SKIRMISHES

The two Void Race youths laughed and shot out in two different directions, leaving the last still grumbling.

...

Elo'Ray appeared high above the Dream Pavilion. He stood in the skies despite merely being at the Seventh Dimension, the laws of this world completely unable to constrain him. If he wanted to step onto the clouds, he would do so. Who were these worms to tell him what he could and couldn't do?

"Little Owlan, how about you come out and play?" He announced his arrival with a booming cadence. Universes that painted his skin flickered wildly with light, a trio of blackholes appearing to his back the moment he clenched his fists. In that moment, he seemed to have the power to wipe out all of existence.

Down below, there were several ongoing skirmishes. Void Race descendants fought against Owlans of all shapes and sizes, but he couldn't seem to be bothered with these battles at all. He didn't even try to influence them.

These fools had finally managed to get his blood boiling a little bit, he wouldn't ruin his own fun by wasting his time on trivial matters.

Minerva slowly walked out of the Head Dream Pavilion, her steps slow and her wings dragging on the ground. Her dress was torn and shorn, covered in blood that painted an array of colors as though she had killed all sorts of Races.

Her wings were broken in many places, but she suddenly flexed them, snapping them back into place with a single thought.

Her expression didn't even change in the slightest as she flapped them once, soaring into the skies like a striking meteor.

BANG!

She came to a sudden and forceful stop, clouds of pink, violet and sky blues shredding apart beneath the violent wings.

At that moment, her steps, too, stepped on the empty air as though she was walking on solid land. If she wanted to step on the clouds, no one could stop her either.

Golden Runes danced and glowed in her sparkling wings, but soon they became outlined with a pink color that somewhat caught Elo'Ray off guard.

That pink color... it exuded an aura that was eerily close to the Minerva.

"Hehe..." Elo'Ray chuckled. "... it seems that the Minerva have been hiding for a long while."

Minerva looked up and met his gaze, her own filled with an unbridled arrogance.

"You speak confidently for no other reason than your status as a member of the Void Race... do you think that is worth anything to me?"

Elo'Ray laughed into the skies, the three blackholes behind him suddenly doubling in size and then doubling again. In the blink of an eye, they were each over 20 meters in diameter, and looking into any one of them was like sinking into an endless miasma of despair.

"The mighty Void Race is supreme!" His voice boomed.

"Is that so...? All I see is a group of cowards unwilling to face off against the Pluto."

The words were enough for sparks to fly. In that instant, the two vanished in the blink of an eye, the skies collapsing beneath their collision.

By the skin of their teeth, Leonel, Goggles and Eamon secured another victory. The point totals were much closer this time around, but Leonel managed to out maneuver Patriarch Khafra due to one simple fact: Eamon's skill in using Force Arts was beyond that of Gregwyn's.

Gregwyn had the talent, but he had focused on combat much of his life. Even with Patriarch Khafra's direction, he was lacking considerably and the result of that was a lag in executing Patriarch Khafra's orders.

It wasn't until Gregwyn came to a Complete World that he learned he had talent for Dream Force at all. Before, he was much like a certain general of the Slayer Legion, not willing to take the risk.

Back in the Dimensional Verse, most had to take a risk to see whether they had Dream Force talent or not. It had to be remembered that when Leonel first ran into Dream Force, it had been an avoided abode in the Valiant Heart City, one no one dared to enter and he chose to do so on a whim.

He didn't even really understand the risks back then, or maybe he wouldn't have been so bold either. After all, if you flooded your mind with Dream Force and didn't have an affinity, you could get lost in an endless spiral of memories and be unable to extricate yourself. You would effectively become a vegetable.

Patriarch Khafra had thought that Gregwyn's combat prowess would have been an asset in this case, but because of the Twist, what would have likely been a marginal victory for them had become a loss instead.

Gregwyn's expression was quite unsightly to behold as they took a step out, but Patriarch Khafra seemed unbothered. He had already realized that there was a possibility for this to happen, that was why he had originally not picked Gregwyn. He changed his mind in the end under Gregwyn's pleading, but obviously, Gregwyn's words alone weren't enough for him to take such a step.

Obviously, he had other reasons for making such a decision. © 2024.

It had taken an entire half month for that round to conclude. Some challenges would take far longer than others, and this wasn't too surprising.

That said, longer trials also provided more points. Due to this, they had already filled up a fifth of their bars, and due to this, the marginal victory from round one had almost been snuffed out. To the untrained eye, they almost looked neck and neck.

However, Leonel was likewise unbothered, feeling that this matter was only just getting good.

Three more challenges appeared, and Patriarch Khafra only glanced at them for a moment before choosing one.

Leonel's eyes narrowed and Eamon paled.

This was another one on one challenge, and this time, Patriarch Khafra had set the challengers to be the two Seventh Dimensional existence.

It seemed that he had used the first two challenges to understand the strengths and weaknesses of Leonel's team.

Now the counterattack would begin.