PICKED UP

Leonel's eyes snapped open, flashing of purple lightning sparking through him as his hair danced beneath wind of his own making. His Force rushed about so furiously that cyclones formed and roared around him, seemingly wanting to slice apart reality itself.

He took a breath and everything rushed back into him, the world becoming still.

His gaze was sharp and everything he looked at seemed to quiver on the verge of collapsing before he spared them another glance.

He exhaled slowly, the wind pressure causing small claps of thunder all on their own as though even his breath had broken the sound barrier.

Leonel stood and walked to his Workbench, his mind accelerating through several thoughts.

His plan for his Divine Armor was just the same. The fusion of Little Tolly and himself was perfect and he believed it to be the truest manifestation of the Life State, a level of Craftsmanship that stood on a level all to its own.

But at the same time, it was a path with endless amounts of flexibility and likewise one that could evolve with him one he truly grasped the Self State.

Since Leonel had created the Fourth Dimensional Divine Armor, several things had changed, though.

First and most obvious there was his Destruction World's improvement.

Second was his comprehension breakthrough in the Owlan Race's Bubble, namely their use of Natural Force Arts in their city planning. Or, more accurately... a close approximation of this.

The third was just his increase in strength in general. These thoughts seemed to be jumbled, but they worked well together in Leonel's mind. This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

'I'm starting to see the path...'

Leonel had already begun seeing how his path could truly fuse into one, but the further along this path he walked, the clearer it became and closer he seemed to mirror Aina.

Of course, this wasn't in terms of strength, but rather in how his abilities blended into one another and how it wasn't obvious where one stopped and another one started.

This was only made more obvious by the fact Leonel felt that these three changes could come together into one.

If he treated his Destruction World like an Owlan City, how much more powerful would his Destruction be? And if he incorporated this as an aspect of his Divine Armor, how much more powerful would its strength become?

It would be a clash of two Spirits, one being himself as an Envoy of Destruction, and the other being Tolliver, an Envoy of Creation.

With that thought, Leonel got to work, losing himself in his own world.

...

It was hard to tell how long passed because Leonel truly wasn't paying attention. If something important was happening, Anastasia would awaken him, so by the time he finished, looking up in a daze, his mind had become a bit foggy.

He couldn't remember the last time this had happened. His Dream Force stamina, after a certain point, just felt endless. And after his King's Might awakened once more, it should have been even more so.

'Wait...'

Leonel looked into his body and his lip twitched. Suddenly, he realized why he felt fatigued.

While all his thoughts were true, he had neglected one thing. It seemed that much of his stamina was being drained away by his Destruction World after his soul began to use it as a quasi anchor of its own.

'Hm... I don't actually think that this is the situation by default. Is it...'

Leonel blinked and shook his arm. Suddenly, an armor appeared around his body. In that moment, it almost looked as though he had become a billowing tower of humanoid smoke, like he had sent himself ablaze... and yet there wasn't the slightest hint of fire.

Before the armor could fully form, Leonel dismissed it, feeling surprised.

The armor was stronger than it should be, and that wasn't just because of Evolution Ore. It was like it had stepped into the Self Realm on its own and without his input.

Leonel's skill definitely wasn't this high yet, which meant the only explanation was that his Destruction World had done it on its own with the help of his King's Might, raising it to the Quasi Self Realm.

'Wow...'

Leonel was hardly ever impressed by anything, and that was obviously even less so for himself because he was quite aware of his capabilities and what his limits were.

But this time, he was truly shocked... and it wasn't just by the result, but the mechanisms that allowed it to happen.

He smiled gently. He couldn't help but wonder... if his father wasn't harmed by his own mother, what kind of existence would he have been able to become? Would the Human Race even be facing such issues right now? Or would they already be among the Gods?

The gentle look in Leonel's eyes didn't give way to rage. Instead, it was determination that came, and with that, the wisps of smoke at the corners of his eyes and the soles of his feet billowed out in waves.

His Destruction Sovereignty didn't need to be fueled by hatred anymore.

He would raze them down in order to allow something else to grow... why did he need rage for that?

Not long after Leonel's Destruction Sovereignty had entered the Black Realm, he entered the Bronze.

With a thought, the wisps of Destruction vanished and he stepped out of the Lab Setting and stepped into a pod. He rested, allowing his mind to recover.

When he stepped out, his eyes were practically flashing with their own light.

"Anything, Anastasia?"

"No," Anastasia replied. "I believe they've taken drastic measures, even going off-world to communicate."

"And the result?"

"There are a lot of people who are feeling restless, but those powerful enough to sense me haven't done anything yet."

Leonel nodded. "I expected as much. If they're that powerful, then they're likely also smart enough to know that if anyone dares to do this, they're powerful enough to get away with it. However, the longer this goes on for, the more discontent they will feel."

"Oh, there's someone coming," Anastasia suddenly said. "I think? I'm not sure. Ah! They suddenly picked up the Segmented Cube!" She spoke in a panic.

Leonel chuckled.

He had expected this too. He hadn't asked Anastasia to monitor anyone coming in his direction because he knew she would have a hard time deciphering a person's intentions, especially since they couldn't send an army after him in this situation.

All they could do was send one or a few powerhouses.

And it seemed one had finally appeared.