WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 380: Interlude: After Killing the Thunder God

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The lightning weakened.

The thunder that had seemed ready to fill the world had dwindled to the beat of a great drum. The Thunder God, which had descended along the Cloud Waterfall as though to split Claudia in two, now screamed with only faint flashes of lightning remaining.

[-!]

As the Thunder God's roar gradually faded, the citizens of Claudia who had come to watch cheered all the louder.

Waaaaaah!

The cries of countless people were fierce enough to send the Thunder God flying back into the heavens. In contrast, the Thunder God, which had looked down on humanity with such arrogance, flailed miserably while buried in the clouds. It was hard to tell who was the god and who was human.

Shei brushed her wet hair back and muttered unhappily.

"How strange. I'm definitely killing a false idol, but it looks like I'm bullying the weak."

If the Thunder God was a god, then what was Shei, who stood upon the clouds and devoured it?

Lightning was swallowed by Jizan. Thunder was cut apart by Skywarbler. Nothing the Thunder God possessed could harm Shei as she gripped heaven and earth in both hands and wielded them. Instead, its very existence was melting into her power.

The Thunder God stretched out a hand as though resentful and roared.

[---!]

"You keep shouting something, but I can't understand you. So just give up."

Shei raised Jizan and Skywarbler with their hilts facing one another.

Lightning was a single line traveling between heaven and earth. All lightning fell within that definition. The Thunder God, which had ruled from the strange palace known as the Cloud Waterfall, now yielded to its own essence.

Heaven-and-Earth Sword and Staff, Lightning Eater.

The Thunder God's entire body seeped into the narrow gap between Skywarbler and Jizan. Even weakened, it was still manifest lightning. Its power was immense, but the space between the two Demon Gods had more than enough room to contain it all.

The tiny bolts composing its form, the torrents of power extending through its fingers and toes. Everything became one enormous current and flowed into Shei's two swords.

Its existence melted away.

[….]

The Thunder God's cries, which had seemed ready to tear the world apart, gradually grew quieter. Once groaning in agony, it now looked small, weak, and pitiful. Even then, it desperately stretched out an arm as though searching for something, as if it had left something precious down below.

But it could not reach it. This city of clouds, surrounded by Lightning Rod Towers, used lightning alone and rejected everything else. A single strand of lightning that fell from the Thunder God touched a Lightning Rod Tower and vanished.

"Come in."

Shei twisted Skywarbler. Though she had not deliberately drawn up her qi, lightning naturally sparked between Skywarbler and Jizan. At the same time, every remnant of the Thunder God was sucked into the gap.

From now on, Skywarbler and Jizan were bound by an invisible cord of lightning. Shei would likely be able to move either one with the other alone.

Shei let out a long breath. Satisfaction at finishing a task, accomplishment at taking another step forward, pride at helping a village in trouble. On top of that, she had gained the Thunder Lord's full support, so everything ahead should be smooth sailing.

Only the cheers of the people below remained, echoing through the air. More excited than ever before, Shei descended brightly.

"Whew. It's over! The Thunder God is gone now!"

Tyrkanzyaka was waiting at the Lightning Rod Tower. She had watched with both fists clenched ever since the Thunder God began disappearing, and now she cheered for Shei more enthusiastically than anyone else.

"Magnificent. To command a servant of the Celestial God with your own power! This is an unprecedented achievement, and an act that has smeared mud across the Celestial God's face!"

"Uh, I wasn't really trying to do that..."

Though the reason was somewhat different. Unable to answer comfortably, Shei openly looked around.

"By the way, where's the Thunder Lord?"

"She said she had something to do and vanished. I cannot imagine what business could matter more than the sight before our eyes."

"What could it be? Maybe a thief broke into her house?"

"Could that be the reason? The Thunder God entering the city is more dangerous than a thief entering one's home."

Shei agreed with that. What thief could be more dangerous than a god wielding lightning?

That was why she found it strange. If the Thunder Lord had disappeared, she must have had a reason, yet Shei could not even guess what it was. More than anything, this was the first time it had happened in all her regressions.

Without realizing it, Shei muttered to herself.

"That's strange. This has never happened before."

"Never happened before?"

Shei, who had often traveled alone without companions, did not care much when others overheard her speaking about herself. Only after Tyrkanzyaka had pondered it for a while did Shei wave a hand and make an excuse.

