Kapitel 50: Chapter 33 ─ Lightning Flash
This chapter is thoroughly enjoyable using this song in the background. In fact, this song is the inspiration for the title.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-ggzGbsEWE
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"I'm counting on you."
With those words, Russell sent Tyler, who was using all his remaining energy, straight to fight against Erzeberg.
Russell prepared to unleash his most powerful attack. First, he sheathed his katana and began to breathe deeply. Memories of his master came to him.
It was a decade ago, when he was training on the cherry blossom island, Haikazuya. The young Russell wore a yukata and sat with an old man while they roasted fish over a campfire.
"Russell, you've become a good disciple."
"Thank you, master."
"No. I'm serious, I had no faith that an outsider like you could achieve everything I demanded."
"You're actually foolish for thinking that running around naked, screaming, and being chased by the village was part of the training. Hahaha."
His sinister thoughts were not long in coming.
(Damn old man. I swear I'll make you pay for this.)
The old man stopped laughing and handed him a salted fish.
"Despite my rejection of you, you've become a good disciple. I never thought the boy I found floating in a bag would be someone I'd be proud of."
"What about Kangaku, master?"
"He's a good kid, but very rebellious. In contrast, you are very easy to manipulate."
More veins appeared on his forehead.
"To show you that I truly appreciate you, I will give you this. Extend your hands and close your eyes."
Russell did so, though he was doubtful.
(If it's another eel, I'll hit it.)
Something heavy was in his hands. He opened his eyes and saw that his master's katana was in his hands. His eyes turned to his master, seeking an explanation.
"Tokishima is a good weapon. It was forged to attack at high speed. Therefore, I will teach you my best technique."
"Russell, you must teach this technique to someone you trust."
"It is the bond between master and disciple. I'm sure you will find someone who will see you as a mentor and a father figure."
"Now watch and remember."
The memory ended, and he began to count down the last minute.
(Master Asaki. Thank you for all your teachings.)
(My reason for leaving the island was to improve and become a great swordsman.)
(I haven't made the best decisions, but I understand that I'm following in your footsteps.)
His breathing ended just as Tyler was defeated. He fell wounded to the side, and Erzeberg saw Russell standing still.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
He took a big leap and landed on a neighboring roof. Russell began to murmur.
"Manifest the wave flow."
"Concentrate the energy."
"Shape it and keep imagining the stroke."
"Remember that energy is molded by our choice."
Erzeberg didn't care about what he said, and swung his large sword to cut Russell in two.
"I don't care what you do. Just die so I can get back to drinking."
Tyler had faith that Russell would do something, but he didn't see him move at all.
"Russell… run."
His voice wasn't reaching him, but Erzeberg, who was within a three-meter range, could slice Russell in half.
"Die!"
He shouted excitedly. Suddenly, Russell moved his legs, one forward and one back. He placed his right hand on his katana and adjusted the position with the other hand to a 30-degree angle. The sword was coming closer.
Suddenly, a thunderous roar was heard. At the moment Russell drew his sword, a blue glow, similar to electric waves, emanated from the blade of the katana. Gradually, as it was drawn, the blue thunder was expelled with intensity. Time even seemed to slow down for him.
"Take my most powerful attack."
After fully drawing the katana and raising it to its highest point, he delivered the final attack.
"Lightning Flash."
A pillar of blue light in a zigzag pattern was sent towards Erzeberg. He had no time to process what happened. The attack lasted exactly two seconds. But Russell struck him 54 times in a single move.
He sheathed his katana and bid him farewell.
"Thank you for making me use my best technique so I wouldn't rust."
Erzeberg's body fell to the ground as a massive amount of blood poured from the holes covering his body. Russell fell to the ground, completely exhausted.
*Whistle*
"I can't go on."
Before passing out, he said.
"Regulus. Where are you…"
Tyler approached him, as did a mysterious figure in a white cloak.
◇◇◇
A strange man named Hades stood in front of Regulus. Seeing him, Regulus could only feel fear.
(What's wrong with this guy?)
(He emanates a strange black aura. It's so deep that his body is covered by it, and only his golden eyes are visible.)
Hades placed his hands in his sleeves while walking around.
"Who are you?"
Regulus asked, scared and intrigued. Hades responded with a mocking tone.
"I told you. What I wanted was to meet you."
"Well, I had another reason, but you became a priority."
"I asked what you want. Don't you understand?"
Hades stopped and looked coldly at Regulus.
"I want to see the reason why Nero fled."
"That kid isn't weak. He could have easily dealt with you."
"The problem here is that you interfered with our goals."
"I want to see if you are a threat, a toy, or just a mere coincidence."
He took his hands out and clapped three times.
"Dark Nebula."
He uttered those words, and strange black clouds formed in the sky. Black snowflakes descended slowly.
"What is that?"
Hades replied without losing his perverse and mocking smile.
"I told you I came for a reason. And this is it."
"To use these fools to achieve a small part of the end of this era."
◇◇◇
Walt's soldiers watched the strange black snowflakes falling.
"What is that?"
"Black snow?"
"Be careful. It could be toxic."
One of them looked like a child wanting to play with the black snow.
"Hey, don't touch that. It could be infectious."
Said a comrade. The soldier reached out and, as he touched the black snowflake, a sound similar to stepping on a swamp was heard. The soldier's body was covered by a black layer completely. Immediately after, the layer disappeared, and the soldier's eyes were lifeless as he had died.
Seeing him collapse on the ground, another soldier wanted to scream to warn them. But a snowflake touched his helmet, and the black layer covered him completely as well. The soldiers' screams were agonizing. Those with horses used them to flee, but it was useless. The snowflakes were too many, and it only took one to touch them to cover them entirely.
Some used their dead comrades' bodies or shields held by wooden stakes. No matter the method, they would die anyway. From the top of the cliff, Hades watched as if it were a pleasant spectacle, observing the screams and pleas for help from the men.
"Don't you think it's a wonderful music?"
"No matter how much they scream. No matter how much they beg. No matter how much they try to flee."
Their screams, cries, and pleas are the best kind of music, and very enjoyable. He looked at Regulus with a satisfied face, and Regulus vomited due to the cries for help.
"You. You're a damn sicko. You're a demon."
"Thank you. But I'm not a demon, I'm an apostle."
Upon hearing the last scream fade away, Hades put his hands together to pray.
"Oh great mother of fertility and earth."
"I hope this feast of 50,000 souls will be enough to satisfy your hunger."
"I implore you to send some of your children as a reward for this feast you have consumed."
A large black hole expanding in the area began to absorb the bodies. Around six huge holes, but smaller ones remained after shrinking. Hades continued praying. The air around him distorted, and strange marks appeared all over his body.
"Please, manifest your children, great mother of fertility and evil rams. Shub-Niggurath!"
At that moment, a strange deep and annoying bell-like sound was heard about three times. Hades stopped praying and gave thanks.
"Now… let the show begin."
Enormous pillars formed behind him, creating whirlpools, and from them, strange black tentacles emerged. The pillar stopped, and strange creatures resembling the lower part of a turtle with a large mouth and tentacles on top appeared.
*Meeeeeeeeeeeeeh*
The strange bleating, similar to a ram but as if it were agonizing, was heard by Regulus.
His sword fell to the ground along with his knees.
"What the hell is that?"
Regulus asked in terror. Hades approached him and whispered.
"They are the cursed rams. Children of the dark goddess of fertility. She sent me some of her children as thanks for the feast."
"Do you know why I brought them?"
He laughed a bit and then, from the cliff, shouted.
"Thank you for answering my call, rams of the dark mother of fertility!"
"I have only two requests."
"The first is…"
He pointed into the distance; the capital was there.
"Destroy that kingdom. Feast on it, trample, kill, devour everyone you want."
"My second request is that you do nothing to this boy. Ignore him no matter what he does."
"…!"
Regulus looked at Hades, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"This is what I really wanted."
"To sow despair and fear."
"But also your impotence at not being able to save anyone."
"Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!"
The strange rams, each over 24 meters tall, began to march toward the kingdom. Their eerie bleats did not cease. Hades handed Regulus his sword.
