Chapter 397: The Lightning Did Not Fall From the Sky - Finale
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 397: The Lightning Did Not Fall From the Sky - Finale
Phew. I’m conscious again. This one took a while. It was trickier because she was a case of knowing the truth but deliberately ignoring it. I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't been protecting her all this time.
No, that's not right. This is all a seed I've sown. The reason a person should live a virtuous life has been proven by my own today. Now, shall I get up…?
“…Who are you?”
A chilling voice that seemed to pierce me to the bone made me stop midway through sitting up. As I lay there, Tyr slowly approached me.
“Not content with trying to harm me, you seek to destroy everything I love? You dare try to isolate me from the world in such a way again? Who. Dares.”
My reflection in Tyr's eyes was a wretched sight. My clothes were torn at the back, revealing a hastily healed wound beneath. Bloodstains were splattered everywhere. The Progenitor's solemn fury felt like it could make the very earth tremble, and it felt too daunting to break the mood by getting up. She came here worried about me, so it would be awkward to just pop up looking perfectly fine...
Uh, wait a minute.
Am I actually fine? I think I'm in some pain, actually.
Tyr's arrival was like that of the night itself. Like the dark and silent night, her appearance dyed the Cloud Waterfall black and silenced the chaotic battlefield. The Elders, who had been carrying out a massacre with just the three of them, stopped in unison and turned to her like sunflowers to the sun.
Just as the Elders, overcome with emotion, were about to approach her, the Regressor shouted a sharp warning.
“Tyrkanzyaka! Be careful! The Camarilla stabbed Hughes!”
…?
What is she talking about? Out of nowhere?
I mean, it's not an entirely impossible conclusion. Hilde is the one closest to me with a sword in her hand, after all. Still, it's a pretty random assumption. Why would she misunderstand it like that?
When someone makes such a firm accusation, it's bound to plant a seed of doubt—'Could it be?'—in everyone's mind. Horrified at the sight of Tyr striding toward her, Hilde spoke up to clear her name.
“No, no, that's impossible! Me, stab Father? The one who stabbed him was the Thunderarch!”
“What? Why would Elkid stab Hughes?”
“Didn't I tell you earlier? Because she's one of the Crusaders.”
Just then, Valdamir released the Thunderarch. He let her go because the Regressor's words about Tyrkanzyaka's arrival had proven true, and he wanted to avoid any rash actions. It was a move made possible by the underlying confidence that he could capture her again whenever he pleased.
Thanks to that, the Regressor got another look at the Thunderarch. She was steadying herself, her lightning-wreathed wings fluttering. She looked so much like an angel.
Anyone can become a Crusader, as long as their faith is strong enough. Those with unusual abilities like the Thunderarch, who have nowhere else to turn, often fall into faith more easily. It might have been a natural course of events for the Thunderarch to be favorable to the Regressor from the start. Though she isn't aware of it, the Regressor seems to be connected to the Saintess.
“That's no reason to stab Hughes. Even if Elkid is a Crusader, why would she stab him?”
But the Regressor still doesn't know the final piece of the puzzle. It's a single piece of information she overlooked because she had seen the future directly, and one that I had intentionally hidden.
“Because Father is the King of Humans. The one the Sanctum and the Saintesses despise as a relic of barbarism.”
“…What?”
Ah, I've been found out.
It's a miracle I kept it hidden this long. I even deliberately avoided thinking about it whenever I was with the Regressor.
The Regressor has been forcing herself to think of them as two separate entities, but the King of Sins is unequivocally the King of Humans. And the Regressor is trying to stop the King of Sins. In other words, her target is me.
If the fact that I am the King of Humans were to be revealed, I would gain a persistent, powerful pursuer who can even transcend time. Unfortunately, that's not a very good thing for me. That's why I was especially careful not to let the Regressor find out, but...
I suppose it's impossible to hide it now that things have come to this. Ugh, another reason not to get up. I'll just stay down for now. I did my best to ignore the Regressor's gaze and pretended to be unconscious.
“What? Why would... No! Even if that's true, why did you betray me?!”
“It's obvious if you just think about it for a moment. Now. I'll explain it so even a fool like you, Shei, can understand.”
Tyr knelt down beside me. As if taking her place, Hilde approached the Regressor, folding her fingers one by one as if she were dealing with a small child who could only understand that way.
“What 'I' wanted was similar to what you wanted. There was no need for us to bare our souls and cooperate fully. We could keep the unknown parts shrouded in darkness while you did your thing, and 'I' would pursue the Military State's interests. You even owed me a debt, so that level of cooperation would have been fine. However.”
Hilde was clearly the one who had betrayed them. She had played the Regressor and Tyr against each other, and upon realizing Claudia had some connection to the Crusaders, she had called in the vampires. To Hilde, who had already abandoned the Sanctum once, the vampires must have seemed like more attractive allies. She attacked the Regressor for her own benefit and that of her country.
But was Hilde the only one who had committed a betrayal?
“You could never be a source of strength for 'me.' The Military State was never in your heart. In that case, I had to use you and then throw you away. If I can use you, an enemy of the State, as a sacrifice to forge an alliance with the Duchy of Mist, isn't that like getting paid to remove a tumor? It's a profitable business for 'me.'”
Hilde had belonged to the Military State from the very beginning, and she still did. The only reason she had followed them to the Fallen Dominion was to gather information and steer things to the State's advantage. The only things Hilde, who could act out any role, held any affection for were the Military State and Saintess Yuel. Everything else was treated as disposable.
“For a reason like that…?”
“A reason like that? Shei, we can't trust each other. Not just me, but everyone here. Trust... it's a flimsy thing that can be overturned at any moment because of a change in feeling. Whether it's a Saintess or a prophecy, can you really believe them at face value? They're the ones who use faith better than anyone else in the world, aren't they?”
While Hilde confronted the Regressor, Tyr, who had rested my head on her lap, slowly caressed my face with her snow-white fingers. Her expression was filled with worry and sorrow.
Sigh, I guess I have no choice. It's a long shot whether I can sort this mess out, but things will only get worse if I keep lying here. Alright, maybe it's time to get up and get to work...
“…Huey.”
Anyone would think I was dead. I'm just taking a nap, so don't make such a fuss.
I tried to say that, but no voice came out. My eyes were still closed, and Tyr was looking down at me. I saw it through none other than Tyr's own eyes.
Huh? The words didn't come out?
Dammit. Is it because my body was pierced and left like that for a while? I'm conscious, but my body won't move. Don't tell me... it wasn't just a simple stab wound?
What's even stranger is that I'm still conscious through all this. Unless I'm performing the miraculous feat of thinking while unconscious, this must be... the power of the Divine I just found. The power of the Divine is maintaining my consciousness, independent of my body.
Though I'm not sure if that's a good thing.
“…Lunken. Kavila. Valdamir. I have an order.”
Tyr spoke softly. Though her voice was so quiet it would have faded after a few steps, the Elders reacted with fierce intensity.
“HAAAH!!”
“Yes, sis! Just give the word!”
“Your command. I will obey.”
The three Elders each struck their chests, clasped their hands tightly, and bowed deeply. With the utmost reverence in their hearts, the Elders awaited the Progenitor's command. It did not take long. Tyr gave her order, cold and merciless.
“They are the scum of the Sky God. Clean them up. Leave not a single drop of blood behind.”
“I OBEY—!”
“Of course! I'll kill them, kill them all!”
“…As you command.”
The Elders did not hesitate for a single moment. They moved immediately to obey the Progenitor's command. If there had been even a hint of enjoyment in their actions before, now it was a duty, a mission. They would use any means necessary to destroy everything on this land that bore a trace of the Sky God.
The Regressor foresaw this and screamed.
“Tyrkanzyaka!! Stop!”
'With Tyrkanzyaka's darkness, the Elders can commit slaughter even during the day without any restrictions. Claudia will be destroyed! And most of all, the most dangerous one right now is...!'
The tense Regressor's gaze automatically shifted toward Valdamir.
Lord Sanguine, Valdamir. He had been observing the situation until now, but with the Progenitor's order given, he would become a more powerful and efficient killing machine than any other Elder and slaughter them all. The aggressive Lunken and the cruel Kavila were terrifying enough... but Valdamir was on a different level.
Why did humans become the dominant species on earth? How did they subjugate powerful beasts and prosper beyond disease and disaster? Valdamir was a being who seemed to prove the answer. The Progenitor's first sword, who perfectly understood and precisely wielded immense power to accomplish his goal.
A sword is neither heavy nor evil. It is merely sharp. Valdamir is merely sharp, and that is why he is dangerous.
He had to be stopped. It would be difficult, but in this space, only the Regressor could stop Valdamir. She turned toward Valdamir, who was slowly lowering his greatsword.
'I might die... but there's no other way! No one else here can stop Valdamir...!'
“Shei. 'I' am speaking. Please focus on 'me,' won't you?”
In an instant, a sword of light thrust deep. There was no warning, but the Heavenly Counter Domain reacted first. As the Regressor leaned back to dodge and reflexively tried to counter, Hilde closed the distance. She pressed her wrist against the Regressor's and, with her Holy Sword held in a reverse grip, slashed at her repeatedly. The Holy Sword became a blur of light, scoring her arms and abdomen dozens of times. Light flashed and sparks flew.
Chun-aeng and the Holy Sword clashed. The synergy between the weightless Chun-aeng and the Regressor's Heavenly Counter Domain was astonishingly good, successfully blocking all of Hilde's close-range attacks. After taking a moment to catch her breath, the Regressor swung Chun-aeng with all her might. Whether it killed Hilde or not, she had to finish this quickly and go stop Valdamir.
The invisible sword swung with enough force to split a mountain. Hilde tried to parry it with her dagger, but against such power, a shorter weapon is always at a disadvantage. There is a reason why martial artists prefer long-hafted weapons, even with the existence of Qi.
Just then, the Holy Sword's form changed. Hilde's sword, which had been just a dagger, elongated from hilt to blade. In the brief flash of faith, the Holy Sword transformed from a dagger to a longsword and smoothly parried Chun-aeng.
“The Holy Sword… changed?!”
The blade of light bent, deflecting the impact. For an impromptu transformation, it was far too perfect. The Regressor was stunned by a phenomenon she had never seen in all her regressions.
The Holy Sword is a blade forged from the faith within one's heart. Only those with deep and steadfast faith in the Sky God can draw one, which is why they are called Crusaders. The shining Holy Sword they hold in their hearts is imbued with holy power and smites evil.
As such, a Holy Sword can be drawn at any time and will not break as long as one's faith remains unshaken. That's how it was supposed to be.
“I told you. 'Faith'... can change this easily.”
Hilde's Holy Sword was a longsword, a dagger, a scythe, and a spear. Each time she acted out a role, the power granted by her faith changed its form. Faith is not eternal. It is an entirely subjective concept, so even the power bestowed directly by the Sky God cannot distinguish a masterful performance. If so, can one truly say the 'faith' guaranteed by the Sky God is fake just because its form has changed? Perhaps every role Hilde plays is real.
Or perhaps, from the very beginning, the human concept of 'faith' was nothing but an illusion.
Two Holy Swords moved with unpredictable transformations, pressing the Regressor. The Camarilla of the Six Generals was paying the Regressor back in kind for her plan to stall for time.