Chapter 388: Lightning Didn’t Fall From the Sky (7)

Despite nearly all of Claudia’s citizens gathering to watch them fight, neither one paid any attention.

With only each other in their sights, they closed the distance.

The invisible line of tension between them felt like it was on the verge of snapping when at last, the Regressor spoke.

“Enough already! Can’t you put your personal vendetta aside for a moment?!  Everyone who lives on this land is in danger!”

Tyr scoffed.

“How naïve. Just as heat and cold cannot coexist, just as light and darkness must push each other aside— I and the Sanctum cannot share the same world. One of us must be erased for the other to remain.”

“That’s just stubbornness! If it’s for survival, you should be willing to do anything! Letting go of your pride isn’t a big deal!”

“Then do you truly think this is mere pride? If you are so curious, why don’t you ask your precious Sanctum?”*

“There’s no Sanctum here! Right now, I’m asking you!!”

The Regressor bared her emotions and stomped forward.

She held Jizan, the sheath, in one hand and Chun-aeng in the other.

Two opposing forces were wielded as one as she drew her sword at full force—

Aerith Blade Supreme: Horizon Sunder.

The Qi Blade split the earth apart.

A compressed void tore through the ground, sending a razor-sharp slash through the air.

A blade of space itself, cutting everything in its path.

It cleaved Tyr in half along with the land beneath her.

No matter how tough it was, it didn’t matter.

It was sliced apart. Tyr’s form was carved into pieces by a razor blade of concentrated force—

At least, that’s how it looked to everyone watching.

But—

Tyr was not someone who could be cut.

She could be cut indefinitely—yet she would never die.

For that reason, she was once known as the Knightbane.

And now that she had regained her heart, her physical form had grown even stronger.

Like the vast sea, her swirling power filled in the gaps and her form instantly restored, as if she had never been wounded at all.

｢So even with her heart back, her regeneration hasn’t disappeared. No, it’s gotten even stronger! Damn it. That just makes her even more of a nightmare to deal with…!｣

The Regressor clicked her tongue, while Tyr, now paler than before, instinctively placed a hand over her chest.

Not because she was worried about being cut.

The number of times she had been slashed in her lifetime was far beyond counting.

But unlike before, she now had a real, beating heart.

Unlike before, she had something to protect.

｢…Thank goodness… The card Hu gave me is still intact. I’ll have to fight more carefully from now on… If it were to break—｣

A deep sigh of relief escaped her lips, only to be replaced by a cold fury.

Above Claudia, the mist spilled from the Cloud Waterfall, blotting out the sun.

From within the city’s growing shadows, thousands of Dark Knights rose up.

They charged toward the Regressor all at once.

They were just foot soldiers, but in the dark, there was nothing more irritating than endlessly spawning enemies.

｢Light chases away the darkness. Tch, I didn’t want to use the power I just obtained so soon…｣

Instead of cutting them down one by one, the Regressor chose a simpler solution.

She gripped Chun-aeng tightly.

Compressing the space within even further, she drew forth the hidden lightning sealed inside.

Space twisted, and from the gap between her fingers, a flash of thunder leaked out.

｢…But if my opponent is Tyrkanzyaka, then I don’t have to hold back. The untamed lightning will be even more ferocious.｣

It was a technique she had once learned from the Thunderarch.

She couldn’t master it, but she had found her own way to use it.

The thunder sealed inside of Chun-aeng was unleashed.

In an instant, an entire squad of Dark Knights was obliterated by a direct hit.

The shadows thinned and the remaining knights recoiled, cowering from the piercing light cutting through the darkness.

This was a battle beyond normal comprehension.

A clash of titans, far beyond what an ordinary human could even fathom.

Those who watched from a distance, thinking themselves safe, were finally struck by fear.

Screams erupted as people fled in terror.

The Thunder Guardians hurriedly constructed barricades, using the power of thunder to contain the battle’s aftermath.

At the very least, the fight had begun far from the city center, preventing greater casualties.

Peru, watching the battle unfold, muttered to herself.

“…Why are those two fighting…?”

“Peru. Understand this— There will come a time when you must fight, even if you are not a man. If you are a woman disguised as one— that moment is even more inevitable.”

“…?”

Don’t try to understand.

Just feel it.

Explaining is too much effort.

“…Aren’t you going to stop them?”

“Me? With what means? And why?”

I could step in, but if I stop them too soon, they won’t have fully vented their emotions, and it’ll only result in a half-baked resolution.

They just need to fight it out completely.

Just then Peru’s senses picked up something.

Beyond the Cloud Waterfall, something heavy was falling slowly, drifting down like a feather caught in the wind.

She couldn’t see it, but her power, which corroded metal, had detected it with eerie precision.

Her gaze snapped toward the sky.

｢…A mass of metal is falling from above? Moving slowly, riding the wind…? No—  this isn’t the time to worry about that.｣

…No.

