Dimensional Descent

[I feel bad saying I even have a real upload schedule and quota now... Sorry guys :'( Thanks for sticking with me <3]

Leonel's eyes narrowed but he didn't even have the time to process what was really going on before a certain agile shadow flickered toward his back.

Since Leonel and Aina had entered first, despite the sheer size of the hall, the remaining ten members were all following to their backs. So, it wasn't surprising that they try to take such a chance.

Leonel's eyes sharpened, his palm flipping over to reveal a silver arrow as he quickly whipped backward.

Sparks flew as metal clanged.

Aphestus bore down on Leonel with a toothy grin, his twin daggers having pierced toward the latter's heart. Yet, Leonel was clashing with one with his reinforced arrow and had caught Aphestus' wrist with his other hand.

Feeling Aphestus' strength personally for the first time, Leonel's gaze couldn't help but narrow. Even with his Tier 4 Metal Body, he would have been blown away had he not immediately reinforced himself with Four Seasons Realm Universal Force.

Though this long armed, hyper muscular man was an annoyance, there was no doubt that he had real strength.

The arms of the two men trembled, sparks continuing to fly between the arrow's body and the blade's edge.

"Your knife is looking a little bit dull there. You sure it could even slice butter?" Leonel asked.

Aphestus' gaze flashed. It was indeed a humiliation for a dagger to be unable to cut through a mere arrow's shaft, especially since the latter wasn't designed for this kind of clash. But, at this point, there was already nothing he could do about it.

The clash of Aphestus and Leonel had suddenly taken center stage. The other youths were hesitant to do much of anything, scanning one another to avoid being attack from the back.

Aina, who had been right by Leonel, didn't raise a finger to help. Obviously, though, this wasn't because she was abandoning Leonel.

It was on the outside, on the mountain pass, that others were truly panicking. The elders had never thought that there would be such a sudden and drastic change to the rules.

Cold sweat matted their backs. If Leonel really died here, what would they do? It was one thing if Leonel died to the machinations of the Zone. But, if he died to one of their students, they were finished!

For the first time, the Upper Echelon began to regret not divulging Leonel's identity.

"Shut it down." Hutchin spoke.

His voice was even and allowed no path for refusal. Without a choice, the Elders could only do as they were told.

Projecting the images from within the Zone were functions the treasure from the Morales family allowed. In addition, this function was stupidly expensive, requiring the use of a Fifth Dimensional Crystal once an hour. However, it was an expense they were all willing to pay, hoping that the events of the Zone would reforge their organization with a sense of pride and belonging.

But, watching their future generation kill each other for the sake of treasures would definitely not help them to reach their goal. In fact, it may very well have the direct opposite effect. This was something Hutchin most definitely couldn't allow.

Just like that, the image that had been projected to the whole of Valiant Heart flickered out, disappearing from the sights of the viewing public.

The elders could only hope that Leonel didn't die in there. And, if he did, they hoped to have some plausible deniability on their side.

…

Aphestus' arms pulled back as he retreated to prepare for another attack. But, what he hadn't expected was for Leonel to follow him like a shadow, a blinding golden light enveloping his every action.

Leonel's legs blurred, his stance shifting and his arrow vanishing. His fists left explosions in the air as they shot forward, raining toward Aphestus.

Aphestus reacted quickly, a sneer coating his lips. An unprotected fist versus his daggers? He didn't care how poor his equipment was, Leonel was asking to be skinned alive.

Unfortunately, Aphestus soon realized that Leonel's fists were nothing but feints. No, could this even be called a feint at all?

The sound of fabric being sharply pulled back sounded as Leonel's fists came to a grinding halt. There was just a slight pause before an explosion of flames rocked the air, catching Aphestus completely off guard.

The explosions completely blinded Aphestus. He didn't even notice when Leonel had pulled out his spear, slashing downward with an undeniable momentum.

Aphestus' bestial instincts tingled with wild abandon. But, deep within his heart, he felt that it was already too late. He had underestimated Leonel, he hadn't even entered his true battle form but he already no longer had time to do that.

The violent explosion of flames completely blocked his vision and even charred his skin to a painful degree. He felt as though he had suddenly met the sun. He only just managed to coat himself in a skin of Force to fight back.

But it was exactly then that a massive blade appeared above his head, descending with a weight of several thousand jin.

Just when Leonel was about to smash Aphestus' head into meat paste, his own primitive instincts screamed through every cell of his body. But, unlike Aphestus, Leonel had a calculative mind that saw through many situations before they even occurred. Something like Raylion interfering was well within his plans.

What he didn't account for, though, was just how much strength Raylion's attack carried. Any plans Leonel had of both killing Aphestus and leaving unscathed were thrown out the window.

The heavy spear in Leonel's hands vanished and his feet smashed against the ground, sending himself shooting backward like a golden star.

BANG!

As though an invisible and indomitable pillar descended from the skies, just as Leonel dodged backward, the space he had just been gained a perfectly uniform hole. The whole was so flawless that it seemed to have been purposely sculpted by a master artist.

Even though the hole was more of an indent, and even though it was only about an inch deep… Those who understood the sturdiness of the marble they stood upon all felt a cold shiver travel up their spines.

In the distance, not having moved an inch, Raylion stood with his hands in his pockets, his visage expressionless.