. Telling us to follow. I made such a firm resolve, but I couldn't even last that long."
She pulled her palms away from my cheeks and smiled at me.
Stretching both hands toward the sky.
Was removing the orb not enough? Was it all over the moment she swallowed it? Or was the voice she mentioned the problem?
If I interrogated her now, I could find out more. Surely, about the things that exist at The End of the Story, and the voice she spoke of.
But.
"So... end it."
I couldn't do that. I couldn't defile her final moments.
She, too, wanted the end.
And so, I...
"I'm sorry."
And then.
"I think... I loved you."
I let out the words I had never spoken, the words I had never been able to say.
I swung my Pry Bar toward the woman who had been loved, the woman I had loved.
The heavy, red iron, packed with strength, came crashing down toward her head.
I saw her face.
Her face, looking at me until the very last moment, smiling.
This is my sin.
The sin of choosing justice over humanity.
"I'm sorry."
Her voice and...
Crack.
The sound of her skull shattering overlapped.
This is my sin.
Something sprayed from my eyes.
A single drop.