Chapter 525: Chapter 525: Battle against Diatah
Chapter 525 – Battle Against Diatah
The surrounding was encased in a strange silence, the kind that could only be born from a ridiculous event that left everyone speechless.
That was exactly what the women were going through, watching with faces dripping with dismay, eyes and mouths equally wide at the scene in front of them.
Noah was still crouched down from where Elijah had been, his right hand raised, palm facing upward, where golden, black and crimson smoke swirled together in a wild dance.
He narrowed his eyes at the smoke, tilting his head slightly as if evaluating it.
These were the remains of Elijah’s Celestial lineage.
’Did I succeed?’ He mused, not entirely sure of what he had just attempted. He had, after all, tried to do something he had never done before; something he hadn’t even been certain was possible.
Elijah and Icarus’s bonded souls hadn’t gone to the Spirit World, nor to any other place that might host the dead.
’I don’t know where you ended up. But I hope you landed safely, old bastard.’
Strangely, he felt a quiet sadness at the realisation of it all. As if the only man who could have been a genuine friend to him had just passed away.
Someone worthy. Someone who could have complemented him in ways no one else could.
’You and I were complete opposites. That’s why we never got along. But maybe, just maybe, that’s also why I think we could have been something better, if I hadn’t seen you as an obstacle to remove from the start.’
His own view of Elijah had shaped that relationship. He didn’t regret it, but the truth of it was undeniable.
He let out a soft breath. ’Hopefully you will enjoy the gift I—!’
"What did you just do?"
Diatah’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He turned his head toward her and found her face tight with anger and frustration.
"What?"
"Don’t what me." She hissed. "What did you give to that soul? Do you understand what you just did?"
The women around were immediately struck by the abruptness of it, neither fully understanding nor particularly caring to — too busy glaring at Diatah.
"Can you even talk like—!"
"Stay silent." Diatah cut Emmie off coldly, her gaze landing on her in a way that made the young woman instinctively flinch.
Unbothered by the anger simmering in every woman around her, Diatah whipped her attention back to Noah — only to find he was no longer in his spot.
She snapped her head to the left. Noah was there, hugging Emmie gently, a soft smile on his face.
"You—!"
"Enough, Diatah." He said, exhaling with quiet weariness. "I know exactly what I did. It was nothing but a gift for the old bastard, and a countermeasure in case anything I didn’t foresee comes to pass."
"It was unnecessary." She persisted stubbornly. "You gave him something that will not only put you in trouble, but himself as well. Power in the hands of the unworthy isn’t a gift. It’s a curse."
"He will be fine." Noah replied, glancing at Emmie, who was staring at Diatah. All his other wives were doing the same. And the only reason none of them had said or done anything was pure respect for him.
A respect Diatah still fully lacked, giving her the nerve to trample the harmony of the family without a second thought.
And that was pressing on a sore spot.
"Reckless. Utterly—!"
"Let’s try not to have an issue, Diatah." Noah caressed Emmie gently. "I don’t like saying more than I need to in these matters."
He spared her a glance. "So be smart and fill in what I’ve left unsaid. Don’t make me act in ways I’d rather not toward my Family. I would profoundly hate that."
"Family?" Diatah snickered. She swept her hand arrogantly around them, taking in the whole of the Vaelgrim.
"You think this... is worthy of me?" She shook her head with open disdain. "I am a Desdemona, Noah. Don’t be fooled by what I accepted only out of necessity."
"I never thought I would dislike someone this much since the first time I slept with Noah." Selene whispered with a gentle smile that didn’t reach her eyes. "I’ve been free of hatred since then."
"That’s a lie." Maryam interjected from beside Selene, whose eye twitched. "But I take your point, Selene. This woman is insufferable."
"I know her type." Apollonia added, holding Justicia’s hand to help her stand. "Look at her eyes. Look at how she looks at all of us."
Apollonia’s lips curled into a sneer. "She looks down on us. She looks at us as though we are worms crawling in the dirt, spoiling the view on her glorious path."
She smiled coldly at Diatah. "Am I wrong?"
"Worms?" Diatah echoed, unbothered. "That’s too generous. Find something lower."
"Oh my." Elira muttered, lips pressed into a tight grin.
At that instant, all the women looked at one another. Their eyes flashed, an understanding passing between them, one forged through life and death and moments of intense pleasure and pain, needing no words.
They all knew what they wanted to do. What they needed to do.
The thought had been quietly festering for a long while, born from their desire to keep their family together, harmonious.
Diatah was insufferable in a way that made their skin crawl. But that wasn’t entirely new, not all of them had liked each other at the beginning of their time with Noah either.
What was needed was simple: bring Diatah down from her bloody pedestal and into the dirt she seemed to think they lived in.
Only then would she have the decency to get to know them. Only then the respect to close her mouth when it mattered. Only then would their family be complete.
Noah could have acted. And he would, if it came to that. But to his women, that would only prove Diatah right — that they were nothing without him.
That wasn’t new either. But they were growing exceedingly weary of that statement.
How to change it?
It was simpler than anyone imagined.
"Fine." Yuki said, speaking for all her sisters. "It just so happens we have several Factions to bring down, along with their high-ranking members. And who knows, maybe Progenitors too."
Diatah looked at her, eyes narrowing.
"We’ll need some training before all of that, don’t you think, sisters?"
Providence chimed at that exact moment, and it chimed for every single one of the Vaelgrim.
<Your Evolution Quest has been altered.>
Yuki grinned, her severing aura already churning, excited for what was coming.
Emmie broke away from Noah’s protective hug and stepped beside her sisters.
All of them faced Diatah, who stood alone, arms crossed over her chest. She smiled thinly, understanding their intention clearly.
"Think carefully before you begin." She warned. "I am not the merciful kind."
"Even better." Red cackled. "Let’s go, bitch."
Providence resumed with wrenching delight.
<Fight and Win against Diatah.>
<Time Limit: 100 years.>
<Rewards: +2 rank, Gift Enhancement, Personalised Armours.>
The Universe’s war preparations had now begun for the Vaelgrim. And in the strangest way possible.
All while Noah watched blankly, before turning away. He would trust his women to handle this. Not everything in the family needed to be resolved by him personally.
’They are not ornaments.’
As for him, it was time to settle matters regarding Marigold and Shadow. And oh, that cannibal Elve Queen as well.
’All of them are strange women with a few screws loose. Maybe except Shadow.’ He thought, briefly turning his head to glance at his women about to go to war.
’I hope they learn something from this fight.’
Still...
’100 years?’
That was too short. Far too short to win against Diatah, a non-reality dweller.
Noah shrugged, trusting in the [Spark] living inside each of them.
They would succeed.
’Hopefully.’
—End of Chapter 525—
