Dimensional Descent

"Where..."

Leonel's gaze flashed with a cold intent. If there was one thing that could still get him riled up even in the midst of all this tranquility, it was matters related to Aina.

He had allowed the previous matter to slide without saying much and even apologizing because he understood the kind of situation they were in. Plus, that young man had only said some slightly crude words at worst. However, even without this Variant Invalid completing its sentence, he knew exactly what it was trying to get at.

Standing before it, and looking it in the eyes, the coldness within his own only grew colder and colder.

Alastar wasn't quite prepared for this sort of response. Although his face didn't show anything particularly different from his norm, sensing... defiance? Was unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

Leonel was undergoing his own confusion.

From his understanding, Variant Invalids were the result of a failure to awaken. But this "awakening" process, meaning the so-called Dimensional Descent or the Metamorphosis, should be something that only happened in Incomplete Worlds where they had a wide division between world types.

Essentially, Variant Invalids came from Invalids, and Invalids could only appear during a world's awakening process. This would happen in Incomplete Worlds where there were several separate planets and Folds of Reality that needed to awaken individually; however, in a Complete World, this matter should have only happened a single time countless trillions of years ago.

Considering the fact that no new Complete Worlds had been formed in an exceptionally long time, and even the number of new Incomplete Worlds forming was dwindling drastically, the number of Variant Invalids that could possibly exist should be an impossibly small portion of the population, and any that did should, at the very least, be incredibly old.

Leonel didn't actually know if Invalids had lifespans, but weren't they a form of living creature regardless? It was impossible for them to be truly immortal. Even those born with the Immortality Ability Index weren't truly immortal, so how could they be?

'Then...'

Leonel thought of only two possibilities.

Either this Variant Invalid was one of those old monsters and had a strength rivaling that or maybe even surpassing Mo''Lexi. Or...

Invalids from the Incomplete

that he had met came from the Cult.

in ways Savants could not. In that way, they might actually

same time, though, Variant Invalids had very difficult progression paths. They were shunned by most of society, and they had to consume powerful individuals to progress. This made them far

the human powers wanted talents that they could

options

gaze only grew colder as Alastar

"Woman. Where is she?"

know what you're talking

BANG!

have flown out at an

of having his neck forcefully stretched settled in. Had his body not improved back to its original level, just the move of grabbing his

gaze didn't lose its sharpness as he was lifted into the

but his words came out in a jumbled

"Where. Woman. Now."

the Variant Invalids Leonel had ever met had intelligence equal to that, or even surpassing, humans. This Alastar, though,

didn't make Leonel any more sympathetic. Instead, watching this bumbling fool trip over itself, even salivating at the thought of Aina, he felt a killing intent welling up

Alastar finally growled something somewhat

he fear an idiot, but he refrained. There

"Alastar, put him down."

right amidst the two of them. She was by far the smallest of them, and yet

gaze flashed with a hint of defiance, then a hint of

Leonel down a bit too forcefully, almost causing him to fall over

gave Leonel another glare, then Mo''Lexi a fearful glance,