Heavenly Thunder Reversion
The sight of me returning to the mansion made Mom’s eyes fly wide open. “Sweetie…? Why are you here….”
“I missed you, so I came running~”
I answered with a cheeky grin while rapidly scanning the battlefield. A colossal rift hung open in the sky. Four figures that looked like incarnations had poured out of it. Honcheon Noeje himself, plus two underling incarnations who were clearly his flunkies.
Honestly, if I can somehow take care of Honcheon Noeje, those two should be nothing.
I tilted my head up. The sky was hidden behind thick storm clouds. Above those clouds lay a realm still beyond my reach.
Two beings who treated the very heavens like a joke were colliding. In terms of rank, they were close to demigods—the Mad Dragon and the Demon King.
My chest feels so grand right now.
This was a clash between the strongest entities in the entire world. Even from far away, the shockwaves of their battle slammed into us. The sheer pressure made my skin prickle.
If I use my trump card…
For a fleeting moment, could I step into a realm similar to theirs? The thought made my body itch with anticipation.
But now wasn’t the time. The fight between the two was dead even. Dad seemed to hold a paper-thin advantage, yet the instant even one of those underlings joined the fray, the scales would tip completely.
I have to stop them.
Honcheon Noeje and his two lackeys both. Luckily Mom stood right beside me. Together, we should be able to handle them without too much trouble.
My gaze locked with the Thunder Emperor’s. He raised his greatsword, preparing for a decisive duel.
“…You.”
“Me?”
“Last time I admit I was defeated. This time will be different.”
“What should I do? Honestly I’m not feeling that confident…”
I drew the Blue Dragon Sword. For a weapon that had belonged to some pathetic Sapa trash, it actually looked pretty cool.
“No confidence in winning, huh.”
“…Ha!”
Honcheon Noeje let out a hollow laugh and barked orders at his two minions.
“You two, kill the Succubus Queen. That arrogant little bitch… is mine.”
“Oh my, oh my.”
Suddenly acting all possessive? “Are bad-boy types still in fashion these days?” I have no idea. Definitely not my type, though.
Crackle!
Magi erupted from the magic stone near my heart and surged through the Cheonroe Gaebyeok Gong, converting into lightning. Blue thunderbolts raced along the blade. Using the principles of Eogi Chunggeom, the lightning I poured into the sword rampaged through its meridians, forming a blade of pure lightning.
“It’s electrifying.”
What I learned from Gungsimi was mostly heavy, powerful stuff. The Namgung family’s secret arts had been pretty fun, and learning the genuine Imperial Sword Form was a nice bonus. It was the kind of swordplay that overwhelmed the opponent head-on and finished them with a single majestic strike.
But it feels way too stifling.
Honestly it wasn’t my style. That was where my own creation, Cheonroe Gaebyeok Gong, came in handy. By accelerating my nerves and muscles with lightning, I could roughly imitate the speed of quick-draw sword techniques. The synergy with the South Flower Spring Fist was excellent too.
It makes up for the missing power and speed.
And most importantly—
How the hell am I supposed to resist Lightning Man versus Pikachu?
Against Honcheon Noeje, I had to fight with everything I had. I kept my eyes locked on him while my mind ran endless combat simulations. To be real, my victory last time had been pure luck. No matter how much I trained with Gungsimi, the real question was how much my actual body had grown. Even if I could now imbue my will and mental images into my techniques, a massive gap in physical conditions would render it all meaningless.
But I saw possibility in that very gap.
I, Regina Diabolos, am growing stronger every single moment.
Lately my body had been developing at an explosive rate. If the power I could release without strain in the last battle had been about twenty percent of my full capacity, now it felt like thirty.
A simple calculation said I was roughly one-and-a-half times stronger than before.
“This is worth going all-out for.”
The moment the words left my mouth, Honcheon Noeje was already charging in, greatsword raised.
Rumble—!
Lightning exploded from his body with a sound like thunder. His first strike was a simple vertical slash.
“Then I’ll answer with a million volts…!”
I swung the Blue Dragon Sword packed with lightning to meet him head-on.
Klang!
The instant our blades met, our lightning erupted in every direction, shattering everything around us.
“Ugh…!”
As expected, pure Cheonroe Gaebyeok Gong couldn’t win a contest of raw power. My body was knocked halfway backward.
The nature of our lightning is just too different.
My lightning was a buff-and-debuff skill. I got faster while paralyzing the opponent and slowing them down. But his lightning?
Pure destructive force.
Because he focused solely on destruction, the power was overwhelming. And since he wielded lightning too, my version had zero chance of paralyzing him.
So against him, all Cheonroe Gaebyeok Gong can give me is speed.
The lightning throughout my body circulated rapidly. If speed was the only advantage, I would pour everything into that speed and make it absolutely overwhelming.
Infinite Step.
The Namgung family’s footwork was different from ordinary movement techniques. The steps themselves formed part of the sword stance. Truly worthy of a clan that called itself the greatest sword sect under the heavens.
Accelerated even further by lightning, my Infinite Step let me instantly circle behind Honcheon Noeje. The speed was monstrous. For a split second even I, the one performing the technique, saw the world fragment into blurry afterimages.
“……!”
The Thunder Emperor spun to react, but it was already too late. The Blue Dragon Sword I swung the moment I took his back reached his neck.
“Huh?”
Before the blade could sever his throat—
KWAAAAAANG—!
With a roar like heavenly thunder, pure white lightning blasted forward and swallowed me whole.
“Aaaagh…!”
