Dimensional Descent

Leonel looked like he had died for all intents and purposes. He was unmoving, there were no longer any signs of breathing, and even his powerful heartbeat had come to a complete stop.

But so too had the rampaging Tolliver.

And then there was a ripple.

BADUM.

Tolliver solidified over Leonel’s body. With a flash, Leonel’s robes, that seemed to have been swallowed up, returned.

CHI! CHI! CHI! CHI!

Veins of violet-gold suddenly erupted, racing across the surface of Tolliver’s body. It looked like these jagged lines, running straight up and down, were corrupting the Metal Spirit. But in reality, its aura only seemed to be growing.

Leonel’s true body shape began to appear once more. With a flap, the folds of his robe took shape and his face was revealed as the silvery hue peeled back.

Strands of strong silver and floating motes of violet light formed his now long hair, dancing in the wind along with his silver, violet, and gold robes.

There was a bold pauldron on Leonel’s left shoulder, and a royal band across his forehead. With a flash, his hands were revealed as well as the silver retreated into his sleeves and then finally...

His eyes opened.

The whites of Leonel’s eyes had become a power silver. His irises were an even bolder shade of violet, surrounded by a ring of gold instead of black.

The only hints of black in his eyes now were his pupils, but even deep within them, there was a Royal Crest that seemed to carry the secrets of the world.

With a pulse, this Royal Crest grew, increasing in size out of his pupils and taking shape within his irises.

Then it simplified, becoming a simple stroke of a Forceart until it solidified as a golden piece of his irises.

There was a shudder that ran through the world. At that moment, it felt like the God Beasts of Creation had truly returned.

The Infinity Beast.

The one above all.

U

The palm that seemed to be descending fast, and yet was somehow still taking its sweet time to arrive, suddenly accelerated, smashing down toward Leonel. The royal robes Leonel wore rippled in the air just a single time before he extended his hand.

Leonel’s palm met that of the Regulator’s, one moving with a speed that could cross universes in a blink, and the other reaching out in a light pat.

BANG!

The moment they touched, a hole was ripped through the palm. SHIIIIIING!

The howl of a spear echoed through the skies as Leonel’s palm seemed to tear through the arm of the Regulator itself in the blink of an eye.

The foggy, black palm was torn to shreds, and all one could see left was a Leonel who was calmly looking up toward the skies, an undeniable power coursing through his veins.

Leonel took a step and he appeared high above everything. His expression looked calm, but the world twisted and bent around him. From time to time, ghosts that looked like they were trying to claw their way back from the other side pressed against the thin film of reality around him.

It almost looked like they were roaring through sheer fabric, trying to rip the world to shreds.

The manifestation of Leonel’s fury made the world twisted and unrecognizable. Fear bloomed to the depths of the hearts of the spectators who still couldn’t even lift a finger.

All they could do was watch as the rippling black aura slowly formed into what looked like a shadowy little boy.

This little boy, however, was holding onto the one thing that Leonel was looking for. The Segmented Cube.

He held the thing in his palm, looking at Leonel with black, abyss-like eyes. There wasn’t a single part of his body that wasn’t a foggy mass of darkness... even the chains that hung from him.

The little boy clenched the Segmented Cube as though he was going to destroy it, but Leonel didn’t react in the slightest.

That said... seeing the Segmented Cube, Leonel knew how Anastasia had lost now. It wasn’t that Anastasia was weaker than this little boy, it was instead that Anastasia had a prison attached to her that the little boy did not. In addition, being in this Idol Battlefield was to this little boy what being in the Segmented Cube was to Anastasia. As such, the little boy had two degrees of advantage over Anastasia. First the fact that

he was in control of this world, and second that. Anastasia was trapped in the Segmented Cube.

Or, most accurately, the boy had trapped Anastasia within the Segmented Cube.

The only measure Anastasia had lost in was letting Aina be teleported out of the Segmented Cube. But it was likely that she had been caught off guard, not expecting to be targeted in this way.

She knew that Leonel would be teleporting, so by the time she realized that something had gone wrong, it was already too late.

All of that said...

Anastasia was no longer dependent on the Segmented Cube. Destroying the Cube now would definitely harm Leonel. After all, it would kill everyone who was inside, ruining all of his plans and ending the lives of countless numbers of innocent people.

However...

It would also release Anastasia. And between the two of Leonel and Anastasia versus

this Regulator...

The winner would be obvious.

Seeing that Leonel didn’t even flinch, the little boy realized that he had been seen

through.

The Regulator didn’t feel rage. It only felt a distaste for Ryu who was standing in its

way.

With a wave of its hand, the Segmented Cube vanished to places unknown.

The world began to rumble, and all of a sudden, the protections on the monuments truly vanished... including the one Aina and his children stood on.

And yet, even now, Leonel was frighteningly calm.

”You are nothing but a bundle of laws. You don’t know what it meant to feel or

experience much of anything. But today...

”I will teach you your first emotion.

”Regret.”

Leonel raised a hand and the flickering image of a bow began to take shape.

[Author’s Note Below]