"Oh, no. It was just so unexpected. If you're the ruler of a city, you should watch until the very end when something like the Thunder God is being defeated."

"...It is unexpected."

'Whew. That was dangerous. I need to be careful. I'm not a Holy Maiden, but I can't let anyone notice that I see the future. They'll treat me like one.'

Tyrkanzyaka gave her a suspicious look, but Shei did not pay it much mind. They had grown rather close now, but several regressions ago, Tyrkanzyaka had been an irresistible disaster. In some regressions, she had been an enemy, while in others, she had been a comrade with whom Shei shared words at the end of the world.

To Shei, humans were multifaceted beings in whom the past and present coexisted. How should she treat someone who had been an insurmountable wall, an enemy of humanity, and an irreplaceable companion?

The answer was not to care. No, more precisely, she could not afford to care so delicately. Other people's feelings changed constantly, while Shei did not have mind reading.

No companions should have gathered around someone with that mindset, yet this time, the situation was at least favorable.

'Having Hughes around makes dealing with people easy, so it's convenient. I've threatened people with swords less often than before. In the past, whenever I wanted to persuade someone, I had to swing Skywarbler or Jizan and cut something... I should treat him better next regression.'

She was reflecting on the regressor's own form of gratitude.

At the top of the Lightning Rod Tower, the pulley holding the elevator spun. At the same time, the elevator shot upward at tremendous speed. It reached the top of the tower as though it might crash into it, and a familiar figure staggered out.

Shei recognized the face and frowned in confusion.

"Huh? Hughes?"

Blood flowed from his torn scalp. Drops fell from the trail of blood running down to his chin. He staggered as though injured, glanced behind him as if something were chasing him, and hurried toward them.

Tyrkanzyaka went to greet him and asked, "Hyu? What happened? Did someone attack you?"

"Yes... More importantly, wait a moment. I have something to tell Shei!"

"To Shei? Is there nothing you wish to tell me?"

Tyrkanzyaka asked with slight disappointment, but she too was startled by what followed.

"It's about the Thunder Lord's true identity! She's not simply a Lord!"

It was something Shei had never heard in any regression. As she hurried down toward the Lightning Rod Tower, she recalled a possibility and said, "The Thunder Lord jumped down to the ground earlier. Did you cause some kind of trouble again?"

"Ugh, you could say that. Or you couldn't."

"It was you! I was wondering why the Thunder Lord suddenly acted that way!"

Shei scolded him as he trailed off with an awkward expression and approached him. She had no particular reason to be wary. They saw each other every day, so being wary would have been stranger. Like Claudia and the Thunder God, familiarity weakened vigilance.

"Anyway, what is the Thunder Lord's true identity?"

"It's a little difficult to tell Tyr..."

"Are you excluding me?"

As though she would not let that pass, Tyrkanzyaka openly showed her displeasure. Watching her reaction, he sighed as if he had no choice.

"I can't hide something this important. I'll confess. The Thunder Lord is actually a member of the Holy Sword Corps."

"The Holy Sword Corps...?"

The sudden bombshell forced both Shei and Tyrkanzyaka to react.

The Holy Sword Corps. The Sanctum's direct unit. To Tyrkanzyaka, they might have been insects that appeared without end no matter how many she killed, but to Shei, they were irreplaceable companions.

Once, Shei had worked as part of the Holy Sword Corps. It was a title the Sanctum had given her in name only, but there she had learned many things, including the world's secrets and the existence of Demon Gods. She did not know every Holy Sword Corps member scattered across the world, but she had interacted quite a lot with the direct unit.

Even so, the information that the Thunder Lord was actually part of the Holy Sword Corps was unexpected.

Without noticing the displeasure rising on Tyrkanzyaka's face, Shei spoke with a faint trace of welcome.

"The Holy Sword Corps? Assuming that's true, how did you find out?"

"That was because I... Ugh."

A drop of blood fell into his eye as he spoke. His vision obscured, he missed a step. His balance gave way, and his body tilted toward Shei.

He was taller than she was. If he approached and fell, naturally he would fall in Shei's direction. They had also spent so much time together that familiarity had grown between them. Without any suspicion, Shei caught his body...

At that moment, the Heaven-Reversing Boundary reacted.

Silver flashed. Shei threw her body backward, released qi, and kicked off the ground to open the distance in one fierce motion. Two long scratches were carved into the top of the Lightning Rod Tower.

