Chapter 389: Deal [13]

"Do you still wish to continue the fight?"

I asked while looking at the visual before my eyes.

Arthur had somehow turned the entire battle in his favour, or at least made it difficult for Diana to gain back her control and dominance in the fight.

Even the place that I was currently standing on had developed huge cracks which were now polluted with a dark blackish hue filling the void.

I didn’t have a complete understanding of what Arthur was trying to do, but from what I had seen... his domain was trying to integrate with Diana’s domain.

The idea felt a little creative to me, though it seemed to be taking a toll on Arthur’s body.

The parasite hadn’t spoken for the entire time, its mind focused on combating Arthur’s attack.

Sigh.

Even if the battle now felt like it had turned in our favour, extending it wouldn’t benefit either of us.

I had no interest in killing the parasite, because we had no reason to be hostile towards each other.

It would be a kind of waste to let go of such a pawn, or in the worst case... there would be a mutual destruction of sorts.

"I don’t know how you had brought me to this place without arousing any suspicion in the market over our sudden disappearance, but do you have certainty that Alicia and the rest won’t look for you? Maybe the instructors would soon start searching for us."

Since being forcefully brought inside Diana’s domain, my sense of time had been a little out of place, so I didn’t know how much time had passed since our disappearance from the market, but... making a guess, I felt like I had been stuck here for quite some time.

John too might have begun searching for me, as I had asked the guy to bring me some food from the market.

Any delay in either Diana or my return could spell trouble for us, and the parasite... it should already have an idea about it.

Then why was it being stubborn?

Was it an arrogance of being some sort of God?

BOOOM!

The domain shook once again, and that only served to increase the intensity of the pollution which was desperately trying to consume it in its entirety.

Still, there was no response from Diana, as the parasite stood—

"What can you offer me?"

Hm?

For a second I thought I had misheard the words, but that didn’t seem to be the case as the parasite turned around before her face, which had been a blur before... started to revert back to the appearance of Diana Veltra that I had always interacted with.

"Cooperation."

I uttered a single word, which was the summary of my entire offer.

My response was accompanied by a strange silence, which for the first time didn’t feel as awkward as it had always been.

"Whatever your plans are... whatever your ambitions are, I can help you... we can help you."

Taking a step forward I closed my distance with Diana before staring into her grey eyes, which at the moment felt like they were a reflection of the world itself.

There was something unique about them that I had never felt before.

Maybe it was due to the parasite’s power or something else... but I felt like I was gazing into something that didn’t belong to the world I lived in.

Like... it was above everything—

Hm?

Blinking my eyes, I slightly shook my head to dispel the unnecessary thoughts from my mind.

"My enemies are literal Gods, and you think you can help me against them?"

Diana asked the question with a visible smirk on her face.

She didn’t deny my capability, nor did she question it.

It felt more like she was being amused with herself for believing in my offer... that, I had the ability to help her despite the level of the enemies that she was fighting against.

"Forget about my needs for the time being, and tell about yourself. What is it for which you are willing to take the risk of negotiating with me despite knowing that the idea could very well be the end of you, and your friend."

Uttering the last word, Diana briefly glanced at Arthur from the mana screen that she had materialised for me.

I thought due to Arthur’s unique attack, Diana would have been worried, but maybe... she had more cards hidden up her sleeve... cards that she didn’t think were necessary to be used against someone, that wasn’t even her real enemy.

She was clearly holding back... and that only went on to once again boost my confidence in my earlier deduction.

The parasite had no allies... or they were very few in numbers, and not that helpful to her as opposed to the enemies that could very well kill her if her existence was known to them.

I, on my part, didn’t respond immediately as I began to weigh the pros and cons of whatever I was about to utter from now on.

How much of my plans could I reveal before Diana, without fully exposing myself?

I had to carefully speak my words, as a shallow answer on my part could very well end all the negotiations between the two of us.

A deal no matter with whom it was made, needed some form of trust to be established.

I now had a fair idea of Diana’s situation and could even corner her with my knowledge, but she on the other hand knew next to nothing about me or Arthur... or whatever my plans were for allying with her.

That was in itself an unbalanced status quo between us, and I felt like that was exactly what Diana was hinting at me.

She wanted me to make the scale evenly balanced between the two of us for any further discussions to take place.

Sigh.

The decision wasn’t an easy one to take, but I had to be decisive in my choice.

Hesitating at this point in time would be cowardly of me, but at the same time I didn’t want to be hasty in my approach.