Without qi techniques or unique demonic arts, it was a pure clash of flesh against flesh. Of course, I lost even that, but I hadn't lost in technique yet.
No matter what kind of body the Lord of Thunder had, she still possessed a human structure. No matter how outstanding a human might be, without qi, they structurally cannot attack an enemy behind their back. Joints cannot bend backward on their own, and no matter how hard a pinky tries, it cannot overcome arm strength. That is the proper logic of the human body's structure.
What if a pinky finger could overcome my arm strength? Then I'd just have to lose, that's all. You can't have a game where a joker card beats my ace, right? Let's fold a losing hand.
"You think...!"
"Once I've caught you, it's over. You cannot win without using the power of thunder."
It was useless no matter how much she tried to draw out the power of thunder. Right now, I was entangled with the Lord of Thunder. Every time she tried to manifest her power, the flowing lightning all seeped into my Earth Mother Goddess card. I put more force into the arm I had locked and spoke.
"If I break this, you'll never be able to use this arm again."
"Try... it...!"
"You think I won't? If necessary, I could break your neck without any hesitation..."
As I said that and applied even more force, I felt something stiff and unyielding.
Huh?
It's not bending? What is this? Don't tell me, even using both my arm and leg strength, even leveraging the principle of the lever to pull, I still can't break her arm? How unfair is this?
"...For all your bluster, that's a pathetic amount of strength."
'Now that the power of thunder is completely gone, I can finally feel my inherent strength. I should be thankful for that... Now I have confidence that I can use my power properly.'
So that's what it was—she's sensing her qi!
The Lord of Thunder slowly applied force. As if recalling a forgotten memory, it wasn't the power of thunder... but pure qi energy that filled the gaps. Instead of the easier-to-use power, it was the fundamental power of life—difficult, but impossible to steal.
Damn it! Don't grow in the middle of a fight! My mind-reading and plans are all going to waste! Well, it was stranger that she couldn't use qi while wielding the power of thunder. Even just the qi energy I could sense from her was far greater than mine. She'll break free soon. What do I do? Should I call Tir...?
It was then.
Grrrrumble—the Lightning Rod Tower shook violently. It was an enormous shock, as if lightning had struck, no, as if mass had been added to the falling lightning.
The structure tilted enough to see the ceiling, and the walls and ceiling that should have been solid swayed. The impact seemed to have reached underground as well, with stone fragments crumbling and falling. The Lord of Thunder shouted urgently.
"You! What exactly have you done!"
"I didn't do this!"
"If not you, then who!"
"How could someone who can't even break your joints break the Lightning Rod Tower?"
What on earth is going on? Even if I changed a few walls into cards, the tower wouldn't collapse. Did the Thunder God kick the Lightning Rod Tower or something?
Anyway, it's a crisis of building collapse. There's no reason to continue this useless joint-locking anymore. The problem is, even if I let go now, it's still dangerous...
"L-Lord of Thunder!"
A small footsteps approached just in time. It was the girl who had been taking care of the child underground earlier. Sensing the crisis as the tower shook, the girl had run to find the Lord of Thunder.
"Lord of Thunder, it's an earthquake! The tower is tilting... huh?"
The girl, who had been so desperately searching for the Lord of Thunder, found her entangled with me on the floor, our arms and legs twisted together. At the unexpected sight, the girl lost her words and wore a bewildered expression. The Lord of Thunder, who was also being subjected to this, similarly wore a flustered expression.
"J-Jeri. Not now."
Now! The only timing to escape is now!
"It's a misunderstanding! The Lord and I were just having a simple physical wrestling match! There's nothing between us!"
"Be quiet!"
As the Lord of Thunder shouted, our strength momentarily loosened. Taking advantage of that gap, I released her arm and rolled away. Then I ran toward the wall I had turned into cards.
Because I had used an entire wall as material to create cards, the wall had disappeared, revealing the ground behind it. Damp soil flowed down through the crumbled wall. Holding the Earth Mother Goddess card in my hand, I forcefully pushed the pile of dirt. Along with earth magic.
Thump. The pile of dirt, possessing enormous weight, was easily pushed aside by my gesture. In an instant, a tunnel heading to the surface was created. I planted my foot in that hole and shouted.
"I'm sorry, everyone. Even after lifting the curtain and peeking at your secrets, I didn't find the answer I wanted. I'll be taking my leave now!"
"Stop right...!"
The Lord of Thunder wanted to chase me immediately... but just then, she swallowed her words upon seeing the girl's desperate face.
Even if she knew something and had deliberately ignored it, the fact that the Lord of Thunder had protected the city was true. The girl was relying on the Lord of Thunder right now. She wanted her to continue showing the same appearance she had always displayed, even in this very moment.
The Lord of Thunder hesitated for an instant at the sudden surge of conflict.
That gap was enough. Before any more problems arose, I escaped underground using earth magic.
The outside I saw for the first time in a while was a scene of chaos. Cheers and screams were mixed together, and the humans who had been watching the Thunder God's killing scene were panicking and looking around. In the midst of that confusion, as I dug out of the ground, I almost got trampled by the crowd.
"What? Someone came out of the ground!"
"They're a spy! If you don't want to get hurt, move!"
At my declaration of being a spy, the spectators above me startled and backed away, and in that gap, I pushed through the dirt and stood up.
Once outside, I saw the situation was progressing strangely.
The Thunder God had already disappeared. There was no shadow of the Thunder God anywhere near the cloud waterfall, and by reading other people's thoughts, I discovered that the Thunder God had been absorbed by the Regressor. He had clearly been destroyed so easily it was pitiful, so what on earth had happened...?
...That, I could understand once I raised my head and looked up at the Lightning Rod Tower.
