GOT YOU

The location was quite a grand hall. Compared to the places of the Godlen family compound that Leonel had been in, this looked much more like the location of a truly powerful family. The rest of the Godlen family compound looked more like a school, with plain tile, walls, and even long, blinking lights. It felt like Leonel had been transported back to 21st Century Earth.

Leonel guessed that this was because Liana had taken over the region and had co-opted much of the compound for the sake of her research. This seemed stupid considering Vivak was doing his best to keep these matters a secret, but Leonel didn't agree with this. He actually felt it was quite smart. Keeping everything a secret was almost impossible, but pretending your secret was part of the norm could make others easily overlook it all.

Regardless, this grand hall wasn't like what Leonel had seen previously and looked much more regal and ancient. It had tall pillars, floors of heavy, polished stone, each ten meters wide, tall, and thick, and seemed to be capable of fitting the ambiance of a throne room or a dining hall depending on the situation.

In this case, the grand hall wasn't prepared at all due to Anselma's abrupt arrival, but it wasn't untidy either. Instead, the large and mostly empty room gave it an imposing feeling, making it easy for one to feel small and insignificant.

It was in this room that Anselma and Vivak met, both the former and the latter looking exceptionally serious.

"What is the meaning of this, Anselma?" Vivak asked calmly. "Are the Brazingers fond of being uninvited guests?"

"I was in the area," Anselma responded calmly.

"Were you?" Vivak sneered. "Six Bubble Worlds are in the process of fusing right now. In order to cross from the Vast Bubble to my Codex Bubble, you would have had to surf through at least two cataclysmic-level regions. But you were 'in the area', huh?"

Anselma seemed unmoved by Vivak's words.

"It's a simple matter. I just want to see the corpse. Just allow me this and we can leave on good terms."

Vivak's sneer deepened. "You must think that my Godlen family is just here to be at your beck and call. I said tomorrow, so you will wait until tomorrow. If you don't like that, then you can scram."

Anselma fell into silence.

In truth, what she had done was more than a little rude. It wasn't smart to try and antagonize an important member of their alliance in this critical situation. She was also surprised that the three Branch Heads of the Godlen family had actually come forward as well; it made her feel like the Godlens were more united than she had initially thought.

However, she also couldn't put down her worries.

That man, Velasco, had put a shadow in her heart. Despite the rumors that they had spread after the fact, she knew that she, nor the other three, never had a chance at harming Velasco. He was toying with them. If not for his insatiable desire to kill King, he would have come out entirely unscathed.

Who would have known the consequences if he actually came out?

And now his son, despite having had a path to avoid them, purposely chose to appear right in their territories? How could she not feel uneasy? She simply didn't believe that Velasco would leave nothing behind for Leonel. In truth, she even had a hard time believing that that man was dead at all. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Anselma took a deep breath and didn't explode like Vivak had thought. In truth, he had been hoping she would. That way, he would have an excuse to kick her out by force, something that would be relatively easy considering she was clearly injured and he had three more Ninth Dimensional on his side, not to mention the entire Godlen family at his beck and call.

"This matter is very important, Vivak. This could decide the life and death of the alliance. Things are already spiraling out of control, and as crazy as it sounds, my gut tells me that it's related to that kid. I have to make sure that he is truly dead."

Vivak hesitated.

Imperatress Anselma was known for her arrogance; she killed without blinking and didn't put anyone in her eyes at all. The idea that she would speak so softly was unheard of. She probably didn't speak this softly even to her own children.

However, how could Vivak admit that she was right to be so worried? That Leonel's corpse had suddenly and inexplicably disappeared?

Suddenly, he felt that maybe he had jumped to some conclusions. Could Leonel really be alive?

Just as he was hesitating about what to say, a new message came from his talisman.

"Patriarch! We've found a corpse in the family halls, no one knows who did it!"

Vivak's eyes widened. "A corpse? Who?!"

His heart leapt into his throat.

"I'm not sure of his name, but he was a regular security guard and one of Head Researcher's henchmen."

Vivak sighed a breath of relief, but then he immediately frowned.

Whoever had snuck into the Godlens had to be a top-level expert, no? After so long of not being caught, and even sneaking into their treasure room, avoiding detection by several Eighth Dimensional existences, and a Ninth Dimensional Existence like Elder Varough, how could he only now slip up and leave behind the corpse of a mere Seventh Dimensional guard?

Unless... could it really be Leonel?

But then the techniques...

Vivak's eyes darkened, his gaze landing on Raimondo. Who else could it be? Maybe all this time, Raimondo was pretending and the real person who stole the techniques was his grandson, Eduardo, all along?

Could Elder Varough be in on it? Had he been betrayed?

...

Leonel ran, blood soaked and panting. He dove around a corner, met the eyes of a few people, and reeled back immediately, rushing in another direction.

Not far away, Elder Varough had already gathered his task force and was delegating tasks. All the while, he was constantly sweeping with his Soul Force until he finally picked up on something.

"Got you," he growled.