Dimensional Descent

Cornelius’ words echoed with a boom, stifling the echo of the previous man who had spoken. The fury in his tone was subtle, but still clear, the rumbling of his voice causing the six warships to quake.

In response, the warship facing Cornelius had some movement and a figure slowly made their way out. He wore the iconic uniform of Shield Cross Stars, split robes and metallic leg sleeves. It made him look like an off duty knight of the templar, the metal shimmering with a resplendent glow that seemed to warp the air with its heft.

Cornelius’ eyes narrowed when he saw this individual. He had already expected that whoever Shield Cross Stars would send for such a mission would not be normal, but seeing it for himself helped it truly sink in.

Much like their Fugitive Tiers, Shield Cross Stars also had Officer Tiers. Anyone above Tier 4 was already in the Seventh Dimension, but this individual was already in Tier 2.

Of course, on the surface and without further investigation, it made sense that anyone that came after a Tier 2 Fugitive would likewise be a Tier 2 Officer. But when it was considered that Leonel was a junior who had only just stepped into Sixth Dimension, this was absolutely ridiculous, especially since this was no normal Tier 2 Officer.

Within Tiers of Officer, there were what Shield Cross Stars upper management called ”Promotion Paths”. These Promotion Paths were further divided into Shield Ranks and Star Ranks, which were then even further divided into three levels each.

Essentially, Shield Ranks were the foot soldiers, they were the bulk of the force and they were the units that did everything from manning the ships to doing maintenance on them.

Star Ranks were the commanding officers. These were individuals who gave and related orders, as well as those who had the strongest combat prowess of the organization.

The so-called Promotion Path was decided by one’s potential and talent. There were vast differences between those of the same Dimension and even of the same Tier, as such every member of Shield Cross Stars was evaluated strictly and then slotted into their appropriate roles.

The Tier 2 Shield Rank Officers tended to be individuals of the very pinnacle of the Sixth Dimension. The Tier 2 Star Rank Officers, however, were all in the Seventh Dimension without the slightest doubt. In fact, so were Tier 3 Star Rank Officers! Only Tier 1 Shield Rank Officers could finally be of the Seventh Dimension, so one could imagine the kind of monsters made up Tier 1 Star Rank Officers.

Knowing this, the fact a Tier 2 Star Rank Officer had appeared here for the sake of capturing and bringing Leonel to justice… Well to say it was overkill was an understatement. In fact, it smelt of bullshit.

”Level 3 Tier 2 Star Rank Officer DiVincenzo,” he stated his name and rank immediately. ”I’ve come for the fugitive, I hope that you will not make things difficult for me.”

Cornelius’ expression darkened. ”I’ve asked once and I will ask once more. Do not make me repeat myself for a third time. What. Is. The. Meaning. Of. This.”

.comno/vel//bi/n[./]net’

It almost felt that Shield Cross Stars was using this as an opportunity to knock the Void Palace down a peg and Leonel was just a convenient excuse. But it was clear that there was something deeper than this.

If Leonel was truly some sort of fugitive, there were a million other ways to deal with this situation. Announcing it to the world and coming forward so boldly was among the very stupidest. No, it might be the stupidest.

Doing things like this ensured that there would be witnesses, and with witnesses, that man would catch wind of this. Cornelius understood Velasco well. If Leonel died in the hands of another Sixth Dimensional existence, or, for example, died in a trial that many of his other cohorts had survived like the Rapax Nest, he wouldn’t care.

However, if he died in the hands of some old monster, or in the midst of a power struggle designed purely to spit in the face of Velasco’s legend, then there would be hell to pay.

The Void Palace was still reeling from the last time Velasco attacked them in a fury. Compared to the Void Palace, Shield Cross Stars was even more vulnerable because their power was separated across so many locations and branches.

Did they have a death wish?

None of this even considered the stance of the Morales family as a whole on the topic!

”As I’ve said, we have only come for the fugitive, there is no other meaning.”

”You’ve come for a Tier 1 Sixth Dimensional junior with six Tier 2 Officer fleets?” Cornelius sneered. ”Do you take me for a child?”

”It is inadvisable to underestimate youth. We have intelligence that he could be a danger to his surroundings. With the future of the Human Domain being held here, taking risks would be unacceptable so we came out with the full measure of strength possible to be allocated to a Tier 2 Fugitive.

”Please understand. It should be known that the background of this youth is quite impressive and he has quite a number of treasures on him. We cannot take the chance of allowing him to escape and wreak more havoc in the future.”

DiVincenzo waved a hand and a rippled spread across the six warships.

BOOM!

Violent beams of lights connected the warships one after another, and under the astonished gazes of the spectators, the entire Void Palace was suddenly locked down in space, disallowing any covert methods of escape.

Cornelius was very close to losing control of his temper entirely.

”Do you think that you can just take a disciple of the Void Palace because you say so? Where is your proof? Where is your evidence? Is this how Shield Cross Stars works?”

DiVincenzo shook his head.

”I’m afraid you are mistaken, esteemed sir. Leonel Morales is no longer a member of Void Palace. He did not use the God Path to enter the Sixth Dimension.”