Dimensional Descent

Leonel appeared in the midst of the panic. Elaine and her daughters-in-law were rushing around, doing everything they could, but Aina seemed to have reached the end of her rope.

Leonel was a mess himself, caked in blood from head to toe. But at the very least, his torso was no longer hanging in two pieces, and he had his arm back.

One of the many benefits of his Spear and Bow Body was that he could absorb Weapon Forces to heal himself, and just now, he had absorbed plenty of an extremely high caliber, and that was all before he undid the suppression on his Dimension. So he was even easier to heal than normal. However, despite how dirty and caked in blood he was, it didn’t stop him from taking a step forward and carefully propping his wife’s head up.

It had sagged onto the blood-filled wooden tub, and it seemed like she was completely out. Anyone else who saw such a scene would think her dead, and considering the tears of the women around and how none of them tried to stop him, they probably thought she was already dead as well. Leonel tuned their cries out, trying to loosen the tight clench of his jaw to no avail.

This was a fury he couldn’t seem to control at all... but he had no choice.

He gave Aina a light kiss on the forehead, a subtle spark of Dream Force shaking her mind awake. His wife was strong, he knew that. She was holding on with everything she had, and her consciousness was still faintly awake. He could even sense her pelvic muscles contracting, although extremely weakly, just to give their baby even the slightest chance to survive without her.

Aina looked up to find her blood-caked husband standing over her. Seeing the blood that had dried down his chin, she weakly reached up and touched it. Through that soft touch, she seemed capable of seeing everything that Leonel had been through... how he had been willing to become a demon for the sake of her and their baby.

She leaned forward, pressing her forehead against Leonel’s head as she felt her strength slowly returning to her.

’I love you...”

They spoke at the same time, their words spinning into a mixture of feminine and masculine cadences that still somehow sounded like a single voice.

The light in Aina’s eyes grew brighter as her strength returned finally. She could feel that Leonel had somehow written over the rules of the Zone, causing it to be unable to suppress her any longer.

And now that she had her full array of abilities...

Would there even be trouble any longer?

Leaning against her husband, Aina began to push once more. This time, she wasn’t focused on just trying to get their child out and having them survive; she even had room to help make the experience more comfortable for them as well.

She poured her heart and soul into the process as though she was already caressing her child.

”Catch him for me,” Aina said with a light smile.

’Him?”

Leonel seemed to have caught a case of idiocy because he was so enraptured by Aina’s words that he forgot the task she had given him.

When he finally recalled, he scrambled over to the other side of the bloody tub; he almost looked like a bumbling fool.

Aina released a beautiful laugh as tears fell from her eyes. They weren’t tears of sorrow or pain... just pure, unbridled happiness.

She had never had a happier day in her life.

Leonel reached in and brought their child out of the blood waters.

A cry filled the air, and it was accompanied by a Force that rocked the Zone.

If the foundations of the Zone were already shaken before, it was even more exaggerated now. Leonel didn’t even have a chance to check if there was an umbilical cord or placenta he had to deal with because their baby began to shine almost as though he was holding a nuclear bomb rather than

his son.

His son.

It was a word that shook him to his very core, so much so that he looked at this bundle of light with a dumbfounded expression. He hadn’t even seen the child’s face yet, and yet he felt a welling up of pride accompanied by an even heavier weight on his shoulders.

Pillars of light destroyed the roof of the small home, and Leonel had to somewhat absentmindedly destroy the remaining shards so that Elaine and the others, who were stuck in a state of shock, didn’t die warrantless deaths.

Was this what it felt like to be a father?

No... he had already felt what it was like. That weight on your shoulders, it would never disappear. But for this little bundle in his arms, he swore with everything he had that he would carry that weight. No, he would carry ten times, a hundred times even, if he had to.

No one would ever make his boy suffer...

Other than himself, of course.

Leonel grinned a silly smile, the tears brimming in his eyes as he still didn’t quite know what to do with himself.

And that was when his wife dropped another bombshell on him.

”Catch her too,” she said softly.

Leonel looked up from the bundle of light in his arms for the first time since he caught his baby boy. The light was so bright that most people would be blinded by it, but his own eyes seemed to be able to look right through and see the amused and loving gaze his wife was giving him.

’I couldn’t decide...” she said in a cute voice that made Leonel want to marry her all over again. Either that, or maybe they should get started on baby three right away.

Leonel snapped out of his daze and hurried forward, gently picking out a second little bundle. He held one in each arm, feeling as though his heart was about to explode.