Chapter 384: Interlude. After Slaying the Thunder God
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 384: Interlude. After Slaying the Thunder God
The lightning subsided.
The thunder that had seemed to fill the world was reduced to the beat of a great drum, and the Thunder God, who had descended upon Claudia along the Cloud Waterfall as if to split it in two, was now left screaming with only faint sparks of lightning.
[—!]
The Thunder God’s roars gradually diminished. In inverse proportion, the citizens of Claudia who had come out to watch erupted in cheers.
Waaaaaah—!
The shouts of countless humans were so fierce they seemed capable of blasting the Thunder God back into the sky. In contrast, the god who had once looked down on humanity with such arrogance now struggled desperately, buried in the clouds. It was hard to tell who was the god and who were the mortals.
Shei slicked her wet hair back and muttered in discontent.
“How strange. I know I'm killing a false idol, but it looks like I'm bullying the weak.”
If the Thunder God was a god, then what was Shei, who stood upon the clouds and devoured it?
Lightning was devoured by Jizan. Thunder was sundered by Chun-aeng. Nothing the Thunder God could do could harm Shei, who wielded heaven and earth in her hands. If anything, its very existence was melting into her power.
The Thunder God roared, stretching out a hand as if in resentment.
[---!]
“You keep shouting, but I can’t understand a word you’re saying. So just give up.”
Shei raised Jizan and Chun-aeng, holding them so their hilts faced each other.
Lightning is a single line that travels between heaven and earth. All lightning is contained within that principle. The Thunder God, who had reigned from its alien palace of the Cloud Waterfall, was now forced to submit to its own nature.
Aerith Blade Supreme: Lightning’s Bane.
The Thunder God’s entire body seeped into the narrow gap between Chun-aeng and Jizan. Even in its diminished state, it was lightning given form. Its power was immense… but the space between the two Divine relics had more than enough room to contain it all.
The small bolts that composed its body, the torrents of power that extended to its fingers and toes—all of it became a great current flowing into Shei’s two swords. Its very existence was melting away.
[…]
The Thunder God’s cry, which had seemed ready to tear the world apart, grew fainter. The god, once groaning in agony, now looked small, weak, and pathetic. Even so, it desperately reached out its arm as if searching for something, as if it had left something precious down below.
But it could not reach. The city of clouds, surrounded by Lightning Towers, only ever used the lightning; it rejected the rest. A single bolt that fell from the Thunder God struck a Lightning Tower and vanished.
“Come on.”
Shei twisted Chun-aeng. Without her even having to draw upon her Qi, lightning sparked naturally between Chun-aeng and Jizan. At the same time, the last remnants of the Thunder God were sucked into the space between them.
From now on, Chun-aeng and Jizan were bound by an invisible thread of lightning. Shei figured she could now move one just by holding the other.
Shei let out a long sigh. The satisfaction of finishing a job, the sense of accomplishment from taking another step forward, the pride of helping a town in trouble. On top of that, she had gained the full support of the Thunderarch. The road ahead was clear.
Only the sound of the cheering people below remained, echoing through the air. More elated than ever before, Shei descended with a bright expression.
“Phew. It’s over! The Thunder God is gone!”
Tyrkanzyaka was waiting for her at the Lightning Tower. She had been watching with clenched fists ever since Shei began to destroy the Thunder God, and she cheered for Shei more loudly than anyone else.
“Incredible! To think you would subjugate a servant of the Sky God with your own power! This is an unparalleled achievement, an act that has smeared filth upon the face of the Sky God!”
“Uh, I didn’t really mean to do that…”
The reason was a bit different, after all. Finding it difficult to answer, Shei blatantly looked around.
“Anyway, where’s the Thunderarch?”
“She suddenly vanished, saying she had something to attend to. What business could possibly be more important than the spectacle before us, I cannot imagine.”
“What could it be? Did a thief break into her house?”
“Surely it couldn’t be for such a trivial reason. A Thunder God in the city is far more dangerous than any thief in a house.”
Shei had to agree. What thief could be more dangerous than a god who wielded lightning?
That was why. If the Thunderarch had disappeared, there had to be a reason, but Shei couldn’t even begin to guess what it was. Above all, this was the first time this had happened in all her timelines.
Shei unconsciously muttered to herself.
“Strange. This has never happened before.”
“Never happened before?”
Having always traveled alone, Shei wasn’t used to caring if others heard her talking to herself. It was only after Tyrkanzyaka had been looking at her with a questioning gaze for a long moment that she waved her hands and made an excuse.
