Chapter 380: The Lightning Did Not Fall From the Sky - 1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 380: The Lightning Did Not Fall From the Sky - 1
Mornings in Claudia arrive with a veil of mist. As the Cloud Waterfall descends, most of it gathers in Claudia’s reservoirs, but some of it drifts away, spreading in all directions. This scattered vapor settles as dew during the cold night, sleeping soundly upon the earth until the morning sun awakens it.
And when morning comes, it rises once more as clouds, blanketing the ground in a thick haze. A fastidious human might correct you, insisting it’s not cloud but mist, but what meaning does a name hold from a water droplet’s perspective? The fact that they all float together is surely more important.
Rumble, rumble, rumble. Thunder rolled three times in succession. Claudia’s bell chime, which utilized stored thunder, announced that two hours had passed since sunrise.
I instinctively flinched and peered out the window, grumbling.
“Damn. Leave it to the City of Clouds to use thunder to tell time. No chance of sleeping through that.”
“Woof, woof. So startling! Woof!”
Azzy and I, both long since woken by the thunderous chime, grumbled in unison.
The dense mist was so thick it obscured the sun. They said the fog would lift and things would brighten after noon, but for now, it was no different from dawn. The lightning lamp encased in its glass orb was brighter than the sunlight.
Because of this, the people of Claudia generally spent their misty mornings indoors, with their real workdays beginning in the afternoon.
“Perhaps it’s the similar climate, but their way of life resembles that of the Duchy of Mist,” Tyr remarked, lost in thought as she gazed at the hazy world outside.
“The Duchy of Mist is always filled with fog. Forms are indistinct even in broad daylight, so the detestable sunlight cannot reach us.”
“That makes sense. Claudia may be adjacent to the Cloud Waterfall, but it’s on the outside. The Duchy of Mist is a land you can only reach by passing through the waterfall itself.”
It would be even foggier there, not less. There was a reason it was called the Duchy of Mist. With the Cloud Waterfall as its roof, the land was perpetually in shadow, allowing even vampires to walk about freely in broad daylight.
“Seeing this sight, I am once again reminded of how close we are to the Duchy… Since we’ve come this far, will you not pay a visit?”
“If our business in Claudia concludes successfully, I think I will.”
The nation of vampires. I was a little curious myself.
Tyrkanzyaka, once a seed of the Divine, had been struck down by the blades of the Sanctum before she could bear fruit. Twisted by her death, she became not a god, but a ghost, wandering the mortal plane. Her power could no longer apply to all of humanity; instead, it was warped into a method of creating a single new species—vampires—by sharing her own blood.
A new species, undeniably human in origin, yet with an ecology so different from ordinary humans and beasts.
It did make me wonder. Did the Sanctum regret bringing the vampire species into existence, or were they just relieved that a Divine hadn't emerged?
Somehow, I suspected it was the latter…
“Hu.”
“Yes?”
Tyr watched me for a moment with a faint smile, then placed a hand on her chest and asked gently.
“Does my country hold what you seek?”
‘The thing that the King of Humans searches for, willing to turn the world upside down to find it?’
She didn’t say it aloud, but her thoughts were certain.
Ugh. It feels like everyone and their dog knows my identity these days. Azzy, being a dog, knew from the start, so she doesn’t count, but Hilde, and now Tyr… It’s reached a point where denying it is useless.
I suppose it’s inevitable. Getting involved with the Sanctum was bound to expose me. I should probably just be glad the Regressor still hasn’t figured it out. If she did, the next timeline would be…
Ah, whatever. No point in worrying about things I can’t control.
Whether I’m the King of Humans or not isn’t that important. After all, I’m just ‘ordinary.’ The reason I don’t go around boasting about being the King of Humans is because there’s no need to.
“I’m not sure if it’s there or not. I’m not particularly fond of vampires, you see.”
“…Is that so?”
‘Ordinary humans fear vampires. As the King of Humans, Hu would speak for them all…’
It wasn’t a bad guess, but that wasn’t quite it. Vampires were, at their core, still human. However.
“From my perspective, Tyr, you’re far more comfortable and familiar to be around than other vampires.”
“M-Me, you say?” Tyr asked, genuinely surprised.
As the Progenitor, the arch-nemesis of the Sanctum, she had become an object of fear for countless humans. Her life had been the very antithesis of words like ‘comfortable’ and ‘familiar.’ Though she took no particular pleasure in it, death and slaughter were commonplace events in her presence.
Still, even that was human.
Compared to other vampires.
“Other vampires have their masters. A king, you could say. As long as there’s a higher-ranking vampire who is both their desire and their ruler, there’s nothing I can do.”
