Dimensional Descent

[Bonus chapter courtesy of Mr. Mostert <3 6/6]

The world resonated with Leonel, his movements quicker, faster, and more agile than anything he had ever experienced before. He imagined that if he could see a future projection of what it would be like for him to enter the Ninth Dimension, it would feel exactly like this one.

Minerva's expression still remained calm. She didn't seem to react to Seraphina's death either, or Octavia's somewhat unknown fate for that matter.

When it seemed that she had run out of time to react properly, her palms suddenly moved.

Leonel felt a large gathering of Dream Force being stripped from his control. She had only moved so casually, and yet there was a huge war that erupted between them, each one fighting for supremacy over the space.

And Leonel felt like he was losing.

BANG!

Leonel's momentum stopped, and he was forced to take a heavy step back beneath Minerva's strength. She was a true powerhouse, there was no doubt about it. At the very least, she was somewhat worthy of her arrogance. If she had access to her full array of skills, Leonel wouldn't last even a single glance from her.

Leonel grinned. He could feel his heart pumping, and he felt more alive now than he ever had before.

The dichotomy between his pumping blood and his calm mind became like the push and pull of a steady bass drum and a heart-stopping melody. They played off one another to absolute perfection, and when Leonel moved again, his spear truly danced.

The flurry of strikes was met by Minerva's nonchalant palms. She seemed to move just once for every ten attempts Leonel made, and her feet didn't even shift the slightest inch, yet she weathered the storm all while pushing Leonel back.

But at that moment, she frowned.

The gathering streams of starlight around Leonel felt like he was gathering something up. She couldn't quite understand what it was, but she actually felt something in her heart stir.

Worry? That was ridiculous.

Her palm pushed forward with far more force, and she expected that Leonel would at least be blown off balance, but instead, Leonel's shield suddenly lit up, erupting with Tier Nine strength suddenly and forcefully.

If it was just this, it wouldn't have been a problem, but Leonel had angled the shield, applying pressure in an unexpected way. It turned Minerva's strike into a glancing blow, and Leonel's spear dance didn't pause for even a moment.

In that instant, there was an eruption from the distance, and Octavia stood out from the rubble. She looked a bit disheveled, but other than some blood at the corner of her lips, she seemed to be perfectly fine.

Seeing her Mistress fighting with Leonel, she hesitated for a moment. On the one hand, she knew Minerva's temper, and she wouldn't like interference in her battle. But could she really stand to the side without doing anything?

Without a choice, Octavia burst forward. It would be better to be scolded than to look like she was slacking.

Leonel's spear didn't pause, but he noticed Octavia's approach instantly. With calm movements, he continued to grace the skies with his blade, his movements flowing from one to another. As the momentum increased, Minerva found that she couldn't withstand them as casually as she had before. At the same time, her control over the Dream Force in the area was being stripped away.

Octavia swept in just in time, this time fully prepared and attacking Leonel's back.

Leonel sneered. "What a cowardly race."

Octavia felt her heart skip a beat. There was nothing Minerva hated more than someone insulting her race. What she hated even more was one of them giving an outsider a reason to do this.

Leonel was obviously targeting a weak spot on purpose, and unfortunately for them, it worked.

A Dream Net appeared behind Leonel, and it roared with life. That slightest of hesitations sent Octavia flying once again.

Leonel's wild grin bloomed, his spear strikes becoming faster as he suppressed Minerva from all sides. A beautiful formation formed beneath him, complex Runes formed of Spear Force shimmering with life.

"Enough," Minerva said, her folded wings finally spreading out.

In that moment, a strong wave of Dream Force descended, and runes began to glow on Minerva's wings.

It was the natural ability of the Minerva Race and the Owlan Race, for that matter, to form a world around their wings. This world gave them unprecedented control over Forces of all types.

The problem was that this was the True Dream Plane. No one should be able to bring outside abilities in.

And yet it was happening here.

Leonel felt that his Forces were being stripped from him. His Sovereignty seemed useless in front of an ability Minerva was simply born with.

His Spear Force was the first to go, and his Spear Dance seemed moments away from being nothing but bluster.

This was the difference between Races, a huge, unfathomable gap. She didn't have to train a single day in her life to grasp this ability, and the treasure she used to bring it into this world was probably something handed to her on a silver platter.

That anxiety was boiling through Leonel's veins again. He could feel every inch of this moment as his mind stretched every second into what felt like hours.

BOOM.

In the instant before all of his Forces were stripped from him, the Shield's straps pierced right into his heart.

The Spear Dance he was completing here was nothing but a cover. In fact, his real body had already completed it. It could even be said that he was making an attempt to layer two Spear Dances into one.

The first spear dance suddenly resonated with the second, the two solidifying one another and resisting Minerva for a moment.

If Minerva hadn't been so arrogant, she would have noticed that something was wrong almost immediately. If she hadn't been so arrogant, she would have likely been able to react.

But her mind had been influenced by Leonel on her watch.

Leonel's spear gained a hint of something different.

Universal Force descended.

[Domain] activated.

[Universe] activated.

[Finality] activated.

Scarlet Star Force bloomed.

A spear blade tore right through Minerva's chest.

She was still standing there arrogantly, her arms crossed over her chest and her wings spread out wide. She seemed to think that she had already won.

When she looked down slowly to find flames dancing in the new hole that went through her, her eyes could only widen in shock.

"Like I said. My wife is definitely far more beautiful," Leonel spoke, blood leaking from his lips.

He didn't even watch as Minerva fell. He turned and dashed toward Octavia, rushing at his fastest speed as he could feel death closing in.

He had to be fast.