Dimensional Descent

When Leonel walked into the bathhouse, his rage flared again. If it wasn't because Aina was in such a bad situation and needed him by her side, he might have run out again to give Noah an even more savage beating.

Noah might have been his cousin, but the feeling Leonel had for Aina far outweighed whatever weak familial ties he had with him. Noah couldn't magically gain a higher regard in his heart just off the strength of their connection.

While Noah was just a lost family member he had only just learned about, Aina was a woman Leonel deeply cared about. As far as he was concerned, she was his other half. Only his father and mother could hold a comparable place.

The current Aina was far better than she had been just moments ago, but the struggle she was facing was still present. If it wasn't for Little Blackstar using ropes of darkness to hold her in place, she might have drowned herself by now.

The water splashed about, blackening under the secretions coming from Aina's body. Under some mysterious power, the Cleansing Water purified this blackness the further it traveled from Aina. But, unfortunately, the density around her only seemed to grow with each passing moment.

Leonel stripped off his robes and entered the waters, a deep frown on his face. He propped the back of Aina's head up while submerging the rest of her body.

'This isn't working…'

Leonel shook his head and brought Aina to the edge of the pool. Using it, he pulled Aina's military boots off.

When Leonel got a look at Aina's skin, he paled. He hadn't noticed before because the entirety of Aina's face and much of her neck was covered in those savage pulsing scars. But, after taking her boots off, he realized just how severe the situation was.

Aina's skin, which had always had a healthy tan hue to it, was suddenly as pale as a sheet of paper. As though this wasn't terrible enough, Leonel could see her veins popping out, completely filled with a vicious black liquid that slowed the beating of her heart and clogged her arteries.

quickly, propping up Aina's other foot to take her other

foot entered the waters once again, there was a burst as a torrent of foul blood was suddenly pulled out by the Cleansing Water. Beneath the surface, Leonel's senses could make out how Aina's pores had opened. In fact, her skin even broke, revealing the

immediately sensed a slight sigh of relief come from her

'That's it…'

his head, this wasn't the time to be

"[Light Curtain]."

his breath, causing a surge of light to cover Aina's body. The benefit of [Light Curtain] was that it obstructed one's vision by causing a large gathering of light. But, it didn't have a physical form, so it didn't impede

that Aina's military uniform and boots weren't normal. They protected her in battle and also had a series of spatial pockets hidden within. In that case,

moment, they were nothing more than a hindrance. Leonel hadn't noticed it before, but the uniform itself wasn't

Leonel began to unbutton Aina's

'Focus… Focus…'

man who seemed to have the strength to overturn a world in his hands was panicking at the prospect of undressing a

about, making a noise that sounded like snickering.

little guy, his normally nimble

'Focus!'

a profound ability just to dull his first ambiguous situation with a woman, Leonel's legend

waist, he gently pulled the fabric out from their tucked position. His gaze focused on Aina's face,

waters flooded past the opening in Aina's clothing, the flood of black blood became more exaggerated. More of Aina's pores opened up, the foul liquid being pulled out by some odd

there was nothing

no idea that just moments before, Aina had snapped the bandages she used to cover