"Is something the matter?" Leonel asked.
Leonel couldn't really understand why Anared had come here with such an aggressive stance. He couldn't remember offending Anared before. Yet, the latter was wearing an even colder expression than he usually did.
"What do you mean by this exactly?" Anared replied coldly.
"… What the hell are you talking about?"
Anared stared at Leonel for a long time.
"It seems you want to die."
Leonel's gaze grew cold.
At that moment, Aina also reacted. A slight red light flickered within her almost golden irises. It seemed as though she might pull out her sword at any moment.
"Big brother, what are you doing?" Syl's voice suddenly cut into the conversation. But, Anared didn't respond to his sister.
He looked from Leonel to Aina and back.
"You'll leave her if you know what's good for you." Anared said coldly.
Leonel suddenly took a step forward. There was nothing that could get him riled up quicker than matters related to Aina.
In a single bound, he already stood less than a foot from Anared. With his height, he stared down from above, his gaze reflecting a slight violet hue.
Anared's sword began to vibrate wildly to his back as though sensing a threat. But, Anared didn't take a step back, his white robes billowing beneath Leonel's aura.
"I don't know what story you've woven for yourself," Leonel began with an icy tone, "But, I'd suggest you watch your words. The only reason I chose to join your Keafir family's quota was to find her. I'm sure you're intelligent enough to understand what that means without me spelling it out for you."
Leonel's meaning was clear. Why would he choose the Keafir family over Aina? He would rather fall out with them at this very moment than give up on Aina.
However, his words only enraged Anared more. Others took what Leonel said at face value, but all he heard was that Leonel toyed with his sister's emotions for the only purpose of finding another woman. And, now that he had found her, he couldn't be bothered to care about his sister anymore.
SHING! SHING! SHING!
"BROTHER!" Syl all but screamed out.
Anared frowned and looked toward his younger sister.
"You're embarrassing me! Step back!"
Anared was taken aback by his sister's words. This was the first time Syl had ever raised her voice toward him. Whether it was out of respect or fear, she never had.
"You…"
"You misunderstood." Syl continued. "It was sister-in-law that made it look as though we were involved. Leonel never made any advances on me."
Anared's frown deepened. "It doesn't matter. He must take responsibility regardless."
"Brother!"
"I don't care." Anared continued coldly. "Since he can use our Keafir family, he should be able to take responsibility for it."
Anared looked back toward Leonel. He was the only one that seemed to match Leonel's aura without taking a step back. In fact, his battle intent soared as though he couldn't wait to cut Leonel down right where he stood.
The red in Aina's eyes slowly faded as she seemed to catch an inkling of what was going on. Her eyes shifted toward Syl for a moment before looking away.
Unfortunately, no one was in position to stop this face off because the three leaders of this trial were having a heated debate of their own.
…
"What the hell's going on Sael?" One of the two men questioned.
"… That kid's family name is Morales."
The expressions of the two changed.
The alter's abilities were mysterious and abstruse. It had the ability to delve into one's mind and find the truest form of address for a person. So, they had no doubt that whether he was a part of that family or not, Leonel's name truly was Morales.
"… You sure it's not a case of a lower plane taking on a name they shouldn't? That happens all the time…"
Sael shook her head. "…? His… He has a Quasi Grade Six Empty Spear Embryo and a Perfect Grade Six Variant Earth affinity."
The two men were left speechless once again.
At this point, Sael wanted to shed tears. Only she knew that this wasn't the end of it. The more she thought back to Leonel's list of talents, it made her want to ram her head into a wall. Was this the pain of comparing yourself to another?
'Complete Bow Embryo at 18 years old… What kind of nonsense is that…'
"Then what should we do?"
The three fell into silence before one of the men stood.
"This is stupid. Why are we hiding away in a corner talking amongst ourselves. Isn't that man himself over there? Sael, you go talk to him and we'll handle these preliminary rounds. Maybe we're missing something important."
The three of them hesitated.
Usually, Heirs like this were quite eccentric. What Heir to a Seventh Dimensional family would come down to the Fourth Dimension to chase an ugly woman? If this wasn't eccentric, then what was?
Who knew, maybe Leonel wanted to keep a low profile and would lash out at them if he was exposed. Knowing this, Sael couldn't help but glare toward the male who spoke. Since you were so confident, why don't you go?
The male coughed. "The fairer sex has a better chance of dealing with such things. Just look at your…"
The male's gaze shifted toward Sael's ample bosom, taking a gulp. How such a thin fabric held back such a… bountiful harvest was beyond him.
"… Yup… definitely… he wouldn't be able to bear doing anything to you…"
Sael's glare intensified. But, thinking of where they were and the image they were meant to project, she decided against slapping her colleague upside his head.
…
"Leonel Morales…"
A voice suddenly interrupted the heated stare down between Leonel and Anared.
It hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"… And Aina Brazinger. Come with me, please."
Leonel's gaze didn't seem to want to leave Anared. But, there was a strong tug at his robes that pulled him back.
Aina all but dragged Leonel away. It seemed that her strength was still ridiculous… No, it had gotten even more ridiculous.
"Alright, kids! Line up! Papa Ely is going to eliminate 90% of you!" One of the two remaining men stepped up somewhat too enthusiastically.