Dimensional Descent

Earth seemed even more gorgeous from above than it ever had been before; Swirls of white clouds; rushes of blue oceans; endless expanses of greenery; it wasn't as fanciful as some other planets; but it was perfect in its simplicity… at least for the most part; 

There was one part of the blue-green planet that wasn't different from the rest, and that was a singular tree so large that it was visible even from the depths of space, the very same Ascension Tree where the core of the Empire lay; 

Last time Leonel had seen it. it was barely the height of a tall skyscraper. but now it made mountains seem small and insignificant; If not for the terraforming technology of Earth. even the moon's orbit would be interrupted by it; 

The appearance of the flagship within Earth's territory was enough to cause a large stir; How could a ship the size of a moon not have such an impact? However. when the various checkpoints showed the somewhat frail Leonel standing at the bow and felt the familiar aura of the Fawkes family. there were very few that dared to stop him; 

Leonel should have been beaming on his return home, but the things that he had seen on his way here left his expression frighteningly cold, so cold that many who hadn't dared to stop him didn't do so directly out of fear; They only reported this to the higher ups; 

This led to an odd situation where some let Leonel go because they recognized him. but others simply hadn't been able to build up the courage to do so. 

This was odd indeed; Although Leonel had recovered somewhat. he still looked frail and skinny; His current body's strength was maybe 30% of what it should be at his peak; But even so. most couldn't bear to look him in the eye; 

When Leonel crossed the final checkpoint and entered Earth's solar system. he wasn't only greeted by the sight of Earth. but he also found several vessels rising into the air. 

Leonel's gaze flashed; Upon these vessels, there were a large number of red hair and red eyed individuals; It took only a single instant for Leonel to recognize them; 

"Halt!"

Powerful auras descended from all sides; 

Leonel remained silent for a moment. his flagship continuing to move forward; With its forcefield. even Seventh Dimensional experts shouldn't be able to do a single thing to him; 

Logically. even if Earth managed to give birth to such experts in his absence. they shouldn't be a threat to him; However. Leonel simply had too many questions about the origins of the Brazinger family and those three other mysterious families. especially after seeing traces of them in the Zone; 

Due to this. Leonel didn't dare to make assumptions about what strength they did or didn't have; 

But regardless of that, the Brazinger family was Aina's enemy, so they were his enemy; And yet, they wanted to try and flex their authority in his territory? 

The fury Leonel had been feeling up until this point bubbled past the point of no return and his chest expanded with a puff of air. 

"Scram!"

Powerful waves of Force billowed out from Leonel's roar. causing the several vessels before him to quake and rupture. a violent resonance forcing their structural integrities to collapse one after another; 

Leonel's roar was so loud that the whole of Earth heard it. the clouds shuddering and many even dispersing; 

Without another word, Leonel continued to urge the flagship forward before placing it outside of Earth's orbit; 

At this moment, everyone noticed the shadow of another moon-sized object in the skies, but they could only look up, their eyes widened in shock. 

Leonel flipped over a palm and casually took out a treasure he had created in the last few days; It was a surfboard constructed entirely of a pitch black ore and exuding a menacing sort of aura; 

He leapt forward, landing on It before zipping forward; 

"Yip!"

Blackstar flashed and landed on Leonel's shoulder as he zipped through the skies, crossing through the depths of space and entering Earth's atmosphere like a speeding comet. 

It didn't take Leonel long at all to appear in the Ascension Empire's capital and fall heavily before the steps of the palace. 

Almost immediately, just like the last time he had come here, dozens of golden armored guards pointed their spears forward, their auras towering into the skies. However, compared to last time, there wasn't a single individual here who wasn't at least in the Sixth Dimension. In fact, those of the Sixth Dimension were also the ones with the sharpest auras. The others were all of the Seventh Dimension! 

It was clear to Leonel at first glance that the Sixth Dimensional experts had all entered into this Realm with the God Path, or at the very least, a Path that seemed equally as potent. As for the others, they had been raised to the Seventh Dimension through the use of a great amount of resources. 

Even so, when Leonel appeared, his own aura suffocated theirs. He wasn't in the mood to deal with this right now. 

"Old man Fawkes! Get out here!"

Leonel's was far more concentrated than it was last time and didn't spread throughout the entire planet. However, in its concentration it was far louder to those who did here, rattling their ear drums and threatening to shatter their hearts. 

The forcefulness nearly blew the doors of the palace off its hinges. 

BANG! BANG!

The tall doors swung open, several protective formations shattering to pieces as their weaknesses were seen through by Leonel in a single glance. 

At that moment, the protectors of the palace didn't say anything superfluous, attacking immediately. 

Leonel's hand palm opened up, facing the ground. A swirl of violet took form and in an instant, he had vanished from his location, appearing deep within the palace in the blink of an eye. 

Leonel appeared before another heavy set of bronze doors and kicked outward. 

BANG! 

At that moment, a large chorus of voices came to a grinding halt. 

The Imperial Court of the Ascension Empire fell into an eerie silence.