The day to head to Thunderclap Palace arrived a few days later.

Ha-yeon, having finished her preparations by then, boarded the plane without delay and headed to the location of Thunderclap Palace.

It didn’t take long. This was partly because the performance of the plane sent by Thunderclap Palace exceeded expectations, and partly because the location of Thunderclap Palace wasn’t that far to begin with.

‘It’s incredibly huge.’

An overwhelming size.

Eastern-style buildings that could easily dwarf the Association’s building lined the area.

Among them, the palace in the center.

A huge central area with a courtyard embedded with a massive stone engraved with a lightning pattern, a Thunderclap Stone.

That must be Thunderclap Palace.

Ha-yeon, who got off at the entrance of those buildings, waited for Cheon-seo-a, who was supposed to come and pick her up.

“More than that, the atmosphere isn’t good.”

Near the entrance.

Even standing in such an outer area, she could tell that the situation inside wasn’t good.

‘Is something wrong?’ Just as she was thinking that, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

“It’s been a while, Ha-yeon unnie!”

Cheon-seo-a. She hung onto Ha-yeon’s neck and shouted that, and Ha-yeon, smiling slightly at the sight, accepted her.

“It’s been a while for me too.”

“I’m so glad to see you!”

“Yeah, except for being dragged here by a wish and not knowing what’s going on.”

At Ha-yeon’s words, which were half serious and half joking, Seo-a’s expression, though still smiling, showed a hint of unease.

“…Let’s talk while we head to Thunderclap Palace.”

At her words, they began to enter the central area, and the situation became even more apparent.

About a third of the shops were closed, and the rest weren’t in good shape either.

This is supposed to be a town ruled by Thunderclap Palace, famous for its martial prowess but also successful commercially… What on earth is going on?

“Unnie, what do you think of our Thunderclap Palace?”

If the situation were good, it could be taken as pride, but given the current circumstances, that wouldn’t be the case.

“Do you want a nice answer or the honest truth?”

“The honest truth.”

“Not good, or rather, it doesn’t seem like a good situation at all. What’s wrong?”

At those words, Seo-a wiped the smile off her face and gave a bitter one.

For her, who has such a lively personality, to be like that, something really big must have happened.

“The Thunderclap Stone… it’s cracked.”

Thunderclap Stone.

What is that?

A guardian stone that supports Thunderclap Palace, a guardian deity that bestows blessings.

An entity that brings abundance and guarantees safety.

That’s what the Thunderclap Stone is.

As such, it is protected to the utmost and is incredibly sturdy.

That Thunderclap Stone has cracked. This is a serious matter that could cause the entire Thunderclap Palace to rise up in arms.

The situation was turning out to be more serious than expected, and Ha-yeon wore an unpleasant expression.

“We’ve identified the culprit, though.”

Even so, for an organization like Thunderclap Palace not to move easily, they must be quite strong.

From the very fact that they called Ha-yeon, it means they are strong.

“According to his own introduction, he’s the Second Cardinal of the New King Church.”

“Helio Reynolds.”

…

Here it comes.

‘Ha… I only found out that Helio Reynolds had gone over to the New King Church recently, and now I’m meeting him like this?’

She didn’t feel good, considering what she had heard from the Reynolds family.

“We don’t know why Raven’s son, who disappeared several years ago, is there, but we can’t speak carelessly about it.”

That would be the case.

Ha-yeon knows that this is Helio’s independent act, but others don’t.

From other people’s perspective, Helio is still on the side of the Reynolds family, and if they touch him, they will think they are touching the Reynolds family.

The eighth-ranked family.

Even Thunderclap Palace can’t take that lightly.

They might even consider annihilation.

She wanted to tell them everything, but this is a secret of the Reynolds family.

She could only tell them the important things roughly.

“Helio’s actions are not related to the Reynolds family. Touching him doesn’t mean you’re touching the Reynolds family.”

‘But it’s better not to announce it publicly.’

At her words, Cheon-seo-a gave her a look that asked how she knew that, but Ha-yeon pretended not to notice, and she realized that this was Ha-yeon’s minimal consideration and stopped asking.

And so, a moment of silence.

Just as they were about to arrive at Thunderclap Palace, Seo-a spoke.

“Right now, only my father, my third older brother, my fourth older sister, and my younger sibling are at Thunderclap Palace.”

She said that her mother and the first and second siblings had gone out somewhere for a while.

The father would be the head of the family, the third is a scholar who is quite famous, and the younger sibling must still be young.

“Everyone is nice, so don’t worry… Well… my third older brother might be a bit picky, but please understand.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

She had met even worse difficult people.

