Dimensional Descent

Although the Human Domain had been liberated, not enough time had passed for the Human Race to fully return. News hadn't even quite spread anywhere but the highest echelons of the various races. It was perfectly natural for some humans to still think that their lives were hanging on by a thread.

As Leonel entered the dark region, his thoughts were spinning with one thought that he had yet to resolve. If the Barbarian Race had helped the Human Race rise up, why let them be destroyed? Why even participate in their destruction? And if their destruction was important to their plan, why let Leonel reclaim so much territory so easily?

Sashae and Talon hadn't even appeared again after their first disappearance.

That belied another question, and that was why were they propping up the humans, Oryx and Sea Gods all at once? What had they done that managed to create Barbarian Invalids?

Were they participating in the war as well? Were they on the side of the Fallen God Beasts and Owlans?

Leonel felt that the answer to these last few questions was no, but that also meant that these waters were far murkier than he assumed.

'This should be the product of the pressure the Gods are placing on the lesser races. How could there be no resentment at all? Sure, for now the Culling doesn't involve the Demi-Gods, but what about when they ran out of Mortal Races to kill? Wouldn't they move on to the Demi-Gods before they looked to themselves?

'If the Demi-Gods were smart, they would certainly be trying to find methods of saving themselves for the future. If the path toward Godhood meant experimenting with Invalids, then that was what they would do even if Invalids were far more hated than even the Fawkes had been.'

This explanation made sense to Leonel, and he felt there was a better than 90% chance that it was correct.

But this meant that he had started the fuse on something much larger than he expected.

If things continued like this... wouldn't the whole of Existence be embroiled in war soon?

Leonel's gaze became serious. It was even more important that he become as strong as possible as quickly as possible.

...

appeared before Leonel, if it could be called

beasts, and the buildings inside seemed to all be constructed by similar materials. It felt more like a graveyard than

he had come across several Rapax, but not

least likely to care.

walked around with their steel covered, pill-shaped heads. Their metal tails whipped out behind them like a scorpion's, their digitigrade feet

into any Rapax in the Complete Worlds, but they certainly existed. Many were ranked in the top 100 of the Gathering of

got to the city gates, though, a Rapax blocked

over, its maw opening wide to

"Scram, weakling."

BANG!

Its head exploded.

moved. In one moment, the Rapax

kicked its corpse to the side and continued to stroll

had reacted like that. This was one of the more sacred cities of the Rapax. Even if it was a weak Rapax, it would have

Rapax knew were the weak versus the strong. Nothing else

forgotten about the earlier encounter. He had suddenly remembered something about the Rapax that greatly interested him: their

sense and feel the Dream Plane. So the Rapax couldn't escape his senses anymore even if they

he had always been curious about this ability. It was an interesting

entering the city, Leonel didn't really have an aim. He just came to the largest city of the Rapax Domain