Chapter 456 - Thank Goodness.
I screamed with all my might.
“Draw your sword!”
My cry, carrying the level of a shriek, fortunately seemed to reach the Demon Sword Empress.
The Demon Sword Empress immediately thrust her arm into her sleeve.
Immediately after.
Kwaaaaaaaah—!
An enormous light shot up to the sky from the Demon Sword Empress.
Kwooooooo—! The internal energy spreading around her mixed with air pressure and surged out like mad.
With wind mixed with lightning energy as well, unless one was at a considerable realm, anyone below Peak level would have been blown away.
“Kkeuk...!”
I barely planted my feet on the ground and released my internal energy to endure.
Deudeudeuk—! As I tried to overcome the pressure, my feet dug deep into the ground.
It felt like I would be blown away at any moment.
But I endured.
Because I absolutely had to see this.
‘... What the hell is going on.’
Gritting my teeth, I looked straight ahead.
Lightning bolts shot up with a thunderous roar.
The power was so immense that it created the illusion of a hole being punched in the sky.
The clouds that had been clear and bright despite the brutal atmosphere withered away.
With all the clouds disappearing, leaving only blue light in the sky above.
Kurururung...!
Dark clouds appeared from out of nowhere and began to take over in an instant.
The perfectly clear sun hid its form.
Kureung....
All that remained were dark clouds filled with lightning. To call it a naturally formed phenomenon felt somehow alien.
Within that subtle situation that evoked even awe.
Kurururung—!
Suddenly, the lightning energy permeating the dark clouds began to rampage violently.
Each bolt of lightning burst with presence through the gaps in the clouds as if possessing its own will.
The moment I beheld it, chills ran down my spine.
Because as my realm was high, I could tell how much power that lightning contained.
Kureung—!
The lightning energy finished coiling several times and gathered at one point before I knew it.
Kwaaaaaaaah—!
Unlike when it had shot up, it now slammed a bolt of lightning into the ground with all its might.
That monstrous force was enough to shatter the surrounding ground.
The air pressure also reversed and began to pull my body in.
Fortunately, this force did not last long.
The violently surging light subsided within seconds. All that remained was dust obscuring my vision.
“...”
Having my vision obstructed was quite uncomfortable, but I endured because I knew it would soon clear.
And sure enough.
Huuuuuuk—!
An enormous wind blew and swept away the dust blocking the front.
What was revealed in that cleared vision.
“...!”
The Small Sword Saint, panting with her sword plunged into the ground.
And the Demon Sword Empress, who had lowered her sword to the front and was looking at the Small Sword Saint.
Seeing that sight, I swallowed a groan without realizing it.
‘That's... a sight I haven't seen in a long time.’
It was a thought that came to mind upon seeing the Demon Sword Empress. Right now, she looked completely different from usual.
Unlike moments ago, when she had been in a state of collapse with blood dripping from one hand.
Now she stood unwavering with a noble bearing.
The sword in her hand had also changed from before.
The sword's form was quite peculiar.
A sword with only a hilt.
Especially, the fittings that should have been on the guard were nowhere to be seen, and instead an incomprehensible blue gem was embedded there.
That was the blade of the Thunder Fang.
Its appearance made one wonder what it was, and it was clearly a weapon that looked unsuitable to be used as a sword.
But that was definitely a sword.
That was one of the Central Plains' Five Great Famous Swords. The divine sword Thunder Fang, used by the hero of the Nangong Clan, the Thunder Heaven One Sword.
Furthermore, in other words.
A sword that only a true Nangong could wield.
This was a name left behind by Nangong Myeong for future generations.
The old tale that one had to be able to wield that sword to be appointed as the head of the Nangong Clan.
In other words, the Thunder Fang was not a sword that just anyone could use.
A sword whose blade had vanished, leaving nothing to be seen.
It looked far too shabby to be called a mystical artifact.
Yet if one had the qualifications, the Thunder Fang became a weapon more fearsome than anything else.
“...”
If the one wielding it was the Demon Sword Empress, the story changed further.
Sabak.
The Demon Sword Empress moved.
Gugugugugung—! The earth trembled with her. The air felt rapidly distorting.
Beonjjaak—!
At the same time, the gem of the Thunder Fang erupted with light.
A brilliant light bright enough to illuminate the entire front.
I closed my eyes briefly at that bright light.
Only when the light finally diminished did I slowly open my eyes.
‘...!’
I widened my eyes at the sight.
Because above the Thunder Fang's gem, where nothing had been, a blue blade was flickering.
That was the Thunder Fang's blade.
A blade made solely of lightning energy.
In its form made purely of energy, an unknown power could be felt.
Pajijijijik—!
As if to prove it, the blade seemed to be coiling with absurd lightning energy.
‘The Thunder Fang....’
That appearance matched the meaning of the name Thunder Fang all too well.
Furthermore, what the Thunder Fang emitted was not limited to that.
Kugugugung—!
A change came over the Demon Sword Empress who had unleashed the Thunder Fang.
Her hair began to shake wildly in the empty air, and the leftover lightning energy that could not be contained gathered around her body and emitted momentum.
The form of the lightning energy looked like a dragon moving.
The full-power stance of the Demon Sword Empress using the Thunder Fang.
A mystical artifact that even the current Heavenly Lord, and even the previous head of the Nangong Clan called the Sword King, could not wield.
People called that appearance.
‘The Advent of the Thunder Empress....’
They looked at her and trembled in fear.
The Demon Sword Empress in the Thunder Empress state gestured slightly.
The dark clouds gathered in the sky slowly moved following that slender gesture.
Kurureung—!
‘... No matter how many times I see it, it's amazing.’