Dealing with someone who is not malicious towards her and is just picky is nothing to her.

As they were talking, they arrived at the main gate of Thunderclap Palace.

The soldiers guarding the gate saw Seo-a and opened the gate, and the two entered Thunderclap Palace.

As befitting Thunderclap Palace, which was plastered with Eastern style, there were quite a few things that could be seen in Gyeongbokgung Palace, and occasionally Japanese things as well.

Since it was a huge palace, they walked a bit further.

Starting from the first large space, they went straight ahead and opened the huge door in front of them, which was plastered with magic and mana treatments.

Creak.

The door opened, revealing the interior.

The first thing she saw there was.

‘Is that the Thunderclap Stone?’

It was the Thunderclap Stone.

A huge stele firmly placed in the center, about the size of three adult men put together.

The center of the Thunderclap Stone, which emitted a faint yellow light and sprayed high-voltage electricity around it, had a crack that looked quite large.

It was definitely a beautiful gem, but it looked somehow precarious.

“Are you the Sword Demon?”

In the midst of that, someone approached her and lowered their head.

The person she looked down at was an old man.

He was an old man with a hunched back and white hair, but due to the spirit felt from somewhere and the clothes he was wearing, she could easily guess his identity.

“I greet the former Thunderclap Palace Lord.”

Not Cheon-seo-a’s father, but her grandfather.

The former leader of Thunderclap Palace, Noerang Cheon-han.

He has now retired and has weakened a lot compared to his prime, but in the past, he was a man who achieved the amazing feat of being ranked 16th.

His momentum could not be ignored.

“I assume you’ve heard a rough explanation from Seo-a.”

“Yes, I heard that there was a problem with the Thunderclap Stone and that the New King Church was the cause.”

“First, let me apologize. Involving other people in the affairs of Thunderclap Palace is not a good thing for us either, but… the situation is what it is.”

Saying that, Cheon-han started heading towards the right annex of Thunderclap Palace, and the two followed him.

After walking a bit, they saw a wide garden, a wide garden that was filled with beautiful flowers, sculptures, and ponds.

It was a spectacle, but she had seen similar things quite a bit, so she wasn’t very impressed.

And so, they sat at the table and chairs located near there. He continued the story again.

“The one called Cardinal… It’s been quite a while since the New King Church made a name for itself in the world, but the number of Cardinals that have appeared is small.”

First, Baek, the Thunderclap of Regression, who was killed by Ha-yeon.

Then, Kairon the Vampire, who was killed again by Ha-yeon in succession.

In fact, there were a few other Cardinals who had appeared, and there was one more Cardinal who had been killed.

That too, most recently, just a few days after she killed Kairon.

The Cardinal who was killed was the Cardinal with the alias Abyss of the Victor.

In fact, she is also called the Cardinal who has killed the most Cardinals.

Anyway, what’s important here is not the Cardinals who have been killed, but the Cardinals who have appeared.

“The Cardinal who attacked us introduced himself as the Cardinal of the False Defeat. The Thunderclap Palace side has confirmed that the man is Helio Reynolds.”

A Cardinal who uses a sword.

It’s the most common, but the two Cardinals Ha-yeon faced both used fists and Blood Demon Art instead of swords.

“He attacked the Thunderclap Stone a week ago.”

That would have been when she was heading to the Reynolds family. It’s quite a coincidence.

Of course, it doesn’t seem to be related.

“At that time, only the current Thunderclap Palace Lord and the first grandson were guarding the place.”

That was fortunate.

It was fortunate that the two strongest forces were standing firm.

‘But to be damaged even so, he must have been incredibly strong.’

The current Thunderclap Palace Lord, Sin-rae, is a strong person who ranks in the top 30.

Such a strong person and the first grandson, Cheong-rae, who ranks within the top 100, are not weak either.

For those two to have fought together and still have the Thunderclap Stone damaged.

It’s truly daunting.

“He’ll probably come back to completely destroy the Thunderclap Stone.”

She didn’t know if he would bother to take the risk and come, but something told her so.

Cheon-han believed in this sense that had brought him victory through many battlefields with him.

“Are you asking me to be a force?”

“That’s your choice. You only came here according to Seo-a’s wish, not to fight. But if you help, we will give you corresponding compensation.”

The point is this.

It doesn’t matter if she doesn’t become a force, but if she turns away, her relationship with Seo-a will become awkward.

But if she becomes a force and stops Helio, she will receive enormous compensation accordingly.

There was only one answer.

“Okay. I’ll be a force for you.”

If she has turned the New King Church into an enemy, it’s something she will have to do someday.

That’s why she didn’t refuse.