Chapter 383: The Lightning Did Not Fall From the Sky - 4
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 383: The Lightning Did Not Fall From the Sky - 4
“Sophistry. If that’s all you have to say after storming in here, I must say I’m disappointed.”
Reading her mind as clear as day, I couldn’t believe my ears.
Just a moment ago, this was the Thunderarch, a woman burdened with human anguish. But then, something flashed through her like lightning, and she cast all her turmoil into the back of her mind, transforming into the Thunderarch.
As if the Thunderarch wasn't human at all.
“Replacing one’s flesh with something made by another human. That is the second Anathema, the Sin of Grafting. It is the Homunculus' Dilemma, a line even the most profane mages are wary of crossing, and you want me to stand by and watch? To let every human in the Fallen Dominion fall into the Golden Lord’s clutches? To let them cast aside the very dignity that makes them human?”
Her head twitched. The power of thunder that had spread throughout her body began to converge once more. But the direction it was gathering was a little strange.
A bright yellow halo materialized above the Thunderarch’s head. It was an unstable ring of electric current, too volatile to be an angel’s, and it crackled with an unpleasant static.
“It is better to live a life of pain than to debase what it means to be human.”
With all her power and arrogance, she was no different from an angel. The only distinction, if I had to find one, was that she wasn't summoning the form of an angel, but rather using thunder as a medium to wield her own body like an angel.
How ironic, the least human-looking person here is lecturing me about human dignity. No matter how you slice it, you're the weirdest one here!
“But your entire body is made of the Golden Lord’s crops, isn’t it? You freely use that power for yourself, but forbid others from doing the same. You’re just kicking away the ladder!”
“That is why I must be special. Otherwise, instead of admiring my body and power, humans would covet them. They would all rush to fill their bodies with the Golden Lord’s excrement. If every human gained the same power as I, the world’s order would crumble like a toy!”
The Thunderarch’s hair floated up, seeming to wrap around the electric halo. She looked like an angel wielding divine punishment, or perhaps a puppet controlled by the ring above her head. Her hair, which had stopped rising, fanned out to her sides, beating up and down like wings.
Her eyes, filled with the light of lightning, glared at me. Having received a new revelation, she fixed her gaze on me.
“Do you truly believe it is acceptable for humanity to lose its dignity, King of Humans?”
Seriously, at this rate, every man and his dog will recognize me on the street. Might as well broadcast it to the world.
Because the Duchy of Mist was right next door, Claudia had no proper shrines. The Thunderarch had likely never seen a shrine in her life, nor did she know that theology existed as a field of study.
But now, having received a revelation, the Thunderarch was a more devout believer than any other, a comrade who shared their cause.
She, who had been chosen by fate and had become the Thunderarch through that opportunity and power.
“So you were one of the Crusaders, Thunderarch. Tsk, I asked a pointless question.”
The Sanctum’s direct military force, the Crusaders, are chosen by fate.
No one orders them to become Crusaders. Nor do they apply to join. They simply live ordinary lives among other people until, one day, it dawns on them.
That they are Crusaders, chosen by fate. That the only one who can understand and affirm them is the Sky God.
The power they gained by chance, the teachings they followed, the values they strove to protect, the things they desperately wished for—they realize all of it already exists and follow the revelation.
“For the King of Humans, who above all others should protect human dignity, to forsake it… You should have disappeared for good.”
What a thing to say. You think I wanted to be born, or that I wanted to disappear? I retorted, irritated.
“This is all because you people keep slapping weird titles on me. Just because I’m the King of Humans doesn’t mean I’m a king, you know? The kind of king who bosses his subjects around is a concept created by humans.”
You can have all the expectations you want, but there’s nothing I can do for you. In the first place, I am the Beast King. A being who represented all humans back when they were still beasts… or I was.
When you get down to it, I’m influenced by the entire human species. They call me a king, but I’m more like a figurehead who only does the dirty work, promised unpaid labor from the moment I was born. Compared to that, your kings have it pretty good, changing humans as they please.
Well, I suppose that’s why they got rid of the King of Humans in the first place.
“‘Humans must be this way,’ ‘They must uphold their dignity’? Where exactly are these ideal humans you’re thinking of? They don’t sound like any humans I know. And what is this ‘dignity’ that needs protecting anyway? Is it some kind of emergency ration? If so, I wish you’d share some. Stop hoarding it all to yourselves.”
It was my genuine, unvarnished opinion, but the Thunderarch took it as sarcasm and responded in kind.
“So you don’t care what becomes of humanity, how miserably they fall… Hmph. The word ‘barbarian’ suits you.”
“Whatever becomes of humanity, however miserably they fall, are they not still human? Unlike you, I don’t deny them.”
“And what if the city is destroyed? If morality vanishes? If order collapses? If the very things that protect humanity disappear in an instant, what becomes of the humans who are left?”
