WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 386: Lightning Did Not Fall from the Sky - 9

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The most dangerous moment is not when the future looks dark, when one agonizes over countless choices, or when one's heart is full of doubt.

It is when everything feels clear, when one is convinced there is only one path left, and when one's heart overflows with faith. That is when a person becomes more dangerous than anything else, both to themselves and to the world.

At the end of her deliberation, the Thunder Lord chose her faith.

Lightning alone could not kill him, so she drew the sword she rarely used. Taking advantage of the thick mist, she ambushed him from behind. Filled with faith, she was an angel carrying out heaven's will, and the King of Humanity was incapacitated before he could put up much resistance. Lightning coursed through the blade and shook his body.

Then the lightning vanished into nothing. It was his ability to discharge lightning. All that remained was the blade. To finish the job, the Thunder Lord tightened her grip on the sword.

At that moment, the blade snapped like a stalk of straw. The steel that had formed its sharp edge crumbled away.

That was not all. A chilling energy encroached on the surrounding space. It was dangerous to anyone, but even more lethal to the Thunder Lord, whose body was perfect. Rustscale's power, which destroyed structures, began by collapsing the blade and advanced toward the Thunder Lord herself.

The Thunder Lord drew on the power of lightning to protect her body. Since the lightning would discharge if she remained in contact with him, she had no choice but to move away. When the blade piercing his abdomen vanished, his body lost its balance and collapsed forward.

The attack had been fatal, but he was not dead yet. She needed to move quickly to make sure of it. The Thunder Lord spoke to Perru.

"Withdraw your power, Rustscale Lord."

Perru stared at the clearly changed Thunder Lord in disbelief.

"...Why? Thunder Lord, why did you do that to him?"

"He's dangerous. He must be eliminated for the city's future."

"...That can't be right. How could killing someone... be for the future?"

Perru was clearly on guard. Naturally so, after watching someone get stabbed right in front of her. The Thunder Lord exercised a little patience and tried to persuade her.

"If you're a ruler too, you understand. Some secrets can easily destroy this world. The bell of the Golden Mirror that you possess. Revealing every detail about it would not make this nation safer, would it? It would only make it more dangerous."

"...Is that a reason to kill him?"

"He is the King of Humanity, the representative of all humanity. Any secret he learns will someday belong to all humans. Just as a king represents humanity, humanity follows its king."

The Thunder Lord stretched out her hand. Lightning seemed to shoot from her palm, searching through the earth and rocks before pulling up fragments of metal buried within.

Claudia was the largest city in the Lesser States. Discarded alchemical steel lay hidden throughout the ground. The Thunder Lord brushed a hand over the gathered metal fragments. She, too, was a Lord of the Lesser States. Alchemy imbued with lightning stripped away the rust and grime, then forged a sharp blade.

The angel of lightning once again aimed a lightning-filled sword at the King of Humanity, who lay bleeding on the ground.

"I can overlook the Golden Mirror, which has already been revealed to the world, but I cannot allow him to learn the Lightning Thief's secret as well. Someday, it would cast all humanity into doubt. It would make them groan in anguish."

Perru was flustered.

The King of Humanity? Perru had heard of vampires, Holy Maidens, and Beast Kings, but never the King of Humanity. Perhaps such a being existed, but it was a matter worth considering only after every problem in Perru's own life had been resolved.

Still, perhaps that was why he had been traveling with the Progenitor.

Accepting that, Perru quietly nodded. Taking it as a sign of agreement, the Thunder Lord brightened.

"You understand. What a relief. Then..."

The blade that had been radiating sharp intent lost its light again. The Thunder Lord sent lightning through it, but lightning flowing through a crumbling sword was a burden rather than power. The blade snapped cleanly in the middle.

Perru, who had broken the sword in an instant, let out a deep sigh.

"...I'm an alchemist. The only thing I believe in and follow is the law of value. There is no value in killing him."

