The Martial Unity

Leonel closed his eyes, a deep unwillingness sinking into his heart.

That day, when the virgin sacrifice almost strangled him to death, he really had resigned himself. He had even said goodbye to his father. Yet, he woke up.

How was he supposed to feel about that exactly? Was he supposed to think he was forgiven for the 1000 deaths that lay squarely on his shoulders?

Uncle Montez had said it clearly. Sub-Dimensional Zones were points in Earth's history where an event that connected to the Fourth Dimension occurred. In other words… They were real.

Every throat he pierced, every head he severed, every life that slipped away. They were all real.

Leonel had a hard time dealing with that. The reason he had smiled so brightly when he finally saw Aina again was because he thought that she was his light, the only pure thing remaining in his life. But she shattered that image barely a moment later.

In truth, Leonel didn't even know what he was fighting for anymore. He guessed it was just some primal instinct to survive, but he couldn't think of much else. Clearly his parents weren't that much of a motivating factor considering how easily he had given up in the temple.

'What the hell is wrong with me?'

Leonel might have just turned 18, but he was just a kid in the end. He knew that he didn't want to be a quarterback for the rest of his life, but he never really thought about what exactly he wanted to do outside of that.

Leonel chuckled to himself as seven A-grade Invalids converged. By now, it wasn't just them anymore, but numerous lower level Invalids who crept forward as well.

'The most important part of my identity all that time was just liking her, huh… I don't know whether I should be sad or laugh some more.'

The truth was that Leonel was trying his best to find a reason to fight back, to put his life on the line once again and bloody his hands once more.

For his parents? He had already tried that once before. For Aina? He didn't even know if he still felt the same way about her. For his friends…?

Leonel thought of James. His best friend for as long as he could remember. To this day, he still didn't know why James tried to throw the Championship Game. He didn't know why he hadn't just let him do it either. They had already won three times, and winning a fourth would have been meaningless.

"I know you too well. You don't like to lose, but you're too soft-hearted to call me out on my bullshit too. So, you'd find a way to protect our friendship and ignore it, all while winning the big game anyway. Am I right?"

James' words to him reverberated in Leonel's mind. He suddenly felt his hands moving of their own accord, sliding three silver bars out and screwing them together.

guess it'll just have to

didn't like

would expect from an 18 year old boy. If Leonel thought any more deeply about it, he too would find it ridiculous that he was trading what he thought was his moral code for a will to win. But the reality was that Leonel was looking for something, for anything,

he jumped onto it,

of time he spent

100 meters. Four are between 100 and 300.

that Leonel's gaze landed on them all. Rather, it was that he found it easier to feel out the fluctuating energies without so many buildings

before, in the last three days, that is. He knew how sensitive they were to humans. It took a lot of effort to shake just one off. If these seven caught sight of their base, Leonel would no longer be able to guarantee everyone's safety. Even James' ten-second

the grade, the exponentially more difficult the Invalid was to handle. Their 'stats' not only became more well rounded, but

with a single handle and used the other to grab a dart, shifting it around in his fingers until he could both grab his atlatl and fit it to it

completely over. Half of its top was

They locked onto Leonel with a concealed murderous

Invalid was long and lanky, having a back so arched that the back of its

ease despite being just 20 meters away. Its lanky body curled at an impossible angle,

and reconnecting bones,

B-grade was below 0.85 with A-grade being below 0.90. Leonel wasn't

were only averages. Some could cross barriers by having less stats, but

A-grade Invalid happened to have more of its 'stats' in Coordination and Reactions.

'How unfortunate…'

meter radius in a flash, jumping into the air and turning his bike back into

your strengths happen to be my strengths. But…

Invalid. His movements were wild and almost without reason. Anyone could see with a glance that he had

of battle was usually this wild… It was that he

doubled in length shooting toward Leonel, but a step ahead, Leonel had already tilted his head to the side.

in his hand, its butt rounding in a beautiful semi-circular arc and crushing the

hand, reaching to his back and pulling out a dart he stabbed through the

he scooped up the dart that initially missed and tossed it back into his steel container,

already closing in. There's no way it won't sense them within fifty meters. But

didn't have much of a reaction. His

of a