Dimensional Descent

The members of the Arundo family all shot up. Even though this wasn’t the first time a member of the Arundo family had died since this tournament began, it was most definitely the first time someone so high profile had.

Isac’s blood vessels threatened to shatter and pop. If not for several members of the Arundo dog piling him to force him down and back, there was no doubt that he would have already sprung into action, his full fury on display.

Isac tried his best to fight those that were on him off, but he was a bowman, not a hulk. With so many having come together to stop him, and without him having the desire to kill them at all costs, he found his body almost buried into the ground.

He could barely tilt his head up slightly, freeing just a single eye to focus on Leonel for all that he was worth. The white of his gaze pulsed with so many vessels that it practically turned red and rabid, his body trembling completely out of his control.

But… in the end… he could only watch as Leonel’s beast constructs vanished into motes of light, the entire arena empty of participants outside of himself.

A pregnant silence took hold of the arena.

There had been many battles before this, but none were ended nearly as easily as Leonel’s own. They had thought that they might learn something about his speed from observing, when the reality was that Leonel didn’t even have to move a single inch. The gap was so large that it felt like they had just watched an adult bully children…

The Luxnix Star Order elders narrowed their gazes, watching Leonel walk away. They too hadn’t witnessed the fight between Elody and Leonel, but from what they knew, it lasted several exchanges and was quite heated, even though Leonel won in the end.

With that bit of information, they had of course concluded that Myghell would win easily. The gap between Myghell and the three Arm Heads was so large that it might as well have been night and day.

Seeing Leonel fight now, there wasn’t anything he had just done that Elody couldn’t. Well, Elody couldn’t quick cast in such a fashion, but their meaning was that he would have won just as easily. Still… Seeing Leonel’s talent in action made them wonder just how far he could go.

…

Leonel returned to the group with a light smile on his face.

”You’re such a show off, Cap.” Milan laughed.

”Is that jealousy I hear?” Leonel’s ears perked up.

”Fuck you!”

Milan dove forward and tackled Leonel, but he found his arms swinging at air. By the time he noticed Leonel jumped over him, it was far too late. He crashed into the ground, skidding for a few meters.

An eruption of laughter filled Earth’s seating space. However, seeing the cheeriness of their atmosphere only made the fury smoldering within Isac’s soul burn even brighter. He had never felt so much rage in his life. But, he had already had his turn and didn’t even have anywhere to vent it.

”Let me go. I’m leaving.”

Isac’s voice seemed to have dropped several octaves. Only after the others were certain that he was, indeed, leaving the arena did the rest of the Arundo relax.

Amidst the Arundo elders, their Patriarch sat with a stoic expression, watching as Isac turned and left. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking by just his facial features alone, but he didn’t seem to have reacted to Ysac’s death at all.

Inwardly, though, he felt that this was a turning point for his family. If Isac could climb this mountain, maybe it would be exactly what his Arundo family needed to cross that final barrier and grow to match those three pillar families.

…

The events continued. By the time the end of the day began to roll around, countless geniuses had gone up.

When it was Myghell’s turn, one might have thought that he hadn’t stepped onto the stage at all. Everyone ran around him as though they had blinders on, refusing to even think of attacking him.

Myghell stood in silence, not bothering to make a move either. When just three individuals remained, he casually stepped off of the platform without a care in the world.

The Luxnix Arm Heads received the same treatment. By coincidence, the equivalent geniuses of the three leading families didn’t meet, so their rounds ended just as easily and without fanfare.

The likes of Savahn and Yuri surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, also gained a spot for themselves. Savahn was a talent of Earth and had been able to adapt on Planet Viola for far longer than the others had, so her success wasn’t too much to accept. As for Yuri, she was of mysterious origins to begin with and had always had more power than she displayed. Even after claiming a spot, she hadn’t seemed to have gone all out…

The Montex and Viola geniuses, of course, performed just as well. Though their deterrence wasn’t as great as Myghell, they still received their due respect. Rychard was among those that passed, only having to exchange one to two blows to properly display his might and prowess.

Rychard couldn’t help but frown lightly when he stepped off of the platform before when he looked toward where Aina should have been, she was absolutely nowhere to be seen. However, he turned his head away not long afterward. After giving up so much to earn a spot, he doubted that she would miss out on her chance.

Finally, the day waned and the billboard flickered for the final time, its motes of light forming around the last list of names...

As though a ghost, Aina appeared once more.

When she stepped out and toward the arena, the crowd itself seemed to suck in a cold breath all at once…

This level of beauty… Was it even meant to be a part of their world?