C529
Immediately after Lucas' expression hardened, Yang In-hyun's sleeve stirred slightly.
Ssss.
The iron bars were cut like candles just before melting.
Yang In-hyun decisively entered the prison and then looked around slowly. Was he searching for any clues? Lucas also began to explore in his own way from the outside, but there were no visible clues at first glance.
It's strange.
'...Isn't this the work of the Lightning God?'
The thought that suddenly came to Pek was quite believable. The traces were too scarce.
If the Lightning God had escaped in a perfect state of control of Lee Jong-hak's body, there would have been much more commotion than this. It's strange that he disappeared without a trace like this.
[…!…!]
In an instant, he felt as if someone were shouting at him.
'...Lightning God?'
Is it you who is calling me now?
While Lucas paid attention to the inner voice, Yang In-hyun stepped out of the bars and headed towards the entrance where the prison administrator was.
He addressed a man who was there.
"Yong Sohan."
"Yes."
Yong Sohan, the prison administrator, assumed a submissive posture.
Seeing that reaction, Yang In-hyun felt that he hadn't discovered anything.
"Go check the cell where Lee Jong-hak was confined."
"Lee Jong-hak... Understood."
Swish.
Yong Sohan disappeared instantly from the place. And in the blink of an eye, he returned.
Unlike before he left, his face was slightly pale.
"Do you have something to say?"
"...I'm sorry, Sect Leader. I will gladly accept any punishment you impose on me."
Swoosh.
Yong Sohan drew his sword, held it back, aimed it at his chest, and then turned the hilt towards Yang In-hyun.
If Yang In-hyun pushed him a bit, his heart would be pierced.
However, Yang In-hyun shook his head.
"I didn't call you to hold you accountable."
Of course, he didn't even think about punishing him.
If Lucas' words are all true, the being that was locked in this prison is a servant of a Ruler. Escaping from a prison like this is nothing out of the ordinary, and it's no wonder Yong Sohan didn't notice.
"Did you feel any sense of incongruity?"
"I'm sorry."
"I see."
There are no clues to get from Yong Sohan. Yang In-hyun nodded once and then turned back to Lucas again.
"The prison administrator says he didn't feel anything. In that case, that fact itself could be a clue."
"You're right. He moved stealthily enough to deceive someone with that level of skill."
"Hmm. It's a bit strange..."
Even Yang In-hyun, who was ignorant about the Rulers compared to Lucas, murmured those words.
Certainly, this is not the Lightning God's style.
Moving secretly to avoid detection by anyone? A Ruler, of all people?
'No.'
It can't be.
Suppressing his impatience, he wondered if there's something he overlooked.
"...Hmm."
At that moment, Pale spoke. She looked around with her arms crossed and tilted her head.
"I have a strange feeling."
Lucas also felt something similar, but in Pale's case, she seemed to feel it much more intuitively in the form of instinct.
Just as Lucas was about to ask her for advice...
[…Omni...!]
A voice echoed in his head once more.
This time it's certain.
This is the voice of the Lightning God.
"What are you saying? I can't hear you well, speak clearly."
[sciencia…!]
Then, the voice that was coming out with difficulty became a little clearer.
[Use Omniscience...! Lucas...!]
"…!"
In the next instant, Lucas, without the slightest hesitation, extracted the Thunder that still remained in his body.
With the power of Omniscience, it expanded abruptly into the consciousness world. The "worldview" changed.
─A landscape that soon unfolded...
"…!"
In this entire space, a faint and broad power spread like a spider's web.
A power that developed so stealthily that even Lucas, Yang In-hyun, and Pale could only feel a vague sense of incongruity.
'Thunder...!'
Not the small remnant that remained to Lucas, but the original Thunder!
In other words, the power that the "Lightning God" was using directly!
His mind suddenly illuminated. And he realized, one step too late, what was happening. The reason there was no trace in the prison,
The reason the Ruler's escape was so silent for being an escape!
'The escape is... in progress...!'
Crack!
Sparks flew from the current.
That was the signal.
As if lighting a fuse, the web-like current began to shake violently.
[Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha!]
A thunderous laughter echoed.
And a blue lightning enveloped the entire place.
------------------------------
Just before the lightning reached him, Lucas teleported with Yang In-hyun, Yong Sohan, and even Pale. Thanks to entering the Minimal Time Zone at the last moment, they narrowly escaped before the prison collapsed.
Crash!
But it wasn't in vain that they dodged the Lightning God's attack.
The destruction of the prison was just the beginning of the destruction. The lightning pierced through the mountain at great speed. The crack born from the root of the mountain soon engulfed the entire mountain range. Krrr, from the top, pieces of debris from the destruction began to fall.
Yang In-hyun's expression hardened. It wasn't just a collapsing mountain. The people of the Hua Mountain Sect who stayed there, and even this territory itself, could be wiped out without a trace.
"Go and control the situation. And evacuate the disciples too."
When Lucas spoke briefly, Yang In-hyun's gaze turned towards him.
"You?"
"Did you forget the conversation we had earlier?"
"It seems you're quite confident."
"I'm not alone, after all."
Yang In-hyun looked at Pale, and he nodded.
"Then I entrust it to you."
Instead of Yang In-hyun, who was leaving, Lucas observed the flow of the current.
The blue lightning, which had devoured the mountain entirely, rejoined in the sky and began to darken it. The dark clouds that had gathered soon roared like dragons and intermittently threw lightning bolts.
"What are you going to do?"
"First, I will try to talk to him."
"...Heh. Talking, huh. That's really..."
Pale, who searched for words for a moment, smiled and continued.