“Ah, no. It’s just so unexpected. As the ruler of the city, shouldn’t she stay until the very end when something like a Thunder God is being dealt with?”
“…It is indeed unexpected.”
Phew. That was close. I need to be more careful. I’m not exactly a Saintess, but I can’t let on that I can see the future. They’ll treat me like one if I do.
Although Tyrkanzyaka was giving her a suspicious look, Shei didn’t pay it much mind. They were quite close now, but in a timeline a few cycles ago, she had been an unstoppable disaster. In another, an adversary. And in yet another, they had been comrades who shared a bond at the end of the world.
To Shei, people were multifaceted beings where past and present coexisted. How was one supposed to treat someone who had been an insurmountable wall, an enemy of humanity, and an irreplaceable ally?
The answer was to not overthink it. Or rather, she couldn't afford to be too delicate about it. The emotions of others were ever-changing, and it wasn't like Shei could read minds.
That way of thinking was unlikely to attract any companions, but this time, at least, the situation was good.
At least with Hughes around, dealing with people is much easier. The number of times I've had to threaten people with a sword has gone down compared to before. Back then, every time I had to persuade someone, I had to swing Chun-aeng or Jizan and cut something… I should treat him better in the next timeline.
She was reflecting on her own unique brand of gratitude.
At the top of the Lightning Tower, the pulley holding the elevator began to spin furiously. Simultaneously, the elevator shot up at a tremendous speed. A familiar figure stumbled out of the elevator as it arrived at the top with what was almost a crash.
Recognizing the face, Shei looked puzzled.
“Huh? Hughes?”
Blood flowed from a gash on his head, dripping from a streak that ran down to his chin. He staggered as if injured, glancing back fearfully as if something was chasing him as he rushed over.
Tyrkanzyaka went out to meet him and asked.
“Hu? What happened? Did someone attack you?”
“Yes… More importantly, just a moment. I have something to tell Shei-ssi!”
“To Shei? You have nothing to tell me?”
Tyrkanzyaka asked, sounding a little hurt, but she too was shocked by the words that followed.
“It’s about the Thunderarch’s identity! She is not simply the Thunderarch!”
It was the first time she had heard such a thing in all her regressions. As Shei quickly leaped down the Lightning Tower, a possibility occurred to her and she spoke.
“The Thunderarch jumped down to the ground earlier. Did you cause some kind of trouble again?”
“Ugh, you could say that. Or you could say I didn’t.”
“So it was you! I was wondering why the Thunderarch was acting so strange!”
Shei chided him as he trailed off with a troubled expression, and she approached him. She felt no particular sense of caution. It would be stranger to be wary of someone she saw every day. Just like with Claudia and the Thunder God, familiarity dulls the edge of caution.
“Anyway, what’s the Thunderarch’s identity?”
“It’s… a bit difficult to say in front of Tyr…”
“Are you leaving me out?”
As if she couldn’t let this slide, Tyrkanzyaka openly showed her displeasure. He glanced at her and sighed as if he had no choice.
“I suppose I can’t hide something this important. I’ll confess. The Thunderarch… she’s actually one of the Crusaders.”
“The Cru…saders?”
At the sudden bombshell, neither Shei nor Tyrkanzyaka could react.
The Crusaders. The Sanctum’s direct forces. To Tyrkanzyaka, they were insects that kept coming no matter how many she killed, but to Shei, they were irreplaceable comrades.
Shei had once been a Crusader herself. Although it was a title the Sanctum had given her in name only, she had learned many things there, including the secrets of the world and the existence of the Divine. She didn’t know every Crusader spread across the world, but she had interacted quite a bit with the direct forces.
Still, the information that the Thunderarch was actually a Crusader was unexpected.
Oblivious to the displeasure blooming on Tyrkanzyaka’s face, Shei showed a hint of delight as she spoke.
“A Crusader? Assuming that’s true, how did you find out?”
“That’s because I… ugh.”
As he spoke, a drop of blood fell into his eye. His vision obscured, he missed a step. Losing his balance, his body tilted toward Shei.
He was taller than her. It was only natural that he would fall toward Shei if he stumbled while approaching. Plus, having spent so much time together, a sense of intimacy had developed between them. Shei moved to catch him without a second thought…
In that instant, the Heavenly Counter Domain reacted.
A flash of silver. Shei threw her torso back while simultaneously releasing her Qi, kicking off the ground to create a great distance. Two long scratches were carved into the top of the Lightning Tower.
