Chapter 2014 - 2014. Escape
The parasite was the result of the Demonic Form, one of Noah's oldest spells. The creature didn't feel the same affection as the other companions, but it held a special place in his mind due to its connection with the technique that had allowed him to reach his current state.
The transformation into a proper living being had enhanced its destructiveness, but it had added troublesome features to its existence. The parasite fed on Noah's energy and tissues, but the black hole limited that process. That slowed down the plant's growth and allowed him to control when to give it enough power to trigger the breakthrough.
Noah wanted his body to be near the ninth rank before triggering the plant's breakthrough. He feared what the parasite would be able to do after stepping into the ninth rank, but Dinia didn't give him other options.
The expert's eyebrows arched in surprise when he saw that Noah's injuries were expanding. Dinia couldn't inspect the insides of his opponent's body, but his knowledge gave him the chance to come up with a fitting conclusion. He knew that only the parasite could cause such an odd reaction.
The shrill noise that accompanied the growth of the roots resembled the cry of a magical beast.. The parasite was expressing its ecstasy. The black hole had finally stopped hindering its constant hunger, so it could feed freely on everything that its structure could reach.
Noah's centers of power had enough energy to fuel a breakthrough to the ninth rank when it came to the parasite. Still, he allowed the roots to reach the insides of the separate space to grant them more sources of power.
Night and the other companions knew what Noah had in mind. A normal breakthrough wouldn't be enough to deal with Dinia, and his assets didn't follow regular paths either. The parasite had to be like the Cursed Sword and Night. It had to reach a state that suited Noah's incredible standards.
Dinia had no words to express how he felt during the scene. Noah had already revealed immense power. His last attack had touched the very peak of the cultivation journey, but his existence still hid trump cards.
It was impossible to put a label next to Noah's name. His potential was boundless. No other existence had ever come close to accumulating so much power in such a short time and without relying on Heaven and Earth. Even mighty experts like Supreme Thief and Great Builder fell short in that field since they had ended up losing once.
Dinia eventually snapped out of his amazed state. He wouldn't let the parasite complete the breakthrough. He pointed a hand toward Noah and released a wave of white light large enough to hit his three opponents.
Sepunia couldn't help but turn when she sensed the incoming mass of energy, but King Elbas immediately called her name in a scolding tone. Noah had given precise orders, so they had to trust him, even if the situation appeared hopeless.
The attack carried enough power to kill the three experts at the same time, but something suddenly interrupted its flight. The wave of white light seemed unable to enter the void in front of Noah, but Dinia soon noticed that his opponents didn't summon any barrier.
The wave of light didn't stop flying forward. It simply shattered as soon as it came too close to Noah. A dense and dangerous aura had filled the void in front of him and had created a dead zone that transformed into nutrients every form of energy that dared to enter it.
Dinia understood that he had helped the parasite's breakthrough with his attack, but those thoughts lasted in his mind for less than a second. The amazement that he was experiencing didn't allow him to feel anything else.
Noah didn't only have more surprising assets. Their power could also deal with Dinia's attacks. The parasite had turned into an all-devouring creature during the breakthrough. It expressed the peak of Noah's destruction, and the purity of that power made it able to deal with techniques that were far above his actual level.
Dinia didn't give up. It immediately launched more attacks forward, but nothing could survive the power expressed by the parasite during the breakthrough. He even struggled to understand how such a simple creature could reach that level of destructiveness.
Noah felt conflicted. The parasite was reaching a level of power worthy of his standards, but he couldn't stop thinking about the number of nutrients that it would require after the breakthrough. His calculations became pointless every time the plant revealed more of its potential. He couldn't prepare for what was about to come.
The shrill noise intensified as branches started to grow from the roots stretching into the void. Pure black flowers soon appeared there, but they wilted quickly and left behind multiple seeds.
Roots soon grew from the seeds and intensified the corrosive influence that filled the area. Those plants instinctively stretched toward sources of power, and Noah had to call upon the entirety of his control to prevent them from approaching his companions.
Dinia knew that launching attacks only helped the parasite, but he couldn't stop either. He had to try to stop the plant, and his world also prevented him from accepting that he couldn't pierce that corrosive aura.
"That's not a living being!" Dinia shouted as the entirety of his body shone to send its light on the expanding roots. "That's an abomination that can only destroy! No one can control its power!"
"You aren't supposed to control destruction," Noah explained as the parasite continued to consume his body.
Dinia cursed and continued to launch attacks, but he stopped his attempts to get rid of the parasite when he sensed a rank 9 aura spreading inside the cage. The shrill noise even went silent to announce the end of the breakthrough.
Noah immediately used the black hole to remove the roots that had expanded inside his separate space. He even limited the number of nutrients that the parasite could draw from his body, but he didn't stop its expansion in the cage.
More seeds appeared in the void and gave birth to other roots as the parasite's main body continued to generate flowers. The plants soon reached the glowing formations that isolated the area and started draining their power.
Holes appeared on the cage, but the formations quickly fixed them. The white light spreading in the area also fought against the corrosive power radiated by the roots. Dinia couldn't find a solution, but that didn't stop him from containing the threat.
Dinia wanted his perfect self to defeat the parasite, but the situation didn't allow him to focus on his world. Killing Noah and his companions had the priority, so he gave his everything on delaying the destruction of the cage. The plant was using an immense amount of power, so Noah would die if he continued to rely on his assets for a bit longer.
Noah knew that he couldn't provide what the parasite required in that stretched form. Even the energy absorbed from the glowing formations wasn't enough to satisfy the plant. He had to leave now, and his companions didn't hesitate to show the result of their work when he turned toward them.
The formations had weakened in the spot behind the experts. Noah didn't even need to point at that spot to send roots forward. The parasite immediately devoured the white lines and opened a path toward the cracks. Dinia was powerless in that situation, so he could only watch as the three experts and the restrained dragon left the void to return to the stormy regions.