I think this is exactly the time to worry about that.

Just as Peru was about to dismiss it, I grabbed her and said—

“What’s falling? Let’s go check it out!”

“…Now’s not the time for that.”

“Yes, it is! Unless… are you planning to jump into their fight instead? If you do, you’ll be lucky to only end up as minced meat. It’s way safer to find something else to do.”

It wasn’t exactly logical, but Peru, who lacked strong convictions, only hesitated for a moment before reluctantly nodding.

Yet, as she followed me, a lingering doubt surfaced in her mind.

｢…How did he know something was falling beyond the Cloud Waterfall?｣

Simple.

I read it from your mind.

Not that I’d ever tell her that.

Instead, I simply led the way, following her senses to the falling object’s location.

The Cloud Waterfall flowed silently.

Though it was called a “waterfall,” that was merely a metaphor—its true form was a mist hundreds of meters thick.

After walking for some time, I found myself engulfed within the dense clouds.

Thick mist obscured my vision, and where the clouds met the ground, mud was formed, clinging heavily to my feet.

“…Be careful. There are pits meant to store water.”

“You be careful. You can barely walk straight, yet you’re worrying about me?”

Peru seemed offended, but since I was right, she simply closed her mouth, walking by in silence.

After a while, she suddenly lifted her head and scanned her surroundings.

“Where is it? Is it around here?”

“…Up there.”

As Peru pointed up, a shadow appeared through the dense mist.

A massive steel structure was falling.

Not plummeting, but drifting down slowly, almost like it was a leaf swaying in the wind.

A leaf made of steel.

I waited for it to hit the ground, but when I realized just how big it was, I shouted urgently—

“Move!”

“…Ah.”

I grabbed Peru, pulling her back, and within seconds—

The falling mass struck the mud with a heavy impact.

Fragments of metal shattered and scattered across the wet earth.

“So now even scrap metal falls from the sky? What is this thing?”

“…I don’t know. I’ve never seen it before.”*

Luckily, the soft ground prevented it from bouncing back up.

I cautiously approached the wreckage.

The steel frame looked almost like…

A ribcage.

If stood upright, it would resemble a giant’s upper body.

At the top, there was a mechanical device of unknown purpose, and scattered between the metal beams were what looked like torn scraps of paper.

It was too elaborate to be a mere ornament.

I carefully rummaged through the wreckage, searching for any clues it might hold.

Then—

At the very top of the frame,

I spotted an inscription.

Brushing away the mud, I read it aloud—

…For a moment, I was speechless.

What? A weather alarm? This massive structure is just a giant alarm clock?

What kind of pointless nonsense…?

“…What is it?”

“It says it’s a weather alarm. Does Claudia even have alarm clocks?”

“…Instead of bells, Claudia uses thunder. They have clocks, but nothing this big.”

“Then why did something this huge fall from the sky? Did someone put it up there?”

Tch.

I thought I’d found a clue, but it turned out to be useless garbage.

I was sure I’d find something here.

There were no answers in the Thunderarch’s hidden vault. Now, this random object that fell out of nowhere turned out to be completely unrelated.

Frustrated, I kicked the wreckage and grumbled—

Seriously, where the hell is the clue about the Divine of Lightning?

While I was deep in thought, Peru, who had been tilting her head in confusion, suddenly raised her golden bell and spoke.

“…I’ll fix it.”

“You just said you don’t know what it is. How can you fix something you don’t understand?”

“…I don’t, but I can clearly see the parts that are damaged. If I restore them, we might get a better idea of what it was originally for.”

Using the Golden Lord’s power to restore what was broken, in hopes of uncovering its true purpose?

Not a bad idea.

Though… Would fixing a broken clock really make it more accurate?

If anything, it might just lose the only two times a day it was right.

– Ding.

Peru rang the bell.

The Golden Lord’s power sought to restore all things to their original state.

In the past, that desire had made it a monster— one that erased anything that did not belong to the Golden Empire.

But now, with no lingering regrets, Peru focused solely on its true nature—

A power that restored rather than destroyed.

The Power of the Golden Lord was fully unleashed.

Alchemy repaired the fractured steel, remolding, reassembling, and reconstructing it.

The frame was rebuilt, and its true shape slowly emerged.

And when it fully took form—

I recognized it instantly.

So did Peru.

Her voice trembled as she muttered—

“…T-Thunder God?”

A towering upper body, holding a steel spear in one hand.

Its face was like that of an aged old man.

It held no thunder, but now that it had regained its form, there was no mistaking it.

It was the very Thunder God that had ruled over the Cloud Waterfall.

The one that had overseen Claudia, hurling its thunder spears from above.

And yet—

“You’re telling me this thing… was an alarm clock?”

The foe that Claudia had feared, the entity they had fought against, was nothing more than a giant alarm?

As I stood there in shock, my eyes caught another inscription on the Thunder God’s frame.

I stepped closer and read it.