Three Inches

Leonel's blade flashed, his Bronze Runes blazing to life as a silver armor covered him from head to toe.

The pupils of the three constricted. They could tell that this wasn't an armor Leonel summoned, it was rather one that was perfectly integrated with his body. The first possibility was that he had constructed this armor out of exceptionally rare materials that could be fused with organic material. The second possibility was that this was a second Lineage Factor.

Regardless of which the truth was, the objective reality was one thing: Leonel was powerful. Very powerful.

As though to agree with their speculation, a strong spatial domain suddenly descended. The three youths felt as though it took twice the effort to move the same distance as it had in the past, forcing their expressions into an even more serious state. There was no doubt in their minds that this was an ability of this armor Leonel had just brought out.

"You want to fight now? Fine." Kian's expression settled down, his own Force beginning to roll forward in waves. "You must really think that I'm some sort of pushover."Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

Kian's palm flipped over, revealing a glaive almost an entire meter taller than himself. Its polearm was a sleek black and its blade was a striking, venomous green. The blade itself was somewhat transparent and even seemed refined of a special sort of glass. However, the instant Kian's Snow Force erupted forth, it lost all its dullness and began to glow to the point its transparency vanished, leaving behind a blade that was not only almost double the size it had been originally, reaching almost three feet in length, but also one that shimmered as though it was made entirely of light.

An uncomfortable feeling began to hang in the air. Leonel didn't need to think very much to know that this stickiness on his skin was a poison warning. However, as though he couldn't sense this strangeness at all, he shot forward, his spear drawing an elegant arc in the air.

Kian sneered, his own blade swinging downward. But his pupils constricted at the result.

Kian had been certain that his weapon would be beyond Leonel's. He currently had a Tier 7 Bronze Grade glaive in his possession and it perfect synergized with his abilities. One would be hard pressed to find a youth with a better weapon than himself.

However, the instant they clashed, Kian realized he couldn't have been more wrong. Leonel's spear was actually of the Quasi Silver Grade!

Kian's approach instantly changed.

With a skill rarely seen, the instant their blades clashed, he pulled back, his stance shifting. His movement was so swift that it made it difficult to tell anything had happened, but Leonel himself felt as though he had just swung into a target made of cotton.

Kian's glaive continued to glide backward, dispersing the strength of Leonel's blow and sweeping it to his back after a sidestep.

His gaze lit with greed, but he reined it under control. Leonel might have wielded a spear, but the mechanics and design of it wasn't far from his own glaive and the length was about the same. He could easily see himself using it. And, even if he decided that it wasn't worth his time, he could easily sell it to afford to upgrade his own weapon.

Since Leonel had chosen to make an enemy out of him, he didn't mind taking him for all the money he was worth.

'He is more skilled than anyone I've battled before…'

This was the thought that Leonel had almost instantaneously. Leonel had never had any formal training in the spear and much of what he knew came from himself and cobbling together the insights of the masters of the Spear Domain. Compared to Kian who had clearly been wielding a glaive since he was a child, there was a bit of a gap…

At least, there was a gap until he activated it.

Leonel didn't hesitate, his forehead beginning to pulse with a golden light. Through the visor and helmet of his armor, the shimmering print of a golden spear made itself known.

In unison, Leonel pressed forward, wild Spear Force suddenly erupting around him. In one moment, Kian was effortlessly gliding Leonel's force to a harmless location. In the next, Leonel's spear had flipped in his hands, a second blade cutting toward Kian's neck with a violent momentum.

Kian's expression changed. 'Impossible!'

Vaan and Ren no longer remained seated, realizing that this would be a problem instantly. Vaan and Ren both flipped their palms to reveal two swords. As though by tacit agreement, they pincered Leonel in from both sides. If Leonel dared to continue his strike, he would definitely end up fatally wounded.

On one side, Vaan's swordsmanship was like a rocky avalanche, erratic and alternating between soft mudslides and harsh, rolling boulders.

On the other, Ren's swordsmanship was akin to a rippling wave. A single flick of the wrist caused fluid and sudden movements. There was something decidedly beautiful about it all.

The differences were both reflected in the size of their sword. Ren's was barely two fingers wide while Vaan's was easily four. One used a single hand while the other insisted on two.

At that moment, though, the three were suddenly shrouded by an oppressive aura. Fear gripped their hearts and sweat coated their palms, nearly causing their weapons to slip from their hands.

"Duality."

The flickering image of a small man barely three inches tall appeared above Leonel's head. The instant it did, Leonel's Domains seemed to become like unshakeable laws of the world, so ingrained into reality that they became as fundamental as gravity itself.

All the strength that Kian, Vaan and Ren had mustered in that moment was suddenly sapped away, flooding Leonel's own body and filling him with a raging power.

Kian's gaze flickered with despair as Leonel's blade reached his neck, drawing blood.

The crimson droplets sprinkled to the floor, leaving the hotel roof beneath an eerie silence.

[More coming]