Spade 8, Elixir. I drew a line along the wall with the Golden Mirror card. Through the profound principles of alchemy, the lightning rod tower's coated steel walls entirely transformed into cards. Hundreds of steel-winged butterflies flutter and scatter. I pushed through that magical spectacle and broke free.
"Haaaaah!"
The iron fists of the Thunder Lord, who chased after me, rained down. Fists harboring lightning pierce through the fluttering cards, trying to reach me...
Unfortunately, even if they're cards, if they're made of steel, they aren't that light. The steel butterflies, scattering while spinning rapidly, startled and clung to each other.
Any other Qi Master would have failed to block. But because she was the Thunder Lord, her attack was blocked by the steel butterflies.
'All of this is Alchemy Steel! The moment it touches, it scatters the thunder...! As if she knows all my weaknesses!'
The Thunder Lord moves by grabbing and pulling something. Extending a line of lightning and connecting it to metal, she uses that pulling magnetic force to move as fast as lightning.
In other words, the fact that only that lightning needs to be dealt with. The Alchemy Steel cards steal the magnetic force and cling to her. They're called cards, but it must feel like steel blocks are sticking to her.
"Then!"
The Thunder Lord changed her tactics. This time, instead of pulling, she fired. The lightning gathered in her palm was discharged, splitting the floor as it rushed toward me.
It feels like a feather tickling and passing over my body. A slightly tingling sensation creeps in.
'The lightning doesn't work?! It's not even being deflected. It's like it's being swallowed!'
The Earth Mother Goddess's idol is quite useful. Lightning is meant to be swallowed by the earth, after all.
I stood with my hand against the lightning rod tower wall and said.
"How is it? Now do you believe me when I said our odds are fifty-fifty?"
"...You're overflowing with confidence for someone using mere trickery."
"Come on. If my skills are trickery, what does that make yours? Professional skills? You can make static electricity tingle just by rubbing your hands together roughly."
It's only a matter of scale; ultimately, how is that different from static electricity?
When her consecutive attacks failed, the Thunder Lord took a breath and racked her brain. Surely I must be more out of breath than her, but composure comes from psychological advantage.
Now's the time.
"Anyway, I thought you were a realistic person like me. I had no idea you were actually a pure, innocent maiden who believes whatever voice suddenly pops into her head."
"Your tongue never stops moving, does it?"
"No, I'm serious. You're the Thunder Lord, right? Why are you antagonizing me just because you heard some random inner voice out of nowhere?"
In her life—born in this city, raised here, and chosen to become the Thunder Lord—there was never a single moment the Holy Emperor's Court appeared. Yet the moment she received a revelation, she became more devout than anyone and started attacking me.
No matter how I think about it, that's unnatural. You should realize that too...
"That's not important. Who you are, or what I am."
The Thunder Lord said firmly, clenching her fists even tighter. The power of lightning extending outward condensed even further, beginning to heat her body with incomparable speed.
"What's important is what you're going to do. And that I must stop it."
"And what do you think I'm going to do?"
"You're planning to dig up all of Claudia's secrets and uncover the truth. No matter what kind of secret it is... no matter how it might destroy this city."
I can't... deny it. It's true, and even if I tried, she would clearly believe the 'revelation' echoing in her head over my words.
Tch. So it doesn't work after all.
The Holy Sword Guard. That is chosen by fate.
The Thunder Lord was lucky. Among the countless tragedies of the nations, she was fortunate enough to be born with the most perfect body. On top of that, she was struck by lightning and remained unharmed; rather, thanks to that, she awakened her talent. The Thunder Lord, who could access Claudia's power at its source, caught the eye of the previous Thunder Lord and was appointed as this generation's guardian.
Through consecutive fateful encounters, the Thunder Lord, who believed she was special, came into contact with some of the secrets and accepted her duty...
Honestly, even reading her mind, there was nothing strange. Like all ability users of that caliber, she was just a person with ridiculously good luck. That's why I didn't keep my guard up either.
But now that I know about the Holy Sword Guard, it's different.
A chosen body. Miraculous fateful encounters. Even the ability to digest all that power.
She was truly chosen. The Holy Emperor's Court breathed fate into her, and she accepted the fate given to her. She decided to hold lightning within her body, hide the secrets underground, and protect this city.
There was no reason not to. She loved this city and had obtained the power to protect it. To her personally, it was rational, noble, and an immeasurably precious heart.
That itself serves the Holy Emperor's Court.
Seeds that the Saintess carefully selected and scattered across the world.
That is the Holy Sword Guard.
Therefore, I cannot persuade her. The Thunder Lord, reigning within the order observed by the Saintess, would not welcome the change I bring.
"I have no intention of destroying the city or anything. I just want to satisfy my personal curiosity."
"'Personal' curiosity? Can the King of Humans use the modifier 'personal'?"
"When you put it that way, I have nothing to say."
Damn it. This is why I hate the Holy Sword Guard. I can't persuade them, and I can't create change. Because they're already complete in this state.
It can't be helped.
"I don't like violence... but how about we resolve this through conversation?"
"It would have been nice if you had that thought before stealing."
"Then how about you create a situation where I don't have to steal?"
"If you wish. I'll make it so you can never steal again."
The Thunder Lord approached me, fully charged with thunder. I pressed the Spade 8 card against the wall and slammed it like stamping a seal.
My hand stung, but there were results. When I peeled off the card, steel cards cascaded down like a floodgate bursting. Using the snap of my wrist, I threw the instantly replicated cards toward the Thunder Lord. Dozens of cards flew at her.
"That again."
Humans are creatures of learning. Because she had experienced it once before, this time she didn't scatter lightning like before. Instead, the Thunder Lord calmly blocked them one by one while approaching.
Ugh, this is tricky. I threw them with some force, but she doesn't seem hurt at all.
My strength is about average for a human. In other words, I can drag out a fight fairly evenly against anyone. I can steal Unique Demon Arts, read tactical intentions with telepathy and respond, and create standoffs by using techniques that target weaknesses.
But there's no decisive power.
My body is made of the Golden Mirror's alchemical substance, which is not metal but is no different from it. Its durability surpasses even that of an average Qi Master. Even after taking steel cards all over her body, she doesn't have a single scratch. She's only approaching slowly out of caution; if she had leapt in recklessly, I would have had no means to stop her.
"Steel scraps with no power behind them. Why do you keep throwing these meaningless things?"
"I'm calling myself a magician, so I'm trying to stay true to the concept."
That's a lie. That was a full-power attack. It was just nothing more than a child's prank to the Thunder Lord.
Tsk. I guess I can't win like this. I'm sick of this pattern, but... I have no choice but to stall for time.
'She doesn't look that strong outwardly... but I won't let my guard down. The opponent is the King of Humans. He might be hiding abilities I don't know about. One by one, with certainty. I'll press him thinking I'm facing a strong opponent.'
Thanks for staying vigilant anyway.
Not underestimating the opponent. That's a very proper attitude, but only when dealing with me it's actually a disadvantage. The more the opponent is conscious of my strength, the more they calculate their own actions, which means they give me material to read their thoughts.
Waist, legs, and arms and fists move like precision machinery. An iron fist flies toward my head. A chilling sensation, but even before that, the intent to attack read through telepathy. I reflexively insert my arm into the trajectory of the fast-flying iron fist.
It was supposed to be a blow that can't be blocked even if you know it's coming... but. With a clack, the Thunder Lord's fist was blocked anticlimactically.
'Something is strange...!'
It was a strike like lightning, but right before touching my hand, a flash of light flickered. The current flowed from her toward me, and simultaneously the force that seemed capable of crushing steel gradually weakened.
'It's not that he's strong. The opposite...! I'm getting weaker...! What are you doing...!'
