Chapter 376: It’s a Thief!

Since ancient times, humans believed that lightning flashed first before being followed by the sound of thunder. However, this is a misunderstanding caused by the difference in the speed of light and sound.

In truth, thunder and lightning, children of the storm, are twins.

Lightning only appeared as the eldest because light traveled faster than sound.

But now, having experienced both thunder and lightning up close, I was forced to realize firsthand that they were indeed twins.

One side of my vision was consumed by lightning.

A brilliant yellow light washed over my retinas, painting everything in a single hue.

For a fleeting moment, nothing but the divine punishment of the Thunder God was visible in my eyes.

At the same time, a thunderous roar ripped through the air, shaking my eardrums as if to tear apart the world itself.

The sheer volume of the sound translated into pure pain that rattled my skull.

If I hadn’t possessed Mind Reading—if I lacked the ability to steal another’s perspective—I would have been rendered helpless.

“Of all times, why now?!”

The children trembled in fear as they looked up towards the Cloud Waterfall.

Having barely regained my vision, I staggered and followed their gaze.

And I saw the Thunder God.

At the peak of the Cloud Waterfall, a massive shadow flickered.

A giant, seemingly forged from thunderbolts and storms, loomed over us from above.

Only the upper half of its body emerged from the clouds, its eyes flashing with lightning, while its lips looked as if they were made of condensed storm clouds.

The wind and rain raged.

The once tranquil cascade of the Cloud Waterfall, which had fallen peacefully to the earth, now surged violently in reverence to the Thunder God’s wrath.

Raindrops lashed against our faces and the fierce winds shook our bodies.

First the Golden Lord, and now the Thunder God?

Am I cursed?

Why does disaster follow me wherever I go?

Even Tyr, who was usually indifferent to everything, sensed the overwhelming power and spoke up.

“Is that the Thunder God?”

“I don’t know for sure, but it certainly seems like it! If that isn’t the Thunder God, then who else could it be?”

“I’ve passed through the Cloud Waterfall many times, yet I have never seen such a thing…”

“When was the last time you came through here?”

“I can’t quite recall… Three hundred years ago, perhaps?”

“That’s ages ago! If the land changes thirty times over, even something like the Thunder God might decide to show up!”

Wait.

Even Tyr has never seen it before?

The same Tyr who once passed through the Claudia and later built the Duchy of Mist?

Gods exist.

The grand laws of nature persist independent of human affairs, waiting in their place until discovered.

But… is that truly the Thunder God?

While I was lost in thought, the child who had called himself the Guardian of Thunder shouted in a shrill voice.

“Everyone, bow your heads!”

Sensing the imminent danger, I instinctively lowered my head.

[—!]

As the Thunder God opened its mouth, thunder erupted in place of words.

Even its roar, though bellowed from the peak of the clouds, seemed capable of shaking the entire world below.

It raised its arm, aiming at the Thundermill.

In its hand, gleaming with electric energy, was a lightning spear seemingly plucked from the heavens.

There was no need to guess what it intended to do with it.

[—!!!]

Along with a deafening thunderclap, lightning struck once more.

“Hyaaah!”

Just before it landed, a girl acted first.

She placed her hand on the lightning rods branching out from the Lightning Tower and activated her alchemy.

The scattered rods folded inward, converging into a single, sharpened spike, resembling a spear aimed at the Thunder God.

– Flash!

The lightning struck dead center on the rod.

Fortunately, the thunder-resistant weapon of Claudia, built to withstand the wrath of thunder, performed its role admirably.

Instead of incinerating humans, the immense current was conducted safely through the Lightning Tower and dissipated into the ground.

The tower trembled violently as it absorbed the Thunder God’s power.

“Kyahhh!”

Yet, even the aftermath of a lightning strike was terrifying.

The girl, who had controlled the tower at close range, was flung away by the shock.

She tumbled like a ball, but Azzy dashed forward and caught her just in time.

“Woof!”

Though her clothes and skin were scorched, she was surprisingly unharmed.

It seemed her title as a Thunder Disciple wasn’t just for show.

Clutching Azzy for support, the girl muttered anxiously.

“No… The lightning rod…!”

– Rumble, rumble.

The thundermill spun even faster after absorbing the lightning’s power, but the impact had slightly twisted the rod’s alignment as it teetered on the edge.

If it took another direct hit, it might stop functioning altogether.

[—!!!]

Perhaps realizing this, or maybe simply continuing its attack, the Thunder God roared again and thrust its hand into the clouds—seemingly trying to summon another bolt of lightning.

“How does one even hunt something that high up? Hu, is there a way to climb the clouds?”

“No! You’re not supposed to stand on clouds in the first place! A master of Qi Arts could step on water droplets, but even that would only allow a few steps!”

“But Shei said he would kill the Thunder God, did he not?”

“He’s just crazy!”

The Thunderarch wants to drive it away by force, but the Regressor claims she can kill it?

How?

How in the world does she plan to do that?

Why is everyone around me a complete monster?

“Help me! If we don’t fix the lightning rod…!”

At that moment, the girl reached out toward the lightning rod and shouted.

Tch.

Everyone else had been flung away by the lightning, leaving me as the only one nearby.

I have no choice.

“Let’s go, Azzy!”

“Woof!”

With her fur puffed up involuntarily, Azzy sprinted ahead, leaving the girl behind.

She leaped up to the tip of the Lightning Tower and bit down on the misaligned rod, using her strength to straighten it.

The enormous rod groaned as it was pulled back into place.

Catching up, I used alchemy on the tower.

As expected of the Fallen Dominion, even this tower was made of Alchemic Steel—a highly reactive metal perfect for alchemy.

The moment I touched it, it instantly reshaped itself.

…No, it wasn’t just because of that.

Was it because I had witnessed the Divine of Alchemy?

Right now, alchemy felt easier than ever before.

Regardless, I quickly stepped back after securing the rod.

Unlike the Thunder Disciples, my body was completely ordinary.

If I got struck by lightning at this range, I wouldn’t just get thrown—I’d be obliterated.

I needed to get away.

Fast.

[—!!!]

“Oh? Is it too late? Well, it can’t be helped.”

I pulled out a card.

The Ten of Spades—an idol of Mother Earth who upholds all things.

It couldn’t compare to Jizan, but it should at least be able to conduct electricity.

Just before the lightning struck, I gripped the card tightly and offered a prayer.

“You did well. I unintentionally ended up receiving your help.”

But my efforts were in vain.

With a loud thud, the Thunderarch landed atop the Lightning Tower.

Wreathed in thunder, she strode forward with steady steps, her indifferent gaze fixed on the Thunder God.

“You arrived at a rather convenient time… Or perhaps, you aimed for this timing. Either way, leave it to me.”

“Thunderarch!”

“It’s the Thunderarch!”

The children’s voices rang with excitement as they cheered.

In response, the Thunderarch gave them a small nod, as if to reassure them.

Then, her hair began to rise.

Lightning crackled through each strand and her entire body shimmered as she prepared to face the Thunder God.

The gaze of the colossal being overlooking the land met the gaze of the giant standing on the ground.

Thunder and storms filled the space between sky and earth. From within the clouds, the Thunder God once again drew forth lightning to unleash divine punishment.

Lightning descended once more.

“Thunder Catch.”

At that moment, the Thunderarch grasped the lightning rod.

Lightning has an innate tendency to spread outward.

It never remains stagnant—it constantly flows, always seeking a path.

That path often includes the human body, as lightning can use even the flesh’s damp and complex structure as a conduit.

Just as a raging current can overflow a riverbank, if lightning passes through a human’s body, it would leave it in ruins.

But the Thunderarch was different.

The lightning that tore through the world surged through her body as well.

Yet, since her feet never touched the ground, the energy did not dissipate but instead swirled within her, continuously flowing.

Ordinarily, such force should have obliterated her from the inside.

Instead, she wielded it as her own strength.

“Thunder God, I don’t know how long you expect me to return this to you before you’re satisfied.”

At this moment, the Thunderarch looked every bit like a Thunder God descended upon the earth.

An overwhelming power radiated from her lightning-clad form.

With each step she took, thunder rumbled through the air.

Her dazzling golden hair, flickering with electricity, seemed like lightning incarnate.

Her eyes, now gleaming with an even fiercer light, captured even the bolts of lightning within them.

“If that is what you desire, then once more…”

The Thunderarch grasped the spinning thundermill with both hands, drawing upon the power coursing through her entire being, and roared.

“I shall return it to you!”

The massive thundermill, which had been spinning ceaselessly, gradually came to a halt—stopped by the strength of a single human.

The thundermill drew its energy from the lightning that flowed down the Cloud Waterfall.

Instead of water, it was the current of lightning that turned its great wheel.

In other words, if one were to reverse the thundermill’s motion…

The scattered lightning across all of Claudia could be gathered and sent back upwards.

She would literally return the lightning.

– Rumble.

The Thunderarch poured all her strength into the thundermill, resonating with it.

By reversing the flow of both her own power and the force of the lightning, she forced the enormous wheel—over a hundred meters in diameter—to turn in the opposite direction.

A feat only the Thunderarch, who could house lightning within her body, could achieve.

And the very reason why, at least within Claudia, the Thunderarch was considered the strongest.

From the reversed thundermill, storm clouds and lightning surged skyward.

From the ground, back to the sky.

It was an act that went against the natural order.

Lightning that was supposed to judge humans climbed the Cloud Waterfall and returned once more to the Thunder God.

Was it an attack, or an offering?

Regardless, the lightning was being sent back to the sky.

A grander recreation of what the First Thunderarch had once accomplished in ancient times…

“Ah, wait a moment.”

At that moment, the Regressor landed atop the middle of the Cloud Waterfall, riding upon Chun-aeng.

Chun-aeng and Jizan—sky and earth.

Lightning was the will of the Sky God that traveled between the two.

In other words, with both swords in her possession, the Regressor could also imbue herself with the power of lightning.

Some of the ascending lightning veered from its path, drawn instead to Chun-aeng.

The Regressor intercepted a portion of the thunder meant to be returned to the Thunder God and stored it between her two relics.

For a brief moment, the world fell silent in the face of such blatant theft.

And in that silence, I pointed at the Regressor and shouted.

“Lightning Thief! No, robber!”