Dimensional Descent

Leonel stood frozen, his silver rod gripped tightly in one hand and the bracelet he had traded for Aina in his other. He hardly heard the shrieks of the girls cowering behind James as he watch her use Conrad's own shirt to wipe his blood from her arm.

Aina's gaze didn't ever seem to leave his own. Maybe it was Leonel's own illusion, he wasn't sure. But what was certain was that Aina made her way over to him. In a series of events that were nothing more than a blur to him, his bag, the one she had been carrying all this time, the very one he had allowed her to use as a pillow, ended up in his hand. The very same hand he held the bracelet in.

The massive battle axe on her seemingly delicate back cast a shadow over his face, dwarfing him completely. Leonel wasn't even consciously aware of what happened next, he only caught small tidbits.

Savahn was too scared to approach Aina anymore. Yuri's demeanor changed with Aina's appearance as though she had never been afraid. The odd world they were in began to tremble. And before Leonel knew it, he was standing on the grass gardens that once surrounded the Northern Dormitories.

All he could think about was Aina's gaze. Her amber, almost golden eyes, peering through his soul. It wasn't particularly cold, nor did it fill him with fear, but there was something deeply unsettling about them, a feeling that set an itch he couldn't reach in his heart.

"Leo! LEO!"

Leonel's eyes flashed as his body shifted to the side. He stuck his silver rod into the soft soil beneath him and used his now free hand to grab to the side.

His reactions were inconceivably quick. He hadn't even seen who attacked him from behind even to this moment. All he had was a frail wrist that almost seemed like it could snap with a single squeeze.

'Strength 0.72?'

Leonel was stunned. Knowing he wouldn't be able to hold on for so with his 0.67 level strength, he used the attacker's momentum against them, pulling on their wrist and sweeping his leg across.

'That's… That's the girl who threw up that day…'

Leonel's white pupil'd underclassman flipped in the air, falling on her back with a resounding thud.

James, who had been the one calling out to Leonel, blinked in shock before smiling bitterly. It seemed his best friend had had his own massive improvements. In fact, with how alert Leonel had been even in a daze just now, he had a feeling that Leonel had suffered more than them all.

Yet, he had somehow managed to keep a bright smile on his face when he came back, only for him to lose that smile due to that event that shocked even James himself. He really didn't know how to console Leonel.

'Leonel is too soft… How could he deal with the girl he's chased for five years now being…'

James sighed.

"We can't stay here." Leonel finally pulled himself out of his slump. He knew that this wasn't the time to be sulking.

Grabbing his silver rod, he pressed it to his underclassman's chest, using his leverage to stop her from using her obscene strength.

With a quick glance around, he understood the situation.

Luckily, in the months they had been gone, the white pupil'd mutants had dispersed. But with Leonel's senses, he could hear many of them approaching as though they could grasp their location.

Leonel counted the number of people around him, feeling a sudden pang when he realized that the number was much less than it should have been.

"Zavier… He?"

Zone with him, Milan and Joel… Zavier didn't make

but now only 12 remained. In fact, he felt that it could only have been

caught Leonel's attention, causing him to frown. Before he could react, a

looked over with a gloomy expression as the

nothing had happened. Aina's gaze had been indifferent, but Yuri's

are you doing?" Leonel

because she didn't think that Leonel had such a fierce gaze in

only reason Leonel's imposing aura had never come into play to now was because he couldn't pull his will behind killing. But when it came to his instinctual rage, there was nothing

a neutral gaze that almost said

dead beneath Leonel began to glow, turning into motes of light that fused

'stats' of his friends because it was an instinct he reserved for enemies. But he could faintly feel that Yuri had improved in strength by a small fraction. It was too small of a fraction

enough to break it down further. If

explain it to you. These white pupil'd people are

their consciousness, being a humanoid mass of instincts. If they swallow those of us who succeeded, they have a chance to evolve and regain their consciousness. The reason they allowed us

bundle of energy now. So, by

able to handle her so easily. You

hand bulged like raging serpents as

it?'

[Congratulations!]

all of their minds completely interrupted the tense

succeed in crossing this first trial. Though many have fallen, you can be considered

is not safe. These white pupil'd individuals may have once been your friends and family, but right now, their only instinct is to swallow you. They are known as Invalids. Though they appear

Sub-Dimensional Zones, from the F-grade to

center of power in your region. Please head there as quickly and safely as possible so that you

heard this very voice before. Many times before, actually. It was the

to register…? Why would they need that,

seemed the forceful tweaks the Empire made to their technology weren't exactly perfect quite

what their oh-so noble Emperor left them wasn't a true map but rather simply pointed toward a direction, much like the Tier 4 Black detector Leonel had for Sub-Dimensional Zones. The Ascension Empire had always

looked back over toward Yuri and

me, then the orders we follow are mine. Are we clear

and seemed to want to

seem to have strong sensory

He still couldn't wrap his mind around her actions. How could he

Conrad had done. Maybe to some he deserved death. But Leonel just had a hard time crossing that line. Maybe he was a hypocrite for it, but

words, Leonel stuffed the bracelet into the ragged pockets of his sweats. He turned his body

Leo?" James whispered

fine." Leonel said with a bitter smile. "Don't worry about me…

shoulder and didn't say much