Silence.
There were many kinds of emotion silence could portray. There were comfortable silences, stunned silences, even murderous silences. But, when one was faced with a sight they never thought they would see in their entire lives, it was then that a silence that marked the soul for a lifetime was bred.
This was the kind of silence that grasped at one's thoughts and laced one's dreams, the kind of silence that refused to be forgotten and couldn't be ignored.
And at the center of it all, there was a young man with fury lighting his eyes. To his back, there was the person he cared most for, the light of his path forward being lit by her emotions.
Leonel took a step forward. He crossed through the barrier of fluctuating space as though he couldn't feel the danger, raising up into the skies as though a deity looking down on Earth. For a moment, he seemed to overshadow even Ascension Palace, standing on a plane that superceded thought.
"GET THE HELL OUT HERE!"
Leonel's booming force shook The Capital, the earth beneath him quaking.
Buildings trembled and fell, collapsing in on their own structures as though autonomous beings shaking in fear.
Leonel's palm flipped over, a bow appearing.
His back flexed, gaining a strength no weaker than treated metal.
He pulled back, crackling streaks of light and whistling winds surrounding him as his self crafted glove poured strength into his strike.
Three streaking arrows tore through the skies, sending a barrage toward the City Lord's mansion.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The outer walls shattered and collapsed, the once majestic abode crumbling in on itself.
But, Leonel didn't seem intent on stopping. Universal Force swirled around him, fueling his every strike. Every twang of his bow string shattered the sound barrier, sending harsh winds whipping about.
It was a relentless assault from above, a completely one sided slaughter. Every guard tasked with protecting the mansion couldn't seem to do a thing. Even if they weren't directly pierced through by Leonel's strikes, the aftermath wasn't something they were equipped to handle. Many of them had only barely stepped into the Fourth Dimension, what chance did they stand against the Four Seasons Realm?
Leonel surged forward as though a one man army. It was hard to pick out just how bloodshot his gaze was beneath the violet hues of his irises, but it was there nonetheless.
Aina's story replayed in his mind again and again. The torture she experienced was like a knife skinning the surface of his heart, peeling away layers of his humanity.
Just as Leonel was about to enter the range of the mansion, his senses locked onto an impending danger. Rage lit his heart to a new level. Even now, others still planned on interfering?
In that case, they could die too.
City Lord Hargrove tore a path back to the city the moment he saw the 12 giants being so easily controlled. However, even then, he didn't manage to make it back until his mansion was long since destroyed. Had he not made it in time, the Puppet Master really would have had to move. Once that happened, the situation on the battlefield would have completely flipped.
Even though this wouldn't be the end of it, after all, with the Puppet Master's strength, dealing with a singular Leonel shouldn't be a problem. Hargrove wasn't off put by Leonel being unaffected by the Puppet Master's spell in the slightest. With the way the Puppet Master manifested its ability this time, it relied on the blood of Eartherners, as long as one of Leonel's parents or even just a single person in his lineage wasn't of Earth, the hold the Puppet Master had on him would severely weaken. Though this might be a small surprise, it wasn't too much so with how many had been eyeing Earth all this time.
As far as Hargrove was concerned, this didn't matter. If the Puppet Master personally set sights on Leonel, he wouldn't be able to escape being controlled. The only reason he didn't want the Puppet Master to step out was because it would then be obvious who was causing the people of Earth to feel so weak. Even though the Puppet Master could easily regain control after going back, it would become more of a headache.
At this moment, they were still reliant on Earth's ignorance. The tide of battle might shift if the people of Earth knew to focus on the Puppet Master.
Simply put, this kid had to die.
Hargrove flipped a palm, causing a javelin to appear in his hands. His body bowed and his arm whipped forward.
BANG! BANG!
The air seemed to shatter as the weapon tore through it to reach Leonel.
The accuracy of Hargrove's throw was spine tingling. It felt that no matter how Leonel turned to dodge, it would still cause him to suffer.
This was none other than Hargrove's ability. He called it Stunning Accuracy. His every javelin throw would land in a spot so perfect it would feel impossible to deal with.
On this battlefield, he had already lost count to the number of lives he had reaped with his marksmanship. He had earned his right to be amongst the four strongest City Lords of Terrain.
However, what happened next made him feel as though all his pride was being trampled by a pair of cold, violet eyes.
Leonel grasped at the air, causing three arrows to appear. He nocked them simultaneously and fired them all at once.
Two arched oddly in the air while one flew mind numblingly straight.
The first collided with the tip of the javelin. It was so perfect that neither weapon deviated, clashing head on in the air.
However, after no more than a split moment, the arrow shattered, its strength far too weak. In fact, the collision was so brief that it seemed to have been instantly obliterated.
In the next moment, the remaining two curving arrows met the point of the javelin together, forming a tri point in the skies.
But soon, they too were instantly shattered.
One would think that Leonel would be flustered by this point, but he hardly reacted, his next arrow already nocked.
This time, he fired two in quick succession, but neither seemed to be as perfect as the first three, barely missing the tip of the javelin and gliding along its side.
However... it was these very strikes that sent a cold shiver down Hargrove's spine.
The path of the javelin deviated, gliding by Leonel's head.
Just when it seemed that Leonel would allow it to go, he retracted his hand from his bowstring, and grasped at the flying javelin, barely grabbing the end of its pole arm.
Leonel looked toward Hargrove from above, the piercing nature of his gaze seemingly bearing the latter's soul for all to see.
Bow in one hand, javelin in the other, his torso flexed, his right arm cocking back.
The energies of the world seemed to sing, Universal Force bearing down.
SHUUUUUUUUU! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Leonel flung the javelin downward, concentric circles of exploding air nearly ripping its body apart.
In those final moments, City Lord Hargrove could only think that this was the first time he was truly seeing Stunning Accuracy.
[Check comment section for explanation on sudden change of schedule]