"They'll reach the capital in 30 minutes. Maybe less. Hurry up."
Regulus understood that this was no game, and seeing those creatures left him with only one choice.
"I'll kill you to end this!"
At great speed, Regulus swung his sword at Hades's neck, but with a slight kick, Hades sent him crashing into a tree, which absorbed the impact of his fall with its branches. Regulus hit the ground and spat out blood. Hades looked down at him with contempt.
"You seem to misunderstand something."
"This is your test. You can't touch me, not even in your dreams."
"And even if you were to kill me, those rams wouldn't disappear."
"They were summoned for a reason, and they won't leave until they've devoured all the humans."
"Even cutting them is useless. Their bodies are made of material from another world; not even the hardest material on this planet, black iron, can compare."
"You're wasting time. Hurry, if you don't want the people you love to be devoured."
Hades looked at Regulus with disdain.
"Damn it!"
Regulus got up and ran toward the rams, which were clumsy and slow but had feet so massive they covered a kilometer in just a few seconds. Regulus managed to enhance his magical power and approach one of the rams. Its feet were so large they flattened everything in their path. The ground was compressed, and the forest was being easily destroyed. As he got closer, he swung his sword to cut the ram's leg. But upon contact, the sword shattered completely.
(How tough!)
Regulus thought as he pulled out another sword from his bag. It was of higher quality, but like the previous one, it was easily destroyed. A tentacle from one of the rams moved toward Regulus, hitting him with little force but enough to kill someone.
Regulus used the sword bag, and all the swords were destroyed. He was thrown against a tree. He lost consciousness immediately.
◇◇◇
When he woke up, he noticed the sun was almost rising. How long was I unconscious? he wondered as he stood up.
He quickly observed the trail left by the monsters, and his senses returned to normal. He heard an alarm. It was coming from the capital.
The monsters were less than 100 meters from the capital. People were being alerted. Regulus tried to run toward them but fell to the ground.
Looking at his feet, he saw a piece of wood had pierced his calf. He couldn't use that leg anymore.
"Just one attack and I'm like this."
"These things are really strong. How can I defeat them?"
The monsters were getting closer to the capital. Every minute, every second that Regulus spent thinking of a way to defeat them only made the time pass, and the monsters drew nearer.
"Damn it!"
Regulus cursed with all his heart. "At this rate, I won't be able to protect anyone."
Tears came to his eyes as the most important people in his life came to mind. "Mary, Shannon, the girls… Russell."
As he mentioned Russell, a certain memory came to him.
"I don't want to."
Regulus was with Russell in the village before it was demolished.
"Stop being a crybaby. You said you wanted to become the something of the sword."
"God of the Sword."
"That's it. If you want to be that, you need good technique."
"That's why, against my will, I'm going to teach you something that might be useful."
Regulus remembered a technique Russell had taught him. He assumed the starting position and moved at high speed, taking a stance and using one of the broken swords to approach and strike one of the slowest monsters.
The attack impacted its skin, but it was so hard that it was ineffective. Then he was hit again by one of the tentacles, narrowly avoiding it but receiving the shockwave and being thrown.
Regulus observed how close the capital was. Chaos would begin soon; he had to defeat them quickly. But how?
He surely thought about it over and over. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
"Damn it."
"I'm supposed to become the God of the Sword to honor my creator. But I can't handle these things."
"If I fail in my mission, she will die too."
Regulus cried out of helplessness.
(Zelzeus-sama, please grant me your help.)
At that moment, his wish was granted. "I heard your prayer. Child of man."
A voice spoke to him, but it wasn't Zelzeus or a human.
"I will give you the power you need to rid the world of the malice that has tread upon it."
Suddenly, the shattered sword began to glow.
"I will tell you the name of the sword you will use to defeat them. But first, you must swear allegiance to my name, that is the only condition."
Regulus didn't understand what the voice meant, but the current situation called for immediate action. So he decided to say the name he heard.
"I swear allegiance, goddess Elria."
Then an unusual weight fell upon him.
(What is this?)
A strange amount of energy emanated from him. It felt like being plunged to the bottom of the sea and being crushed by the pressure. Regulus could barely stand. The voice in his head told him, "Say this name so your sword can transform and contain them."
