Chapter 384: Deal [8]

Another shockwave shook the foundation of Diana’s domain, but it was repaired as quickly as it had been damaged.

Diana had been right, or in the more clear terms... she was partially right about questioning Arthur regarding how long he could resist her.

His mana reserves may have been hugely vast compared to the other Immortals, but without the support of the natural mana in the world... there was a limit to how long he could keep fighting against her, and that too using abilities and spells one after the other.

A few weeks... a month or two at most.

Diana was amused seeing the resistance of the human before her, but it wasn’t like she was faring any better either.

Even if she somehow managed to limit the influence of their fight, and prevented it from being detected by the Sovereigns in the Veltran Empire... that in no way was a foolproof solution to her predicament.

Her body was that of a student and the princess of the Veltran Empire no less.

Her absence from the visit to the forge of the Levaith Duchy along with Kael’s absence would surely be enough to raise suspicions.

And suspicions would give rise to investigations across the duchy, as both her current body and Kael were no ordinary students.

There was the possibility of Nemur appearing in the duchy to find Kael.

No matter what... she couldn’t let it happen, and so Diana closed her eyes while her right hand was already in motion, fighting against the shiny edges of the black blades that were striking her from all sides.

Arthur noticed the change in Diana’s expression, and had a feeling that she was gearing up for something big, but there was no time for him to dwell on it, as all of his clones, or at least those that were currently engaged in a fight against Diana... launched several different spells at the princess, each one a high-tier spell, consuming a huge chunk of mana from Arthur’s mana reserves.

But—

Arthur’s eyes widened as none of the impact that he had envisioned occurred. On the contrary, he found himself in an isolated space, with no one in sight around him.

All of his clones were in a similar situation, being isolated from the fight, and as Arthur searched for their presence, he... could indeed sense them.

"You haven’t really fought many Sovereigns, have you?"

Diana’s voice echoed from every corner, prompting Arthur to look around in caution.

Arthur didn’t reply to her question, as it was true to a large extent.

There had never been a real need for him to fight Sovereigns, as beings of their level rarely fought.

If it had been the Arthur from the original game, then the outcome would have been entirely different, but the current version of Arthur wasn’t as much experienced compared to his game’s self.

That was why most of Arthur’s knowledge while fighting inside Diana’s domain was based on his own understanding of domains.

He didn’t really have a complete grasp of their powers or what their wielder could achieve in the territory of a complete domain.

"Thought so."

Diana spoke as if she could read Arthur’s thoughts, and maybe she could... with the latter not knowing about it.

"I didn’t really want to use this method, but you left me with no choice. And yes... just to inform you, I am also talking to Kael at the same time."

Diana softly chuckled while completing her sentence.

On the outside, Arthur didn’t show any sort of reaction to her words, but from within, he couldn’t help but worry about Kael.

Using their bond mark, he could indeed sense Kael’s general location even within the isolation put forth by Diana, but other than that... he had no idea what was happening with Kael at the given moment.

Arthur would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried about the kid, but he also knew that Diana would have already killed Kael if she wished to.

But she hadn’t, and that made things easier for him... if only by a little.

"What do you want?"

For the first time since their fight had begun, Arthur asked with a genuine curiosity.

Kael hadn’t told him much about the situation with the Veltran princess, so apart from the fact that she was currently possessed by some high-level being... Arthur knew next to nothing.

What did the parasite want from Kael or what it wished to do with the kid.

And that feeling of being ignorant about the situation made him more tense than he would have been.

After all... facing the unknown was far more difficult than knowing who your enemy was, and what their intentions were—

"Hm? So the kid hadn’t really informed you of anything, has he?"

"..."

"So much dramatics for trying to protect someone... who doesn’t even trust you."

There was open mockery in the tone of Diana’s voice, as she clicked her tongue in pity.

Arthur stood at the same place, his grip on Garthel as firm as it could have ever been.

If the parasite thought that such talks could distract him, then... it was greatly mistaken.

Raising his blade, Arthur aimed it towards the surface that he was standing on, before piercing it in a single motion.

"Oh... you really wish to die, huh. Then so be it."

Diana’s amused voice echoed once again, but this time, it wasn’t accompanied with its usual silence, but a shift in the purple around Arthur, as the mana rose from every corner of the domain before taking shapes of varying sizes.

Shapes that were no different from weapons of all kinds—

From swords to spears, axes, hammers, arrows, daggers, scythes and weapons that might have been rarely seen in the modern world, as all of them solidified themselves in the open expanse around Arthur with their tips pointed towards him.

"Let’s play, dear."

Diana softly whispered, the hidden excitement in her voice layered under the cold threat of death.

"Sure."

As for Arthur... he wasn’t one to back down.