The dominion a higher vampire exerts over a lower one is absolute. Like a human bound by gravity to the earth, the sensation of having every drop of blood in one’s body pulled is on a different level from simple respect or loyalty. It’s closer to domination and subservience, but all the more insidious because they aren’t mere puppets. A dependency bordering on servitude, perhaps.
That’s why a vampire’s mind can change so easily. No matter how well I butter them up or build a relationship, a single word from a higher-ranking vampire can change their entire way of thinking. Even a desire they’ve held firmly for hundreds of years can be bent in an instant.
Since there is nothing I can give a vampire, save for one thing…
“But Tyr, even though you’re the Progenitor, you’re a complete human with your own desires. That’s why I’m a hundred times more comfortable with you.”
In that sense, the Progenitor of vampires was ordinary. Even if she had lived for a thousand years, her desires were her own.
‘…Me, a human. If anyone else had said it, I would have dismissed it as empty flattery… but to hear it from the King of Humans, it feels different. Is this why the Human Regime searches for the King of Humans…?’
Tyr’s gaze wavered slightly, and she cleared her throat.
“Ahem, comfortable, you say. Is that why you were so rude from our very first meeting?”
“Rude? You make me sound like some barbarian with no manners. Could you please say ‘familiar’ instead?”
“Very well. You were familiarly ill-mannered from our first meeting. Thanks to that, we were able to talk sooner, so I suppose I have your rudeness to thank.”
“If you think about it, it’s more thanks to Shei-ssi. If you had kept sleeping with the underground armory door sealed, we never would have spoken at all.”
“That is also true. When you trace it back, this is all because of the trouble Shei stirred up. Though I’m not sure if I should be grateful.”
With a small laugh, Tyr glanced out the window. The Thundergear visible through the glass was so massive that its colossal silhouette showed even through the mist. Artificial lightning flashed from the slowly turning wheel.
It seemed the preparations to kill the Thunder God were nearly complete.
“By the way, Hu. The Thunder God, a servant of the Sky God, is about to submit to a human. It’s a rare sight. Are you truly not going to watch?”
‘The Hu I know would never miss such a spectacle.’
If it were real, I’d be there with a bag of popcorn. It would be worth watching even for someone who wasn’t on bad terms with the Sky God, like Tyr. But something felt off.
I waved my hand and said, “I’ll sit this one out.”
“Understood. Rest well.”
‘He must be planning something without us again. It’s a shame he won’t reveal his intentions, even though I would help him with whatever it is. But if this is what he wants, I won’t press him.’
She already figured it out? Have I been too predictable lately? Then again, it wasn’t surprising that Tyr, who was always keenly aware of my every move, would notice.
‘…And I, too, have something I haven’t spoken of.’
Tyr glanced toward the Cloud Waterfall and smiled serenely.
-Citizens of Claudia, stop what you are doing and listen. There is something you must know.
Before the mist had fully lifted, the Thunderarch’s voice boomed across Claudia. At the great Thunderarch’s speech, the citizens of Claudia stopped their work and listened intently. The Thunderarch waited until she had their full attention before speaking.
-The Golden Lord has stopped his charge.
A murmur spread through the crowd. The citizens, realizing the meaning of her words a moment later, were horrified.
Why was Claudia the greatest city in the Fallen Dominion? Of course, prospering through the power of thunder was part of it, but the biggest reason was that it was the only stationary city in the entire Dominion. In a land where the Golden Lord roamed, it was the only place he did not set foot, allowing the essence of alchemy to accumulate on its soil.
But if the Golden Lord had stopped, Claudia would no longer be the only stationary city in the Fallen Dominion.
-A few brave Primarchs and a noble guest from another land have stopped him. Thanks to them, the Fallen Dominion is now free from him.
She didn’t say the Golden Lord had disappeared, likely to prevent mass panic. After all, the Fallen Dominion had subsisted on the Golden Lord’s power.
-A great change is coming to the Fallen Dominion. Claudia, long held back by the Golden Lord below and the Thunder God above, will now break its shackles and move forward.
The words were hard to believe, but the Thunderarch did not lie. The most powerful and greatest Primarch in the Fallen Dominion was a perfect being, and such a being had no need for a petty tool like deception.
-With the help of those who stopped the Golden Lord, I will sever our ill-fated ties with the Thunder God. For the future of Claudia.
Only then did the residents of Claudia understand the Thunderarch’s grand design and erupt in cheers.
Finishing her speech, the Thunderarch turned and walked away. Behind her, the Guardians of Thunder moved in unison. Though not as powerful as the Thunderarch, they were all wielders of lightning. The majority of them had been mobilized to minimize the damage during the fight with the Thunder God.
