Dimensional Descent

Leonel grit his teeth, his jaw clenching with such force that it might have been heard if it wasn't for the heavy rain falling from the skies.

Up above, a vortex of black clouds rumbled and sparked with lightning, becoming louder and more dangerous with every passing moment as though a tornado trying to touch down to the earth.

The moment Leonel heard Alexandre's words, a rage began to pump through his veins.

In the past, he hadn't cared about kneeling very much. It wasn't a devaluing of himself, but rather that he had never assigned the action as something that would grant or snatch such a thing as value from a person.

Having grown up in a world that was more monarchy than democracy, something like paying respects to the Emperor was a part of everyday life. It had never been a struggle to keep or hold onto a meaningless pride, especially when everyone around you had been indoctrinated in the very same way.

It wasn't until Leonel met King Arthur that he suddenly gained a revulsion toward kneeling. But, even then, it wasn't because of the action itself, but rather because he felt as though it was being used as a power play to elevate another at his expense.

Back then, King Arthur was meant to tell him to rise, yet purposely chose not to as a method of applying more pressure on Leonel. What he didn't know was that even someone like Leonel had their own breaking point, especially when they put as much emphasis on Respect as Leonel did.

Since that day, Leonel never casually kneeled. But at this moment, with his face being grinded into the ground, with the fury of his army billowing around him, he hated it even more.

Veins popped across his body. Even though his skin couldn't seem to sustain his Bronze Runes anymore, his eyes still pulsed with a strong red. But, at that moment, for whatever reason, the usual violet hue that curbed the murderous violence of the crimson was nowhere to be seen.

he managed to rise high enough to

BANG!

felt as though the whole front of his skull was threatening to shatter. If it wasn't for the fact his Metal Body was stronger than the stone ground he was being forced into, his injuries would most definitely not be so

his head. "I'll give you as many chances as you need,

"GENERAL!"

to block a wave of soldiers from charging through. However, it became very clear,

himself flying through the barrier, his momentum not having stopped

took over his eyes as he continued to charge forward, his roar being drowned out

blood rained down on Leonel,

sounded far heavier than the falling rain. As though an anvil hidden within a mountain of clouds, it crashed in waves against Leonel's

him loosen once again. Clearly, Alexandre was giving him another chance

through his veins hadn't lessened, and yet he felt as though he should push it aside, that he should lay down his pride for the sake of a greater

lives of these people here, was it worth less than his

all too much. He wasn't willing to bear the burden of so many deaths, to

meticulous detail of their battles in the last two years? Why was it that he felt the need to be present at every battlefield? Why was it that he insisted on charging as the head of the vanguard no matter what the danger that lied ahead

weight, that heaviness… The things he asked for himself, he couldn't ask

the ground, his strength causing it to shatter and leave

fists, he pushed himself up to his