76 – Brain Palace

“Fuck.”

What the hell is going on?!

It was a situation that would make even Ha-yeon, who had been trying to cut down on swearing lately, curse.

Weren’t things peaceful just a moment ago? Weren’t we just having a peaceful conversation about romance?!

Why are these bastards suddenly popping up?!

Truly caught off guard by the unimaginable situation, she drew her sword in a fluster.

Then, she asked Ha-eun, who was next to her.

“Where are you?”

“Not far, almost there.”

Meaning she was breaking through at a rapid pace.

Judging by how she was only attacking the outskirts and then suddenly broke through, it seemed like she had prepared thoroughly this time.

“…Which direction?”

“West.”

As soon as Ha-eun finished speaking, Ha-yeon ran.

There was no need to wait until they came all the way here. This place was not far from the Thunderclap Stone.

Since the enemy’s target was the Thunderclap Stone, it was best to fight as far away as possible.

She immediately used Sacred Haze to increase her speed, spread mana around her, and activated Hver’s Evil Eye.

[Constellation, ‘Moon-Cleaving Flash’ says there are more than three enemies.]

It seemed there were two more followers besides the Cardinal, Helio.

Thinking it had become quite troublesome, she stroked the back of her hand, where the Divine Beast’s mark was engraved, and thought.

‘First, I need to summon Karian to summon.’

Elvaros was too huge and could cause devastating damage to the entire Thunderclap Palace if something went wrong, and Ann had been summoned recently, so summoning her again would be too much of a strain.

Thinking that, she saw three people wearing New King Church priest robes in the distance.

[Item, ‘Red Divine Sword (SS)’ is imbued with the energy of skill, ‘Aether-Hongyeom’.]

Flames swirled around the crimson blade.

Hellfire flames as red as lava.

Northern Demon Swordsmanship, Eleventh Form.

“Transcendent Wind (True) – Flame (Flame)”

The flames that erupted from the swung sword rode the wind and flew towards them.

Ultra-high heat that could melt steel, as well as mithril, which was known to be the strongest in modern times.

Perhaps having seen that, something flew from the other side as well.

“Divine Sword Release.”

A low male voice that could be heard clearly even from this distance.

And with it, something shone brightly in the distance, beyond the flames, under the sun.

Where had she seen this before…?

Ah, right.

“White Night Aurora.”

[Forgotten Constellation, ‘Nine Lights Divine Sword – Light’ has been discovered.]

[Yellow Divine Sword (SS)’s Holy Spirit Skill ‘White Night Aurora (SS)’ is activated.]

A giant light descended from the sky.

A divine strike that shattered the flames and descended to the ground.

The light, shining in a cross shape, poured down on Ha-yeon.

[Constellation, ‘Moon-Cleaving Flash’ shouts to dodge!]

“Ugh…!!”

[Skill, ‘Domain Domination (S+)’ is activated.]

It was impossible to simply dodge to the side.

Therefore, she refracted the aurora that came close.

The aurora, bent to the side, smashed the surrounding buildings and turned the ground into a wasteland.

‘The people… are gone, I see.’

Fortunately, it seemed they had already evacuated.

Confirming that, she put her sword back into its scabbard and once again drew upon the power of the Divine Sword and Aether.

[Item, ‘Red Divine Sword (SS)’ is imbued with the energy of skill, ‘Aether-Hongyeom’.]

[Skill, ‘Quick Draw – Mastery (S)’ is activated.]

[Title, ‘Master of Quick Draw’ is activated.]

The aura of flames that erupted from the sword was incomparable to before.

In addition to that, she recklessly poured in mana and even used Dragonification.

And she drew her sword forward.

Kwaaang!!

The aurora and flames collided.

The aftermath turned the surroundings into a wasteland.

Ping!

Even so, the Thunderclap Palace’s main castle, protected by the Thunderclap Stone, was perfectly safe.

“Hoo…”

The flames and light subsided, and the enemy’s figure could be seen.

Upon closer inspection, they were wearing simple armor over their priest robes.

Strikingly cloudy blonde hair and blue eyes stood out.

“……”

A chilling expression.

Ha-yeon flinched for a moment at the cold, grim expression, but only for a moment. She immediately pointed her sword and said.

“Are you Helio?”

“That’s right.”

The sword that he was holding.

That sword was very similar to the Divine Sword that Ha-yeon was holding, and other than changing the red color to yellow and white, there was not much difference.

That was the Yellow Light, the Divine Sword of Light.

It was the third Divine Sword, excluding the (for convenience) Divine Sword of Flame that she currently possessed, and the Divine Sword of Ice that she obtained by fusing it with the wing feathers of Karian.

“Why are you trying to mess with the Thunderclap Stone… I guess I wouldn’t get a proper answer even if I asked.”