"Even if killing him protects the Lesser States, and this future?"

"...Death is the loss of value. No matter how it happens, no matter what form it takes."

"It is one step backward so that everyone can move forward."

"...It's different. It's not the same as stepping back. Value that disappears does not become something else. It never... returns."

Those words carried special weight coming from the Rustscale Lord, who possessed the ability to erase value. Certain Perru would not move aside, the Thunder Lord shook her head regretfully.

"It cannot be helped. I intended to make you the Golden Lord, entrust this nation to you, and establish order."

The Thunder Lord tossed aside the broken sword. Already crumbled and rusted, it did not even make much sound. Empty-handed, she opened her palm and stretched it toward the sky.

As long as she was within Claudia, the Thunder Lord was the strongest. Unless lightning was discharged through some cowardly trick, every power spread throughout Claudia belonged to her. Using the Thunder Lord's hand as a lightning rod, the seeds of lightning scattered among the clouds responded to her.

"I won't try to kill you. Survive on your own. I don't know how long you'll last with that broken body."

Thunder Catcher.

Gripping lightning in her hand, she swept it downward. Lightning flashed among the clouds, then a bolt connected heaven and earth. A torrent of power overturned the ground and shook the world.

After the distant roar, loud enough to deafen the ears, had faded and the dirt flung into the air settled beneath the clouds, the place the lightning had torn through was revealed. The Thunder Lord frowned as she checked on the victims.

Sharp iron spikes had risen around them as if embracing them. The Rustscale Lord had responded with alchemy. It was a sound response to lightning, but lightning rods of that size could not stop its aftermath.

Yet it was not those hastily made lightning rods that had stopped the lightning.

"Ahaha! Father, you kept letting your lower half run wild, and now a woman has stabbed you in the stomach? I knew a day like this would come!"

Hilde had appeared out of nowhere, holding white light in her hand.

After blocking the lightning as if it were nothing, Hilde inspected Hughes's fallen body from every angle. His abdomen had been pierced and blood was flowing, while he appeared unconscious. It was a fatal wound, but enough to make him lose consciousness...?

Then Hilde saw where his fallen hand was reaching. He was tightly gripping the kite tethered to the Sky God's back. With a small snort, she sighed and covered his wound with her hand.

"Ugh~. It's no fun when you don't answer. I guess Father tastes better on the inside than the outside. Looking at you collapsed like this, you're just pathetic and pitiful."

White light gathered over his wound, and it returned to its original state as though time had been rewound.

The Thunder Lord knew what it was. She had never seen it in her life, but it was also related to faith. Though no one had taught her, the Thunder Lord realized what kind of technique it was and what it required, as though she had known from the beginning.

"Divine power?"

Healing required time. Hilde kindly explained while buying some.

"Yeees~. Despite appearances, 'I' have very devout faith. 'I' can recite all the scriptures too, you know? When the First Holy Maiden anointed her hands with oil and touched the sick, wounds would close and illness would be healed. When 'I' sincerely pray while recalling that passage, heavens above! The entire universe steps in and works a miracle!"

"I know! Why are you healing him? You must clearly know this is the Celestial God's will..."

As the Thunder Lord muttered, she received another piece of information and shouted.

"White-Face! That apostate!"

"An apostate? Don't be ridiculous. How could someone who abandoned faith use divine power~?"

It was common sense. Only people with devout faith could use divine power. Divine power was strength beyond the ordinary, bestowed when the Celestial God looked down upon humanity. Therefore, people lacking faith and unable to follow the Celestial God could not use divine power...

...Which was why Hilde had become a taboo of the Sanctum.

Before joining the Holy Sword Corps, Hilde had been an actor. Through intense immersion in her roles, she could act as though they were real. Even as a member of the Holy Sword Corps who wielded divine power through faith.

That was why the once most promising member of the Holy Sword Corps had been dispatched somewhere no one could find her. So no one would even have the chance to consider what it meant.

