Dimensional Descent

PCHU!

Leonel flew out, a large mouthful of blood flying from his mouth. But soon, the fountain became so large that no one could be sure whether it came from his lip or his torso.

BANG!

Leonel crashed heavily against the ground, his mind going somewhat blank for a moment.

A Blade Force capable of slicing apart a weapon a step away from the Seventh Dimension. Even Leonel Scarlet Star Force hadn't been able to destroy his current spear, it had weathered his breakthrough into Tier 6 with only some superficial cracks, and that was in the presence of the strongest Fire Force in all of existence.

It was difficult even to wrap his head around what level of refinement a Blade Force needed to reach to be able to display such power.

But even then, Leonel's mind seemed all too blank to even begin to parse apart something so complex. Compared to Amery, Leonel had only just entered the world of Dimensions.

He hated losing. In fact, that wasn't a strong phrase. He abhorred it to the very depths of his being. Losing wasn't something he ever really experienced before, but it seemed to be happening a lot in this place.

He never really needed to put in any effort to win. And, quite frankly, the state of the Milky Way Galaxy hadn't done much of anything to change that mindset in him. Those people were weak too. There was nothing that could push him, nothing that could really excite him.

It was no wonder he had so arrogantly proclaimed that he would become King of it all. It took his father appearing once again to remind him that there was a taller mountain out there. It was just that easy to get Leonel to change his mind state.

A single word from his father and everything seemed to relax. He allowed himself to open up again, but he had also become that same relaxed kid with hardly a weight on his shoulders. No… it wasn't that the weight wasn't there, it was just that he had seemingly transferred it to his father, letting him carry it for a while so that he could relax.

But, even with that being the case… He really hated to lose.

He really, really, really hated it.

It was funny for a person like him to have such a disposition. He had coasted through much of life. He coasted through school. He coasted through football. When he entered the Dimensional Verse, he didn't do much else other than follow Aina, so he coasted again. Then he got it in his head that he would become a King, but had he really put all the effort into that he could?

He had definitely tricked himself into thinking he did. He had even abandoned the only woman he had ever really cared for because he was so convinced that he was trying his hardest and his best.

But was he?

No… Not really…

Everything was just too boring. Maybe the only excitement he got from the goal of becoming a King was all the naysayers he got because of it. Maybe that was why he had pushed Aina away to begin with, it was much more interesting when it was someone he cared about that doubted him…

But then she stopped doubting him entirely. And then she became a thorn at his side, constantly reminding him of that very same boredom, again and again…

Until his father appeared.

Like an angel swooping in from the skies, the old man centered him. His father was always the only one that could put him in his place, the only one that could make him feel inferior… The only one that could remind him that he couldn't always have things the way he wanted to have them.

Leonel knew exactly what his problem was. It wasn't a goal, it wasn't a lack of aspiration, it was a lack of discipline… a lack of maturity, a childish lashing out by a brat annoyed his dad wasn't always by his side anymore.

And suddenly, it made all the sense in the world that his dad had chosen the methods he had, to leave him in this world without backing, without support.

But... even that wasn't true. How many people could have something like the Spear Domain? How many could have the Segmented Cube?

'… <Instant Recovery>.'

A bathing of golden light felt from the skies, white-gold illusory feathers falling onto Leonel's body as he rose.

"Alright, fine. I guess I can't have everything exactly like I want them."

Leonel's palm flipped over, revealing the raging aura of a bow. The roar of twin white lions shook the cavern, an aura the likes of which none here had ever personally experienced before swallowing them whole.

Amery, who had already turned away suddenly looked back, only to find Leonel having already pulled the string of his bow tight.

Level 3 Bow Force flourished, its howls swallowing everything in its path.

"For today, I'll just defeat you with my bow. As for my spear, if you manage to survive this, that is, you can taste it another time."

Amery's expression changed wildly as Leonel's fingers released.

CLANG!

The first arrow had already appeared before him in the blink of an eye. Amery quickly flipped a palm, retrieving his crystalline blue sword and parrying it away. But, his hand ended up shooting off and into the air, his grip on his sword almost faltering entirely.

Leonel took another step forward and released another arrow.

CLANG!

Amery's expression turned a fiery shade of furious red, his other palm having flipped over to reveal a second sword, this one a crystalline red.

CLANG!

Leonel fired again and Amery was nearly lifted from his feet, his heels digging into the ground. The latter released a low roar, his Force flourishing and the whites of his eyes vanishing into an abyss of blackness.

But, as though he hadn't seen anything at all, Leonel just fired again.

CLANG!

Amery's blue sword was knocked away again.

CLANG!

Amery's red sword was knocked away once more.

CLANG!

Amery's robes were torn to pieces, revealing a hidden armor within.

CLANG!

Leonel's arrow landed in the same exact spot once more, knocking Amery off his feet and sending him crashing into an opposing wall.

A barrage of arrows seemed to fall from the skies. There was no technique, no deviations, it wasn't even a question where Leonel was aiming. The distance was simply too close, and having entered the range of a sniper, there was no getting out of it.

Arrogant.

It was even more arrogant than using a wooden sword. He could have aimed for Amery's head. He could have aimed for the joints in his armor. He could have aimed for his wrists and severed his ability to ever hold a sword at all. And yet, he did none of that.

It was as though each arrow was another punch, another furious hit, another close combat barrage.

CLANG!

Leonel's arrow landed in the same spot for the third time, causing Amery's inner armor to crack into countless pieces and fall into useless shards.

PCHU!

Another arrow soared, but instead of taking Amery's heart, it took his finger, mangling his hand into the same unrecognizable mess the latter had left Leonel's in all those months ago.

Amery fell to a knee. Even with his hand in such a state, he never released the grip on his sword, he only watched in silence as his spatial ring landed in Leonel's hand, the box that had stored the egg now no longer being in his possession.

Amery didn't say a word as he rolled his finger over his Sword Domain Heirloom. His figure flickered, vanishing into thin air.

Leonel stood tall, his bow still roaring as twin white lions raced around him.