Saying that, Ha-yeon sighed and pretended to confront him, wondering how long it would take for the people of the Thunderclap Palace to get here.

‘At most, 2 minutes.’

Currently, the only truly useful forces in the Thunderclap Palace were the Lord and Cheon Ha-eun.

And those two would definitely arrive in about 2 minutes.

And the only one who could fight against the Cardinal together was the Thunderclap Palace Lord, Sin-rae Cheon Ha-ryeong.

The rest would have to take on the other two over there.

‘The two of them seem quite strong too, though.’

Lower-tier S-rank, the other two seemed to be around that level as well.

“One who obstructs the divine work. I will execute you here.”

Helio pointed his Divine Sword at Ha-yeon.

She said, as if dumbfounded.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Who would call such a massacre a divine work?”

“It is merely the execution of demons.”

“Your bullshit is a disease.”

“I can stain these hands as much as necessary for the sake of Cecilia’s revenge.”

Cecilia?

A story she had never heard before. Who was that?

More than that… Didn’t his eyes turn red just now?

“I have not forgotten that you killed Cecilia that day.”

We did? Who!

She said to Helio, who had been saying incomprehensible things since earlier.

“What are you talking about? I have never killed anyone named Cecilia, who you are talking about.”

Pajijik.

At that moment, red sparks flew from the pattern on his forehead.

And.

Kwang!

Helio charged at Ha-yeon.

Surprised by the sudden development, she quickly turned her sword and blocked the attack.

“…Ugh!!”

She was slightly pushed back by his strength.

It was quite surprising, as she had rarely been pushed back by strength after becoming this strong.

‘Then I just need to use a technique.’

[Skill, ‘Piercing Thunderclap (S)’ is activated.]

The sword, which had turned into a Thunderclap Sword, rushed forward to stab Helio.

He easily blocked it with his Divine Sword and stepped back for a moment before launching another sword strike.

Kang! Kang! Kang!

He swung his sword again and again.

She couldn’t let her guard down for even a moment. If she let her guard down even a little, a sword strike would come through the gap.

A considerable expert.

She had heard that he didn’t have talent in combat… What was going on?

Tang!

At that moment, something flew towards her side.

Ha-yeon immediately activated Domain Domination and deflected the bullet to the side.

‘….A gun? Or is it a skill?’

The other two followers.

They had also begun to join in.

Kang! Kang!, Tang!

It was giving her a headache to parry the swords and block the bullets at the same time.

And her mana was decreasing at a rapid pace.

“Raging Heatwave.”

She used a wide-area skill to create an opening.

The flames and heat falling from above made the three of them falter, and Ha-yeon stepped back in the meantime.

But at that moment.

“….!!”

“You let your guard down.”

A golden sword strike flew from beyond the flames.

The sword strike that Helio had launched rushed towards Ha-yeon.

A definite direct hit. A definite fatal blow.

The moment she thought she had let her guard down too much.

“To think that an outsider would face the Thunderclap Palace’s nemesis. I am ashamed.”

Lightning fell from the sky.

Blue lightning.

The lightning struck the sword strike to the ground and simultaneously created a storm around it in an instant.

And the person at the center of it.

A middle-aged man with slightly graying hair, perhaps due to age. Blue Thunderclap ran through his body, and he held two famous swords in both hands.

Sin-rae.

The Thunderclap Palace Lord, Cheon Ha-ryeong.

He had arrived.

“Are you the Sword Demon? As the situation is, I will not greet you.”

“It’s alright.”

“Thank you. More than that, you must have suffered a major injury before, but have you already recovered?”

Helio frowned at Cheon Ha-ryeong’s question and answered.

“It is the blessing of God.”

“Well, I suppose so.”

With those short words, Cheon Ha-ryeong activated a skill.

[Constellation, ‘Remnant of the Striking Myth’ lends its power to its Incarnation.]

Day of Judgment.

The same skill that Cheon-seo-a had used before, but the aftermath was on a different level.

Kureureung!!

The energy of lightning permeated the entire atmosphere.

The range was vast, and the power was immense.

And he controlled and manipulated all of it.

He looked just like the Thunder God in mythology. It was clear why he reigned supreme among lightning-type Hunters.

“I hope we can end it here, Cardinal.”

With those words, a giant Thunder Dragon descended from the sky in just 0.0001 seconds.

An enormous amount of Thunderclap energy was emitted.

“Likewise.”

But Helio did not back down.

He drew upon mana and infused it into his Divine Sword.

Then, the Divine Sword shone even brighter.

Seeing that, she instinctively felt what it was.

The ‘Divine Sword Release’ that she still didn’t know what it was.

And the White Night Aurora that that bastard was using.

He was definitely trying to use that power.

‘This alone is not enough.’

Of course, she could block it. However, there was no harm in having insurance.

Thinking that, Ha-yeon poured mana into the back of her hand.