Dimensional Descent

Just when Jerach was getting into his groove, the Gates opened once again and this time, two women entered. Of course, they were Syl and Young Miss Swan.

When the two women saw the scene before them, they charged toward Jerach like a twin pair of lionesses. In fact, they even sent glaring daggers toward Leonel for not stepping in to stop this madman earlier.

Toward such a thing, Leonel only chuckled and didn't say much. He was going to step in previously, but since they were here now, he didn't have to do anything.

"Alright, alright. Since these two she-devils have stepped in for you, leave your panties behind and we can call it even."

The two women shivered in terror hearing these words.

"Jerach!" Syl snapped.

"Alright, alright. Forget it, forget it."

Jerach shook his head as though it was truly a pity.

Looking quite pitiable, the two women helped their two friends up and they stumbled away. It was only now they noticed that Jerach actually had a King mark on his forehead. It seemed that they had been so distracted by how terrible he looked before that they had forgotten to account for this.

It was only after this that Jerach suddenly looked toward Leonel seriously.

"Do what you will."

Jerach closed his eyes, crossing his arms across his chest and lifting his neck as though waiting for a blade to run across it.

The little mink atop Leonel's head yawned lazily before sticking out its tongue as though to make fun of Jerach. It got bored of this quite quickly though and went back to its nap.

Leonel could tell that the little guy was growing more languid lately. The little mink he knew was always lively and looking to play. Leonel wasn't sure if this change was it maturing or if there was another reason…

That aside, Leonel wasn't thinking much about this right now. He was only quite surprised that Jerach actually seemed to be waiting for death.

Of course, Leonel had never really expected to kill him in the first place. For one, he wasn't a blood thirsty person and he didn't enjoy to kill unless it was absolutely necessary. And, secondly, he had only been saying the most boisterous things he could say for the sake of making sure his story spread as widely as possible.

Leonel suddenly smiled. "So your life is mine, right?"

Jerach opened his eyes and frowned. But in the end…

"… Yes."

"Good." Leonel's smile widened. "Follow me then. I also don't know enough about this place, so tell me about it."

Jerach raised his brows, unclenching fists he hadn't known he had clenched.

"Isn't Syl your fiancée? She didn't tell you anything about this?"

Leonel made a weird face. "Fiancée? No, she isn't."

Syl suddenly flushed as red as a tomato. "Do you believe I won't rip your tongue out, Jerach?!"

Jerach blinked. "So, she's single?"

"JERACH!"

Young Miss Swan giggled from the sidelines, seemingly enjoying this quite a bit. After a while, her eyes sparkled when she looked toward Leonel.

So, he's single too?

Leonel, however, was no longer paying attention to their antics. His gaze seemed to cut through space, landing on a tower in the distance. From there, he could feel numerous gazes on him, all of which seemed to be waiting for something.

Leonel felt his blood surging.

Who knew how long it would take him to realize that his actions over the past few hours weren't as much of an act as he thought it was?

**

"… You're saying no one knows where Brave City came from?"

Leonel looked toward Jerach, Syl and Qiyra with a weird expression. Of course, Qiyra was the first name of Young Miss Swan. After listening to the banter between the two women, Leonel finally managed to learn this much.

"Well…" Jerach mumbled. "… There are some theories, but… Well, the truth is that as a Fourth Dimensional world, we don't have high enough standing to confirm or deny this. We only have a few rumors…"

Leonel could see the discomfort the three felt when Jerach said these words. It seemed that this wasn't something that was acknowledged often. But, in the grand scheme, it was nonetheless true that a Fourth Dimensional world wasn't worth mentioning. It made Leonel realize that as small as Terrain was, Earth was even more so.

"What rumors?" Leonel asked.

Jerach hesitated as though he wasn't sure whether or not he should say.

But, maybe because he remember Leonel 'owned' his life now, he realized he had no choice.

"… They say that Brave Cities only appear in worlds that are at a crossroad."

Leonel frowned. What was that supposed to mean? A crossroad?

"What kind of crossroad?"

"One where we either develop ourselves or choose to abandon everything our Ancestors built."

Leonel still wasn't sure if he understood what this meant, but seeing as the three were only growing more uncomfortable, he shifted his focus slightly.

"Then what does a Brave City get out of appearing? Is it like a Sub-Dimensional Zone?"

"… Not exactly. Zones are created by the Dimensional Verse. But, Brave Cities are built by people. As for what they get out of it, they say it's recruitment."

Leonel's brow raised.

'A world at a crossroad… built by people… it's all for recruitment…?'

Leonel couldn't help but think of the star and cross organization. Even to this point, he still didn't know their true name. All he had was a gut feeling that their scope was beyond that of just Terrain and that their uniforms were cool. There was nothing else.

But who knew that even before he could understand who they were, another mysterious organization would appear? In fact, this one's methods seemed even more shocking than the first.

The star and cross organization was still tangible to Leonel. He could see them, interact with them, and, unfortunately, be shamed by them. But, this Brave City organization had no face or image. And, they somehow managed to make a city manifest from thin air without even the strongest powers of this world understanding how.

For the first time, Leonel was starting to get an understanding that this new world order was anything but peaceful.