The Thunderarch flung her arm out. Her fingers, now naturally wreathed in lightning, pointed toward the nearby children. She gestured at the wailing toddlers and cried out as if coughing up blood.
“The Golden Lord! Because that cursed Divine destroyed the order of the Golden Empire, countless tragedies have taken root in this land! Power that cannot be controlled should not be accepted. If it is a power that can break the world, it must never see the light of day and should disappear forever! Rather than cause countless deaths, chaos and fear, war and tragedy! It is better to bury it in the dirt and forget it ever existed!”
That was their way of preserving order. Build something up with great effort, then eliminate anything that could possibly tear it down. A method favored by the Sanctum.
“The Golden Lord was human, too. An ordinary, single human.”
Of course, it was a method I could never accept.
“Just because he brought change to the world, just because he was too powerful, you label him a Divine, an entity beyond common sense, brand him, make him a taboo, and forbid even the thought of him….”
Denial, anathema, taboo. Things that truly existed but were now forbidden even to recall. Naming them ‘Divine’ was all for that purpose…
Still. I shrugged and continued.
“Well, not that it matters. You’re all human, too. I cherish your wishes as well!”
A flicker of hope appeared on the Thunderarch’s face.
“In that case.”
“But I still need to know! Because I’m the King of Humans! It seems like you all want me to forget these things and never recall them, but that’s no different from shouting at me not to think of a pink elephant!”
You can’t just not think of a pink elephant. How am I supposed to forget when you keep bringing it up? If that’s what you wanted, you should’ve stayed ignorant yourselves.
No, is that impossible too?
To avoid something, you must first understand it thoroughly.
“Negotiations have failed.”
“Not necessarily! Well, this has been an entertaining diversion. Unfortunately, now that we’ve confirmed our opinions are on parallel tracks, shall we part ways?”
“…We shall.”
Sighing, the Thunderarch shifted, her lightning wings fluttering slightly.
She’s coming.
In the next instant, lightning lunged at my face. Leaving a trail of wind and light, the Thunderarch shot forward and grabbed my neck. Before I could even register what was happening, my body smashed through the desk and slammed into the wall.
CRASH! A powerful impact rocked me. I could taste blood from my split lip. The Thunderarch, her hand clamped around my throat, glared at me with murderous eyes.
“Did you really think I would say that? Surely you predicted I wouldn’t let you go so easily.”
Ah, damn. She’s so fast. Even reading her thoughts, my reaction is too slow. I answered through the sharp pain.
“…Cough, you’re right. I expected an interruption. But I never thought the Thunderarch herself would come.”
Even my mind-reading didn’t see that coming. You didn’t even know you were a Crusader! So how the hell was I supposed to know? You should've had your identity crisis on your own time!
“You should have at least brought your comrades. Your foolishness has brought about your own death. Having lost your power, you won’t be able to overcome any obstacle.”
“You’re… right. I’m just… an ordinary… human… Keuk!”
The air was being squeezed from my lungs. I mustered my last bit of strength and grabbed the Thunderarch’s arm. Her arm, crackling with lightning, felt like solid steel.
No matter how hard I squeezed, that unyielding arm didn’t budge. Born as the Thunderarch, raised as the Thunderarch, and possessing the stature of the Thunderarch, she was literally a woman of iron.
‘A pitiful sight… Is this the King of Humans? I’ll end it now. Electrocution would be the easiest cause of death to sell to his companions.’
Lightning flowed into her hand. A tingling sensation, like drinking carbonated water, ran down my neck. It felt like a swarm of ants crawling all over my body.
Still, even a woman of iron… is human.
‘He’s grabbing my lightning-wreathed hand… and is unaffected?’
Too early to be surprised.
I slowly moved her arm, still gripping it. Her immense power, which allowed her to wield lightning like a Qi Art, could never be overcome with ordinary strength.
So, what about the same lightning?
She was born with lightning, grew up with lightning. Even her body was accustomed to it. To her, being electrocuted was like playing in water. She felt its flow… and at some point, she learned to grasp it in her hand.
The innate Unique Magic of one born to it. A Spiritual World that shapes the chaotic power of thunder into a Qi Art.
Unique Magic, Thunder Catch.
Along with the Thunderarch’s arm, I grasped her lightning.
By its very nature, lightning must flow. It is, in essence, a river flowing from the high heavens. A concept destined to flow until it pools in the sea.
It is so brief and brilliant that it is perceived only as power, but its essence is flow. And the Thunderarch could grasp that flow in her hand.
If she can do it, so can I.
Because every human, myself included, is ordinary.
Crrrack. I used the Thunderarch’s own power to move her. Because it was her own power, I could control her body just as she could. Her powerful arm, which looked like it could withstand a collapsing Lightning Tower, slowly gave way to the strength of my own.
Her eyes widened in disbelief. My mouth, now free, opened.
“Even against you, my odds are only about fifty-fifty.”