1376: Shadow

Shadow

Leonel immediately shot backward, landing by Aina's side. He crossed the face of Rowan without even glancing his way, his eyes still locked onto the surging waters and flickering shadows.  0

These newcomers seemed to move slowly, but their speed was exceptionally fast. They almost instantly split into two groups, one converging onto the Rapax and the egg, while the others fanned out, clearly wanting to deal with the youths of the Void Palace. 

Almost the instant they did, Leonel felt an odd shift in the atmosphere. Several heads turned in his direction, their faces obscured by the shadows to the point even their body shapes were hard to make out. Whether they were male or female, fit or slim, even their heights seemed to wildly fluctuate, making Leonel's calculations reboot every other second. 

A chilling wind nipped at Leonel's neck, but his gaze only became colder. What was immediately obvious was that these individuals couldn't break the rules of the Rapax either. They were all most definitely either within the Fifth Dimension or the low Sixth Dimensional Tiers. 

Leonel's gaze sharpened. He couldn't afford to use this as an experiment any longer. This wasn't the time to train. It was a time to focus on survival. 

"Aina."

"Yes."

"Go all out."

BANG!

Both of their auras skyrocketed, intertwining in a blazing pillar. One side of blinding white gold and red. Another side of dense black and crimson. 

A shadow appeared before them both, only to be met with two blades simultaneously. 

BOOM!

"Mature Snowy Star Owl? What an unexpected find. Be a good little boy and tell me where you got your Lineage Factor."

The shadow's dense fog seemed to morph, becoming two glistening bat wings that reflected hues of silver from time to time as though it had trapped the rays of the moon. 

Leonel's lips upturned, forming a sneer. "I'm pretty interested in where yours came from too."

The shadow seemed stunned for a moment, its wings slightly trembling as one half blocked Leonel's spear and the other handled Aina's battle ax. Even facing the two of them, its feet dug into the ground, its powerful legs pushing back without losing out in the slightest. However, it soon burst into a fit of laughter that grated on the ears, making Leonel feel as though a fork was scraping against his eardrum. 

"You want to know where mine comes from? I have not met a boy so arrogant and ignorant in my life! Do you believe that even if you did know, that you could do something about it?!"

The wings of the shadow flexed. An uncontrollable strength pulsed down Leonel's arms. He immediately found his balance shifting, his attempts at forcing down and fighting back against the feeling failing. Without suspense, both he and Aina were forced back, their bodies sliding against the ground. 

Leonel's blood rumbled, immediately allowing his wings to unfurl from his back once more. He realized in that moment that there was no sense in holding back against these people. 

Scales of white gold erupted across his skin, hiding the dense Bronze Runes that formed beneath them. 

In that moment, his speed skyrocketed, the golden blade of his spear shimmering with an added flare as he struck outward over a dozen times in quick succession. 

Aina's pupils elongated and sharpened, her canines growing and the black fog that came off of herself becoming all the more prominent. 

The pair shot forward in unison, their blades practically intertwining and leaving wild streaks of shimmering, sharp Force in the air. 

Leonel's figure flickered, his Spear Crown erupting. Radiant light followed his every movement. 

Aina's strides were long, her attacks wild. Each movement carried with it an explosive power. 

The dichotomy of fast and swift versus powerful and purposeful almost instantly overwhelmed the shadow. Leonel was able to calculate Aina's next move even before she did it and Aina was able to instinctually react to every action Leonel took. Despite it having been over a year since the two fought with one another, it felt as though they had never missed a single day. 

Leonel's spear flickered, appearing before the shadow's throat, only to instantly find a wing in its path. However, as though he had expected exactly this much, he had already moved, his figure vanishing and appearing to its back. His spear snaked forward as though its trajectory had never changed, piercing toward the back of the shadow's skull. 

Aina appeared to its front, her stance firm and her battle ax swinging in an upward arc. The momentum of her string was so fierce that its polearm warped and bent, the crashing sounds of wind pushing against its blade making one feel as though their eardrums might burst. 

The snarky voice of the shadow had long since faded. It was impossible to tell what sort of state it was in or if it had even bled once since this battle began. However, its lack of a word seemed to speak volumes all to itself. 

The shadow dodged Leonel's spear by tilting its head to the side, but almost immediately crashed against Aina's ax as a result of its efforts. 

It stumbled backward in time to find that Leonel had already retracted his spear, his heel slamming into the back of the shadow's knee as it retreated. 

The shadow's heart skipped a beat. With how ethereal its form was currently, it couldn't understand how Leonel had managed to pinpoint its joint so precisely. But, by the time it had finished this thought, it was already too late. 

Aina's ax descended from the skies, carrying with it the momentum of the original upward swing and slamming downward with a piercing wind pressure that made the shadow feel as though it was about to be split in half without even feeling the touch of the cool blades' edge. 

Leonel's gaze sharpened, a dense fire lighting within. He had been careful to not use his Scarlet Star Force to not harm Aina, but now was the perfect time. 

Flames erupted on the tip of his blade, fusing with his Spear Force in the blink of an eye. 

CRACK!

Leonel's expression flickered when he heard this, but his strike remained true, timing it all perfectly. Their teamwork was simply too seamless. 

However, at that moment, his eyes widened. 

"Retreat."

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