Chapter 388: Lightning Didn't Fall from the Sky - 7
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 388: Lightning Didn't Fall from the Sky - 7
Even with the majority of Claudia's citizens out watching, the two paid them no mind. Their eyes were locked on each other as they drew closer. In a standoff that felt ready to shatter at any moment, the Regressor was the first to speak.
“Enough! Can't you put aside your personal vendetta for a moment! Seriously, everyone living on this land is in danger!”
Tyr scoffed in response.
“How naive. Just as cold and heat cannot coexist, just as light must displace darkness to exist, the Sanctum and I cannot occupy the same space. One must eliminate the other.”
“That's just being stubborn…! To survive, you should be willing to do anything! Bending your pride a little is no big deal!”
“Indeed. But is this truly born of my own selfish pride? If you're so curious about why I act this way, why don't you ask your precious Sanctum?”
“The Sanctum isn't here! Right now, I'm asking you!”
The Regressor unleashed her emotions, kicking off the ground. With Jizan as the sheath and Chun-aeng as the blade, she held the two opposing swords together, aimed at Tyr, and drew with all her might.
Aerith Blade Supreme: Horizon Sunder.
The sword’s energy split the earth. A blade of compressed space tore across the ground, its edge lethally sharp. The ethereal blade of space, capable of cutting through anything, bisected the Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka along with the very ground she stood on.
It wouldn't matter how durable her body was. Tyr's body was split, the immense power of the attack precisely slicing through the vampire's flesh… For a moment, that was what everyone saw.
But the Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka was not a being who could not be cut. She was a being who could not be killed, no matter how many times she was cut. It was for this reason she had been called the Knight Killer in the past, and now that she had her heart back, she was even stronger.
Like the sea, her body, swirling with immense power, filled the gap and returned to its original form, as if the gash from moments before had been a mere illusion.
'Getting her heart back didn't make her regeneration disappear. If anything, it's even stronger! Tch, she's become even more difficult to deal with...!'
While the Regressor clicked her tongue in frustration, Tyr had gone pale, unconsciously touching her chest.
It wasn't because she was worried about the wound. The Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka had been cut by blades more times than she could count on both hands.
But now, unlike before, Tyr possessed a whole heart. Unlike the past, when she could be reckless with her body, she now had to protect the heart she had worked so hard to reclaim.
'What a relief…! The card Hu gave me isn't broken. I'll have to fight more carefully from now on. If it were to break…'
After a deep sigh of relief, Tyr’s expression once again filled with a quiet fury.
In Claudia, the mist flowing from the Cloud Waterfall obscured the sunlight. From the city's shadows, thousands of dark knights arose, charging toward the Regressor in unison. While the dark knights were mere pawns, in the darkness, there were few things more annoying. They had to be dealt with, one way or another.
'Light is what banishes darkness. I didn't want to use the power I just gained before I had full control over it…'
Instead of dealing with each dark knight individually, the Regressor chose a simpler method.
She gripped Chun-aeng tightly, compressing the space within it even further, drawing out the flash hidden in the ethereal void once more. Space distorted, and lightning leaked from between her knuckles.
'…But if my opponent is Tyrkanzyaka, it should be fine. Untamed lightning is all the more ferocious.'
It was a technique learned from the Thunderarch of a previous timeline. The Regressor hadn't mastered it, but she had adapted it in her own way. The lightning sealed within Chun-aeng was unleashed.
In the blink of an eye, an entire unit of dark knights was annihilated by a direct hit from the flash, and as the shadows receded, the remaining knights cowered. A piercing light tore through the darkness.
A battle of titans. A clash of powers that ordinary humans could not even begin to comprehend.
The people who had thought themselves mere bystanders finally began to feel a sense of crisis, screaming and fleeing. The Guardians of Thunder used their power over lightning to erect a barricade, preventing the aftershocks of the battle from escaping. The only small mercy was that the two had been far from the crowds, preventing further chaos.
Watching the two fight, Peru muttered.
“…Why are those two fighting…?”
“Peru. You should know. There are times when one must fight, even if they aren't a man. Especially if they're a woman disguised as one.”
“…?”
Don't try to understand. Just feel it. It's hard to explain anyway.
“…Aren't you going to stop them?”
“Me? How? Why?”
I could intervene, but stopping them before they've vented all their emotions would be pointless, wouldn't it? If things are going to come to a head, might as well let them boil over completely.
Just then, something strange registered in Peru's senses. Beyond the Cloud Waterfall, something with a heavy mass was slowly falling, like a feather sinking on the wind.
It was invisible beyond the waterfall, but Peru's power, which could corrode steel, pinpointed its sacrificial target. Peru's gaze shifted.
'…A pile of steel, falling from the sky? Slowly, on the wind…? No, that's not what I should be focused on.'
No, somehow, I feel like I should be.
