章 345: Chapter 345: A Shattered Body? Rage! Mimicry?
With a hum, as Frigga planned her next move, she launched another attack. The Guardian Bracelets warned Diana again, who, despite suspecting a trap, had no choice but to heed the warning—unable to disregard the potential threat that it might be another of Frigga's ploys.
Thus, the bracelets clashed once more, releasing a burst of divine light that forced Frigga back again. Diana, however, didn't relax; she realized the battle was slipping beyond her control.
The Lasso of Truth around Diana's waist shone brightly as she sought a breakthrough, but its abilities seemed insufficient against Frigga's convincing illusions—Diana couldn't pinpoint her actual location.
Now, Diana wasn't trying to capture Frigga with the lasso; she merely wanted to protect herself and create a deterrent.
Indeed, Diana's strategy had entirely shifted; her numerous wounds and damaged armor, along with Frigga discovering the vulnerability of her Guardian Bracelets, left her no choice but to adopt a defensive stance and wait for Robert's aid.
Robert was still faring well, even against numerous Asgardian warriors, sustaining little damage and conserving his energy. Diana hoped that once Robert dealt with the soldiers and nobles, he could join her against Frigga, giving her a chance to recover.
However, Diana's plan to buy time clashed with Frigga's intent for a swift resolution. Furthermore, the Lasso of Truth was not a defensive artifact. Even though it could compel truthfulness, it wasn't much use in restraining a more powerful opponent like Frigga, who quickly adapted to it.
The lasso snared Frigga's arm, wrapping it tightly, but Diana's face showed no joy, only a sinking feeling as she saw Frigga smiling back at her.
This was new for Diana; the Lasso of Truth usually allowed her to pull adversaries close and interrogate them under its influence.
Now, Diana could interrogate Frigga, but this didn't stop Frigga from potentially pulling Diana towards her—Frigga's mental fortitude wasn't so easily compromised.
Diana's feet carved deep grooves into the already ravaged ground of Asgard, adding new scars, but this friction wasn't enough to stop her forced advance.
"Demi-god, I've caught you!" Frigga's eyes gleamed as she faced Diana, who stubbornly held on to the lasso, coming face-to-face with her. Frigga raised her sword, slashing towards Diana's head!
Unexpectedly, Diana didn't dodge; instead, she met the sword with her head.
"Clang!" Frigga was sent flying, her sword knocked from her grasp. Diana was unharmed, protected by a divine artifact on her forehead known as the Starlight Diadem, which unleashed its power only when struck. This had previously caught Robert off guard during their duel, as it was particularly effective against headbutts, a tactic Robert often employed.
The diadem also served as a boomerang, but its use in combat against Frigga had been limited until now, proving unexpectedly effective.
With a hum, as Frigga's sword was deflected, Diana seized the moment. With Frigga still gripping the lasso, Diana activated its power, exploiting Frigga's momentary distraction to interrogate her.
"Frigga, Queen of Asgard, of the Vanir royalty, the most renowned witch of your people…" Diana's voice boomed like a great bell, "Tell me, why have you waged war against Robert and his allies?"
Diana didn't wait for a reply; her real intent was to unsettle Frigga further, taking advantage of the moment to press her attack.
With a swift motion, Diana pulled hard, bringing Frigga closer while propelling herself forward, thrusting the Fire God Sword towards Frigga's chest.
"Pff!" Before Frigga could react, she was impaled by Diana, her face turning pale as a dreadful power burst from her body. Diana quickly raised her divine shield to block the impending explosion, but was still sent flying, forced to release the lasso and executing a mid-air somersault to land defensively.
Diana was concerned that Frigga might undergo a transformation similar to Heimdall's, from using Asgardian to dark energy.
Despite her injuries, Frigga didn't exhibit the expected shift to dark energy, but Diana sensed a massive influx of energy healing Frigga's wounds.
Suddenly, Diana felt a surge of mortal danger; her divine shield's alarm went off frantically, and she collided her shields together, unleashing a powerful burst of divine light.
A terrifying force erupted outside the divine light, clashing violently with it, causing a fearsome explosion. This force was distinctly different from any previously used by Frigga and was not of Olympian origin —"Who is this?" Diana thought she might have been ambushed by another, just as a familiar figure appeared before her, wielding a blade stabbing towards her. Diana's divine shield, drained from repeated use, couldn't react in time, nor could it sense the impending crisis as effectively anymore.
With a cold sensation at her chest, Diana realized a familiar blade had pierced her—Frigga was the one holding it. Frigga too bore a severe wound on her chest but persisted in thrusting the blade into Diana, even as her own body started to fade, along with the blade that had fallen to the ground.
Diana's earlier strategy had indeed inflicted significant damage on Frigga, more severe than any before. However, Frigga didn't retreat; she immediately retaliated with an illusion, while her true form picked up the fallen blade and, disregarding her injuries, launched another surprise attack on Diana.
The divine shield did protect Diana momentarily, but after such an extended fight, Frigga had come to understand and counter it effectively. She unleashed a hidden, millennia-old power that exploded forth, clashing with the divine light of the shield.
This was the ancient power of the Vanir, which Frigga had mastered before becoming the Queen of Asgard. It was a distinct kind of divine energy, separate from Asgardian magic and more fundamental to Frigga's true nature.
The battle was fierce and uneven, with Diana doing her utmost. The blade in Diana's chest began draining her divine and life energies, leaving her in a precarious state. The blade, being a divine artifact combined with Frigga's own formidable strength, dealt a critical blow, barely kept at bay by Diana's demi-god resilience.
Meanwhile, Frigga, though barely in better condition, benefited from the fight's location. As time passed, she drew on Asgard's ambient divine energies to heal, especially since Diana's Fire God Sword wasn't lodged in her chest to continuously inflict damage, making her recovery easier than Diana's.
And Frigga did not cease her assault; her blade erupted with divine energy, forcefully creating a bloody cavity in Diana's chest, literally blowing away a part of her torso. Divine blood flowed profusely from the wound as Diana finally collapsed, powerless.
With a thud, Diana hit the ground, and Frigga, though briefly relieved, continued to draw upon the extensive divine energies of Asgard to heal, for Robert remained unresolved.
Elsewhere, Robert, who had been slaughtering Asgardians, suddenly sensed Diana's life force waning drastically. Shocked, he looked over just in time to see Diana's shattered body on the ground, half of her torso gone, submerged in her own blood.
"Diana?!" At that moment, Robert felt an overwhelming surge of rage, his vision blurring with fury. His voice echoed across Asgard, his rage wanting to annihilate everything around him.
With a hiss, Robert's aura became unstable, his pupils disappearing as his hair flickered between light and dark, indicating a potential transformation but not quite completing it.
Yet, his aura turned even more terrifying, manifesting physically and unintentionally engulfing the surrounding Asgardians. They were reduced to bones by his intense aura, which then combined with a storm of fire and wind, obliterating everything into dust, erasing all traces of Asgardian soldiers and nobles in an instant.
"Hmm?!" Frigga, having partially healed, turned towards the noise from Robert's direction. Her pupils shrank as she saw eyes that seemed both bestial and demonic, rising from the darkest depths, staring back at her.
___________________
(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)
If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters
Read Ahead
Patreon.com/INNIT
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット