Dimensional Descent

Leonel wasn't particularly angry at Matteus. Other than the time he ordered Little Nana to bind him, an action that almost cost him a spot to enter the Zone, his interactions with the man hadn't been all too bad. In fact, Matteus had even extended an invitation for him to join the Adurna family.

The issue here was that Leonel wasn't in a very good mood. And, having to listen to Matteus spin a fanciful tale Arthur and the others just gobbled up left him even angrier.

Compared to The Empire, Leonel hated the hidden families several times more. Even if it wasn't Aina in particular that had suffered at their hands, he would be disgusted by their actions.

Ostracizing a little girl and her father. Killing that little girl's mother. And for what, exactly?

Even to this point, Leonel wasn't exactly sure. But, judging by the fact everyone else of the Brazinger had red hair and eyes while Aina did not, someone as intelligent as him could connect the dots.

It was Eugenics.

Leonel had been surprised to see that all these families had the same eye and hair color initially. But, after a while, he came to understand just why this was.

Eugenics was a set of beliefs that ascribed to the idea of maximizing the gene pool quality of a population of people. They did this by massacring those not like them and ensuring marriages between those who could guarantee 'quality' children.

There were cases like this in ancient Germany with the Nazis and those with blond hair and blue eyes. There were cases like this from ancient America with White Supremacists. There were cases like this from ancient Africa with…

last. The practice was sickening. Leonel had this sort of visceral reaction he couldn't even control when

hidden families. At least, compared to those ancient civilizations with disgusting practices, there was a tangible benefit to maintaining the purity of these families – that being

change Leonel's mind in the slightest. Hadn't Aina still awakened her Lineage Factor? Hadn't

if they couldn't… so what? The worth of a person had to be measured by their strength? They couldn't have

disgusted him

upon hearing Leonel's

"Though I'm thankful for the things you've done, this is a matter where I must represent all of our 'hidden' families. Even if you'd like to be

to frown in Leonel's direction. His actions were indeed

She had already given up on her father, there was no need for Leonel to continue

that intelligence before you were captured by Magus Aliard, or at the very least, you could have used some of your family's so-called

of rage flashing within his eyes. He had never done anything too wrongful

fact, originally, the red haired man was supposed to take the forefront and speak. Matteus took over this job to hopefully blunt Leonel's potential aggressiveness. But, what he had never expected was for it all to be meaningless. Leonel acted as though

of

killed that traitor. In fact, Arthur hadn't recognized Matteus before because he was a puppet under Pope Margrave's control back then, but now that

Matteus had brought forth seemed to crumble. First impressions were everything… if the representation of this Adurna family couldn't even protect his own life without Leonel's interference, then

the Adurna family members had become.

to the Margrave's puppeteering taking away their strength. But, the fact that Margrave could enslave