Smoldering

Leonel wasn't infuriated because there was a second Shadow Sovereign. From the very beginning, he had been aware that there was more than one. In fact, he knew a second one in Mordred.

When he first learned about Shadow Sovereigns from Uncle Montez, he had introduced it in a way that Leonel knew from then that there would always be more than one.

Without a doubt, the true reason Leonel was pissed was because Little Blackstar had been hurt. It wasn't a devastating injury, but it was definitely one the little mink would need some time to recover from.

Leonel had always treated Little Blackstar like a little brother, a child that was still growing up. This was why he rarely if ever used Little Blackstar in battle even if the little one was a powerful warrior. Leonel had no doubt that compared to these geniuses of the Void Palace, Little Blackstar was no worse. However, he was still reluctant to truly let him loose.

And now, his little brother had been harmed. How could he not be infuriated?

The Shadow World was shared by Shadow Sovereigns. Under most situations, this wasn't a problem as they were rare beings to begin with. However, in the case that two Shadow Sovereigns did meet on the same battlefield, Leonel hadn't known exactly what would happen… until now.

The clash of Domains had caused a strong backlash and harmed Little Blackstar. In fact, Leonel could feel the malicious intent that converged on the tail end of the interaction.

Little Blackstar had tried to envelop the network of hives with his Domain from above. But, this being the first time the little one had tried to do such a thing, he hadn't been prepared for the possibility of running into another Domain.

"Yip!"

Little Blackstar fell from the skies.

Leonel had already moved, rounding the corner and catching Little Blackstar from the air. His expression was as dark as could be.

Little Blackstar's small eyes were tightly closed, a hint of blood trickling from his nose. He trembled as though he had just been plunged into freezing waters.

Leonel cradled the little mink in his arms, his Snow Force reaching out and caressing him from head to toe. It was only after this that Blackstar showed the slightest hints of relief, however the smoldering fury in Leonel's gaze only seemed to grow hotter.

In those moments, had Little Blackstar not retreated beneath his command fast enough, the result could have been devastating. A Shadow World was tied to something intrinsic within a Shadow Sovereign, and the loss of it was equivalent to the loss of a life. He had been that close to losing his partner of so many years.

"… Leonel?"All content is property © .

Aina's voice came from his side.

To her, this was the worst case scenario. Even though she knew that this was the best course of action to take and that her logic had been sound, it was simply human nature to feel terrible. If she hadn't said anything, this wouldn't have happened. But, then again, the person to suffer would have likely been Leonel instead.

"It's not your fault." Leonel said softly. "It's mine. I've sheltered him too much. He has no idea how to deal with situations where the enemy isn't a ridiculous amount weaker than him."

Aina's gaze flickered. Leonel's words were sound, but they had a biting cold to them that he couldn't seem to retrieve just yet. Despite the fact they were standing out in the open of the Void Battlefield, he made no movement to retrieve as though he was begging someone to come.

"… No, I'm sorry. I should have taken that into account as well." Aina shook her head.

Leonel didn't reply, but he truthfully didn't blame Aina. Judging a decision by only its result and nothing else was foolish and it wasn't the kind of logic Leonel would prescribe to. However, that wouldn't stop him from feeling like this.

He stroked Little Blackstar's head, hoping to soothe the little mink just the slightest bit more.

"What happened?" Aina asked.

"Blackstar's Shadow Domain clashed with another Shadow Sovereign's Domain. He wasn't ready for the backlash and now he's hurt."

The three youths, hearing the term Shadow Sovereign, froze. That little beast… was a Shadow Sovereign?! The mixture of jealousy, apprehension and darker thoughts was almost immediate. However, the heavy atmosphere around Leonel seemed to snap them out of such thoughts.

They weren't fools. That sort of oppression wasn't normal and should even come from a rare type of ability. The number of families they could think of that had such abilities was all too small, and each one of them was from astounding families.

They had great backgrounds themselves, as did pretty much everyone in the Void Palace. But, there were still levels and degrees of separation to be found everywhere.

"Then it's a failure?" Aina asked.

"No… It wasn't a failure." Leonel explained. "The Domain of the second Shadow Sovereign was just a small point toward the center of the hive. For whatever reason, they had shrunk down their Domain to an incredibly small degree, at least in comparison to what their true abilities should be. It's likely that there are other reasons for this.

"Regardless, Little Blackstar managed to find us several points toward a true exit."

Leonel explained all of this calmly and evenly, his voice not wavering in the slightest. Everything about his demeanor was steady. However, Aina could almost feel his fury.

Although it had just been for a few split seconds, Leonel had already memorized the images Blackstar had shared to him perfectly without missing even a single detail. He knew the location of a true exit, what could be found there, and he also knew the exact locations of every entrance in a section of the network.

"That Shadow Sovereign likely knows we're here then…" Aina concluded.

"Yes. They will know that we're located somewhere within the range of Little Blackstar's Domain. But…

"I truly hope they come."

Leonel's hair danced lightly in the air, a smoldering crimson flickering in his irises.