418: War Drums

War Drums

Leonel watched as the doors gates open. Despite being several kilometers away, due to the size of the dome and his own senses, he might as well have been right in front of it all.  0

"We should go." Aina said softly. 

If they stayed here and were subject to the same technology the Invalid horde had been, they would definitely suffer. There were just two of them, no matter how powerful they were, they still weren't prepared to take down such a behemoth alone, at least not without proper planning. 

Since Leonel had already met his goal of securing the safety of his friends, there was really no need to keep risking themselves here. It was a pointless endeavor. 

"… I can't leave without killing the Junior Governor Duke." Leonel said. 

Aina sent a glance over to Leonel. 

She still remembered that over a year ago, Leonel couldn't even stomach killing a human. But now he was going out of his way to make sure one in particular felt his wrath. 

She couldn't say that she was opposed to this. This was a realization she always hoped Leonel would come to. But, at the same time, she liked Leonel's innocence and naivete. Though this was a much better mentality for Leonel to have in such a world, she still felt like she was losing something. 

"… They wouldn't release the illusion over the inner city without reason. He might already be dead." 

Leonel's brows raised. 

Now that he thought about it, that was true. Miles had been on the wall when the explosion suddenly went off. The possibility of his death was quite high, especially since his ability wasn't physical. 

Leonel released his Internal Sight. He had been completely focused on the battle with the Slayer Legion originally, so he didn't have the mind to care for other things. Though the battle had seemed simple and easy, had Leonel not been able to calculate every minute detail, it was very possible that he could have been the one that ended up dying. 

'Huh?'

Leonel's eyes sharpened. 

"What is it?" Aina asked.

"… He really is dead."

Aina nodded. "Let's go, then. There's nothing else to do here."

"It's… not that simple. Someone killed him."

"One of the Invalids?"

"I can't be sure. Normally an Invalid would want a human's Ethereal Glabella, but his skull is intact. There's only a hole through his chest."

"Then isn't it obvious?" Aina asked. "They closed the inner city without sending someone to save him. Someone plotted against him for whatever reason, it might have something to do with his choice to bomb the Fort back then."

"Maybe…" Leonel's eyes narrowed. 

At the moment, his senses locked onto an open cage. He remembered that this was the same cage that held the white wolf Variant Invalid before. But, this cage only had damage from the outside. 

Someone released that beast? 

Sparks continued to fly within Leonel's Dreamscape, but he still didn't have enough information. He had no idea what was happening. 

"Young Miss!"

A sudden voice cut off Leonel's thoughts. 

Aina's expression changed. Suddenly, Leonel found his hand being pulled by something soft as he was dragged away. 

He looked back over his shoulder to see Yuri hiking up her dress and chasing after them. 

'This feels… oddly familiar…'

Leonel's train of thought was interrupted as he laughed. 

This was the second time he and Aina had run away from Yuri. He didn't know why Aina wanted to avoid her so much, but he had to say he didn't mind holding onto such a soft hand. 

Leonel couldn't be certain if Aina's scars only impacted her face, but what he was sure of was the fact her hands were perfect and without flaw. 

'Is it creepy to be attracted to a slender hand?' Leonel thought to himself. 

"Young Miss! Stop running!"

Unfortunately for Yuri, compared to the past, Leonel and Aina were even faster. 

Eventually, she could only stop running as they disappeared into the distance. In the place of the running couple, Leonel's teammates suddenly appeared once again amid dim flashing lights, hints of confusion on their faces due to the unexpected teleportation.

Miles looked toward Joel and Raj, then all three met gazes with Yuri. They all had the same abandoned look in their eye. 

"First time?" Yuri's chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath, a hint of sympathy in her voice. 

The three nodded like wounded children. 

Yuri rose to her tippy toes and patted their shoulders. 

"You get used to it."

**

While the Royal Blue Fort had been attacked by an unknown entity, the capital was coming up with ways to deal with the addition of a second moon. 

Under this second moon's influence, it had been difficult for Earth to get a moment of peace. But, as though this wasn't bad enough, their world's evolution had been accelerated, causing an epidemic of Force Surges to erupt. 

The activity of beasts and Invalids alike grew as a result, making the environment far more volatile. Instances of beast and Invalid hordes were taking the infantile world by storm. 

It was amidst these challenges that news of this second moon was finally disseminated and reached the ears of the most powerful men and women of Earth. 

The appearance of a Kingdom within the territory of the Ascension Empire? It was unacceptable. 

The instant these matters were learned about, The Empire sounded the war drums. For the first time in centuries, a true threat had appeared within their territory. 

For the vast majority of Earth, even getting access to the normal tech they had was impossible. But, in the past year, The Empire hadn't been sitting on its laurels. With the resources it had access to, the Capital had quickly become a place no less prosperous than any other Fourth Dimensional world. 

In addition, even without access to technology, it was a simple matter for those of the Capital to exchange for treasures that would allow them to travel to this second moon. 

War drums beat. War flags rose. A patriotic aura thrummed throughout the Capital. 

As for the chosen leader of this expedition? 

Prince Noah Fawkes.

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