Dimensional Descent

Leonel's body erupted with a swirl of fog. A dense blackness, an oppressive violet, and a deep crimson. Without the slightest hesitation, he activated <Star Fusion: Combustion>.

BANG!

The air around Leonel exploded, the oxygen around his feet releasing crackling booms of violent chain reactions as the flames within him ignited.

If <Star Fusion: Infusion> filled Leonel's body up to the brim with Vital Force, accelerating his healing factor and pushing his body to the brink, <Star Fusion: Combustion> pushed him past those limits. From the very beginning, Combustion was meant to take advantage of Leonel's Nodal Pathway, igniting his blood and surrounding his heart in a wreath of flames.

In this state… His body was at its very strongest.

'Give me everything you have.'

Two orbs of crimson hovered in place of Leonel's eyes, the viciousness of his demeanor finally making the Runed Rapax somewhat more alert.

"Yip! Yip!"

Little Blackstar body seemed to double in size, his fur standing on end and his long whiskers jetting outward like finely pointed needles.

However, under Leonel's orders, Little Blackstar didn't move at all. Hovering in the air, a strong surge of might came out from the little guy, suddenly causing the Force in the surroundings to begin to increase in density and the Anarchic Force to concentrate.

Leonel had only given Blackstar a single command: make them choke on Anarchic Force.

BANG!

Leonel sent out four punches in quick succession, his forward momentum and the twist of his hips fusing as one to bear down upon the Runed Rapax. For this creature, who was very much used to its overbearing pressure severely weakening opponents it felt was far weaker than itself, this was something completely unexpected, resulting in Leonel's fists actually landing.

The harsh sounds of metal banging against metal resonated through the air, ripples of concentrated wind and sparks of volatile flames flying off in every which direction.

The Runed Rapax found itself sliding back against the stone ground, its large, curled claws scraping against the ground and leaving behind shallow imprints.

A short silence followed. The Runed Rapax's head seemed to tilt downward, its gaze, or what Leonel thought was its gaze, looking down at the region where the latter's fists had landed. It seemed surprised that such an ant would actually dare to attack it. Or, maybe it was surprised that it had actually been pushed back.

The Runed Rapax looked back up. The silver shell that covered its head didn't seem to have any slits for eyes, making it difficult to tell if it was really 'looking' at all. But, the feeling, at least to Leonel, felt the exact same.

BANG!

Maybe the Runed Rapax had thought its nonchalant reaction would effect Leonel, or maybe it thought that the intimidation of its growing and more serious aura would at least cause him to pause. Whatever the reason, the Runed Rapax stood unmoving as Leonel launched yet another series of attacks, seemingly just as baffled as the first time.

Leonel didn't even seem to register the failure of his first volley of attacks. In fact, he only grew more furious, the relentless pursuit of a stronger and stronger attack barreling down upon the Runed Rapax.

"SSKREEEEEE!"

The movement of the Runed Rapax was so sudden and fast that Leonel only had to the time to cross his arms above his head. Even replaying his perfect memory, Leonel couldn't find the image of the Rapax having raised its leg, and yet by the time he registered it, a vicious ax kick had nearly crumbled him to his knees from above.

In inaction, the Runed Rapax had been as steady as a mountain. However, the moment it moved, it was like a relentless, explosive avalanche, the monstrosity of its attack power feeling like enormous implosions going off within Leonel's body. Even with his Bronze Runes fully activated, just this one attack alone made Leonel feel as though his body was collapsing.

Still, even in such a situation, the fierce glow in Leonel's gaze didn't falter. In fact, despite their crimson hue, they seemed decidedly cold. Thoughts of everything else vanished, his entire mind focusing on the creature before him. Even without the ability to lock onto it with his Internal Sight, Leonel dissected everything he could, an eerie calm cooling his head.

'Blindspot.'

That was Leonel's ultimate conclusion. This Rapax was using a special Style that took advantage of its innate ability to avoid detection of Internal Sight. Like this, it was able to levy attacks using speed and timing to make it seem as though it had practically teleported into place. This was exactly why despite standing right before it, Leonel had somehow missed a leg raising into the air.

It took Leonel just a single exchange to comprehend this and he adjusted accordingly.

BANG!

Under the relentless pressure, Leonel's knees crashed in the ground, his forearms threatening to shatter entirely. However, almost the instant the Runed Rapax rose its leg, so too did Leonel rebound from the ground. It looked as though he had used the hard stone as a trampoline, fighting back against the strike of the Runed Rapax just enough to have such an effect.

The Runed Rapax had already prepared a second attack, but Leonel leapt over it, his knees tucking and his arms spreading out as though to balance himself in the air.

If the Runed Rapax could display human emotions, its eyes would have most definitely widened even as its brows shot up. It had executed its technique perfectly, how had this human, clearly in such a bad situation, dodged?

Leonel landed on the ground as light as a feather, his body exploding forth as he landed a vicious kick on the side of the Runed Rapax's knee joint.

He drilled everything he had into it, his Vital Force, Destruction capabilities and Universal Force all coming together to form a torrent of wind that even manifested from the other side of the Runed Rapax's tough shell as well.