Darkness was spreading. Lightning flashed within it. The power of darkness controlled by the Progenitor Tirkanjaka and the power of the dual swords wielded by the Regressor clashed. The aftermath of the fight was so intense that it spread even outside the Lightning Rod Tower.
The people here could only make guesses about what was going on, but I, who knew both of their abilities, understood the situation more accurately. And I sighed.
"Hilde, you finally went and did it."
It seemed Hilde had brought a script that only existed in her imagination into reality.
It was only natural for Hilde to suspect. The fortuitous encounters the Regressor had monopolized numbered at least ten, and with that much, one could be considered the Holy Sword Order or a Saint. In particular, Hilde, who had been a former member of the Holy Sword Order, could suspect more easily. She had only been holding back for a while, perhaps thinking the Regressor could become an ally.
Or not? Perhaps she had been waiting for the most perfect timing.
That said, for Tir and the Regressor, who had been on friendly terms just yesterday, to suddenly start fighting? I thought at most they'd just part on slightly bad terms... Well, neither of them is normal. It wouldn't be strange if any kind of catastrophe occurred.
Still, what a shame. If those two are fighting right now, who's going to help me?
It was when I was sighing inwardly.
"Found them! It's that person!"
"You there! Please cooperate!"
The Thunder Guardians who were sorting out the situation had discovered me. Claudia's elite units who had been waiting on the ground by the Lord of Thunder's orders. Since they wielded the power of thunder, they recognized me as someone clearly connected to this incident and approached.
Hmm. I don't particularly sense any hostility... but I just finished fighting the Lord of Thunder a moment ago. If I get caught and face the Lord of Thunder again, it'll be troublesome. I need to hide myself and slip away here...
At that moment, someone grabbed my arm and shouted.
"This person is a spy! They came out of the ground!"
"Are you believing that nonsense!"
Damn it. This naive person. A spy wouldn't openly declare they're a spy! With no time to explain, I shoved them aside and just ran.
"Wait! Stop right there!"
The Thunder Guardians pushed through the crowd and chased me, but because there were so many people, they couldn't approach easily. Compared to me, who used mind-reading to find gaps and forcefully pushed past careless humans to slip through, the Thunder Guardians, who couldn't easily use their strength, were infinitely slower.
Just as I thought I'd slip away to the outskirts—someone different from the Thunder Guardians spotted me from the other direction and came chasing.
"Wait... a... moment."
Panting breaths stopped me. I, who was about to shake them off, recognized who it was and changed my attitude.
"Ah, Peru! I found you!"
"...What did you do. The Lightning Rod Tower..."
You didn't go up to the Lightning Rod Tower. It seemed her health wasn't good, so like the other Thunder Guardians, she had been waiting on the ground.
More importantly, why is she blaming me for the Lightning Rod Tower tilting? I don't have the power to shake the Lightning Rod Tower even a speck, let alone tilt it! I'm the most innocent regarding this situation!
"I'm dying of frustration wondering why everyone suspects me, but anyway, right now I need Peru's power. Fix it with that before the Lightning Rod Tower completely collapses!"
"...I'm doing, it."
Peru took a deep breath and took out the bell. Recalling the majestic appearance of the Lightning Rod Tower in her mind, she rang the bell of the Golden Mirror.
The power of the Golden Mirror responded to Peru's call. The bell's sound spread small but sure, and as if steel were responding to the sound, the broken parts were filled in and the dented areas straightened out. The power of the Golden Mirror was truly remarkable, performing alchemy in reverse from the load-bearing bottom up to stand the Lightning Rod Tower back up.
"It's definitely a cheat, but a good one! Nice work! Ah, while you're at it, please hide me too!"
"...From who?"
There was no need to explain. The Thunder Guardians who had pushed through the crowd were running straight toward me.
"Stop right there!"
Tch. I'm weak against multiple opponents. I wonder if I can resolve this with words.
It was then. Thunder and lightning sounds came from the Lightning Rod Tower above. As people screamed and ducked their heads, a mass of darkness bounced off the top of the Lightning Rod Tower.
It was Tirkanjaka, cloaked in darkness, and the Regressor receiving her attack. Even while free-falling from dozens of meters in the air, the two exchanged attacks toward each other busily, as if it were no problem at all.
Tir swung her arm wrapped in darkness. I couldn't see well from this far away, but I could feel the power contained within it. Power that seemed capable of splitting the world recklessly expressed its fury.
The Regressor swung Jizan to meet it and blocked that attack. The arm caught by Jizan bent at an odd angle and bounced back in the opposite direction. The body couldn't withstand the excessive force and broke.
However, Tir was the progenitor of vampires. Something like a broken body was an everyday occurrence. As if it had never happened, it returned to normal. The broken bones, the spilled blood, everything returned.
Instead, the Regressor, who had completely blocked the attack, was sent flying back by the air pressure and the rushing darkness. Even though she had blocked it with the recoilless Jizan, the aftermath alone could easily send a person flying.
Right after the momentary collision, their bodies bounced in opposite directions. The Regressor's body flew far away. I heard something breaking with a crash. Immediately after, Tir, who had nowhere to land, fell headfirst to the ground.
Sighs and screams came from among the people, but that soon turned into shock. Tir stood up perfectly without a single scratch and even spoke.
"Come out. You couldn't possibly die from just this, could you?"
"Phew. Right. I forgot. There was no need to hold back... for fear of killing you."
Right after the voice was heard, debris flew up from where the Regressor had fallen. The Regressor, who had cleared away all the debris with Jizan, clenched his teeth and stepped forward before Tir.
Only then did the spectators realize that this entire incident was caused by a fight between just the two of them.