"An apostate stealing and using the power of God...!"

"Hehe. Strange, isn't it? Apostate, heretic, whatever you call it. How do you steal God's power? Is that something that can be stolen? Is a god whose power can be stolen really omnipotent?"

As Hilde smiled after finishing the emergency treatment, the Thunder Lord's lightning poured down on her again. Having realized Hilde's identity, the Thunder Lord unleashed her power without the slightest hesitation.

"Neither rain nor wind, neither lightning nor storm, could stop the Holy Maiden's coming."

When Hilde placed a hand over her chest and recited the prayer, the lightning "missed." Saying it merely missed was not enough. It changed direction so sharply, as though it were avoiding Hilde, and struck the ground.

It had happened once in the distant past. A miracle said to have been performed by the First Holy Maiden herself. The tale of her crossing the continent through storms and lightning came to life through faith, transcending time.

"The Blessing of Heavenly Will...!"

"See~? 'I' can definitely use divine power. Better than you can! Then doesn't that mean the actions 'I' take are permitted by God as well?"

"Heretic!"

Even without the Blessing of Heavenly Will, a martial artist who had reached a certain level would not be greatly threatened by lightning. Once they had formed heaven and earth within themselves and grasped the principle, they could use aura to direct lightning beneath their feet.

The only way to fight was hand-to-hand. Instead of raining down lightning, the Thunder Lord imbued her own body with it again. She would personally punish the heretic and eliminate the barbarism.

Hilde smiled at the approaching angel of lightning.

"For the record, 'I' can do this too, you know?"

Hilde crossed her arms and touched her shoulders. Her expression was sorrowful and pitiable, as if she were playing the part of someone lonely.

"'My' faith is a single sword. I shall cut down evil with light and illuminate the path. First Holy Maiden, look upon 'me.'"

Then Hilde drew blades of light from both shoulders. Letting out a long breath, Hilde spun the blades and muttered.

"Holy Sword, equip."

The reason the Holy Sword Corps was called the Holy Sword Corps. Those who forged their faith into blades were granted blessed weapons. They held holy swords possessing power beyond the ordinary within their hearts.

There was no room for doubt. Hilde was a devout believer. The blades forged from faith within her heart proved it...

"Cool, right? What do you think? A Holy Sword still comes out through 'my' faith!"

"You!"

The Thunder Lord's lightning-fast fist came down. The destructive force of a fist wrapped in lightning exceeded that of lightning itself. Hilde smoothly drew in her daggers and redirected the fist. It slid down the crossed pair of swords at an angle.

Taking advantage of the opening created by redirecting the force, Hilde struck the Thunder Lord's side with an aura-filled kick. The Thunder Lord's stance broke, leaving her unable to respond. Instead, she moved her body against the kick. Their energies collided violently, repelling them both as they slid back.

Hilde dusted off her foot.

"You used your side to hit my leg. If your body's tough, does that mean you don't need strategy or technique? How crude."

"This too must be heaven's arrangement. I will uproot every future threat here. You and the barbarism alike."

"Can you really do that? 'I' drew a Holy Sword, you know? Even though there's a vampire right next to me!"

Throughout the journey so far, Hilde had rarely been able to show divine power. The Progenitor, who tore apart anything related to the Celestial God on sight, had been keeping a sharp eye on her. That Sanctum-exclusive killing machine did not sleep, was persistent and powerful, and had a strange sixth sense that let her detect and pursue traces of divine power with uncanny precision.

To begin with, even a member of the Holy Sword Corps should not have tried anything right under her nose. What confidence had Hilde been relying on?

Now that she had someone to redirect the Progenitor's anger toward, Hilde used divine power without holding back. Before long, the vampire would come running and erase everything related to the Sanctum.

But the Thunder Lord answered as if she had already anticipated it.

"If you're talking about the Progenitor, she cannot come."

Footnotes:

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