The warm, peaceful scene of the Thunder God's death had ended. Sharp tension filled the air immediately afterward. Shei gripped her torn clothes with one hand and glared at "him."

"...You."

"Oh my. I was only planning to hurt you a little. Your reaction was far too quick."

"He" was not Hughes.

With one wipe across his forehead, the blood vanished. His frame shrank, his hair came loose, and it spread wide around him.

Hilde, having undone her transformation, scanned Shei with foxlike eyes and a playful grin.

"Was that combat foresight? Or just foresight?"

"It's a technique I learned to deal with people like you."

"Could it be the technique of those who seek to reach the heavens with qigong?"

Shei had never expected that topic to come up here. Her expression darkened.

Shei had many enemies, and many allies as well. Yet no enemy had dug this deeply into her life, and no ally had gone this far either.

She should have been more wary. Zikhrund, the Shadow Casket of the military state's intelligence bureau. Though she now called herself Hilde and took the role of a mischievous companion, she was one of the Six Generals and one of the people Shei needed to fear most in the military state.

Hilde saw Shei's grim expression and spoke in surprise.

"I'd heard such a thing existed. To think it was real. Hmm, amazing. Anyway!"

Clap, clap.

She turned toward Tyrkanzyaka after clapping her hands.

"Tyrkanzyaka. There's one more thing you need to know!"

"I thought Hyu was acting slightly strange. So it was you after all. Your prank has gone too far."

"That's because I take after my father! But could I possibly compare to the prankster over there?"

Laughing cheerfully, Hilde extended the silver knife that had slashed across Shei's chest. Thanks to Shei's quick reaction, the knife had barely succeeded in cutting only one layer of clothing. No blood stained it, but it had achieved its objective.

From the beginning, the knife had been meant to cut Shei's clothes.

"Look! Look carefully, I cut it open for you myself!"

Only then did Shei feel the strange emptiness.

If her clothing were too durable, it could become a prison that bound her instead. Her clothes were made from fabric that allowed qi to flow well. The same applied to her opponent. A blade infused with qigong could cut through Shei's clothes without much difficulty.

That was all. She was not hurt, and the Heaven-Reversing Boundary had reacted, so only the chest of her clothing had been torn. It was a pitiful result for a carefully prepared surprise attack.

But... it had happened to be her chest.

"Look over there! Astonishingly, Shei, whom we all believed to be a pretty boy until now, was!"

She had been struck at the most fatal moment. Only her clothes had torn, and that itself was not much of a problem... The real problem was that the "lie" hidden beneath her clothes had been revealed.

Through the gap in her torn clothing, the Celestial Silkworm Thread wrapped across her chest could be seen. The bindings encircled her torso, and beneath them was an unmistakable rounded outline.

Celestial Silkworm Thread. A precious fabric that was strong and did not stretch easily. Since Shei moved violently during combat, she often wrapped Celestial Silkworm Thread around her chest to keep it from moving. Binding it tightly was enough to disguise herself as a man.

And cloth wrapped around the chest could only look as though it served that purpose. Especially when it revealed such obviously feminine curves.

"She was a woman!"

Hilde spread both arms and shouted like an actor delivering the climax of a play.

...In one sense, even this was not such a great problem. She had only hidden her gender. Still, both Shei and Tyrkanzyaka knew that the Shadow Casket's trap would not end there.

"She has experienced things she never experienced, knows things she should not know, and is familiar with every kind of secret. She isn't even that old, is she? Yet she even hid her gender to infiltrate Tantalus. Why do you think that was?"

This was why she needed to be alone.

There were too many dangers in being with others. It was dangerous if that person betrayed her and became an enemy, but even if they remained an ally, it was dangerous. If an ally with whom she had shared her heart abandoned her, or if they fought, became disappointed, and parted ways...

...Even when her body returned through regression, the heart she had given would be worn away.

"You all know, don't you? The answer is that she wanted to hide the fact that she is a Holy Maiden! Yes, Shei! He, no, she! She is a Holy Maiden!"

How Hilde had found out was not important. What mattered most now was the one person here who hated Holy Maidens the most and bore the fiercest murderous intent toward them.

Shei steeled herself and faced Tyrkanzyaka.

At some point, Tyrkanzyaka had stopped questioning her. With her parasol resting on her shoulder, she had watched in silence...

And now, with a terribly blank expression, Tyrkanzyaka stared quietly at Shei.

Footnotes:

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