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Leonel walked back to the Ascension Empire army. Waving a hand, the spear he had formed vanished along with the blood that had been on it. Slowly, the dark gold glow of the Anarchic Force beneath him also faded until the water was just as dark as it was before.

"… Welcome back Murder Hobo," James eventually broke the silence. "How's it feel to be a mass murderer? They used to make documentaries about your kind, I didn't expect one to be in our midst."

"Feels about as good as fucking a Cloud Race whore in a back alley. So you tell me. You still itching down there?"

James froze.

A burst of laughter came from the others. The change caused a bubble the others didn't know they were sitting on to burst. Of course, this didn't refer to Leonel's brothers, they were mostly indifferent to it all from the very beginning as they were the most familiar with Leonel.

They were already too familiar with the kind of person Leonel was, so this was only a natural outcome to them. Even when Leonel seemed just fine, more often than not, there was a storm getting ready to explode.

…

Leonel rubbed Little Nana's head, a bright smile on his face.

"It looks like you managed to succeed."

"I did, thanks to you," Nana replied with an equally bright smile. Her eyes even seemed to be a bit misty as though she might cry at any time.

She had wanted to succeed so badly, just to prove to the Adurna that bloodline wasn't everything. But in the end, she had to rely on Leonel to succeed. Even though logically how things ended weren't her fault, she felt that she was completely useless.

"Who told you to use a sword?" Leonel asked.

Nana blinked in surprise, then looking down at her waist. She had been trying to get used to this thing for a while, but it was difficult. She had never used a weapon like it before, but she thought that a short sword was probably the best thing to pair with her shield.

"What do you mean?" Nana blinked in confusion. "No one."

"No one?" Leonel raised an eyebrow. He didn't quite believe that. "No one even suggested it?"

"Um…" Nana frowned, trying to consider something, but clearly failing. In the end, she shook her head no.

"Is that so…"

Leonel suddenly sneered and grabbed out at the air. Before Nana could react, the shield on her back flew into Leonel's palm.

BANG!

There was a sudden reverberating impact. Leonel felt as though all the bones in his arms had suddenly shattered, but there was also a clear whine that came from the shield as well.

Ignoring his injuries, Leonel struck out again, and then again.

Nana watched on in shock, not quite understanding what she was seeing. She didn't believe that Leonel was stealing her shield even after she saw him forcefully take it, and this pretty much confirmed that. But it also made her more confused.

He struck out again. Every time he acted, flickering flames would collide with the shield, penetrating into the core and echoing through the Dream Plane.

"[Emperor's Edict]."

Leonel's gaze flashed and violet flames began to smolder out from the corner of his eyes.

He realized the problem immediately. Someone had planted a suggestion in Nana's mind and she was too weak to realize what was happening. The only person, or rather thing, close enough to do that was this shield. All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

When he thought of the possibility that Aina's battle ax could have some suggestion on it as well, he was immediately furious.

The spirits of these weapons shouldn't be so intelligent, and if they were, and were so eager to stop the likes of Nana from controlling them in the first place, then why would they agree to be controlled in the first place?

It was more likely that this suggestion had been placed or at least triggered by someone else using the shield as a proxy.

And now, Leonel was burning all of that away.

"SCRAM!"

His voice thundered and the shield shook and almost collapsed.

Leonel caught it out of the air and handed it to Nana. But before he explained anything, he waved a hand and Aina's battle ax appeared before him. He scanned it, but in the end, his expression slowly relaxed.

It was either Aina had already gotten rid of the suggestion herself, or there had never been on her Heirloom to begin with.

"It should all be fine now," Leonel looked at Nana with a smile. "Your skill doesn't lie in close combat, don't waste your time maximizing what isn't good for you."

Nana blinked. "Someone?"

She wasn't stupid, she could guess some things after Leonel took such violent action.

"Yes, but it should all be handled now."

At that moment, Aina appeared. After her battle ax disappeared, she knew that it was Leonel, but she couldn't help her curiosity.

However, the moment she appeared, the atmosphere completely changed.

Leonel had been just fine until now, but his rage boiled over in an instant. All the color drained from Nana's face and she fell back, almost collapsing to the ground.

Veins of crimson spread across Leonel's face and body, his jaw clenching so tight that his teeth actually cracked and fractured in several locations. However, he didn't seem to feel the pain at all.

His gaze was locked onto Aina's belly and his rage had consumed even his breath, constricting his lungs and his heart alike. He couldn't even take a breath without feeling like he was inhaling scorching magma.

'I'll kill them… I'll kill them all…'

Leonel's thoughts were barely coherent as he reached a hand forward, too fast for anyone to react.

He pressed his fingers against Aina's belly and pulled, his fingers flickering with dense violet flames.

His thoughts went completely black, and at that moment, the waves of the Inbetween World began to roll and surge, forming tsunamis that towered into the skies.