Leonel sat in silent meditation, his legs crossed. To his side, Aina rested her cheek on his shoulder, her eyes in a peaceful state of closure.
The ship they both sat within moved silently through the depths of space, but not a single person seemed apt to say a word. The silence weighed heavily and seemed to be anchored by the four elders that followed after Head Hutchin.
Of course, there was another hidden layer beneath this. The youths that followed couldn't help but steal glances at Aina. But, this time, it only had a small part to do with her beauty, especially since she wore her mask, covering her enchanting expression.
Rather, the true reason behind their sporadic glances was because of a deeply ingrained inferiority that had been marked into their soul during their Zone entry. Shockingly enough, though, there were even some youths who hadn't participated that had this same look in their eye.
Valiant Heart had brought along a bit over two dozen youths. The number that would survive this was unknown, but they all seemed to look toward Aina as though she was their light of hope.
The truth of it all made Leonel's lip curl into a smile. It seemed that he had made an excellent choice in Queen.
Though she tried to hide it, it had taken Aina a long recovery period to feel as though she could battle again. Maybe even now, she wasn't quite back to 100%. But, with Leonel's support, and help from her resources, she was quickly recovering.
Unfortunately, Valiant Heart didn't have the luxury of pushing back the date any further. The result was a lot of their geniuses being stuck at about 70-80% recovered.
In this sort of ironic situation, while all the youths looked toward Aina as their light of hope, Head Hutchin and the four mysterious elders who followed after him kept looking toward Leonel.
…
The next three days seemed to be a constant state of silence. Other than food apparently prepared ahead of time by Magnaril personally, there was no other break in it. Everyone seemed to be priming themselves for a life and death battle.
It was on the fourth day that Leonel sensed the ship slow. It was only a fraction and was imperceptible to most. But, it was more than enough for him to open his eyes, a dull glow shimmering within.
Leonel suddenly felt his primitive instincts tingling at his nerves.
'It seems that this matter won't be as simple as I thought it would be.'
After awakening King's Might, Leonel was more sensitive in several facets, including this one. He immediately put up his guard, his heart pounding with a faint excitement.
This was it. This would be the first of his steps toward his true goal.
All his life, everyone had always told him that the moment he truly gained something he wanted to fight for, he would become a monster. It was about time he found out if this was true.
…
With a flash, the ship appeared above a large planet. At a glance, Leonel could tell that it was easily a thousandfold larger than Earth. Usually, within the Third Dimension, such a planet would be gaseous. But, in what seemed to be the Fifth Dimension, its state was likely even a greater state of solid than even Earth itself.
The planet was quite beautiful. From their vantage point, it was possible to see a swirl of several cloud formations, a radiant green and blue making it shine like a polished marble.
However, beauty didn't always equate to safety. Those gorgeous swirls of clouds were all hurricane formations. The planet, despite its large size, was completely covered in just a handful of these massive storms, making one wonder just how violent they were.
As expected, when the ship broke into the atmosphere, the harsh winds and natural death traps began to make their presence known. The vessel, which had been steady up until this point, began to rattle and quake, threatening to break apart into its many pieces.
"This is Planet Vincero."
Head Hutchin's voice was like a sudden gunshot amidst an endlessly silent night. Though it was nowhere near as abrasive as a true fired shot, and was even quite soothing, after so many days of silence, it felt just as jarring.
"It is a world with a Disaster Rating of Two Stars."
Leonel's eyes narrowed. He had learned about Disaster Ratings during his Force Crafting studies. This was because planets with great Disaster Ratings had difficult to reach resources and were thus also great sources of food for Metal Spirits.
Of course, Disaster Rating worlds were also mentioned by the Overeating Hazard chapter his father had left behind. Metal Spirits that had lost their rationality were even known to swallow entire planets of this caliber, causing catastrophic events.
This aside, a Disaster Rating of One Star had death traps that could even swallow someone a half-step into the Fifth Dimension. A Disaster of Two Stars could destroy someone even a half-step into the Sixth Dimension…
It was safe to say that such a world wasn't just a little bit dangerous. The fact that the Gathering was being held here…
"This world is the property of the neutral Third Party overseeing this event and was chosen as a neutral site. There are some marked safe zones, one of which we will be landing on. Do not stray from these Zones unless you want to forfeit your life."
The ship continued to descend. Leonel's senses latched onto the hull, following its trajectory like a hawk. He very quickly realized that there was a planned route of descent, almost like how rockets back during Earth's 21st century had to re-enter the atmosphere at a specific angle to avoid burning up. But, this technique was clearly most complex.
The turbulence reached near disaster levels, but the vessel seemed to hold up well, not wavering.
"I will now explain how this Gathering will work. Stay sharp, understanding will decide your life and death."