1975 Right Now...

Valorie crashed into the building below as Leonel landed on the city walls.

But just as soon as she did, she leapt to her feet, her battle intent blazing.

With a flick of her wrist, the warped and broken shield was flung to the side and she brandished her fists.

She didn't have the Metal Synergy Lineage Factor, so she obviously didn't have her own Divine Armor. The armor that Ramon had forged for her was already extremely excellent, and yet it couldn't survive a single strike against Leonel's spear. It was clear that that spear was above the Gold Grade.

Even though Valorie found herself unable to use Spear Force and wearing armor that was practically useless to her, she still brandished her fists.

Leonel looked down for a moment. Despite the carnage around him, his mind seemed to be silent.

The archers had recovered after their first fall. Although they realized they couldn't use their Bow Force for whatever reason, they immediately switched their tactics. At the same time, the non-archers below and near the city quickly gathered, prepared to battle just as James reached the door mechanisms and forced the gates open for the tide of three million soul constructs to rush in.

Leonel met Valorie's gaze and hesitated. He almost put his spear away, but after seeing the look in her eye, he tightened his grip instead.

‘Alright, he said lightly. 'In that case...’

Leonel's Stars suddenly pulsed and they grew a size. Each had been barely a meter across each, but they suddenly expanded to two, then three, then suddenly reached ten.

The flood of Universal Force increased like a rising tide. The skies rumbled and the earth quaked. The skies above had been quite dark, but motes of lights began to quickly accumulate, each matching one of the colors of Leonel's Heavenly Body Realm Stars.

Leonel raised a foot and by the time it descended, his body had flickered and vanished. He was a blinding streak in the skies, activating [Star Fusion:

King's Might] and descending with a mighty momentum. copyrighted © content.

"One spear to connect the Earth and Skies."

The black rod in Leonel's hand suddenly became a pillar of dark gold.

At that moment, Ramon rushed out from the core of the city. The bags under his eyes had grown to the point they were blackened. Even so, his eyes shone like stars, a far cry from the timid gaze he had seemed to have the first time Leonel met him.

When he saw Leonel's strike about to land, his expression changed and he rushed forward, but it was already too late.

Valorie struck out with her fist. A surprising amount of Fist Force coated it as he roared, some of the hints of simplicity that had coated her spear transitioning toward her Fist.

Leonel seemed struck by it at first. How long had it been since he used Fist Force? Longer than he could remember... Why was this fist so beautiful, though?

Despite its beauty, it didn't seem to matter. When Leonel's spear descended, Valorie's fist only paused it for a moment before her arm split apart like pressurized wood. Her eyes rolled back from the pain, her forearm combusting into a rain of blood and gore.

She was sent flying back once more, sliding along the ground and leaving a bloody trail as she fell to Ramon's feet.

Ramon's eyes widened as he hurried forward.

"Valorie? Valorie!"

Ramon slid along his knees to her side, his brown eyes colored with anguish.

He didn't seem to know what to do, he wanted to help her, but he also didn't dare to touch her for fear of making it all worse. His hands approached and retreated again and again, a flustered expression taking over him.

He looked up to find the crumbling pieces of his formation still falling.

Despair colored his gaze... no, it wasn't despair, it was guilt, a heavy guilt that sunk like cold in the winter or darkness in the deepest pits.

Leonel recognized that gaze. It was the same gaze he had had when he watched his subordinates die one after another in the Valiant Heart Zone, subordinates that he would no longer see again now due to his own selfishness.

Given Ramon's reaction alone, one could tell that the rumors about the two were nothing more than nonsense.

Ramon finally reached forward and held Valorie up, if for nothing other than not wanting her to rest her head on the hard grown any longer.

Valorie coughed, blood flying from her lips. Her eyes regained some focus and she looked up. Her eyes softened somewhat when she saw Ramon's tears but then she began to push him away, coughing and wheezing all the while.

"You big dope, I'm not going to die, it's just an arm, what are you doing!

You're embarrassing me! How can my husband be such a crybaby!?"

Ramon clenched his teeth, but his tears didn't stop falling. It was his fault, it was all his fault. He didn't make a formation that was strong enough, if only he had been better, if only he had held up his end of the bargain, this would have never happened.

Ramon looked toward Leonel, a fierce glare in his eyes. But at that moment, Valorie reached for his collar with her only good remaining hand and stopped him.

"Forget it, he has the Spear Domain ring and there are probably others eyeing us right now. There's no use in fighting amongst ourselves, a Morales has to win this"

For maybe the first time in their relationship, though, Ramon didn't listen to Valorie. He grabbed her wrist and pulled, forcing her to loosen her grip as he stood with a dark expression hanging between his brows.

He walked toward Leonel with heavy steps, Bronze Runes forming all along his body as his halo took form and his Divine Armor began to appear piece by piece.

Valorie watched his back with a complicated expression, weakness overtaking her.

Ramon had been quite like Armand, not caring much about these Heir Wars and never wanting to participate in the first place. It was only because of Valorie and the face of the Morales family that he had done so.

But right now, he wasn't a Morales, nor was he an Heir, or a genius fighting for glory.

Right now... he was nothing more than an enraged husband.