‘This has gotten bigger than I thought. In the last timeline, we killed the Thunder God quietly, in secret. What’s going on?’
The situation had deviated from her expectations, and the Regressor was filled with questions.
“…Isn’t this… a bit too grandiose? We could just take care of the Thunder God quietly.”
The Thunderarch shook her head firmly and replied.
“Ordinarily, yes. But the situation is different now. The shock of the Golden Lord’s disappearance is bound to hit eventually. Ordinary humans cannot accept drastic change, so we must inform them of a part of it now to minimize the chaos that will come later.”
“Ah, I see. Because of the Golden Lord.”
‘I was wondering why her reaction was different from the last timeline. It was because the Golden Lord is gone. So much has changed this time. Well… I did get rid of a Divine, after all.’
She recalled her accomplishment and felt a small surge of pride. There was still much to do, but she felt a certain satisfaction in her steady progress.
“You must prepare as well, Goldenarch. You, who possess such ability, must lead everyone alongside me. This will be the first step.”
“…Yes.”
Peru, who had been lagging slightly behind, gritted her teeth and stood beside them. The Thunderarch watched her weak steps with a hint of displeasure.
“You look unwell. It will not do for one who must lead the people to be in poor health.”
“Don’t worry. It’s a problem that came from defeating the Golden Lord, so it can be cured. I’ll find a way to fix it.”
“If that’s the case, I am relieved. For now, let us focus on the task at hand.”
The two Primarchs and the Regressor headed for the Lightning Tower to kill the Thunder God. It was an idol symbolizing their fear of him, but also a structure that could overcome him. They went to the Lightning Tower to sever their ill-fated ties with the Thunder God.
In the empty space they left behind.
I began to trudge toward the Lightning Tower.
The Lightning Tower. A colossal structure standing 50 meters tall. It didn’t exist merely to absorb lightning strikes; its interior housed facilities that utilized that very lightning.
The Thunderarch had shown me the farms, but there was much more. A mill for processing the harvested crops. A refinery for imbuing steel with lightning. Facilities for creating various tools with that steel, and so on.
The resources produced in the Lightning Tower flowed down to the city below. Thanks to this abundance of resources, Claudia ran smoothly as long as there were people to work. The powerless Dholes, preferring a much more stable life than wandering the wastelands of the Fallen Dominion, hoped to live in Claudia.
However, because the Thunderarch only accepted Dholes with children, Claudia was filled with newlyweds with nowhere else to go and women with children. Even they had to leave once their children were grown.
A prosperous city, yet most of its inhabitants would one day leave.
And among them, those who did not leave were…
A guard spotted me and aimed the spear in his hand. A small, threatening spark crackled between the tines of the spear tip, which was split like a fountain pen nib.
“Who goes there! Identify yourself!”
“I’m a guest of the Thunderarch. You’ve seen me before, right? I came here with her.”
Ignoring the terrifying lightning before my eyes, I showed my face and walked forward nonchalantly.
Visiting this place with the Thunderarch yesterday had paid off. The guard recognized my face and lowered his spear.
“My apologies. What is your business here?”
“My business? Didn’t you hear the announcement just now? She said she was going to end the ill-fated ties with the Thunder God.”
I asked him back as if it was something he should already know. Flustered by the sudden turn, the guard stammered.
“O-Of course, but… the Thunderarch took the elevator. She had to go to the top of the Lightning Tower.”
“Ah, did she? I must have misunderstood. I thought I had to use the stairs to get to the top.”
As a first-timer in Claudia, I had gotten the directions mixed up. I was supposed to take the elevator with the Thunderarch to the top of the Lightning Tower, but I thought I had to walk up the stairs and came to this entrance instead. It was a common mistake for an outsider who had never experienced an elevator.
The guard pieced together the information and understood my situation… or rather, I led him to do so.
“Sorry about that. I’m not familiar with the layout. Could you show me where the stairs are?”
“The elevator will be back down if you wait.”
“The stairs are fine. I’m already late, so I need to hurry. There probably isn’t much difference between the stairs and the elevator anyway.”
A lie, of course. Stairs were humanity’s worst invention, and climbing them was no different from self-torture. If I were going up, the elevator was unequivocally the right choice.
But I wasn’t going up.
“For a master of Qi Arts, stairs should be no problem. It’s over there.”
“Thanks.”
The guard, without any particular suspicion, pointed me to the entrance of the stairwell. I gave a nod of thanks and, in his full view, headed for the stairs.
Behind me, the loyal guard snapped to a salute and shouted.
“We’re counting on you! For Claudia’s long-held wish!”
“Don’t worry. It’ll be over by the end of the day.”
Giving a slight wave, I casually disappeared into the stairwell… and immediately bolted down the stairs.