Dimensional Descent

[Representation of Leonel's mother now available on my instagram @awespec_ ]

Leonel wanted to turn and run as well, but before he could, he sensed a particularly fierce gaze on him. He turned slowly to find his lovely girlfriend showing a radiant smile that most definitely was not a smile. He couldn't quite understand how she could look so beautiful and so menacing at the same time.

Yuri looked over toward Leonel with a cold expression. Clearly, she wasn't very happy with the mending of Leonel and Aina's relationship.

Savahn gave Leonel a light greeting, as did the other girls, but soon afterward, they seemed to forget his presence and go back to what they had been doing before.

Leonel coughed lightly, trying to clear the air a bit. If those families could see him now, they'd be speechless. Where was the mighty Prince now?

Unfortunately, when it came to those he cared about, it was a bit difficult for Leonel to be just as cold-hearted. Luckily, before Leonel had to say anything, a saving grace came.

The doors opened and Raylion took a step instead. He swept a gaze for a moment before looking toward Leonel.

"The Oryx are here," Raylion said evenly. He didn't seem to notice anything about the weird atmosphere at all.

Leonel nodded. He actually hadn't expected this to happen, but he was grateful that it had. He would rather deal with this than relationship drama. Who would have thought that he and Aina would end up with the healthiest relationship here? Or maybe that right went to Raylion and Sael.

Leonel turned back and gave Aina a grin before rushing away.

…

"Leonel!"

Elthor unleashed a happy laugh. He appeared before Leonel in a flash and looked like he was going to give the latter a hug before he suddenly threw out a furious punch.

The location was a hidden underground hall of the Etching Metal Organization. The ceiling was incredibly tall at just about 20 meters. Pillars were located around the region and it looked much more like a cargo region with vehicles coming in and out from time to time.

If there was one thing this region wasn't good at, it was suppressing sound. So from Elthor's shout to his sudden attack, it felt like a tornado had rushed into a tunnel, pillaging and ravaging everything.

Leonel's eyes narrowed. A dull bronze glow coated his fists as he punched out to meet Elthor.

BOOM!

Leonel felt a strong pulsing power travel up his arm, but it was quickly dispersed throughout his body. However, he didn't move a single inch.

By the same token, Elthor didn't move either, standing straight and tall. Even so, a droplet of blood formed on his knucles and fell silently to the ground.

Elthor was clearly surprised by this result. He had expected for Leonel to go flying back like a meteor, but he hadn't thought that Leonel actually wouldn't move at all. In fact, it was he, himself, who ended up injured in the exchange, albeit just a small measure.

"You're so strong?"

Elthor blinked. He had gotten a small rundown of what had happened to Leonel from Raylion and he had come to understand that Leonel had disappeared for a long while. By that token, he should have gained 10+ years of practice advantage on Leonel, so why were their strengths still so close?

If Elthor knew that Leonel was actually quite surprised as well, he would have probably cursed the latter to an early grave. What right did Leonel have to be surprised that someone so close to the Seventh Dimension was just as powerful as he was?

Unlike Leonel's brothers, Elthor didn't take the Conventional Path, he followed the God Path. In addition, because he had been in the Void Palace during the Cataclysm, while he didn't gain a full 20+ year advantage on Leonel, he had made it up by having quite some gains in the Zone.

It had to be remembered that before his old man's death, Elthor had been given the Oryx Kingdom's World Spirit. Clearly, this had benefited him greatly as even after Leonel resurrected his old man, he refused to take the World Spirit back.

"I should be asking you that," Leonel said with a chuckle.

Elthor's expression became somewhat slack jawed. What Leonel fucking with him?

"Fuck you, I didn't enter my true form."

"Generals make excuses now?" Leonel raised an eyebrow.

At that moment, the chuckle of a significantly more mature gentleman interrupted their conversation. Leonel looked over to find King Oryx walking over with a dignified cadence to his steps. He truly looked like a ruler, and he didn't dampen it before Leonel in the slightest. It was clear that he hadn't come here to "submit".

Seeing his father, Elthor's happiness became far more complicated. He felt that he was stuck between two individuals that he quite liked. Though if he told his father this, he would probably get a smack to the back of the head. How could he be struggling in choosing between Leonel and his own father?

Well, the answer to that was actually quite obvious to him. His father wanted him to be a King, he didn't want to be one. Leonel, however, gave him a path toward fulfilling his dreams, to become a General of the battlefield. That was all he had ever wanted.

Leonel's smile faded as he looked toward King Oryx.

Inwardly, King Oryx was actually quite surprised. He, too, had expected that Elthor would blow Leonel in the distance. He was well aware of his son's strength and he had long since become their greatest combatant and he had never looked back.

But Leonel actually took Elthor head on without taking even a single step back, this had caused King Oryx's position to have no choice but to soften.

"It seems that you've grown quite well," King Oryx said with a smile.

"You seem to have grown very well, too," Leonel said lightly, though his words seemed to have a different meaning entirely. It was hard to tell if he was talking about King Oryx's strength… or his guts.

King Oryx's smile faded somewhat. He hadn't expected for Leonel to take such a strong stance. His words seemed casual, but in political sense, they were hyper aggressive and might as well have been him throwing down the gauntlet.