"I feel like giving that bastard a good beating. If it weren't for Lucas, I would have done it."
That means she will tolerate him for now.
"Go. If things get tough, I'll intervene, so keep that in mind."
"Yes."
"Be careful~"
Pale waved her hands cheerfully.
Lucas smiled slightly. Yes. Among the reasons he accepted the Lightning God's proposal was also Pale. If she supported him, they could avoid the worst scenarios.
Lucas's body slowly rose and headed towards the clouds.
Among the dark clouds, the figure of a being enveloped in lightning could be seen.
[...Lucas.]
Looking at the Thunder of the Lightning God, the "Lightning God" spoke.
[Please.]
"……."
And Lucas handed over his body to him. The Lightning God looked. He looked at the Thunder Ruler and the Lightning.
...He didn't feel the sensation of looking at himself in a mirror. In the first place, the Lightning God felt bitter about that fact.
[Hmm.]
The Thunder Ruler and the Lightning murmured.
[I had anticipated it, but it's amusing.]
“…….”
[So, what kind of being are you?]
"I... am the Lightning God."
The Thunder Ruler and the Lightning laughed at the Lightning God's words.
[Not entirely nonsense. I can definitely feel the "Thunder" in you. The reason I made this sketch was because I felt your presence.]
He realized the existence of the "Lightning God" inhabiting Lucas, and after turning his body into lightning, he was about to collapse the mountain.
In other words, the series of events that had just occurred were a small surprise show that the Thunder Ruler and the Lightning had prepared.
[I'm curious. What happened for you to end up like this, parasitizing Lucas Traumen?]
"I am the consciousness that separated from you."
[Oh. Explain in detail.]
And the Lightning God began to explain. About what happened to him. He couldn't help but mention Lucas's Regression. It was inevitable; he couldn't fully explain the current situation of the Lightning God without talking about it.
[Hmm…]
When he finished the story, the Thunder Ruler and the Lightning seemed lost in thought.
[I see. So you want to return to being this Thunder Ruler and Lightning, right?]
"And I also want you to leave Lee Jong-hak's body."
[Hahaha. Lee Jong-hak is a puppet I've acquired with effort. What benefit do I get from abandoning him?]
"Don't you care about what I experienced in "other futures"?
Of course, the Lightning God hadn't told him everything he had experienced before the Regression. On the contrary, he hid most of the truth, except for the fact of Lucas's Regression.
"The memories I saw in a different future," that was the only thing the Lightning God, who had lost everything, had as bargaining material.
[I'm interested.]
"Then…”
[Hmm]
Another long silence, then...
[Alright. I'll accept you again.]
"Really?"
[If you fulfill a condition, I'll take you back right now.]
"...Condition?"
The Thunder Ruler and the Lightning smiled.
"Right now, you're controlling Lucas Traumen's body."
"...As you can see."
He said it as if it wasn't something important.
"Then it's simple. Use that body to kill Lee Jong-hak, whom I control like a puppet."
"What are you saying?"
The Lightning God replied unintentionally. And he looked at his interlocutor, gritting his teeth.
"Don't you understand what I said correctly?"
The Lightning God told Lucas. That he would persuade the Thunder Ruler and the Lightning to return Lee Jong-hak's body safe and sound.
Therefore, if he accepted that guy's ridiculous proposal, the Lightning God would be breaking his own word.
[I'm saying this because I understand it completely.]
"What benefit do you get from doing something like that?"
[Hahaha... Don't you know, despite being "me"? My intention in saying this?]
“…”
[Then it's not worth explaining. Do you understand? What I want is an answer. If you are my remnant, existing independently must be torture for you. Don't you want to end each of those damn moments as soon as possible?]
…Yes.
He's the "Thunder Ruler and Lightning" after all.
He knows perfectly well the current situation of the Lightning God, his thoughts, and what he is feeling.
But…
“…”
The Lightning God remembered the conversation he had with Lucas one last time.
And,
He nodded.
“...Okay.”
Suddenly, time seemed to stop.
[Haha, heehee haha…….]
The expression of the Lightning God hardened at the low laughter.
[Heehee haha, hahaha! Hahaha!
His thunderous laughter echoed in the darkened sky.
"What are you laughing at?"
[Do you really not know and ask?]
No. Actually, I do know. Because "I" was him, nothing but "himself". And even though he didn't want to, he couldn't help but know when that laughter occurred.
"This Ruler was just testing you. Seeing how far a being that once was "me" could fall into misery. Ah─. Truly, I shouldn't involve myself so deeply with humans. The fact that there's a possibility of me becoming an idiot like you sends shivers down my spine.]
A tone of voice as if he were chuckling,
Complete disdain.
[Don't tell me you still consider yourself the Lightning God? You've fallen… no, even lower than that.]
“…It's not like that.”
[Will you deny it? Can you really do that? Don't you know it yourself? If you still consider yourself a Ruler despite becoming that thing, if you really see yourself like that, you would never break a promise, no matter what.]
“You made me the proposal. And my current state…”
[Must be terrible. I understand you want to escape. But still, you shouldn't have accepted it. ─Yes. Literally, you shouldn't have broken your promise even at the end of the world. That's what we are.]
“It's not like that. I…”
[Deny it with all your might. The more you do, the further you'll get away from "me".]
“…”
[For this idiot who deludes himself into thinking he's the "Lightning God," this Ruler will speak clearly.]
And the Thunder Ruler and the Lightning spoke.
[You're no longer a Ruler. Trash. Know your place.]
As if he were pronouncing a sentence.
Tags:
TGMRA (Novel)