Dimensional Descent

Leonel listed off many other things and the elders slowly began to feel numb. They felt that everything he said was quite reasonable, but there was also another clear undercurrent to it all. This was especially so when Leonel spoke about creating an identity for the Morales...

Everything he said was perfect, it even made their blood boil, but then old men and women were all savvy and well experienced. Everything about this identity that Leonel was trying to create existed outside of the Morales themselves. To put it bluntly, he was trying to create a culture that had nothing to do with their bloodline.

As expected, his sights were far beyond the Morales. In fact, it seemed that the Morales were just a stepping stone to what he truly wanted to accomplish. When he succeeded in that goal, and conquered other families, this sort of culture that he was breeding would be perfect for that...

But what it also made clear was that Leonel's loyalty to the Morales was questionable. In fact, he had made it obvious that he wasn't very satisfied with them at all. But it was also this that made them fear this young man all the more.

Not only did he not feel a need to fawn over them, but it even gave them the feeling that they wanted to prove him wrong. They, as elders countless years Leonel's senior, actually wanted to prove themselves to a junior. Just what kind of ridiculous situation was this?

However, those here also knew that there were clear undercurrents in the Morales family that Leonel had most definitely not dealt with just yet. They wondered how Leonel would deal with these matters. But it also seemed that they wouldn't have to wait long to know.

After everything had settled down, and Leonel seemed to be finished, Ancestor Issa stepped forward once more.

"Littlest Nova, if you want to push the family in the right direction, a better, stronger direction, I can respect it. However, we need to deal with some ugly matters first. If we concede to you and allow you to take on the role of Patriarch despite the rules you've broken, then you must concede in some facets as well. It's not lost on me that you seem to have a grudge with Third Nova as you've still not released him from your captivity even until this point, can I ask why and when do you plan on letting him go?"

There were two main factions within the Morales, but there were also many branches of families. These family branches weren't named for the sake of cohesion, an effort taken on by the Ancestors and something that only became more troubling with every passing generation, but these solutions obviously weren't perfect.

Ishmael, Velasco and Leonel, along with his uncle Montez, represented one such branch. First Nova, the current Patriarch, and First Nova's mother represented another. And, of course, Third Nova was the representative of yet another, a branch that Issa had obviously been a part of until she departed for the sake of serving the family as an Ancestor, another measure that the upper echelon had taken for the sake of maintaining cohesion.

However, this measure was obviously not perfect either, because this was already the second time that Issa had been the one to speak up for Third Nova. Although, her words were perfectly reasonable as well. If Leonel wanted cohesion, he couldn't be so biased. The point of the Heir Wars was for all conflict to start and end with the rise and fall of its banner. If conflicts were taken outside those limits, how would the Morales continue to exist?

The Overlord, who had remained silent all the while, continued to do so. He had obviously watched the Heir Wars he watched every single one, which was why he was familiar with how Leonel did things. But Leonel also wasn't the type to leave such a large flaw in his plans either, nor did he seem like the type that would rely on emotion to make decisions... at least not when it came to things other than his father.

So the question was, what was his plan here, exactly?

The Overlord was obviously privy to a lot of information that others weren't, as were the other Overlords who had yet to appear. But it was also because of this that he didn't have a fierce reaction to Leonel's choice, while also waiting to understand how he planned to deal with it.

Even those that weren't part of Issa's branch felt that she was correct. If Leonel didn't do this, then their resistance to other matters would be far greater, and he might not even be able to get off the ground. It wasn't lost on them that Leonel had yet to be truly crowned their Patriarch.

Leonel didn't answer immediately. Instead, he waved a hand.

At that moment, a chained and almost far too scantily clad demoness appeared. As disheveled as she was, even the private and intimate parts that even she usually left hidden had quite literally fallen out, but she didn't seem embarrassed enough to try and fix it, or maybe she was simply too tired to do so.

"Do you know what race of being this is?"

Issa frowned. "It could be a demon, but it could also be a human with a special Ability Index or Lineage Factor, it would be impossible to tell at a glance. Are you trying to incriminate Third Nova with this? You used Cloud Race members during your battle, did you not? Wouldn't you be incriminating yourself? There are no such rules in the Morales."

Many nodded, this much was true.

"When did I say anything like that?" Leonel asked.

Usually, this would be a rhetorical question, but after several seconds, Issa realized that Leonel was forcing her to respond.

"... You didn't."

"Good. Don't make assumptions about what my thoughts are, it makes it too obvious when you're trying to poison the well. I suggest a more subtle approach."

Issa's gaze flashed with rage, but she quickly calmed down, looking toward Leonel indifferently.

"Please continue," she said lightly.

"Second question," Leonel replied unperturbed. "Do you know what relation these demons have with the Silver Empire?"

Issa's pupils constricted into pinholes.