It's simple. I discharged her power.
The Thunder Lord's Unique Demon Art, Thunder Catcher. That is a technique that catches lightning and moves with it. The reason the Thunder Lord could use lightning like Qi Gong was because she harbored lightning within her body using that technique.
Having stolen that Unique Demon Art, I caught her lightning and discharged it into my cards. If you approach within the range where lightning touches, the power that makes her 'special' disappears.
I whispered to her astonished self.
"How does it feel to be ordinary?"
"My power! You cowardly...!"
"Call it fair, will you? We're equals now, aren't we?"
It became a mud fight using only a handful of Qi energy. Whoever wins, whoever loses, it wouldn't be strange. Right?
Taking advantage of her bewilderment, I pulled her arm and hooked her chin. The Thunder Lord seemed to try to endure with strength, but her discharged body has no power. Only pure physical strength remains for the Thunder Lord...
'It doesn't hurt. His strength itself is nothing special.'
Huh. She's still stronger than me?
Well, that makes sense. If you use Qi Gong frequently, your body becomes stronger to endure that load. Do you think people who've even learned Cold Qi Gong are treated as superhumans for nothing? Even without Qi energy to use, there's a difference in pure strength.
'Then I won't panic. I'll face you with pure physical strength, without the power of thunder.'
Immediately after, the Thunder Lord's fist rained down.
Each blow is heavy. Even without using Qi Gong, my arms ache. The missed fists easily smash the furniture. Overwhelming durability is power in itself. Fists swung without worrying about hurting one's own body are far stronger than ordinary fists.
Boom, boom, boom. The fists I barely avoided wildly batter the walls and furniture. If I had done that, it would mean fractures, but the Thunder Lord casually prepared the next strike. It feels like a war of attrition with a rock.
'Really, your running away is the only thing that's remarkable. You've lost your power, but your beastly instincts remain?'
If it weren't for telepathy, I would have been hit several times and collapsed long ago. At least it's a relief I know where the fists are coming from. This time it's my chest. I have to dodge...
Oh. My breath.
I couldn't regulate my stamina while dodging. In the brief moment I faltered, the fist plunged into my chest. I crossed both arms to block, but the shock pierced through my arms and chest and spread throughout my body. My body slid back.
The Thunder Lord closed in and spoke.
"The fight will be decided soon."
"Haha. You're confident after landing one hit."
"It won't end with just one."
She's right. In a war of attrition, I have no chance. While she remains fine no matter how much I hit her, the other side presses me with almost infinite stamina. It's like fighting an immortal.
Weapons... there's no point in using them. Even if I stab with an awl, it would only make a hole in her hide. Rather, if it's taken away, my life would be in danger, so it's better not to show them at all.
Then.
"Hey. I've been fighting with my back against the wall this whole time, right?"
"You're running your mouth again. Do you only fight with words and petty tricks?"
"How did you know...? Anyway, while I kept my back to the wall, I prepared something to show you."
My hand is already revealed. How scary. This is why I hate fighting.
"Anyway, I'll show you what I've been preparing while getting hit and dodging all this time."
"You'd better show me before you die."
As if saying there was no more need for words, the Thunder Lord threw a kick. Timing it perfectly, I swept along one wall and moved my body aside.
When the missed kick embedded into the wall, the thin wall shattered like glass, and thousands of cards poured out like a floodgate bursting.
The cards I had created countless times while scraping against the wall. They poured down on the Thunder Lord all at once. No matter how robust a body she has, she can't help but lose her balance when hundreds of kilograms of steel cards press down on her. The waterfall of cards crashed down and knocked the Thunder Lord over.
"Petty tricks...!"
...Even so, the Thunder Lord with that ridiculous physique was unharmed, but that momentary opening is enough.
Taking advantage of her floundering in the waterfall of cards, I grabbed her arm from behind and locked it between my legs to break it.