YES

Leonel stored away any complex feelings that threatened to bubble up, making his way forward. Right now, he didn't have the luxury to wallow in his own thoughts or be disappointed. There was only one thing that should be on his mind. Winning.

It seemed that the world thought that he was mostly finished. If they didn't, it was almost impossible for them to have let him go so easily. Though, that was definitely related to the strength of Nilrem and his grandfather as well.

Leonel had stirred up a great deal of conflict, offended even more powers, and the amount of things concentrated onto him were difficult to put into just a few words.

However, many of the things that had made him so scary and fearsome had been taken away by the Demoness. At the very least, using [Emperor's Might] to revive Gods three Dimensional Realms above his own had now most definitely become impossible.

All things considered, Gervaise was now the highest priority target, and if they couldn't kill him, then there was little reason to kill Leonel.

In truth, Leonel hadn't been there for these things, but that didn't matter in the slightest. His mind might have slowed, but he hadn't become a fool. He knew that for him to wake up on a comfy bed instead of in a cell, or worse yet, not wake up at all, there had to have been a lot of things done while he was out of it.

As disappointed as he might or might not be with what he had seen in the newly minted Ascension Empire, it didn't matter since in the end, they were the reason he could still be here… and they were the reason that he would be able to cause the new storm that was coming next.

Right now, he was a discarded pawn, a piece that the Demoness had already gotten rid of. And while this seemed to have come with a whole host of problems, it had also come with something else that was very important… He could finally be sure that he had completely stepped off of her board. Maybe she didn't even care to pay attention to him any longer.

This time, Leonel would be the one coming… and maybe not necessarily from the shadows either.

Leonel knew that in order for his master and his grandfather to be delayed in arriving to the battlefield, there had to have been a host of individuals who took action.

He didn't care who they were, or what plots and schemes they had fallen for to end up in such a mess, but they would be the ones he targeted first.

If not for their interference, the plans of the Demoness would have certainly been disrupted. And whether they were useful fools or willing pawns, they would pay for their choice.

A hint of coldness flashed in Leonel's eyes as he reached a particularly large vault door.

At that moment, two auras crashed down on him from above and nearly sent him sprawling to the floor. His body was perfectly healed, but the issue was that it was too weak. In fact, even if he had been at 100%, these powerhouses were too much for him to tackle head on without several more tricks.

It was clear that these two guards both had Dharmas at that very worst, and they were also both Tier 1 Ninth Dimensional existences. Leonel had been too lost in his own thoughts to mind their presence, but now he was suddenly annoyed.

However, just as he was about to speak, Nilrem appeared by his side.

The pressure dispersed and the guards coughed. While they didn't spurt any blood, their grunts were enough to say that they had at least been somewhat injured.

"This is getting annoying. I've been up for all, what? Ten minutes? How many times are people going to try and cross me?" owns all content.

Nilrem gave Leonel a weird look. From what he could remember… no one had done anything to Leonel at all?

Well, then again, Leonel had always been sensitive to such things.

The fact that he hadn't been granted any rewards for his service was enough to be annoyed about, but these two stupid guards thinking that a normal Sixth Dimensional expert could just appear here was frustrating in its own right.

But the problem was that Leonel didn't have the patience for even the slightest of slights right now. Anyone who bothered him or did things that weren't exactly how he wanted them was wasting his time, delaying his progress, and thus worthy of his anger.

If he had had the strength, he might have directly killed them.

Nilrem continued to look at Leonel as he returned to calm, opening the vault up with the badge that he had been given.

Leonel was certainly far more calm now than when his father had died, and he could also tell that that wasn't because he didn't care nearly as much for his mother. It was instead because he had matured and had learned how to focus his rage in ways that made much more sense.

However, that didn't mean that there wasn't something that he was suppressing. And every time someone tried to stall his steps, or impede his progress, he would likely lash out with that very same suppressed emotion.

This time, however, Nilrem didn't believe that there was anything wrong with it. That was because he could feel that this wasn't the same out-of-control rage. It was tempered… and it made even him somewhat fearful of this disciple of his.

He knew what Leonel could have had the potential to become in the future with his original talent… but now that he didn't have it anymore, could he still do it?

Nilrem wasn't entirely sure before, but now he felt that there could only be one answer to this question.

Yes.

It could only be yes.

He strolled into the vault after Leonel.