Excruciating pain tore through every cell in my body. It felt like my entire form was being ripped apart. I barely clung to consciousness while the lightning roasted me, and Honcheon Noeje raised his greatsword again, clearly intending to finish me.
“Sweetie…!”
Mom’s cry came from afar. At the same time something yanked me backward and I barely dodged the descending blade.
“Sweetie…! Are you okay?”
Before I knew it I was cradled in Mom’s arms. She must have used magic to pull me out of the lightning.
“…Lena almost became an electric barbecue.”
“You’re still talking, so you must be fine. Thank goodness.”
Mom? Your daughter is currently covered head to toe in blood…
More importantly, I recognize that pattern…
A technique that only appeared in the latter half of the game. So he was already conceptualizing it at this point?
No, that wasn’t it. Honcheon Noeje was simply growing stronger at a faster rate than in the original story.
“This is a variable…”
“You idiots! You can’t even handle one Succubus Queen and you’re interrupting my fight?”
“We’re sorry…!”
Having missed the perfect chance to take my head, the Thunder Emperor flew into a rage. The two underlings kept bowing their heads to him.
Should I turn this into a melee? Honestly, if he could already use that technique, I wasn’t confident I could beat him one-on-one.
That area-of-effect damage keeps pouring in. How am I supposed to fight like this?
The damage from that field was insane. It was enough to completely numb my mind. The pain felt like it would drive me actually crazy.
But if I dragged him into a group fight and teamed up with Mom, I’d gain the ability to attack him from range. The problem was those two minions getting in the way…
…No.
I had to do this one-on-one. If Honcheon Noeje was growing faster than in the original story, the world itself would rush toward destruction even quicker. If I couldn’t defeat even him by myself, how could I possibly save the world?
I’ll surpass him right here.
I pulled myself out of Mom’s warm, soft embrace and stood. My legs were still shaking from the aftereffects of the lightning bath.
“Daughter… even now you can still run…”
“Mom.”
“Yes?”
“You want to play with those handsome guys all by yourself? I’m jealous, so that’s not allowed.”
Mom gave me an icy stare. Her glare felt more electrifying than Honcheon Noeje’s lightning.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Daughter…!”
I left Mom’s cry behind and stepped forward. Straight toward Honcheon Noeje. Behind me, the sound of spells being fired told me Mom had already resumed fighting.
“Master~”
“I’m surprised. I honestly thought you would run away.”
He really did look slightly startled. Those wide eyes made me want to gouge them out immediately. I beckoned him with a finger, provoking him.
“Do that thing again.”
“…What gives you that confidence? You couldn’t even fight back last time.”
“I have something I want to experiment with.”
“Hah! Fine by me.”
KWAAAAAANG—!
Blinding lightning erupted from the Thunder Emperor’s body once more. There was no way to dodge it. No way to block it either. The martial arts I learned from Gungsimi probably wouldn’t work against him. Inside the domain of his lightning, even attempting the Imperial Sword Form would leave me charred black before I could finish a single stance.
Destroying that electrifying technique came first.
“Haha.”
I laughed instead, stripping away even the clumsy defensive energy I had wrapped around myself. Right now only one martial art floated through my mind.
A very famous demonic technique.
The Star Absorbing Great Technique.
A demonic art that stole another’s inner energy and made it one’s own.
Absorbing the stars themselves.
Gungsimi said the techniques I copied were only half-baked fakes.
In that case, if I imitated the art that could swallow even stars… swallowing mere lightning shouldn’t be impossible.
Crackle-crackle-crackle—!
The lightning domain finally swallowed my body whole.
“Ugh…!”
Excruciating pain engulfed me. It felt like my mind would snap at any second. Within this lightning domain, only Honcheon Noeje could move freely. He approached me slowly, greatsword in hand, stride full of leisure.
That made sense. Most people wouldn’t be able to move while enduring this agony.
But—
Swallow it!
I took Honcheon Noeje’s lightning with my bare body. The clothes I wore were instantly shredded. Large and small cuts shaped like lightning bolts appeared across my skin.
Use these wounds as pathways.
I turned my body into conduits for the lightning. The Thunder Emperor’s energy that had begun invading me tore through my meridians and blood vessels, ripping my insides apart.
“It hurts…”
But I didn’t stop. I kept absorbing the lightning. Using the mental image of trapping the stolen energy inside my body—
It’s impossible.
If I kept taking in this much, I would exceed my capacity and my body would explode. Even though I was neutralizing the rampaging energy with my own lightning, that was still the case.
Then, the energy I had absorbed seemed to whisper to me.
Use me.
Ah, I see.
“Master… you are teaching me once again.”
“What?”
The Thunder Emperor, who had been slowly raising his greatsword to savor victory, froze.
Crackle…!
Black lightning raced along the Blue Dragon Sword’s blue blade once more. This time it didn’t stop. An overwhelming amount of lightning extended into an incredibly long blade of energy.
“Cheonroe Gaebyeok Gong… No.”
The technique that absorbs the opponent’s lightning, reverts it, and returns it many times over.
The resonance of that name made something throb hard in my lower belly—kyung.
I look so fucking cool right now.
Honcheon Noeje swung his greatsword with a hardened face. I swung the Blue Dragon Sword to meet it. Just like the first time. A head-on clash of sword power.
But this time—
“I have the power Master gave me right here with me.”
“You crazy bitch…!”
Honcheon Noeje, my master. Thank you. With this, I feel like I can win.
The Blue Dragon Sword, pouring out every ounce of lightning stolen from my master, finally collided with his greatsword once more.
KWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG—!
My vision was filled with pure white light.