Chapter 705 705: ...You?
VR 705
"...Enough of this."
There was a reason why themarians rarely use their speed. Because unlike evaniels, who were able to completely separate themselves and ignore the laws of physics, the problem with a themarian flying at full speed inside an atmosphere was that they risked destroying everything around them—a problem themarians face if ever they step out of their home planet.
The air around Diana started to crack, even the dust that had been attached to the canyons for millions of years was blown away just from the sheer force of her flight.
The Stranger also increased his speed, the clouds around him blown away... revealing the portal hiding in the sky from which he came.
The Stranger stretched his hand, but alas, before the tip of his finger could touch the portal, Diana grabbed his leg and threw him back straight into the canyons.
"..." Diana did not immediately follow him down as she glanced at the portal, trying to see if she could examine the other side—but there was only a single room... which looked similar to the interiors of Ahor Zai.
She tried waiting for a few seconds to try and see if there was someone else there, but other than the empty gray room, there was absolutely nothing.
"I'll check you later," Diana whispered to herself as she dived down toward where she threw the Stranger, creating several blasts of wind to crack in the air. But as she landed on the plateau, any violence in her movement disappeared as her feet gently touched the dried ground.
"...Really?" Diana once again whispered to herself with a sigh as she looked around, only to find that the Stranger was not there.
She closed her eyes to try and hear him breathing, but his armor seemed to prevent any noise that could come out of him. And so, Diana could really only walk around, and soon... a small ball casually rolled toward her.
And when it reached her feet, Diana noticed how heavy it actually was as it left marks on the dried ground. And finally, it stopped right beneath her and exploded. And from within it burst forth smaller balls that flew and floated around Diana. They just circled around her for a moment, before again bursting outwards and sending dozens of nets flying from all directions that seemed to want to swallow her whole.
All of this happened in less than a single second.
"..." But before any of the net could reach her... Diana let out a sigh. She then casually moved away as the net seemed to have just frozen in the air; each of her steps, causing a crack to form in the ground.
Once again, there was a reason why themarians seemed weaker on Earth, the very same reason why they refuse to use even half their full speed—every move they make could potentially destroy Earth.
And so, they learn to hover. Hover millimeters above ground to make it look as if they were actually walking on the ground. Diana learned this, so did Aerith, and so will any themarian that actually visits another planet.
Diana turned to look to where the ball rolled from, approaching it and soon finding the Stranger hiding beneath a large boulder. And without any more hesitations, she grabbed the Stranger's head and pried his helmet open... only to find it completely empty.
"Wh—" And before she could even say anything, the armor started to wrap around her arms. And since it was already attached to her, the only thing Diana really did was watch as the armor covered her entire silhouette.
And with a small zap, Diana felt herself turning extremely exhausted. She slightly tumbled forward, breathing heavily as she noticed a shadow encroaching and growing from behind.
She wanted to turn around, but alas, the Stranger kicked her on the back of the head and slammed her face straight to the ground. The Stranger was about to slam his foot on Diana's head again, but surprisingly, Diana was able to fly away.
"This only works well once," Diana then whispered as she ripped the armor in half, almost as if emerging from a cocoon while the armor quickly returned and flew back to its owner,
"If you want to weaken me again, that's not going to be enough."
Energy Depleting Pulse does not really make a themarian weaker, it only causes their body to become exhausted, extremely so. Their muscles would tremble and burn, rendering them incapable of moving. Themarians can and still kill and destroy everyone else in the Universe with a snap of their finger.
If there was, however, one dangerous aspect of the EDP is that it makes them more vulnerable and susceptible to Eternal Death.
[...Tch,] a small frustration could be heard from the Stranger as he clicked his tongue. He then stretched his arms to the side, summoning his claws as well as his glowing cape, which flapped like wings beneath his back,
[You are really annoying to fight, Diana Ross.]
"Well, only because you actually have no chance of winning this."
And almost as if reflecting what the Stranger did, Diana's eyes also started to glow red. She drew energy from the air and directed it into her empty hand, where a shimmering orb of light began to take shape. The globe grew brighter and then exploded outward, and in its place was a long sword. Diana held it lightly, as if it was an old friend very dear to her.
"Do you know how long it has been since I truly fought someone?" Diana said as she placed the sword of energy in front of her, almost as if doing a salute as she looked at the Stranger, "It has been—"
"!!!"
Diana did not finish answering her own question as she just disappeared from her spot, only to reappear just a meter away from the Stranger, her sword already swinging straight at his head.
The Stranger quickly ducked down to dodge the attack... but Diana suddenly let go of the sword and grabbed his head.
"Sorry about that," Diana said as a small giggle escaped her lips, "But I don't actually use a sword...
...I'm a grappler."
[Wai—]
The Stranger wanted to say something, but Diana did not let him as she tightened her grip on his head, before slamming it straight onto her rising knee.
finally let go of his head, but before he could recover his balance, Diana grabbed his face and slammed his head straight to the [Kh...!] The Stranger could only take a few steps back as Diana finally let go of his head, but before he could recover his balance, Diana grabbed his face and slammed his head straight to the ground.
"Sorry, but you can't complain about this," Diana once again calmly giggled as she slammed the Stranger's head on the ground again, "You attacked us first."
Diana then sat on top of the Stranger's body and started punching his face, very slowly denting his helmet.
[Sto—] The Stranger raised his hand, but Diana only slapped them away as she continued bashing his head with her fists.
[Stop!] The Stranger then grabbed Diana's leg, causing the air around them to distort as his gauntlets started to light up. But alas, Diana once again pushed his hands to the side, and this time, she pinned both under her knees.
"Be a good boy and stop struggling, okay?" Diana let out a sigh as she continued clobbering the Stranger's helmet, causing it the bounce up and down as the canyon beneath them quivered and cracked.
"I think we both know who you are, no?" Diana said as she finally stopped; her hand, however, was still placed on the Stranger's helmet, "The two of us are going to calm down now, okay?"
[...] The Stranger did not really answer and just nodded his head.
"Good," Diana also nodded as she pried the helmet open with both hands, "Seriously, is there a version of you that actually knows how to communicate with someone, Bernard Ro—Huh?"
Diana blinked a couple of times as her eyes reflected the Stranger's face. And before she could say anything, she felt a sharp pain stab her in the stomach... literally.
"..." Diana looked down, only to see some sort of black blade stabbed through her lower stomach. This was the first time in a very long time that she had once again experienced physical pain...but she couldn't care less. The only thing that she did was calmly hold her stomach as she stared at the Stranger's face.
"...Fuck, fuck!" the Stranger whispered to herself as she struggled to stand up. And finally, after squirming for a few seconds, she was able to push herself away from Diana's grasp; crawling back before finally being able to stand,
"Fuck!" The Stranger once again screamed; her frustration, enough to cause the very air itself to distort.
Diana was sure, he was sure that it was Bernard. But now she realized that there was actually one more just like him.
Same fighting style, same cadence, same tactics.
"You..." Diana slightly stuttered as she squinted her eyes,
"...Hannah?"
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