He then spoke the name.
"Freya!"
The sword transformed into a whip that entwined around all the creatures, containing them in a semicircle. When they tried to touch it, the rams received damage. It was the first time he had seen these creatures take damage.
The creatures turned around and began to return, moving rapidly. Less than two minutes remained before they would reach him. But seeing that the voice in his head was right, he asked, "Who are you?"
There was no answer, but the following name was given.
"Brunhild!"
After mentioning the second name, the sword changed back to its normal form but had accumulated so much energy that it was too intense, and he sheathed it. Regulus sat down to think about how to fight.
(Whoever the voice is, it is helping me. But now is not the time to think about that.)
(What I need to think about is how to defeat these things.)
(Clearly, I can't defeat them on my own.)
(The sword changed shape and now has a lot of accumulated energy.)
(Its magical power is so high that it is visible. That means it is like a cannon, ready to attack. How can I defeat them all?)
Then he remembered Russell again.
"Listen carefully, I'm going to teach you this final technique which is very useful when you're in a situation where one or more enemies are very difficult to defeat. I know you're a cocky fool, but believe me when I say that life is truly unpredictable. One day you'll thank me. That's why I brought Mary to make you pay attention."
After recalling that day, he sighed. "I hate to admit it, but you were right."
He stood up and, like Russell, began to inhale and exhale. Then he took a stance with one foot forward and one behind. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and stopped.
(Why do you give up so easily?)
A mysterious voice spoke to him, a distorted voice of a man. The whole world seemed to stop. "Whose voice is that?" Regulus's voice came from his immobile mouth.
(Your goal was to become the Sword God in this land to honor your creator. Why do you submit to the will of others so easily?)
Suddenly, a mysterious black figure resembling him appeared in front of him.
(Zelzeus-sama created you for a reason. But not only are you failing, you are insulting him by allowing yourself to be manipulated by others.)
"You're wrong. I haven't betrayed my creator."
(You have. You swore allegiance to an unknown and were about to obey that human.)
"That's not true. I just said something without thinking; in my current situation, I said it just because of that."
(It doesn't matter what your reasons were. You are a traitor. You betrayed your creator.)
Regulus was being consumed by those words. Time continued without stopping, but it was only for him. The dark rams advanced rapidly toward him. Less than thirty seconds remained before they would crush him. Hades watched everything from the top of a tree.
"In the end, you were pathetic. I suppose Nero just exaggerated and was very careless."
At the moment he turned around.
*Rumbling*
A huge tremor shook the place along with a dark pillar emerging from Regulus. Hades was surprised to see that evil pillar. Regulus's hair turned white and grew uncontrollably.
"I am not a traitor."
"I will never betray my creator."
His magical power was increasing. His hand touched his sword, and gradually white and black lightning emerged from it. "I will become a Sword God for my creator's mission. But…"
The power grew every time the sword was drawn from its sheath. Regulus's eyes turned black with golden irises. Inside his head, the number 10 changed to 30.
"No matter the method I use, my loyalty will always be to my way of thinking first."
He drew the sword entirely, and a pillar of thunder was sent to the sky.
"Lightning Flash!"
He uttered these words and directed the sword at the dark rams. The lightning transformed into sparrows that flew toward the monsters. Their mountain-like hard bodies were easily pierced and cut into pieces.
Hades observed as a being from another world, feared and worshiped by many, was easily defeated in its entirety. Or so he thought.
"Meeeeeeeh!"
One of the rams managed to dodge the attacks as it was the last to arrive. It took another direction upon seeing its brethren being slaughtered. But it continued heading toward the capital. Regulus spat out a significant amount of black blood.
"It hurts. My chest hurts for some reason."
Regulus felt dizzy. He wanted to fall asleep. But there was still one of them left to defeat. He stood up and began to pursue the creature.
"You're a damned joke! I now understand what Nero meant!"
Hades jumped directly at him and delivered a powerful kick that sent him flying. Regulus writhed in pain and got up, only to see Hades's fist approaching.
His sword continued to shine. He used it to block the attack. Hades's hands had a strange green glow with a black aura.
