Dimensional Descent

Orinik's expression was as dark as the night, fury marked between his brows. He hadn't thought that anyone would actually be so brazen as to interfere with the proceedings, especially after both he and especially Ganor had made it clear who held authority here and who didn't.

Did he understand why Leonel was moving? Yes. Did he care about what that reason was? Absolutely not.

Death was an inevitable part of these Selections. There was a reason he hadn't done a single thing as Elthor killed as he pleased. If anyone dared to try to stop Elthor previously, he would have killed them on the spot. For Leonel to dare to do something like this before him…

He was courting Death.

Leonel, however, had a vastly different perspective. He didn't care about the prestige of the Void Palace, nor did he care about Orinik's 'authority'. All he cared about was the fact that Aulina was a woman who had put her life on the line to save his brothers just several weeks ago. If he stood by an did nothing as she died, he wouldn't even be able to look the people of the Moon in the eye.

Leonel didn't want to put his grandmother in a situation where she had to take action. His movement and her movement held completely different weights. He was still a member of the younger generation and his actions could be left as a slight against Orinik himself. However, if his grandmother made a move, it wouldn't be a matter of youths any longer, it would be a slap to the face of the Void Palace itself.

Among the geniuses of Earth, Leonel knew that he was the only one with the speed to make it. So, he took it upon himself. However…

The moment Orinik spoke, an oppressive aura fell like a hammer. It crashed against Leonel's head and threatened to bury him into the earth. The difference in this aura from what Leonel had experienced before in the past was like night and day. Even Sparking Star Order had no ability to match it.

Right then, though, Leonel's gaze flashed with a blinding violet light, a deep crimson hidden within suddenly lashing out and causing Orinik's aura to splinter like shards of glass.

Leonel's body flickered with Bronze Runes, his figure stepping through space and appearing by Aulina's side and within her water sphere in the blink of an eye.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, he stepped and pulled backward, his free hand tapping forward three times in quick succession. His arm moved so quickly that it left afterimages in the air, almost making it seem like he had four arms instead of just two.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The arrows deflected off of Leonel's fingers like they had rammed into a metal wall, causing even Leonel to raise a brow. His Bronze Runes had already vanished as he had only needed to activated them for a moment to boost his spatial affinity for an instant, but he was surprised by the strength of his body. In fact, now that he thought about it, he had miscalculated the amount of effort he would need to get here as well.

With soft steps Leonel landed with Aulina by his side, splashes of water landing around them as Aulina looked around shaken, her face as pale as a sheet of paper.

"Are you alright?" Leonel's brow furrowed, looking toward Aulina.

"I… Yes… Yes, I'm alright…"

Aulina's voice trembled. She had faced death before, especially during her fight with the three Whales. But… Never had it felt so close until now. It wasn't just that she faced death, it really felt like she had died for a moment.

The entire arena seemed to freeze over as Orinik's gaze locked onto Leonel. The battle on the stage came to a grinding halt, no one certain of what to do any longer.

At that moment, a torrent of boos rang down from the crowd above. They all felt they were rightfully pissed. It was fine when Elthor killed people, but not when others wanted to kill Aulina? Was there anything so good in this world?

"Do you treat my words as air?"

Leonel, who had been making sure that Aulina was alright, only now turned toward Orinik.

"And what words are those?" Leonel asked.

Clearly not expecting to receive such an answer, Orinik's expression became fiercer. Ganor, who had been lazily reclining on his own chair, leaned his head on his palm, opening his eyes to reveal a gaze as sharp as a blade.

"Do you think this is your playground and you can do as you please?"

"How did I do as I pleased? I saved a friend of mine, so just disqualify her and continue with the round. I've done nothing to interfere with your process, nor did I take out anyone who didn't deserve to be taken out."

"So it's fine for your people to kill others, but they can't be killed themselves?"

Orinik hadn't expected to get into a shouting match with a junior. In fact, he would have already acted had it not been for the fact he knew that Leonel's grandmother would never allow him to die.

Orinik didn't fear the elder, but without knowing where his own superior was, he would rather not put his life on the line to fight this battle. If he died and the Void Palace only punished them afterward, it wouldn't be worth it.

"First of all, I never stopped anyone else from trying to save their people, they can only blame themselves for being too slow. Secondly, weren't you the one who said there was no such thing as absolute fairness? My friend has lost and won't receive a position to enter the Void Palace, does that mean she also has to die?

"Is that how your Void Palace proves how macho they are? By forcing people who don't have to die to do so?"

…

"Aina? Where are you going?" Yuri, who was shocked by what was happening here, suddenly realized that Aina had stood. But, Aina was headed away instead of toward the stage.

"I don't know, I don't like this. I'll be back when it's my turn."

Her voice was just as unmoving and lacking in substance as it had been for the past several months.