Dimensional Descent

[Bonus chapter courtesy of Mr. Mostert <3 4/6]

Leonel's crown returned even larger than before. The surrounding Dream Force swirled so violently that the mountain range he was within, and the surrounding mountain ranges, all trembled, being stripped of their Dream Force one valiant step after another.

It all gathered into his robes. If the current version and the one of the past were to be compared, it would be akin to a rough drawing versus something an artist had spent countless, grueling weeks on.

His underlying power increased from Tier Eight to Tier Nine once again, but it felt like something faintly beyond that.

Tier Nine was just a casual name that Leonel had given to the strength that would be needed to climb up the main mountain, but that didn't mean that it was the ultimate strength one could have in this world, though it was very difficult to scale beyond it due to the nature of improvement. You'd probably have to swallow hundreds of Tier Nine threats to go beyond that level.

Leonel didn't feel that he had stepped beyond Tier Nine, but at the very least, he didn't feel like a normal Tier Nine either.

He stood to his feet. His eyes didn't carry a familiar coolness or calmness. Instead, there was a hint of vibrancy, as though he felt...

Alive.

He landed.

By this point, his robes were so long that they fell like a waterfall to his back, blending into the puffs of clouds. His violet hair seemed to be dancing between corporeal and incorporeal, moving back and forth between the two as though it was both a wispy fog and strong filaments of amethyst light.

A fire was lit in his eyes, and his irises really looked as though they had lost their usual form, flickering like flames instead.

Before him, three women stood. If he hadn't known they were called the Owlans, he would have thought they were an Angel Race. In fact, they looked as though they could have been a trio of three perfect sisters.

One wore a gown of blue, the one on the right wearing one of violet. As for the one in the middle of them, she wore a dress of silver and gold. Compared to the open wings of the two to her left and right, she was far more reserved, her wings tucked nice and neatly, almost accentuating her slender figure.

The three of them didn't seem surprised by Leonel's arrival. Well, the one in the middle wasn't. Leonel could sense the narrowed eyes of the two beside her. Clearly, he had been right about what they were expecting.

These women didn't care who eventually made it here; they were just prepared to deal with them. It was even likely that they had come here immediately.

"You aren't going to run?" The one in the middle asked.

Her smile was so pleasing to the eye, her tone was even more so, and yet her words didn't seem to match that tone. It was as though condescension was needled into her very bones.

She didn't quite look like she was trying to look down on Leonel; it was just something that she did naturally and without even the slightest care in the world. If Leonel brought it up, she might even apologize; that was the sort of impression he got from this woman.

And it was annoying.

"This is good, though," the woman continued even without a reply. "My name is Minerva."

Leonel still didn't say anything. Though he found it weird that this woman would have the same name as the race she descended from, it was in line with her arrogant character. It only felt natural at this point.

"I sensed something on you earlier, and now that you're here, I feel it even more clearly. You have a treasure of the Minerva Race, no?

"Honestly, I don't think there's really a need to fight you. My Pavilion does not want your Life Tablet because we are in our own precarious situation. That treasure of yours, though, is something that we cannot do without.

"You might be able to guess that the Minerva Race is very near and dear to us. Though being related to them has caused us no shortage of problems, they are our Ancestors, after all. We cannot abandon them."

Leonel's eyes narrowed. They were obviously talking about the Segmented Cube. He had no idea how they would know about that; it wasn't like he could take the Segmented Cube in with him.

Plus... The Segmented Cube wasn't just the Segmented Cube; it was Anastasia, someone who had been by his father's side for much of his life, and then had been by his own for closing in on a decade now.

This wasn't someone he would casually hand over to another, and she wasn't a "something".

In fact, the last people that Leonel would give Anastasia to would be these Owlans. Their Ancestors ruined Anastasia's life, taking her from her home, and then stripping her of the flexibility of her mind all so that they could have their perfect little treasure.

They were disgusting.

Leonel had been quite calm when he came here. Other than the fiery will for battle, his mind had a level of unprecedented clarity right now.

"No."

Leonel's reply was simple. He didn't embellish it at all, but the Dream Force in his surroundings reacted to him on his own, causing his voice to echo with a boom.

"Oh..." Minerva looked disappointed. It really didn't look like an act. Most would feel the need to protect her if they ever saw this sort of expression. "... I thought that we could be friends. Seraphina, you do it."

The blue dress-wearing Owlan took a step and suddenly vanished.

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