"Hahaha! What the hell did you do?"
"It's the first time in my life I've seen something like that."
Hades struck Regulus with powerful and rapid blows. Regulus, not understanding what was happening to his body, counterattacked Hades's blows. Every time he cut Hades's fingers or hands, they instantly regenerated. With each blow, Hades grew more excited.
"I don't understand what happened. I can't process what you did."
"You're a box of surprises. You're weak but strong at the same time. A unique rarity that no one can replicate."
Hades drove his arm into the ground. The veins began to bulge, and with great force, the ground was lifted. Regulus watched as everything tilted and grabbed onto a tree as a small village-sized area was lifted. Hades made an initial attack to show how serious he was.
"Cursed War Art. A Thousand Infernal Strikes of Guilty Pleasure!"
Hades struck with great speed at the massive mound of earth, causing it to explode. Regulus was launched high into the air as he realized this.
"Damn it!"
He saw how the survivor of those creatures was chasing a train. It was a transport developed for influential people. He didn't care who that person was, while the train cars were being trampled. But he didn't want anyone to die at the hands of those creatures.
As he began to fall, he saw a woman. She looked like Shannon, but she spoke to him.
(Now is the time.)
"Say the last name of the three goddesses so the contract with me, Goddess Elria, will be complete."
Regulus shouted, "I will not betray my god! But I need your help!"
Hades approached with his right arm turned into a giant.
"You're too dangerous for our goals!"
"I will eliminate you before you become a threat!"
Regulus began to fall faster and pronounced the name of the last goddess.
"Kriemhild."
This caused his sword to transform into a scythe, which unleashed all its power and managed to sever Hades's arm and then his neck.
"Get out of the way! You're a nuisance!"
The ram was about to reach the last car of the train, where Emma was shouting. She was returning home when they were attacked by the ram. She was crying as servants and guards pleaded with the driver to go faster. The monster was getting closer, and she understood she was going to die. The sunlight was swallowed by the enormous shadow, and she thought of him one last time.
(Luke-kun. Help me.)
As if it were a twisted gift from heaven, a sound like cutting meat was heard inside the car. She lifted her gaze and saw the last ram was split in two and turned to ashes.
But that wasn't all; she saw the man who did it. Even though his hair was long and white, she recognized his face. And she screamed with all her heart.
"Luuuuuuukeeeeee-kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!"
As the car moved further away, Regulus fell to the ground, bringing an end to the chaos of that day.
◇◇◇
*Gasp*
Lambton had escaped after witnessing the rams appear. He had traveled a long distance. He stopped to rest.
"I made it… I escaped from that crazy guy…"
"Now I need to go home and tell that idiot emperor that we need to attack this place with all our might. It's really dangerous."
He sat on a rock, watching the sunrise while observing a blue light appearing and disappearing in the distance.
"I'm hungry, and I also want to sleep."
"Don't worry. I'll put you to sleep forever; we don't need you since we have the little one from your group under guard."
"I don't care about letting you live either."
"Huh?"
Those were the words he spoke before seeing the blue flash appear in front of him.
But it wasn't a flash. It was a person covered in blue light who ran at great speed. Her body was covered with floating electric serpents. Her armor was similar to a dancing dress with a short skirt. Her long silver hair reached the lower part of her back, and her silver eyes looked at him with disdain.
He recognized her immediately and couldn't do anything as his head was severed in a fraction of a second. He uttered her name as his head rolled before his life ended.
"I see… you're… the Holy Sword of the Kingdom."
"Roxy… Alba… Ellenberg…"
Roxy, the strongest female knight in the kingdom and the commander of the dark knights, turned to look at him.
"Don't utter my name with your filthy lips."
With his death, there was no longer any remaining danger.
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Roxy's unused design, look forward to what I'll say in the epilogue. What I will say in the epilogue.
https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/4038424
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
Siegburn
Siegburn I hope you enjoyed from beginning to end I hope you enjoyed this arc from beginning to end and even more so everything that involved Regulus.
Again, this is the final vol. and a shame it all has to end here. shame it all has to end here.
But I hope you enjoyed it as I did writing it.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein