Dimensional Descent

Elody's expression changed when he felt his sword pierce through the <Crystal World>, it made him feel as though he was trying to slice through a wall of sludge and his reaction to it was forced to be delayed.

Once against, Elody felt like all the Force in his strike was dissipated. The first time he had assumed that it was an ability of Leonel's armor, but this time his sword hadn't even grazed it. It suddenly made him understand that Leonel was forcefully dispersing the Force attached to his blade, something that left him at a shock.

The combination of Dream Rupture, <Starry Eyes>, Duality Domain, Withering Snowfall and Leonel's Divine Armor's Spatial Domain made Elody feel as though all his most powerful strikes were landing on a bed of cotton. Leonel had too many abilities that could siphon away and disperse Force, it forced Elody into using more and more Force to compensate, but that only drained his stamina faster.

The instant Elody turned this into a battle of techniques, he found himself countered at every turn. He could feel that his actual strength wasn't' far off from Leonel, in fact in terms of raw ability, he was a step or two above. But, Leonel's ability to calculate a step or two ahead of him and respond perfectly resulted in him getting pushed further and further into a corner.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Elody brandished his sword in one hand, his other drawing a circle in the air. A ring of blinding white gold formed in the blink of an eye as he parried Leonel's piercing spear strike.

The ring of white gold shot downward, landing perfectly in the spot Leonel's foot would land next.

Elody's timing was perfect, everything about Leonel's momentum said that he wouldn't be able to dodge in time.

However, the land in the middle of the ring suddenly shot upward, giving Leonel a place to rest his foot.

Elody's free hand squeezed closed, shattering the small pillar of earth, but completely missing the target of Leonel's ankle.

Right then, a blinding pair of wings stretching out for tens of meters spread to Leonel's back. Leonel knew that he couldn't allow his foot to fall to the ground, and could only activate his strongest movement technique.

His body became as light as a feather, <Star Blink> circulating instantaneously.

With a light tap of his foot toward the crumbling rock pillar, Leonel vanished and appeared to Elody's back.

The shock amongst the spectators was palpable. Even as the crowd grew, drawn over by both the commotion and Leonel's earlier beam of light, there were likewise several members of the Speed Arm who were amongst them. However, even in the case that there wasn't, there wasn't a single member of the Luxnix main family that wouldn't recognize those illusory wings.

Elody's pupils constricted into pinholes, he could feel the threat of danger creeping upon his neck, but he reacted just as quickly.

A white gold ring shot out from the ground, catching Leonel somewhat off guard. At the same time, Elody's sword pierced backward, his body twisting at an odd angle as he fell away from Leonel.

Leonel's gaze sharpened. Elody's white gold ring was too solid and simple to find a flaw, and dispersing the Force that made it would take too much time.

He finished these calculations in an instant, choosing to swing his spear downward. At the same time, another <Crystal World> appeared before him, blocking the odd angle of Elody's sword.

Frustration began to mar Elody's brow. He once again felt as though his sword had entered a sticky mud wall. Luckily, he was falling back now and could use his momentum to pull free, but this was already the fourth or fifth time.

Elody shot back, his body flipping and dodging as numerous golden droplets fell toward him like darts. His free hand remained active, drawing more and more white gold rings as he fell backward, only to send them flying forward toward Leonel.

BANG!

Leonel's spear shattered the white gold ring, his expression just as placid as always.

Seeing the flood of them coming for him, his gaze flickered, the unmoving nine Radiant Cores to his back jumping into action.

A strong magnetic field repelled the rings, sending them spiraling backward as Leonel's figure flickered once more.

Elody's Internal Sight locked onto Leonel who appeared to his back, but his heart shook in the next instant.

'Illusion.'

Elody had fought too many battles with Elaquin to not sense the change. Surprisingly, though, Leonel's <Starlight Illusion> was even better than Elaquin's. Who was this man?!

