Dimensional Descent

Leonel’s arrow pierced six skulls as Aina’s sword split the lead scout in two. 

Leonel leapt down to the ground, the soil shifting beneath his heavy fall. 

“It worked well.” Aina said. “But, it still has some flaws.”

Leonel nodded in agreement. 

“A smarter scout would have realized they couldn’t hear anything much quicker. We got lucky this time because this one is used to having his hearing compromised, but it won’t necessarily happen again.”

With the way he and Aina were charging through the forest, no matter how light their steps were, it was impossible for them to not have made a single sound. A smarter scout would have realized very quickly that the barrier Leonel erected could both block their signal flares and any sound they made. 

Once they realized this, their first instinct would have been to run rather than holding their ground. After all, all they had to do was leave the ten meter radius of the halo to send out a signal. Even if they couldn’t survive, it was their role as scouts to send such valuable information back. 

But, luckily, ironically due to his shouting ability, the lead scout’s hearing was compromised along with the six that followed him. So, he didn’t notice the odditiy until it was too late. 

“Is it possible to make the sound filter one way?” Aina asked. 

“It’s possible… but it would double the production time. With the time crunch we’re on, I’m not sure if it’s worth it.”

Leonel was the only one who could make these orbs of light. And, unfortunately, they were one use objects with a very limited lifespan. Which meant that he would have to make a new one for each one of these operations. 

The North West squad came out of their hiding places, displaying speed that even surpassed Leonel and Aina. At least, it surpassed the speed they had displayed to this point. It seemed that this squad was quite capable, indeed. 

“Captain.”

Leonel nodded. “Right, this region is still your responsibility.”

Leonel raised a hand and caused a surge of Fire Elemental Force to burn the seven corpses before him. 

The halo of light pulsed, causing the scent of burning flesh to be purified and dispersed. 

With that, Leonel and Aina shot back toward the main group. 

The members of North West squad looked at one another with deep meaning in their eyes. 

It had been them who threw out the orb on Leonel’s command to begin with, so they were an integral part of the operation. They had to say that they were surprised by the efficiency. If things continued like this… They would have a good chance of performing well. 

This was enough to tell them that though their styles were different, Leonel’s leadership ability was no less than Noah’s. But, where they separated was in the usefulness of Leonel’s skills. While their leadership abilities didn’t differ by much, Leonel’s skill as a Force Crafter made his plans work out with much more smoothness and ease. 

Their lives hadn’t even been on the line even once, yet seven enemies had died. It was truly baffling. 

With a light nod to one another, the three members of North West squad shot in different directions, their eyes flashing with more determination. 

**

At that moment outside of Dark Cloud Prison, an odd scene could be seen. 

On one side, there was a hexagonal prison. But, on another, there was a city that seemed to have dropped out of the skies. 

Of the six sides of this hexagonal prison, one had completely collapsed. And, this collapsed portion just happened to be the section facing the out of place city. 

For any third party observer, it was easy to deduce what happened. This city fell from the skies and caused the damage they were now seeing. But, what was maybe more surprising was that even with such a disastrous event occurring… The Prison only lost a sixth of its integrity!

If Leonel could see this sight, he would be shocked beyond belief before marveling at Earth’s ability. 

Camelot was almost upturned by the fall of just one city. Yet, despite the city having fallen not even half a kilometer from Dark Cloud Prison, it only suffered the collapse of a single side. 

However, at that moment, there was nothing the guards and Warden of Dark Cloud Prison felt happy about. With the prison compromised, a large swath of prisoners found the light of day for the first time in decades. 

What they didn’t know was that the restrictions of Dark Cloud Prison went beyond just walls and bars. The very materials of the Prison was capable of blocking influxes of Force. This caused even those who successfully managed to awaken their abilities to have little chance at sensing and using them. 

This technology went beyond Force Disruption Towers. Even with the Descent of the Fourth Dimension, it was completely unaffected because… It relied on metals from the Fourth Dimension itself!

As for whether or not Terrain was aware of this fact, it was unknown. But, what was certain was that with the collapse of the prison, this system was compromised. 

While these special metals were effective in some cases, they also had far more limitations than Force Disruption Towers. 

Simply being in their vicinity wasn’t enough. One had to be enclosed by them or in contact with them. In addition, just like how Force Disruption Towers were useless in the Fourth Dimension, these metals were useless against abilities in the Fifth Dimension and above. 

Due to this, the appearance of the city caused many prisoners who hadn’t been aware of their abilities in the past to suddenly become enlightened, causing chaos to reign. 

The sound of battle filled the halls of the prison, leaking out through its cracked and falling walls. But, this would soon be the least of their worries…

City Lord Hargrove, a slender man with a drooping grey mustache that swept past his chest stood atop the city wall, eyeing the prison as though he saw prey. 

“Prisoners of Dark Cloud!” His voice suddenly boomed, reverberating through the collapsed walls. “Do you want your freedom?! Do you want revenge?! The Empire of Earth has done nothing but take from you, do you want to make them pay! Do you want to see the Capital washed in blood! Do you want to see the head of Emperor Fawkes on a pike?!

“Join us!”