I didn't know the details about the Thunder Fang's power because I had never used it, but just the fact that she used it changed the Demon Sword Empress's full power.
A blade imbued with lightning energy could cut through anything.
The domain of lightning energy dominating the surroundings expanded endlessly.
It was not enough to say it transcended levels; it changed grades.
Watching this, there was a question I always had.
Did the Demon Sword Empress, possessing such power, really fall short compared to the Three Lords?
I couldn't be certain of this.
If I had to make excuses, it was that she borrowed the power of a mystical artifact, but.
‘In the first place, only the Demon Sword Empress can use the Thunder Fang.’
That was why that Demon Lord bastard hadn't cared much even when the Thunder Fang fell into the Heavenly Lord's hands.
The Thunder Fang could only be used by the Demon Sword Empress.
If the Heavenly Lord could have used the mystical artifact....
‘At least he wouldn't have died so pathetically to the Heavenly Demon.’
He wouldn't have died so incompetently. That was how strong the Thunder Fang's power was.
Sabak.
The Demon Sword Empress moved.
With it, the lightning energy surged. The Small Sword Saint confirmed this and tried to raise her body.
Several golden blades formed behind her back.
‘Damn.’
This wasn't the time to watch the situation in peace.
The Small Sword Saint seemed to have no intention of retreating, no matter what state the Demon Sword Empress was in.
No matter that the Demon Sword Empress wielded the Thunder Fang.
If the Small Sword Saint also revealed her full power, there was no telling what would happen.
‘Because she also hasn't been going all out properly.’
The problem was.
The Small Sword Saint must not recklessly reveal her full power right now.
If my prediction was correct, the current Small Sword Saint had realized the essence of her strength and the meaning of her martial arts, so she would be able to display proper power.
But such power gnawed away at her ‘life’.
That was unacceptable.
I looked around.
Even with the situation having come to this, the Heavenly Lord was not intervening, which meant that old man was probably not here.
That was a small mercy; if that man had been here too, it would have been a disaster.
‘But on the other hand.’
Why couldn't I see that Demon Lord bastard in this situation?
‘Don't tell me the Demon Sword Empress came here all alone?’
Not only the Demon Lord, but other demonic followers were nowhere to be seen.
In other words, it meant the Demon Sword Empress could be considered to have barged in here alone.
‘Is she really crazy?’
Why?
Why did she come here so boldly?
Could it be she came to save me?
The situation was incomprehensible.
That crazy woman who cut down both enemies and allies alike, why had she come here?
She shouldn't have come at all.
Then she wouldn't have gotten hurt like that.
The moment I frowned.
Kuaaaaaaaaah—!
An enormous roar began to burst from the Thunder Fang.
That was a declaration of an offensive using the Thunder Fang.
It was dangerous.
‘Damn it.’
It was obvious she would become this strong, yet I recalled why she hadn't drawn her sword even while fighting a life-threatening battle.
Only now did it come to mind.
‘I told her not to draw it.’
Not to draw the Thunder Fang without my permission.
Words I had spat out right after facing the Demon Sword Empress who had fought using the Thunder Fang.
It couldn't be helped.
The battle in which she had used the Thunder Fang back then.
‘Was a total mess.’
Because I had seen both enemies and allies burn up under the continuous lightning pouring from the sky and the offensive the Thunder Fang unleashed.
That was a dangerous power.
Even the Demon Sword Empress couldn't control it easily.
Its destructive power and strength were outstanding, but it often turned the surroundings into scorched earth.
Of course, I burned everything up too. But it was so severe that I told her not to.
That was why I had said such words.
‘... She was keeping it?’
It seemed the Demon Sword Empress had been keeping those words of mine until now.
I hadn't known.
I hadn't paid attention.
I hadn't been able to pay attention.
Because I had thought I didn't care whether she kept it or not.
She had been keeping such words?
Seeing that, I bit my lip.
‘Is it because she's the Demon Sword Empress of this world?’
The her from the world I originally came from might have been different.
According to Bloody Demon, this place was different from the world I had been in.
But.
Somehow, I didn't think so.
Kureung—! Kurureung—!
The lightning energy grew even rougher, and the atmosphere felt like blades were rushing in.
Seureung.
The tip of the Demon Sword Empress's sword pointed toward the Small Sword Saint.
Soon the Small Sword Saint also raised golden energy in her body.
A hair-trigger situation.
Seuuuuuuu...!
As the Small Sword Saint raised her energy to the maximum, a change gradually occurred in her body.
As the energy changed, it became suffocating.
The moment I confirmed that, I threw my body.
I couldn't leave it like this.
“...!”
“... Huh!!”
I leaped with all my strength and arrived between the two women.
The Demon Sword Empress and the Small Sword Saint looked at me with extremely surprised eyes.
“Stop....”
I was about to stop the Demon Sword Empress, to tell her to stop now.
“Ah....”
Kung.
The moment she confirmed me, the light immediately went out from the Demon Sword Empress's Thunder Fang.
Meaning the blade disappeared, leaving only the hilt.
Furthermore, the completely blocked dark clouds gradually receded and the bright sky returned again.
The atmospheric pressure of the lightning energy that had been weighing down the surroundings also vanished.
At the sudden situation, I was the one who nearly became bewildered.
“... Thank goodness.”
The Demon Sword Empress looked at me and said that.
“...”
At those short words, I had to clamp my mouth shut.
How could I speak?
Her left arm was dripping blood for some reason.
From her exhausted eyes and hazy breathing, I could tell how terrible her condition was.
Only after confirming that did I unknowingly run a hand down my face.
“... You.”
Always protecting me in the end, even to that extent.
That damned thought pierced deep into my heart.