At that instant, the hologram of the System became frantic, displaying cascading error messages. The golden chains surrounding Norah began to shine with an unbearable brilliance, pumping directly into the woman's vitality to maintain control.
Norah spat a jet of silver blood onto Diavolo's face. Her mother-of-pearl eyes regained a fraction of a second of lucidity.
"Kill me..." she murmured. "Please... Diavolo... before I..."
But before she could finish, an impulse from the System ran through her. She struck Diavolo with a palm strike charged with the Wind element. The impact was so great that the scientist was thrown to the other end of the clearing, his ribs caved in, his lung perforated.
"Shit!!!"
He collapsed at the foot of the Yggdrasil, panting, watching Norah fall back to the ground, surrounded by an impenetrable dome of roots and elemental mana. She was entering stasis, the System protecting her from anyone's influence.
