Chapter 186
Crackle—!
Loki’s magic erupted in the sky.
Thunder and ice fell as if rain was pouring down. It felt as if an enraged world had turned into a natural disaster, dispensing punishment.
Though Suhyuk had experienced magic before, he had never encountered anything of this level.
‘Was I too arrogant?’
Suhyuk blocked the falling thunder and spears of ice from the sky with a veil of lightning which he conjured with his sword.
Even with using the Heart of Lightning, Loki was still a formidable opponent.
Crack—.
After blocking the pouring magic for a moment, Suhyuk disappeared from his spot.
He approached Loki, who was floating in the sky. Suhyuk’s sword swung vertically, aiming at Loki’s neck.
Boom—!
The slashed blow cleaved the air with a thunderous sound. Once again, Loki had moved far away, preparing his next spell.
‘Again…’
It wasn’t that Suhyuk couldn’t chase him.
Using the mobility of lightning, aerial combat was possible.
But engaging in that manner would undoubtedly exhaust him first. Aerial combat using lightning required too much stamina and magic.
‘Aerial combat is his domain.’
Loki knew this too. The power of magic fully materialized when there was a distance, and Loki had made the air the stage for a disadvantageous battle for Suhyuk.
『’Selfish Sacrifice Lv.9′ resists ‘Heart of Lightning’.』
『Fatigue has risen to 61.』
Meanwhile, Suhyuk’s stamina was gradually being depleted.
‘The longer the fight, the worse it is for me.’
A prolonged battle was disadvantageous.
Yet, engaging in a reckless aerial battle as Loki wanted was akin to a moth diving into a burning flame.
Stuck in a frustrating situation, Suhyuk chose, for the first time, to distance himself from Loki.
Whoosh—.
Crackle—.
『’Heart of Lightning’ is deactivated.』
The power enveloping his body felt like it drained away in an instant. After a moment of emptiness, the damage that had been continuously eating at his stamina vanished.
Suhyuk briefly hid himself in the nearby clouds. He had cleverly utilized the moment Loki was widening the gap with his magic, making it unlikely his position would be revealed soon.
“Phew—.”
– This is really tough ㄷ;
– There’s really no solution this time
– 2nd attempt possible?
Since starting the stream, Suhyuk had never been cornered this badly. Although it couldn’t be helped given his opponent, it was far from a pleasant experience.
Even the viewers watching the stream started to doubt the outcome more and more. Things were so bleak that a long-silent, notorious viewer placed a mission.
『’SafeAsset’ has registered a mission.』
『Capture Loki in the first try and earn 500,000 points.』
『’SafeAsset’ has donated 100 points.』
『Hahaha, this looks like a failure too.』
The notorious viewer, who had previously registered the mission to tame the Sky Horse, made their second mission.
Normally, Suhyuk would have welcomed any mission; however, this time, he couldn’t be entirely pleased.
‘This is really difficult.’
Both Viola’s support and the opportunity created by Thor had failed.
Despite those two chances, he still didn’t feel confident he could capture Loki.
“Was it really not meant to be this time…?”
As Suhyuk was contemplating whether to give up and think about a second attempt, he heard a heavy, distinct sound of hooves close by.
Lifting his head, hoping against all odds, he saw a familiar figure looking down at him.
“You, huh?”
An enormous creature, several times larger than an ordinary Sky Horse steed, glared at him with sharp eyes.
Feeling as if he was looking into the eyes of a wild animal, Suhyuk laughed wryly.
“Why? Did you come to catch me too?”
Whether it understood him or not, the Sky Horse steed continued to stare blankly at Suhyuk without response.
Whinny—.
* * *
Loki was fuming.
The wound in his chest throbbed, fueling his anger even more.
Even though wielding thunder, the fact that he got injured by a mere human was an unbearable blow to his pride.
“Where have you hidden away?!”
The moment he created distance with teleportation magic, the fellow disappeared simultaneously.
As a result, he momentarily lost the location of his opponent. It didn’t seem to be a coincidence. It was likely that the opponent deemed him a threat and decided to hide.
His opponent was still in the vicinity. The only place to hide here was amidst the surrounding clouds, and moving from one cloud to another would inevitably leave a trace.
“Where are you?!”
Whoosh-.
Flames erupted from Loki’s staff.
Boom-!
A fiery sphere, imbued with intense heat, shattered the largest cloud nearby into pieces.
The air became scorching hot. It would have been ideal if he found Suhyuk at once, but unfortunately, Suhyuk wasn’t there.
“Come out now! No matter how much you endure….”
Bang, bang bang-!
Loki started shooting flames indiscriminately. He intended to erase all the clouds in the vicinity.
“In the end, you’ll just burn to death within these flames!”
Buzz-.
Soon, a gigantic magic circle appeared at the tip of the staff that Loki held high.
Whoosh, from the sky higher than the clouds, a rain of flames began to pour down.
Thousands, tens of thousands of fiery raindrops started to incinerate everything in the vicinity except Loki.
Bang, bang bang-!
Whoosh-.
To prove that it was more than just a warning, Loki truly began to burn everything in sight.
It didn’t matter if he didn’t find Suhyuk. After everything burned down, he could slowly search for the thunder.
