Dimensional Descent

As though this transformation had triggered a change, several that stood in the mess of the battlefield stood to their full height. With a slight shimmer, one after another, Cloud Race members began to appear.

At first, there were just the three in the skies. But very quickly, this number began to jump, seemingly doubling every few seconds.

In just a few moments, it had gone from a battle of humans to an assault of the Cloud Race. No matter where one looked, another would appear. Very quickly, those that remained very much human began to warily look around, wondering just who would turn next and trying to avoid being stabbed in the back.

Mordred's expression suddenly flickered and her figure vanished into the void, swirling into a rotating black hole of dense fog before appearing several meters away.

She looked toward where she had just been standing with an ugly expression. Right there, a halberd that would have pierced through her back thrust through the air, a violently rotating wind still circling around it. The attack itself wasn't a big deal, but it was who was on the other end of it that left Mordred feeling her heart plummet.

The demons had long since become her family, seeing her right hand men turn into members of the Cloud Race one after another left a lump in her throat. She knew for certain that the only reason this could happen was because those she had called brother had long since died.

Mordred's eyes turned red as she gripped her wand tight, her fair and slender fingers trembling.

Maia touched down from the skies, her Cloud Figure fluttering in the wind. Her white dress danced along with it, wafting a familiar and delicate fragrance into the air.

"Even if you know, it no longer matters. You've allowed me far too much time," Maia said lightly.

Galaeron didn't say anything to Maia. Instead, he looked toward Nana and the others.

"Pairing yourselves with the Cloud Race is a bit pathetic, don't you think?"

Raffyr, who had recovered when he realized knowing or not didn't make much of a difference, sneered.

"You think we owe you something because you call yourselves human? As far as I'm concerned, we're not even of the same race."

The disdain Raffyr had in his heart for the people of Earth, and maybe even just the humans of the Human Domain in general, was palpable.

Surprisingly, though, when Galaeron heard this, he smiled for the first time.

"Interesting you say that, because I doubt the highest echelon of your Brazinger family think you to be of the same race as them either, let alone of the same family. Those who build their status off of foolish ideals are bound to be swallowed whole by such ideals in the future."

Raffyr's face paled, his pupils trembling. The words were simple, and yet they seemed to pierce his very soul.

Galaeron turned from Raffyr and sized up Maia before opening his mouth slightly. "What is your relationship with "Graros"?"

Maia's gaze narrowed when she heard the question.

"Oh, you might not know him by that name. I mean the member of your race who targeted the Chaotic Water Sector."

Maia's pupils constricted into pinholes.

"Seems like you don't know, a pity." Galaeron said lightly.

"What happened to Jorrym?"

"Is that his name?" Galaeron asked, seemingly not expecting an answer. "Well, I assume by now his days aren't too good after being caught by Shield Cross Stars."

Maia's gaze seemed to tremble again.

"Are these your sons?" Galaeron continued without a care for Maia's reaction. "I assume that you had real children just for the chance to replace them with full fledged members of your race. Your plans run quite deep, and are even crueler than they are meticulous."

Maia slowly regained her composure, but didn't seem to have the intention of replying directly.

"Even so, your ending won't be much different from Jorrym," Galaeron spoke calmly and evenly just as a loud boom echoed across the horizon.

BOOM!

At that moment, an enormous flagship appeared in the skies. However, rather than descending, it began to fuse into what was once an invisible network of Force Arts, the very same Force Arts that had caught the Brazingers earlier.

The Force Art that covered the entire planet solidified all at once and a brilliant violet-gold array of complex gears, runes and mechanisms replaced the white clouds and blue skies above.

Maia's heart skipped a beat. She didn't need to check to know that even if tried now, she would have no ability to escape this battle. It was either she won, or she died here.

The flagship opened and a young woman appeared at the helm. In her small hands a battle ax with a polearm over two meters long angled forward, its dual blades so large that they curved for over six feet from tip to tip.

Sparks of black lightning and dense crimson fog hung around her, an oppressive aura suffocating everything.

One after another, powerful warriors appeared from her back, leaping off the side of the flagship and falling like streaking meteors.

BANG!

The earth rose like a tide, rippling out in all directions.

High in the skies, Aina still stood at the helm of the flagship, unmoving. She took deep breaths, her gaze slowly landing on the Brazingers below. Veins pulsed through her body, her heart beating with the heaviness of a mountain.

For some reason, when they saw this gaze, they felt themselves shiver. Those piercing golden eyes wanting for nothing more than murder.

"Kill." Aina said lightly, lifting her battle ax and slamming the butt of its polearm into the ground.

At that moment, the Force Art rippled and barriers descended one by one. In that moment, Earth was divided into 11 sections, the capital, nine provinces, and the vast ocean, in addition to being completely isolated from the outside world. Now, it was impossible to seek reinforcements.

Aina took a step and began to freefall from the skies above, her speed becoming faster and faster without her giving the slightest intention to stop.

BOOM!