Dimensional Descent

Compared to the last time Leonel had used this strike, it was countless times more powerful, not only because of the spear he was using, but also because his comprehension of Spear Force was far deeper.

Alerina saw the light of death, a completely contradictory concept. It was as though Leonel was gracing her with it rather than throwing her into an abyssal hell of no return. She never thought that she would die in this way, she hadn't even brought out her full strength...

However, just when she thought she would die, Leonel's blade came to a sudden stop right above her face.

Their eyes met and he pulled back, leaping out from the pit he had created when he first smashed her into the ground and landing at its ledge.

Alerina was immediately confused. Why had Leonel spared her? Could it be because she was a woman? This both made her somewhat angry but also uncomfortable at the same time.

She wasn't an ungrateful person, but she also wouldn't sell her dignity for her life either.

"Get up," Leonel's cold voice suddenly knocked her out of her fantasies. Any thought she had of Leonel suddenly falling in love with her seemed to have been thrown out of the window. That wasn't the voice of a man who was enraptured with her and her appearance at all.

Alerina had already been standing to begin with, she had no idea what was going on so she had already been ready to keep fighting. But something about the sound of Leonel's voice and his gaze made her feel a combination of suffocated and infuriated.

"You are the most powerful member of the Cloud Race in this tribulation, right? Then show me your real strength before I send you away."

Alerina was far too arrogant and had ended up losing before she even knew what was happening. However, Leonel's vision was far beyond this tribulation, he already didn't plan on coming in second place to anyone. The more important thing to him was learning more about the Cloud Race so that he could counter them better in the future.

Currently, the Cloud Race had infiltrated the Human Domain and their claws were sunk far deeper than Leonel knew, that much he was certain of. If he wanted to deal with them, would need something more tangible than what he had, and there was no better target than one of their absolute geniuses.

When Alerina heard Leonel's words, she gripped her spear so hard that her fingers bled and her figure trembled.

Clenching her jaw, she looked toward Leonel, the golden runes dancing in her Cloud Figure beginning to tremble as well.

She didn't say a single word. There was nothing else to say. She would make him regret the choice he had made to spare her and then humiliate her.

**

Deep within the territory of Earth, all seemed peaceful. Ever since Leonel's return, everything had flowed smoothly, from the destruction of the Zoltene Faith and the four Great Families, to the subduing of the Thrusting Skies Sector and the expulsion of the Viola family, everything had gone perfectly.

The absence of Leonel didn't even seem to be felt and all things continued to run smoothly. But, all things would seem to be perfect until the day they weren't.

BOOM!

The explosion came suddenly and without the slightest hint of warning. Almost instantly, half of the Ascension Tree that acted as the Ascension Empire's capital was covered in a blinding pillar of flames that seemed to want to engulf it all.

Guards that had been on patrol hurried to figure out what was happening, only for their own comrades to suddenly turn on them without reason.

Several golden spears pierced through the backs of loyal Imperial Guards. They hardly had time to look back in shock toward faces they had known for decades before they collapsed to the ground with unwillingness, their consciousnesses fading to nothing.

All hell had broken loose, and though a call to arms was immediately sent to many of the highest noble families of Earth, to the surprise of many of the court ministers, some directly ignored the summons as though they had never received it at all, locking down their own territories and forming their own small countries, defecting from the Ascension Empire.

At that moment, on the second of Earth's two moons, Avalon, King Arthur sat on his throne, Queen Guinevere to his side. Before him, there was the smiling face of a member of the Laevis family, a young man with flowing golden hair and blinding golden eyes.

"It's time, King Arthur. The attack should have gotten underway already. You only need to do what the others have and Avalon will be yours. Close your borders, declare independents, and when the times comes, reject delegation.

"The Ascension Empire has humiliated the Pendragon family for far too long. You are a people of royalty, and yet you've been downgraded to the status of a mere Duke, I can understand your frustration.

"The Fawkes family haven't done anything to deserve the role they've had ever since they conquered Earth to begin with. Even now, they rely on a child-like prince to handle everything for them, and do you think that this is really that prince's doing?"

Arthur's gaze sharpened and the young man chuckled.

"Does it even make sense to you that a young man who's lost over two decades of progress in comparison to his peers can still be this far ahead? Who else do you think is working behind the scenes to ensure that all of this happens if not the Morales? He and the Morales must really think everyone is a fool..."

The young man didn't realize that as he spoke, Arthur's grip on his throne began tighter and tighter while Guinevere's lips pressed into a line. Even so, if you looked at the latter more closely, it was clear that this was a practiced gesture to hold back her laughter.

"... We will expose them for the frauds they are and then everyone will turn on the Morales family as they should. When they face the pressure of the entire Human Domain, they will crumble like-!"

CRACK!

Arthur's throne shattered as he stood to his feet.

"He's just a child, huh...?! No one could possibly lose to him, right...?! He's nothing more than a convenient puppet on a string, hm...?! THEN WHY DID I LOSE TO HIM!?"

The young man was stunned but Arthur had already unsheathed his sword. Before he could react, he found himself looking at his own headless body, his eyes widened in shock.

Arthur sheathed his blade and began to pace about with a harrumph.

Finally, Guinevere couldn't hold back her laughter anymore and released a bell-like giggle.

Arthur's head snapped over. "What's so funny?"

Guinevere laughed even harder. "Husband, if you wanted an excuse to follow Leonel, you could find a better one than this, don't you think?"

Arthur's lip twitched. "What do you mean by that?"

Guinevere just laughed and didn't respond, causing Arthur to click his tongue.

"Whatever, let those idiots do what they want. I have no intention of getting on that little monster's bad side. They think the Morales are the ones pulling the strings so now that they're occupied by that summit they're holding, everyone else can run wild and free.

"Well, they're in for a rude awakening."