Chapter 492: Diavolo vs Norah
The lightning, an electric blue so pure it seemed white, struck Diavolo full force in the solar plexus. The impact was not only physical; it was a discharge of elemental mana that instantly overloaded his nervous circuits.
His body was torn from the ground and hurled with unimaginable violence across the clearing, shattering three giant trunks before crashing into a mass of mossy roots.
Diavolo spat a mixture of saliva and blood, his chest burning.
"Norah... stop!" he shouted, his voice broken by pain and incomprehension.
But the woman facing him was no longer the Norah he had loved. Her mother-of-pearl eyes were empty of all human warmth, shining with a cold glow. In front of her, the translucent hologram continued to pulse, displaying in golden light letters: [Main Quest: Kill Diavolo Star Giovanna.]
"What does this mean? This quest?"
She did not respond with words, but with a sovereign gesture. Norah spread her arms, and suddenly nature itself seemed to turn against Diavolo.
< Elemental Magic: Eruption of Iron Thorns >
The ground beneath the scientist exploded. Ebony-black thorns, thick and bristling with poison-saturated spines, erupted to impale him. Diavolo, despite his injuries, activated his "Eye of Spirit". The world slowed down. He perceived the telluric vibration a fraction of a second before impact.
With a prodigious leap amplified by his 5-star Genesis aura, he propelled himself backward.
"Norah, it’s me! Diavolo!" he tried again, as he nervously traced a first Mudra. "Look at me! Don’t let this tree control you!"
Norah remained impassive. She joined her hands, and the air around her condensed brutally.
"I’m sorry, Diavolo..." she murmured, her voice a melodious echo but devoid of soul. "The System allows no deviation..."
< Elemental Magic: Storm of Ice and Fire Blades >
It was an absurd attack, defying the laws of thermodynamics. Hundreds of razor-sharp ice blades appeared in the sky, intertwined with incandescent orbs of fire. The temperature contrast created explosions of pressurized steam that accelerated the projectiles.
Diavolo could no longer afford to dodge. He crossed his hands in front of his face, his fingers forming the "Mudra of Mystical Inviolability".
"Mystical Art: Esoteric Void Aegis!"
A gray aura barrier, engraved with runes, deployed in a hemisphere around him. The ice blades crashed against the shield in shrill crystalline sounds, while the fire licked the magical surface without piercing it. The impact was such that the shield cracked, each blow resonating in Diavolo’s bones.
Taking advantage of a second of respite, he propelled himself forward, using a fluid displacement technique. He had to get closer, break those golden mana chains he could see thanks to his "Spirit Eye".
"Norah, listen to my voice! I know you’re in there!"
He arrived a few meters from her. But Norah instantly manifested the Earth element.
< Elemental Magic: Basalt Pillars >
Huge stone columns erupted from the ground, surrounding Diavolo to crush him. At the same time, she increased the gravity in the area due to mana overload, trying to pin him in place. Diavolo felt his knees cracking.
"Even gravity obeys me, Norah... have you forgotten who theorized these forces?"
He struck the ground with his palm.
"Mystical Art: Frequency Rupture!"
The esoteric shockwave he released canceled the gravitational pressure and pulverized the basalt pillars into a cloud of fine dust. In this chaos of debris, Diavolo attempted a capture attack. His hands traced the "Mudra of Soul Bonds".
Aura chains erupted from his fingers, seeking to restrain Norah’s limbs to stop her movements without harming her. The bonds flew toward her, but Norah did not even move.
< Elemental Magic: Cutting Wind Wall >
A vertical cyclone formed instantly around her, shredding Diavolo’s chains as if they were mere silk threads. She followed up without giving the slightest breathing room, combining Water and Plants.
< Elemental Magic: Lotus of Yggdrasil >
Gigantic lotus flowers appeared on the roots of the World Tree. Their petals opened, projecting pressurized water jets capable of cutting steel. Diavolo had to perform a series of pirouettes and acrobatic jumps, his silhouette nothing more than a silver blur amid the deadly geysers.
"Fuck, these attacks are getting more and more precise." muttered Diavolo while parrying a water jet with the back of his hand, the skin of his forearm instantly lacerated.
For the first time, a glimmer of hesitation passed through Norah’s eyes. Her right hand trembled slightly.
[ SYSTEM WARNING: EMOTIONAL INTERFERENCE DETECTED ]
[ SPELL LEVEL INCREASE: 200% ]
The hologram turned blood red. Norah’s face tightened, her features distorting into an expression of pure pain. She let out a cry that had nothing human about it, a vibratory frequency that burst Diavolo’s ears, blood flowing from his auditory canals.
"DIAVOLO... RUN!" she managed to articulate before her voice was smothered by the System.
She raised both hands to the sky. The elements began to merge above her into a sphere of absolute destruction. Fire, water, wind and lightning swirled in a vortex of elemental chaos. The temperature rose to thousands of degrees, instantly vaporizing the moss and surrounding plants.
Diavolo realized she was about to trigger a Genesis 7-star or higher attack. If he did not stop her, the entire forest would disappear.
"I will not let you become a murderer for these parasites!" he growled.
He assumed a standing meditation position, his hands moving so fast they seemed to be dozens. It was his most esoteric Art, the one he had developed by observing the end of the previous world.
< Supreme Mystical Art: Silence of Creation >
Diavolo did not project energy. He absorbed it. All the elemental mana that Norah was concentrating began to be drained toward him, neutralized by his 5-star Genesis frequency. The flames died out, the lightning dissipated.
He rushed through the energy void he had just created.
"Norah!!"
He reached her. Instead of striking, he grabbed her by the shoulders. His hands burned at the contact with her mana-saturated skin. He plunged his gaze into hers, seeking the woman behind the puppet.
"I have searched for you for centuries... I will not lose you again!"