Elody's slightly delayed reaction didn't stop him from reacting in time. The billowing white gold fog around him surged, his thigh bulging as he planted it hard. He could feel the muscles in his legs tearing to shreds beneath the wild force, but just as quickly as they tore, they healed once more.

Using the sudden change in momentum, his sword pierced forward, his rings rebounding back from Leonel's repulsion and enveloping his nine Radiant Cores.

In one moment, it looked as though Elody was piercing toward empty space. In the next, a flicker of starlight formed the outline of Leonel's body as the image to Elody's back vanished into nothingness.

Leonel's spear met Elody's blade even as the former's Radiant Cores and the latter's ring clashed.

'Crush them.' Elody's gaze gave off a blinding light.

His rings constricted, looking to shatter Leonel's Radiant Cores back into the benign Force they came from. However, the result was far more explosive than he thought they would be…

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Elody felt as though his ears had popped as his eyes were filled with the searing image of blinding white lights. The only thing he could feel was the very familiar and annoying feeling of his sword slipping into a mud wall. But, this time, when he tried to pull back, his expression warped.

SNAP!

Even amid all the loud cacophonic booms, as a swordsman, this noise was the most resounding of all. Even before he pulled back all the way, Elody could feel the emptiness past the handle of his hilt… His sword… was broken?

In that moment, Elody was completely disoriented. His hearing was nothing but high pitched screeches, his gaze was filled with a blinding white light, and his Internal Sight was continuously being distorted by the wild magnetic fields pulsing and rebounding in the surroundings.

The heat seared through his Force Skin and his body felt like it was floating toward death.

It was exactly at that moment that he felt the second clear feeling he had since the explosion… A piercing pain as his chest was skewered by the blade of a spear.

Elody coughed, a flood of blood riding down his chin and soaking his throat and chest.

He had no idea how any of this had happened, but he vaguely felt that he had been painted into this corner… No, he had stepped into this trap with his arms wide open.

If Elody had known better, he would have understood that the Law Leonel chose for his <Crystal World>'s was the formation of an extremely thick and viscous corrosive semi-liquid. The more knowledge Leonel had on the Law he chose, the easier it would be for him to use his King's Might to project the Law.

With his ability, it took him a single glance to see through the flaws in Craftsmanship Elody's Tier 9 Bronze sword had, and forcing it to collapse in on itself only took a few dips.

Of course, understanding this would have done nothing for Elody if he hadn't also understood that destroying Leonel's Radiant Cores was among the most foolish things he could have done.

Elody trembled and fell to his knees.

The blasts cleared and the spectators were soon able to see the state of the battlefield. However, when they saw their Arm Head having fallen, and that the only thing holding him up was the blade running through his chest, they fell into a harsh and cold silence.

Seeing the state of Elody, Leonel didn't feel much of anything. No, that wasn't exactly right. He felt an emptiness, an emptiness wrought by the fact he felt like he had accomplished nothing.

A seething rage was still bubbling within his heart and pulsing through his right hip. His wrist slightly trembled, causing Elody to cough up another mouthful of blood.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"

Right at that moment, while Leonel's simmering rage was beginning to feel only more and more empty, a booming voice that could disperse the clouds and unsettle the wind fell.

Numerous expressions changed as the aura of the current Luxnix family Patriarch, Seith, caught all of their attention. To his back, numerous Viola family members followed.

Leonel felt like he had locked onto a new target, his blood seething and the crimson in his eyes only growing deeper and more prominent.

But it was then that he felt as though someone had pierced a hole through his heart. Everything he was feeling suddenly deflated in an instant.

'Aina?'

A resounding crack rang through Leonel's body.

Completely out of his control, he raised his head and roared into the skies, his Divine Armor shattering into pieces and shooting away from his body.

His face was revealed to the world, but all anyone could see were the countless crimson veins pulsing beneath his skin.

The barrier to Tier 3 collapsed and Leonel's Seventh Star began to form.