Time seemed to slow to a crawl.
Leonel had never expected for such a thing to happen. After being blown away by a mysterious mirror ability, his Coach Owen had flown back more than a hundred meters from Lionel. The distance that separated them couldn't be considered to be small. By any logic, it shouldn't have been possible to attack the Governor Duke without giving Leonel time to respond.
But, the facts were laid out before them all. Coach Owen's own spear shot through his belly, his blood painting its shaft crimson.
With a cough, Escobar slumped backward, his breathing growing incredibly shallow.
Aina's eyes widened. But in the next instant, her gaze snapped toward Leonel, flashes of worry lighting her irises.
Unfortunately, it was already too late for her to say anything. Whatever light Leonel's aura held vanished, being washed by an oppressive might that made those in his presence feel as though a hand was descending from the skies.
"TELL ME! WHY DID YOU CALL HIM THAT!"
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Leonel took a step forward, the ground beneath his feet groaning and whining.
The image of a majestic bird appeared to his back. It had beautiful feathers of gold and white, eyes filled with endless wisdom and a wing span that seemed capable of encompassing the world.
Leonel's next step seemed to blur, touching the ground both so lightly and with such speed that it left nothing but an after image in its wake. It wasn't until Leonel was already over a hundred meters away from the place of its descent that the concrete suddenly folded beneath the pressure.
Aina's expression changed, her head snapping back toward everyone else.
"Support him!"
Her voice held no less compulsion than Leonel's. It became quite clear quite quickly that the reason she didn't lead wasn't because she couldn't, but rather because she chose to defer to Leonel. But at this moment, there wasn't time for that.
Anared looked at this change with a curious light in his eye.
In truth, the only two that had a chance at shaking his position were Leonel and Aina. Since they had so graciously shown themselves...
The sword that hovered to Anared's back suddenly vibrated, resonating with a sudden will to battle. As though a road of air manifested before him, Anared casually stepped off the top of Hargrove city's walls.
His body seemed to resemble a sword streaking across the skies. He sliced the wind in two, intercepting Aina and the others before they could even think of supporting Leonel.
At that moment, Anared felt monstrous killing intent lock onto him. Even his heart skipped a single beat before his Sword Force reaffirmed his resolve in the next moment.
He couldn't help but frown. Nothing had shaken his heart so severely in decades. Just what was that?
"Leave him to me."
The voice came from Anared's front, but it was clearly not aimed toward him. It took him just a moment to realize that it had actually been Aina's words for Leonel.
Anared couldn't help but internally sneer. Did this girl think that he was Jilniya? He could defeat someone on that level without even unsheathing his sword. Yet, Aina would have likely lost her life had it not been for Leonel's intervention.
However, Aina didn't pull out her great sword as Anared had expected. In fact, she tossed it to the ground as though it was worthless, reaching to the large curved package on her back.
With a thought, a massive golden-red ax appeared in her hand. Her aura completely changed, reaching a level of oppression that made Anared's indifferent expression frown.
'Four Seasons Realm...'
If that was all, maybe Anared could accept it. But, the ax in Aina's hand was also on the cusp of entering the Fifth Dimension. Let alone the fact Anared had hardly seen a Quasi Bronze treasure in his life, even among those he had, this was the most powerful!
A violent red aura surged around Aina, a slight hint of blood wrinkling the noses of those in its presence.
Veins popped up across the delicate hand she used to clench her battle ax's handle. The ax trembled with excitement, a thirst for reaping life humming its shining edges.
Aina was pissed. Anared actually chose this moment to step forward when all she wanted to do was support Leonel.
Even as her fighting spirit reached its peak, her eyes gave the sign of several warnings. She swore that if anything happened to Leonel, Anared and the whole of Terrain would follow him to the grave.
Leonel's own emotions reached a peak as well. To this point, he hadn't hated anyone of Terrain. He felt as though they were simply doing what was best for their futures. This was the way of the world. Though he, of course, wanted to protect his world from invaders, he had never reached a point of doing it out of hatred.
However, now things were different. Not only had their actions put the life of his Coach on the line, but now they were even targeting Aina.
If Terrain wanted his fury so badly, they could have it.
Leonel appeared between his Coach and Lionel, his aura towering. The shocked guards of Dark Cloud Prison suddenly felt as though an immovable pillar stood before them all. Even if the sky collapsed, it would be there to catch it.
Lionel's expression became livid. Not only had this Warden not answered his question, now someone else had come to block his way.
"No..." Coach Owen mumbled weakly, trying one last time to force Leonel to run.
"Just die!" Lionel roared.
The bloody angel to Lionel's back contrasted the golden owl to Leonel's. It felt as though a clash of ages had suddenly erupted.
Leonel's hair blew back, but his cold, calculating gaze remained indifferent. He observed Lionel's hysteria without a hint of emotion, his eyes seemingly even more vacant than the latter's.
"The likes of you couldn't possibly hope to take control of my mind." Leonel said coldly. "Bind."
Leonel pointed his spear forward. With a thought, chains surged, wrapping around Lionel's body in layer after layer.
The Dark Prisoners to Lionel's back panicked. It was clear they didn't have much fighting experience, but how could they? This was the first time they had been in the outside world since they were toddlers. It was a miracle they even knew how to walk, let alone fight.
This alone was a testament to just how fearsome Savants were. It had been less than a few hours since this group even realized they had abilities at all, yet they were already so powerful. What would happen if they had time acclimate and grow? Would Leonel even be worthy of standing in their presence? It was difficult to tell.
However... they were completely lost without Lionel's guidance.
Just when Leonel planned to squeeze Lionel to death in a fit of rage, he heard muffled, irrational rambling.
"It's nothing but a dream, this nothing but fantasy, go away!"
Leonel didn't have time to sneer even if he wanted to. Before his very eyes, his Chain Domain, arguably his most powerful ability, began to crumble piece by piece.
It wisped away like smoke in the wind, dissipating as though it really was nothing but an illusion, a fantasy... a dream.
"Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!"
Lionel roared into the skies, red tainting his vision.
The space around the madman began to collapse. No, it was worse than collapsing. It was as though every bit and piece of matter was slowly being erased.
A pit appeared below and above him as thought the whole world was losing its color. Vacant darkness expanded rapidly, leaving Lionel's figure and his screams as the only tangible existences that remained.
Leonel's jaw clenched, finally realizing the kind of monster he was dealing with.
Lionel's ability was built upon Dream Force, but his use of it was beyond anything Leonel could imagine.
Leonel's ability was strictly internal. Even after he replaced his Soul Force with Dream Force, he was unable to turn it against his enemies and force them into an illusion the like Dream Abode had been able to. But, in return for this, his computational abilities were far beyond what even a machine could match, let alone what a human could do.
However, Lionel was the exact opposite. Though he could somewhat use his Dream Force to boost his computational ability, it was nowhere near the level Leonel could. But, in return...
He was able to manifest his consciousness into the world, playing with the fabric of reality as he pleased.
If he wanted you to die, you would die. If he wanted you to stab yourself with your own spear, you would do so. If he wanted to erase you from existence...
He could.
Lionel was a monster, masquerading in the body of a frail youth who wanted to see his mother again.
This realization woke Leonel from a dream he felt like he had been in from the very beginning. This world was nothing like the one he had come to know. In this world, a fairy tale like the stories of Arthur Pendragon could become real.... in this world, a madman with strength could destroy everything.