Dimensional Descent

The last time this happened, Leonel looked up into the skies with quite a helpless expression on his face. He had just battled the Puppet Master until he had not an ounce of strength left in his body, all to find out that friends he had made had lost their lives one after another in the face of Terrain's invasion. 

He had been exhausted, both physical and mentally. 

As a young man who had entered the Dimensional Verse at a mere 17 years of age, passing his 18th birthday in a Mayan Tomb of all things, he hadn't gotten a chance to breathe not a single time. It just felt relentless, as though the world itself wouldn't calm until it reaped his life away. 

However, when he looked up into the skies this time, after his gaze settled and he understood what was happening, he actually chuckled. He found it all to be amusing, as though they had all set the table for an excellent comedy show designed just for him. 

He was no longer than 18 year old youth. His 24th birthday had passed not long ago and the strength he held in the palm of his hands was nothing like it had been in the past. He stood taller, his shoulders were broader, his stance more solid. He knew what he wanted in life and things that used to make him wince in pain and shiver in terror no longer even made him blink. 

There was a point in his life where the greatest pain to him was simply opening up the first doors of his Metal Synergy Lineage Factor, but just a few weeks ago he had suffered a fate of being eaten alive and actually managed to maintain his sanity. 

There was a point where he was ignorant of the ways of the Dimensional Verse, shocked and awed by the littlest of things, but now he held maybe more knowledge in his mind than even the Void Elders themselves. 

There was a point in his life where Shield Cross Stars was able to brand him as though he were a slave or cattle for them to mark, a point in his life where he could do nothing but sit in silent frustration, unable to do a single thing in response. But now… 

He laughed. He laughed so hard that tears almost fell from his eyes, so hard that stomach cramped and his face went red. 

In a world that had fallen into silence after a booming command spread across the vastness of space, Leonel was seemingly the only one making any noise at all. 

Ness shifted her gaze away from the six planetary warships and looked toward the laughing figure of Leonel. She was speechless for a moment before she shook her head. 

"Madmen, the whole lot of them," she muttered. 

At that moment, she seemed to forget that she too was a Morales. Not just one that had married into the family, but one who had been born a Morales and married a Morales. 

But even so, it was a common sentiment among the women of the family, an innocent sort of hypocrisy and a casual forgetfulness that while the men of the Morales family might all be mad, they also happened to be very obedient at home. 

Leonel wiped his tears and turned a gaze toward Aina. "It seems that we have to leave a bit earlier than expected. The question is, do you want to do so quietly? Or wreak some havoc?"

A grin spread across Leonel's face. 

The last time Shield Cross Stars had chased him down, he used a javelin to destroy their warships. 

Of course, that was a mere branch of Shield Cross Stars as they had one in every galaxy across the Human Domain. Compared to that branch, the officers that had come this time were on a completely different level. If they weren't, how would they dare to come to the Void Palace with such a bold display? Surrounding Void Palace with warships? Were you trying to slap the faces of the protectors of mankind? 

However, if there was any organization that could do so, it was Shield Cross Stars. 

The Void Palace was the protectors of humanity against the other races. 

Shield Cross Stars was the protector of humanity against themselves. 

They were two sides of the same coin, connected in many ways, and disconnected in many more. 

Becoming a Tier 3 Fugitive in the eyes of Shield Cross Stars was enough to guarantee a life without peace. This level was a point where it ceased to be a matter of branches, and reached a level where the whole of Shield Cross Stars would be focused on your capture. 

Yet, Leonel wasn't just Tier 3, he was actually classified as Tier 2 with a clear route to Tier 1. There was no doubting the seriousness of this matter. 

Hearing Leonel's question, it was Aina's turn to be speechless. Wasn't leaving silently the obvious answer? This boyfriend of hers was getting more and more fond of causing trouble. 

But she couldn't help but feel a hint of excitement seeing the look in her eyes, the result of contradictory feelings pulling her in separate directions. 

On one hand, she wanted Leonel to be safe and stop taking risks. But on the other hand… She couldn't help but be supremely attracted to the Leonel she was seeing now. 

At that moment, before Aina could answer, a familiar figure appeared in the skies, a deep frown on his face. This man was none other than Cornelius who had been assigned to follow and monitor Leonel. Right now, his usually helpless expression was taken over by a hardly concealed fury. 

"Shield Cross Stars, what is the meaning of this? What do you mean by surrounding my Void Palace? Have you forgotten all sense of propriety? Don't overstep your bounds!"

Cornelius didn't seem to be trying to speak very loudly, but his volume was no less oppressive and mighty than the voice of Shield Cross Stars who had spoken previously.