Dimensional Descent

The soul construct quickly stood to her feet; her illusory crimson hair fluttering as she stood valiantly in the skies; She didn't seem to have a single hint of the grievances of the past; and her aura only seemed to grow;

"Kill!" she roared;

The world fell into silence as the woman turned around and charged toward her fellow family members; Her previously shrill shrieks were still echoing through the skies, but after a moment, they faded, replaced by passionate roars; She even seemed to smile, as though she couldn't be happier to battle for her pride of her Emperor;

BANG! BANG! BANG!

She directly killed three warriors of the Brazinger family; It was clear that in their final moments. they hesitated. not knowing whether or not to attack. and yet that small gap in time was enough in a battle of Seventh Dimensional powerhouses;

She laughed into the skies. her heroism booming beneath the flashing lightning. She became an arc of crimson herself as she flashed about.

Everywhere she passed, another would fall, the strength she was exuding being enough to fill the hearts of true experts with respect and awe; However, for some reason…

It just felt sad;

Down below. Coach Owen and Old Hutch had been watching from the very beginning; Even with the raging torrent of battle around them. their eyes had never once left Leonel; Their expressions weren't as happy as one might expect. even though the fate of the battle already seemed sealed. there was a hint of sadness in their eyes as well;

Kind hearted people didn't last very long in a world like this; And as such, there were only two paths for them to take; It was either they would lose their lives in the hands of others, or they would no longer be kind hearted people… there didn't seem to be a third option;

Neither of them wanted to see Leonel die. so that necessarily meant that they hoped a day like this one would come. but seeing it for themselves… It left a bitter taste;

Most of it felt like it could be ignored; Out of sight. out of mind; If you didn't think too much about what was happening. it was easy to make excuses for it or sweep it under the rug; But the appearance of this woman was too jarring;

No matter what. that would a woman who had just lost her younger sister. a grieving sibling who wanted nothing more than revenge on Leonel; Sure. there might have been a past where she had contributed to the death of others. and likely even the direct death of Earthlings. but what about her sister?

How many had Leonel killed in that single assault on the Moon? How many were innocent? How many were vulnerable? How many were old men and women with only a few years left to enjoy? How many were children just starting out their lives?

And maybe you could say that this was just a sin they would have to bear; After all, weren't the people of Earth victims as well? But which of them had stepped forward to condemn what had happened and what had been about to happen before Leonel appeared? Which of them had said a thing? Which of them had refused?

But even so. this was something the Leonel they knew was completely incapable of doing; And yet. not only had he done it now. he had done it four times over without batting a single eye;

The two had no idea; These two mentors of Leonel had no idea that he had already made a choice far worse than this one just months ago; He had already chosen Aina over the world… So what if he chose his brothers over a mere four families?

At that moment, the woman's soul construct shattered for what felt like the hundredth time; This time, however, she didn't seem capable of reforming; A large chunk of her torso had vanished and her entire right arm was nowhere to be seen;

Even so, she laughed into the skies before punching out with her remaining arm and shoving it through the chest of an enemy;

Another warrior took advantage and swung a mighty great sword down, severing her left arm.

She lashed out with a leg, colliding against a head with her shin and cracking their skull into countless shards that pierced their brain through.

Her legs were swept out from under her, quickly shattering beneath the pressure, and yet she still lunged forward, baring her teeth and ripping out the throat of the warrior who did it.

Even in her final moments, she was endlessly valiant and she gave everything she had for her Emperor, not feeling the solemness of the atmosphere in the slightest, in fact, she felt nothing but elation and happiness, her laughter ironically grating on the ears of all those who heard.

BANG!

The woman's head shattered, her laughter finally fading, and yet somehow still echoing in all of their minds. The looks they gave toward the young man who had summoned her had changed from fury, to trepidation, to outright fear.

And that was exactly when the young Leonel's lips separated once again.

"Rise."

One after another, every Brazinger the woman had killed began to rise up in a fog of violet, their souls appearing donned in armor that shone brighter than even the son.

Without hesitation, they all turned toward Leonel and slammed their fists against their chests, the reverberating impact booming even over the sound of the thunder. Then, they swiftly turned toward their own friends and family, releasing war cries that shook the skies as they charged.

The hearts of the spectators went absolutely cold.

They knew without a doubt that Leonel had done it on purpose. He could have beckoned them to revive even while the woman was fighting, but it was as though he wanted them all to personally witness her final moments, as though he wanted to force them to witness it all from start to finish.

From her harrowing sorrow, to her valiant laugh and brave charge, he forced them to watch, all while he himself didn't seem to care in the slightest.

"Demon… Demon…"

Simeon stumbled backward, his will to fight having vanished into thin air.

He tripped and fell, falling over the side of the platform that had once held him up.

[Announcement below]