Dimensional Descent

Leonel pulled on the world itself, his thoughts almost becoming solid. Auspicious Air fell in waves.

He had never forgotten. How could he? He had created this technique with his own hands.

[Dimensional Cleanse] had had a built-in array of Natural Force Arts designed for no other reason than to gather Auspicious Air. It was so natural to him that he hardly ever used the ability.

Leonel had never really fought an opponent he needed Auspicious Air against in the first place. In his estimation, his mind had already been elevated to the point he didn’t need the help of the world around him to think sharper and faster.

What he never considered was the possibility of using Auspicious Air for something else entirely.

When he saw the Demoness use it in such a way, it flowed naturally as though it was nothing more than an extension of himself. But not only did he grasp the methods of the Demoness…

He took a step beyond.

His King Force took shape, fusing into the Auspicious Air. At that moment, his Spear Force elevated to another level, the weapon in his hand simplifying on one hand, and blooming to another level on the other.

The skies shook and blades crossed through the air.

They danced with the rays of the Northern Star as their backdrop.

In that moment, they looked like nothing more than a pair of mortals. If it wasn’t for the fact they were crossing the skies and impossible distances in what felt like less than a blink, one would have truly been fooled.

Their power was so controlled, their attacks so straightforward that they almost looked down to earth.

Thrusts met thrusts, slashes parrying slices, piercing strikes meeting steady spear bodies.

Every attack they sent, they both seemed to be improving by leaps and bounds. It seemed as much a competition of their genius as it was their strength.

They grasped techniques from one another, differing methods, different perspectives on how to view the world.

And then their strikes began to grow more overbearing, more complex.

They layered in shifts in time and space, warping reality and twisting the world to mold to their will.

Down below, the world seemed still frozen in time, unable to read or react to the battle they were witnessing.

Blood spurted.

Leonel’s neck was almost severed in two, but a light of violet fused it together back into one.

He knew that he was at a disadvantage, his improvement lagging just the slightest bit behind the Demoness. The difference was small, but what truly made him apprehensive was the fact that the Demoness was controlling it at such a minor rate on purpose.

While he was quickly trying to improve, she was not only improving, but also recovering strength she also had. With such a gap, the difference would be obvious.

Even now, she was trying to win while minimizing the strength she had to use.

In its own way, this was suffocating for a completely different reason. She was still playing mind games, still trying to fill him with self-doubt and an oppression that went beyond just the blade in her hand.

She was the true Ancestor of the Dream Asuras.

However, Leonel didn’t waver in the slightest. She wasn’t the only one that had birthed a Race.

Blood exploded out from Leonel’s back as a spear jetted through his chest. This time, the Demoness bypassed his heart on purpose, piercing around it and avoiding the loss of control of her Spear Force.

Or so she thought.

An unrelenting blast shot out a moment later, leveling more worlds and stars.

The eyes of the Demoness narrowed, but Leonel had already taken control of his spurts of blood.

Earlier, he had turned his arm into a Natural Force Art. This wasn’t by coincidence, nor was it something he had done on a whim.

His wife had taken the true path of Humans, but he was a Spiritual King. The first Spiritual.

His soul was separate from his body, which meant one very important thing…

This flesh sack of his that his soul chose to call home was nothing more than a vessel forged by his hands.

He could make it anything he wanted it to be.

He wasn’t a Blood Force user like his wife. But the difference hardly mattered.

In that moment, the substance of Leonel’s body changed and the Force Arts bloomed around the Demoness’ weapon. Despite her confidence, she lost control of her spear once again and Leonel responded in kind, piercing right through her chest.

BANG!

There was a suffocating presence that bloomed, rebounding against his blade, but he pushed right through, Auspicious Air, his Spear Force, and his King Force blooming into a single mighty tempest.

A hole shot right through the Demoness’ chest.

BOOM!

The two separated, their torsos coupled with ghastly, gaping holes.

In an instant they were healed, Leonel’s King Force blooming and the Demoness rewriting reality.

The space beneath their feet rippled as they stomped down.

”Enough.” The Demoness said lightly.

In that moment, the slight violet ripples in her hair became solid. Her aura changed, her body growing in size. She had already been slightly taller than Leonel, but now she stood at almost a half meter taller.

Lavender horns grew from her forehead, curling back and onto her head like a pair of twisting braids. And already a beautiful woman, she seemed to elevate to another level, her warm brown eyes sparkling with an amethyst-like sheen.

Her subtle increases in power stopped as she took a large leap forward in an instant of time.

She appeared before Leonel in an instant, the latter having only just stomped at the air. He was too slow to react, and from a third party’s perspective, it almost looked as though he had thrown himself onto her spear.

However, the Demoness didn’t thrust the blade through his body. Her spear moved so fast that it looked almost as though she had just tapped him several times, barely leaving wounds that were only as deep as paper cuts on his body.

And then Leonel shattered to pieces, his Ethereal Glabella the only thing remaining.

Yet, that simply fell into the Demoness’ open palm.