The warm and peaceful scene of the Thunder God’s slaying was shattered. In its aftermath, a taut tension filled the air. Shei clutched the hem of her clothes, torn by the blade, and glared at ‘him.’
“…You.”
“Oh, my~. I was only planning to hurt you a little. You react far too quickly~.”
‘He’ was not Hughes.
A single wipe of her forehead erased the bloodstain. Her frame shrank and dwindled, and her hair came undone, scattering wide.
Hilde, having dropped her transformation, giggled and scanned Shei with foxy eyes.
“Is that combat precognition? Or just… regular precognition?”
“It’s a technique I learned to deal with scum like you.”
“My, my. Could it be a technique of those who seek to reach the heavens with Qi?”
To think that topic would come up here. Shei’s face soured.
Shei had many enemies and many allies. But no ‘enemy’ had ever gotten this close, and no ally had ever been this… much.
She should have been more cautious. The Camarilla of the Military State’s Intelligence Division, Zigrund. Now called Hilde and playing the part of a mischievous companion, she was one of the Six Generals and the one person in the Military State to be most wary of.
Seeing Shei’s expression crumble, Hilde spoke in amazement.
“I’d heard such a thing existed, but to think it was real. Hmm, how surprising~. Anyway!”
Clapping her hands, she turned toward Tyrkanzyaka.
“Tyrkanzyaka. There’s one more thing you should know!”
“I thought you were a little strange for Hu, and it was you after all. Your pranks go too far.”
“As for ‘me,’ I take after my father! But can I really compare to the little prankster over there?”
She laughed cheerfully and extended the silver knife that had slashed at Shei’s chest. Thanks to her quick reaction, the knife had only managed to cut a layer of clothing. There was no blood on it, but it had achieved its initial purpose.
From the very beginning, the knife’s purpose had been to cut Shei’s clothes.
“Look! I’ve personally cut it for you so you can see clearly!”
Shei belatedly felt a sense of emptiness.
Her clothes were made of a fabric that conducted Qi well, as being too sturdy could turn them into a prison that constrained her. The same applied to her opponent. A blade infused with Qi had cut through Shei’s clothes without much trouble.
That was all. She wasn’t hurt, and she had reacted with the Heavenly Counter Domain, so it was nothing more than a tear across her chest. For a surprise attack delivered with conviction, it was a pitifully meager result.
However… it just had to be her chest.
“Look there! To our surprise, Shei, whom we’ve known as a handsome boy until now, is!”
She had been struck at the most fatal moment. It was just a torn piece of clothing, not a problem in itself… but the real problem was that her ‘lie,’ hidden by her clothes, was now exposed.
Through the tear in her clothes, the Sky Silk wrapped across her chest was visible. The bindings wrapped around her upper body, and beneath them, the rounded contours were undeniably present.
Sky Silk. A precious fabric, strong and inelastic. Shei, who moved violently in battle, would wrap it around her chest to keep it from jostling. Tied tightly enough, it was sufficient for a male disguise.
And a cloth tied around the chest could only be seen for that purpose. Especially when the curves of a woman were so obvious.
“A woman!”
Hilde spread her arms like an actor in a climax and shouted.
…In a way, even this wasn't such a huge problem. She had only hidden her gender. However, both Shei and Tyrkanzyaka knew that the Camarilla’s trap did not end there.
“She experienced things she shouldn’t have, knew things she shouldn’t know, and was well-versed in all sorts of secrets. And she’s not even that old, is she? On top of that, she went so far as to hide her gender to infiltrate Tantalus, didn’t she? Now, why would she do that~?”
This was why she had to be alone.
There were too many dangers in being with others. Not just the possibility of them betraying her and turning into an enemy, but also if they remained an ally. If an ally she had opened her heart to were to abandon her, or if they were to fight, become disappointed, and part ways…
…Even if her body returned through regression, the heart she had given would be chipped away.
“You all know, don’t you? The answer, of course, is that she was trying to hide the fact that she's a Saintess! Yes, Shei! He—no, she—is a Saintess!”
How she was found out didn’t matter. What mattered most right now was the one person in this place who hated Saintesses with the most intense, murderous passion.
Shei steeled herself and faced Tyrkanzyaka.
Tyrkanzyaka, who at some point had stopped questioning and had been watching silently with her parasol resting on her shoulder… was now staring silently at Shei with a terrifyingly blank expression.