Even if the human body burned to ashes, the thunder wouldn’t be consumed by such flames.
“Arrogant….”
Loki looked downwards with blazing eyes.
The clouds, scorched by the flames, had all cleared. Loki didn’t doubt that within them, there would be the corpse of the arrogant human and the thunder he so desperately longed for.
But, ‘It’s not here?’
In the place cleared of clouds, the thunder did not exist.
A completely empty sky. Below, they could see their land, Valhalla, which was thousands of meters away.
Then where was the human?
That question surfaced at that moment.
Neigh-!
Higher in the sky than where Loki hovered.
A booming cry of the Sky Horse echoed.
“Hey, you fool.”
And in Loki’s line of sight, there it was.
“Why are you making noise up there?”
On top of the Sky Horse.
The image of a human preparing to strike him with lightning.
* * *
It wasn’t Suhyuk’s first time riding the Sky Horse.
He had flown up to this place on the Sky Horse’s back with Viola.
However, it was the first time Suhyuk truly understood what it meant to ‘ride’ the Sky Horse.
‘So it felt this comfortable.’
He now grasped why Viola had seemed so relaxed compared to him.
The Sky Horse’s allowed back felt as if flying by one’s own will, with no sense of awkwardness or discomfort.
The reason gods referred to the Sky Horse as a supernatural being.
It wasn’t merely because they had lived for over a thousand years and possessed the special ability to fly.
‘It’s called communion, right?’
The Sky Horse had the capability to choose its owner.
The owner of the Sky Horse became one with it, while those who didn’t were merely borrowing its wings.
In this sense, Suhyuk was now completely one with the Sky Horse.
Flash-!
Borrowing the Sky Horse’s back, Suhyuk soared above Loki and struck him with lightning.
Crackle-!
Lightning scattered over Loki’s body. Although blocked by his staff, the attack did leave an impact.
After landing a blow from a distance, it was time to close in.
Clutching his sword tightly, Suhyuk spoke.
“…Let’s go.”
**Whinny-!**
There was no need to hold the reins or strive to maintain balance.
No matter how fast it went, as long as he was united with the Sky Horse, it was under his control.
The scenery changed rapidly. The Sky Horse carrying Suhyuk was a completely different breed from the one Viola controlled.
“Why are you…?”
Loki looked surprised at the sight of Suhyuk controlling the Sky Horse.
It seemed he couldn’t believe that Suhyuk was riding the Sky Horse that Thor used to handle.
But Loki’s surprise lasted only for a moment. He used magic again and disappeared from his position.
As Loki appeared at a higher and more distant place, the Sky Horse continued the chase.
**Boom-!**
A lightning-wrapped sword burst forth.
There was no longer any need to expend unnecessary effort to increase mobility. The Sky Horse had enough power to match Loki’s agility and flight capabilities.
“Damn it…!”
Loki, who had repeatedly increased the distance with magic, gripped his staff tighter.
He realized that continuously running away was pointless. The choice faced by Loki now was to confront with full force.
**Flash-!**
The staff emitted a bright light.
A blue-tinged magic circle formed a complex pattern behind him. Though the charging Sky Horse hesitated for a moment, Suhyuk confidently ordered.
“Charge.”
**Whinny-!**
The Sky Horse accelerated.
From Loki’s magic circle, massive electrical discharges erupted.
As if to show he could handle this level too, Suhyuk held on to his pride till the end.
**Boom-!**
The sword wielded by Suhyuk atop the Sky Horse collided with the thunder and lightning conjured by Loki.
The charge of the Sky Horse came to a halt. Loki laughed as he gripped his staff firmly.
“No matter how exceptional the horse, it means nothing if the rider is incompetent!”
**Crackle-**
Loki’s electrified attack pierced through Suhyuk’s shoulder and waist.
Thousands of electrified strands, each possessing both physical and elemental power, were as sharp as blades.
“Even with thunder, that’s all you can manage! If it were me, no, I could handle it better than even my brother!”
**Crackle-**
Gradually, the intensity of Loki’s magic increased.
The Sky Horse started to wail, unable to bear it any longer.
“Someone like you could never be the master of thunder…”
“But I can be.”
**Crackle-!**
For a moment, the tilt in the balance of power leveled out.
**Thud-**
The sound of his heartbeat echoed in his ears.
As his heart rate increased, he could feel his power amplifying.
“Neither you nor Thor can do it. Only I can.”
How could he be so confident?
Maybe one day he would find himself saying this to the viewers watching the stream.
“You think what I have is only a half-measure?”
Perhaps he had returned to use this power again.
“You’re wrong.”
**Boom, boom-!**
**Thud, thud-**
As he maximized the output of thunder and lightning, it felt as though his heart would explode. It was a warning that he might actually die from this.
But now was the time to ignore such warnings.
“What I have is the real deal.”
“Impossible…!”
**Crackle-**
A lightning strike, perfectly mirroring the form of his sword, was released with enormous output. This lightning looked like a massive slash that could connect the Heavens and the Earth.
Gradually, the slash wielded by Suhyuk pierced through Loki’s magic and drew closer.
Though it seemed slow, it happened in an instant.
The true form of the thunder that Loki so fervently desired.
**Whirr-!**
That force, signaling the end of the battle, detonated upon Loki.