Chapter 186
Chapter 186
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 186
Chapter Title: The True Master of Thunder
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Crackle-!
Loki's magic detonated in the sky above.
Thunder and ice rained down like a downpour. It felt as if an enraged world was unleashing natural disaster as punishment.
He had experienced magic before, but nothing on this level.
'Did I show off for nothing?'
Soo-hyuk unfurled a curtain of lightning with his sword, blocking the thunder and icy spears plummeting from the heavens.
Even with Master of Lightning active, Loki remained a formidable opponent.
Sizzle-.
As he blocked another barrage of spells, Soo-hyuk vanished from his spot.
He closed in to catch Loki hovering in the sky. His sword slashed vertically toward Loki's neck as he rocketed upward.
Boom-!
The sword strike, accompanied by thunder, cleaved through empty air. Once again, Loki had retreated far away, creating distance to prepare his next spell.
'Again...'
He could pursue if he wanted.
With Master of Lightning's mobility, aerial combat was possible.
But fighting that way would wear him down first. Aerial maneuvers with lightning demanded too much stamina and mana.
'The skies are his domain.'
Loki knew it too. Magic's power fully manifested at range, and he had turned the battle into an aerial fight disadvantageous to Soo-hyuk.
In the meantime, Soo-hyuk's stamina was steadily draining.
'The longer this drags on, the worse it is for me.'
A prolonged battle favored the enemy.
But blindly engaging in the reckless aerial combat Loki wanted was like a moth flying into blazing flames.
Caught in a deadlock, unable to advance or retreat, Soo-hyuk made his first choice to widen the distance from Loki.
Flash-.
Sizzle-.
The power dwelling in his body drained away in an instant. After a moment of emptiness, the constant stamina drain vanished.
Soo-hyuk ducked into a nearby cloud. He had timed it perfectly as Loki widened the gap with magic, so his position wouldn't be exposed for a while.
"Huuu-."
This was the first time since starting the stream that he felt so cornered. The opponent was who he was, so it couldn't be helped, but it wasn't exactly pleasant.
The viewers were growing skeptical about the outcome. Even the toxic viewer, who had been quiet, had thrown in a mission.
Safe Asset, who had previously registered the mission to tame the Heavenly Demon, now posted a second one.
Normally, he'd welcome any mission, but this time, it wasn't entirely pleasing.
'This one's really tough.'
Viola's support and the opening Thor created had both failed.
Even with those two chances, he still lacked confidence in catching Loki.
"Maybe this wasn't the way..."
He pondered giving up and planning for a second try.
Clop-clop-.
A heavy hoofbeat echoed nearby.
Lifting his head with a hunch, a familiar figure loomed over Soo-hyuk.
"Oh, you?"
The massive beast, several times larger than an ordinary Heavenly Horse, flashed its eyes.
It felt like staring into the eyes of a wild animal, drawing a hollow laugh from Soo-hyuk.
"What, you here to catch me too?"
Whether it understood or not, the Heavenly Horse blankly stared down at him.
Neigh-.
Loki was seething with rage.
The throbbing wound in his chest only fueled his anger further.
Even with control over thunder, the fact that a mere human speck had wounded him was an unbearable blow to his pride.
"Where did you hide?!"
The moment he used short-range teleportation to gain distance, the brat vanished simultaneously.
He had lost track of the enemy's position. It didn't seem coincidental. The fool must have hidden, deeming himself outmatched.
The guy was still nearby. The only hiding spots were the clouds scattered everywhere, and moving between them would inevitably expose him.
"Where are you?!"
Whoosh-.
Flames erupted from Loki's staff.
Boom-!
A fireball brimming with intense heat shattered the largest nearby cloud to pieces.
The air grew scorching. It would have been nice to find him in one go, but unfortunately, Soo-hyuk wasn't there.
"Come out! No matter how much you endure..."
Bang, boom-boom-!
Loki began firing flames indiscriminately. He intended to obliterate every cloud here.
"You'll burn in these flames in the end!"
Bzzz-.
Soon, a massive magic circle formed at the tip of Loki's raised staff.
Roar, a rain of fire poured from the skies above the clouds.
Tens of thousands of fiery droplets began incinerating everything except Loki.
Bang, boom-boom-!
Fwoosh-.
As if to prove it was no mere threat, Loki truly set everything in sight ablaze.
He didn't even need to find Soo-hyuk. After burning it all, he could leisurely search for the thunder.
A human body might burn, but thunder wouldn't perish in these flames.
"Insolent..."
Loki glared downward with blazing eyes.
The clouds engulfed in fire cleared away. He had no doubt that within them lay the arrogant human's corpse and the thunder he coveted so desperately.
But.
'Gone?'
No thunder remained where the clouds parted.
An empty sky devoid of anything. Below lay Valhalla, tens of thousands of meters down.
Then where was the human?
The question arose in that instant.
Neiiigh-!
From higher than where Loki floated.
A resounding Heavenly Horse cry echoed from above.
"Hey, you idiot."
Raising his head, Loki clearly saw it.
"Don't make noise like that."
Riding atop the Heavenly Horse.
The human preparing to unleash lightning straight at him.
Riding a Heavenly Horse wasn't new for Soo-hyuk.
He had flown here on one borrowed from Viola, after all.
But truthfully, this was the first time he truly understood what it meant to "ride" one.
'It's this comfortable.'
Now he somewhat grasped why Viola had seemed so at ease, unlike him.
The permitted back of a Heavenly Horse felt no awkwardness or discomfort, as if flying by his own will.
The reason gods called them divine beasts.
It wasn't just because they lived over a thousand years or could fly.
'Empathy, was it?'
Heavenly Horses chose their own masters.
The master became one with the horse, while others merely borrowed wings.
In that sense, Soo-hyuk was now fully one with the Heavenly Horse.
Flash-!
Using the Heavenly Horse's back, Soo-hyuk soared above Loki and unleashed lightning straight at him.
Sizzle-!
Lightning scattered across Loki's body. He blocked with his staff, but this attack had real impact.
Having landed a hit from afar, now it was time to close in.
Soo-hyuk gripped his sword tightly and said,
"...Let's go."
Neiiigh-!
No need for reins or balancing efforts.
No matter the speed, united with the Heavenly Horse, it was all his.
His view shifted rapidly. The Heavenly Horse carrying Soo-hyuk was an entirely different breed from Viola's.
"How are you...!"
Loki reacted with shock to Soo-hyuk handling the Heavenly Horse.
He couldn't accept that Soo-hyuk rode the one Thor had commanded.
But his surprise was brief. Loki vanished again with magic.
The Heavenly Horse pursued, chasing Loki who reappeared even higher and farther.
Boom-!
A sword wrapped in lightning struck.
No longer needing to waste power on mobility. The Heavenly Horse had the strength to match Loki's flight and agility.
"Tch...!"
Loki, who had repeatedly teleported to escape, readjusted his grip on the staff.
He realized endless flight was futile. So, he chose direct confrontation with raw power.
Flash-!
The staff glowed.
A complex blue magic circle materialized behind him. The charging Heavenly Horse hesitated momentarily, but Soo-hyuk said confidently,
"Charge in."
Neiiigh-!
The Heavenly Horse accelerated.
Vast lightning burst from Loki's magic circle.
As if to say he could do it too, Loki staked his pride to the end.
Boom-!
Soo-hyuk's sword, swung from the Heavenly Horse's back, clashed with Loki's thunderbolt.
The charge halted. Loki poured power into his staff and laughed.
"No matter how fine a steed you ride, a fool for a master makes it meaningless!"
Sizzle-.
Lightning from Loki pierced his shoulder and waist.
Thousands of strands bearing physical and elemental force cut like sharp blades.
"You wield thunder and that's all you manage! I could handle it better—better than you, even better than big brother!"
Crackle-!
The intensity of Loki's magic rose steadily.
The Heavenly Horse began to whinny in strain.
"A fool like you can't be the master of thunder..."
"I can."
Sizzle-!
The tilting balance of power leveled out in an instant.
Thump-.
A heartbeat echoed in his ears.
His pulse quickened, power amplifying gradually.
"Not you, not Thor. Me."
How could he be so sure?
Maybe one day he'd say this to the viewers watching the stream.
"You know what I have is only half, right?"
Perhaps he returned to wield this power again.
"Wrong."
Boom, rumble-!
Thump, thump-.
Maxing out lightning and thunder's output made his heart pound like it might burst—a warning he might truly die.
But now was the time to ignore it.
"What I have is real."
"No way...!"
Sizzle-.
Immense output unleashed lightning mimicking his sword's shape. It formed a colossal slash bridging heaven and earth.
Soo-hyuk's slash pierced Loki's magic, drawing closer.
Time felt slow, but it was a mere instant.
The true thunder Loki coveted so fiercely.
Vwoom-!
That power signaling the fight's end crashed down upon Loki's body.