Just as Peru was about to dismiss it, I grabbed her and spoke.
“Something fell? Let's go check it out!”
“…Now is not the time to worry about that.”
“Exactly! Or what, are you going to jump into their fight? If you get between them, you won't even be left as minced meat. It's better to find something else to do!”
It didn't make much sense, but Peru, who wasn't very assertive, reluctantly nodded. A single question formed in her mind.
'…How did they know something was falling from beyond the Cloud Waterfall...?'
This is how. Not that I'm going to tell you. Relying on Peru's senses, I headed toward the place where it was falling.
The Cloud Waterfall descended in silence. Though called a waterfall, that was just a metaphor; its essence was a mist hundreds of meters thick. After walking for some time, I found myself in the middle of a dense cloud.
The fog, so thick I couldn't see an inch in front of me, obscured my vision. The clouds that touched the ground turned to water and flowed away, and the soggy, waterlogged earth clung to my feet.
“…Be careful. There are pits for storing water.”
“You should worry about yourself. Who are you to worry about others when you can barely walk straight?”
Peru seemed offended, but since it was the truth, she closed her mouth and walked on in silence. After a while, she suddenly looked up and scanned our surroundings.
“Where is it? I felt it around here.”
“…Up there.”
Peru pointed upward.
A shadow fell over the dense cloud. A steel structure was falling. A slow descent, more like swimming than falling. It swayed back and forth as it came down, as if it thought it were a leaf. The nerve of it, for a hunk of steel.
As I waited for it to hit the ground, I realized it was much larger than I'd thought and shouted urgently.
“Move!”
“…Ah.”
I pulled Peru back a few steps, and then, slower than expected but still fast enough to be dangerous on impact, something fell. The heap of steel slammed into the mud. The shock of the landing sent parts breaking and scattering in every direction.
“They're dropping scrap metal from the sky these days. What is that?”
“…I don't know. I've never seen it before.”
Fortunately, the wet ground prevented it from bouncing. I cautiously approached the fallen wreckage. It was a steel frame that looked like… a rib cage. If stood upright, it would look like the upper torso of a giant. At the head, there was some kind of unidentifiable mechanical device, and between the frames, scraps of what looked like torn paper were fluttering.
It was too elaborate a structure to be a simple decoration. I took the risk and began rummaging through the debris, searching for any clues.
Then, on the topmost frame, I saw some writing. I wiped away the mud and read the inscription.
-Claudia Weather Alarm Version 11.6, Sleepless Old Man.
For a moment, I was speechless.
What? A weather alarm? This massive structure is just an alarm clock? What a waste.
“…This is?”
“It says it's a weather alarm. Does Claudia have alarm clocks?”
“…Claudia has thunder instead of bells. It's not that we don't have clocks, but… I've never seen one this big.”
“In the first place, why would something this big fall from the sky? Did someone put it up there?”
Tch. I thought it was a clue, but it's just a useless piece of junk.
I was so sure it would be here. It wasn't in the Thunderarch's secret base, and this mysterious object that fell out of nowhere had nothing to do with her either. Having struck out twice in a row, I kicked the wreckage in frustration and grumbled.
Where in the world is the clue about the Divine of Lightning?
As I was pondering, Peru, who had been tilting her head, lifted the golden bell and said.
“…I'll fix it.”
“You said you don't know what it is. Can you fix something you don't recognize?”
“…No. But I can clearly see the damaged parts. If I restore them, its original purpose might become clear.”
So, restore the missing or broken parts with the Golden Lord's power and see what it is? That's a decent idea. Well, I doubt fixing a broken clock a little will make it any more accurate. If anything, we might lose the chance for it to be right twice a day.
Ting. Peru shook the bell.
The Golden Lord had sought to return everything to its original state. But because his target was an entire nation, he became a monster that destroyed everything that did not belong to the Golden Empire.
But now, having abandoned all his lingering attachments and focused on his original desire, his relic possessed only the power to restore objects to their original state, leaving the specifics of what and how to fix to Peru.
The power of the Divine was unleashed without reserve. Alchemy restored the broken and worn steel, reforging and adding to it. The frame reassembled, and the structure gradually took shape.
The form restored by the Golden Lord's power was… remarkably similar to something I had seen once before. Peru spoke in a trembling voice.
“…The Thunder… God?”
A massive upper torso holding an iron spear in one hand. A face that looked like an old man. It wasn't crackling with lightning, but now that its form was restored, it was hard to mistake it for anything else.
Anyone could see that this was the Thunder God who had reigned above the Cloud Waterfall. The Thunder God who had looked down on all of Claudia and hurled spears of lightning.
This is an alarm? You're telling me Claudia's great adversary was actually an alarm clock?
My shock was brief, as an inscription on a corner of the Thunder God's frame caught my eye. I walked over and read it.
-Creator: Franc, the Lightning Thief.