Peaceful Storm didn't hesitate to deploy his defensive area of distorted space when he saw Noah pouncing at him as soon as the battle started. Even the cultivator of the Empire had decided to go all out from the start since he had understood Noah's character by then.
A series of talismans appeared in front of Peaceful Storm, and spells of various kinds came out of them. Noah saw arrows, humanoid figures, and eagles made of wind shooting toward him as he charged ahead.
However, he was ready for their arrival.
A black sphere appeared in front of him and quickly moved on top of his head, generating a gravitational pull that affected the trajectory of the incoming spells. Black smoke also started to come out of his body and took the shape of the scaled armor of the Demonic Form.
Peaceful Storm's attacks met the black lines released by the Demonic Sword and deviated only to end up in the Black Hole spell. The gravitational pull became stronger in the process, but it was still too weak to affect all the talismans of Noah's opponent.
Noah's martial art had destroyed the humanoid figures and maimed the eagles, but the arrows were too fast and landed on his body, piercing the scaled armor and stabbing his skin. The surviving eagles then arrived and crashed on him, destroying a part of the Demonic Form and creating a series of light wounds on his chest.
Nevertheless, those clashes weren't able to stop Noah's advance.
Peaceful Storm's spells released energy when they crashed on Noah, which the black sphere promptly absorbed, redirecting part of it in his body. The injuries that he had just suffered stopped bleeding as soon as that wave of nutrients filled him.
Also, Noah had focused the humanoid figures because they were the only abilities capable of hindering his charge. The impact with the other attacks was barely able to slow him down.
Peaceful Storm could only brace for the imminent clash when he saw that his talismans didn't have any effect.
Noah slashed with the Demonic Sword when he reached the edges of the distorted space. His divided weapon released two black lines that detonated into a cloud of corrosive smoke when their trajectory shifted due to that defensive area.
Peaceful Storm saw the dangerous gas spreading inside his personal space and activated another talisman that created a series of gales. Winds began to blow inside the distorted area and pushed back the corrosive smoke, completely denying Noah's attack.
It was evident that the cultivator of the Empire had prepared for that battle, and Noah guessed that he had even exchanged notes with Countless Wings since he didn't seem affected by the growing sphere above his head. Yet, being prepared and being able to counter an ability were two very different things.
The destruction radiated by the Black Hole spell started to affect the area of distorted space. Small pieces of the sky began to escape Peaceful Storm's control and fuel the black sphere that kept on increasing the power behind its gravitational pull.
Peaceful Storm's spread his consciousness at that sight and reinstated his control over the space around him, preventing Noah's spell from affecting his defenses further.
It was as if two individualities were fighting for the control of that part of the sky.
Noah's spell kept on radiating an intense destructive area, but Peaceful Storm's control over his space was tight and didn't waver under that external force. However, Noah had already swung his weapons again at that point, and another pair of black lines flew toward his opponent still surrounded by chaotic winds.
As expected, Noah's martial art wasn't able to reach Peaceful Storm, and even the detonation of the black lines could only stop when it reached the winds.
The activation of another series of talismans followed, and Noah found himself surrounded by countless attacks made of wind that flew toward him. It seemed that Peaceful Storm had waited for that moment to use dozens of his items at the same time.
Noah knew that he had no chance to dodge. He could barely block the teleporting arrows. There was no point in trying to escape that barrage of attacks when he was so close to them.
His only option was to destroy as many of them as he could and endure the rest with his body and scaled armor!
Noah slashed like crazy, and a large cloud made of corrosive smoke formed around him as his martial art clashed with the incoming attacks. Arrows, slams, and claws would reach and hurt his body from time to time, but the Black Hole spell had become strong enough to affect his opponent's offensive by that time.
Meanwhile, the cloud spread and hid his figure, leaving Peaceful Storm confused about his actual position.
It was a peculiar scene. A black cloud was slowly surrounding a spherical area of distorted space that kept on fending off the corrosive smoke thanks to the gales blowing in its insides.
Noah knew that his saber-shaped runes would reach an incredible level of power in that environment, but he didn't cast them because he wanted to leave all the primary energy released with the corrosive smoke to the Black Hole spell.
His runes were too frail for the journey through the distorted space, but his unstable sphere could do the trick if it gathered enough energy.
'This brings up memories,' Noah thought as he activated another spell while the cloud still covered him.
The Empire had given him two spells as a payment for his pointers in the hybrids' field. The Shadow Chains spell was troublesome to use due to all its restrictions, and Noah had even needed to modify it heavily before it could suit his individuality.
As for the Shadow Copy spell, he had initially believed that a few changes to its diagram would have been enough to make it work. Yet, he soon discovered that he didn't have enough power to make a copy of himself, even one meant only to launch a few attacks.
His ambition was too intense, and his existence too complicated. His centers of power simply couldn't sustain the consumption of energy required to create another Noah.
Nevertheless, there was another living being that was easier to imitate since it was already an expression of himself.
Noah focused, and four copies of the divided Demonic Sword appeared next to him as he floated in the middle of the black cloud. They didn't carry the power of the original living weapon, nor the entirety of its complexity. They just managed to echo its destructive power, and that was enough for him.
Two pairs of additional arms took form from the sides of his scaled armor and reached for the fake Demonic Swords. Then, they performed a downward slash that focused both fake and real weapons into a single attack.
Peaceful Storm could only sense an intense, dangerous sensation before a long and deep cut appeared on his chest.