Leonel kicked the corpse that was beside him away, the curse words still flying from his mouth. This was unbelievable, truly unbelievable.

Right when he was about to attack to kill all of these people at once, he felt a heart-rending pain tear through him. The last time he had felt that kind of pain, it was back when his Bow Force had progressed to the Sixth Dimension while he was still in the Fifth. Ironically, he was once again in the Fifth Dimension, but now whether it was his Bow Force or his Spear Force, both were in the Seventh Dimension.

The worst part was that they weren't just in the Seventh Dimension, but each one was just a step away from the Impetus State, making the gap between himself and his Forces so wide that even trying to gather them up had almost shredded him apart.

In the past, at the very least, he could squeeze out a bow strike or two and come out of it with nothing worse than some fatigue. But now he had quite literally felt that his body was about to be shredded apart.

It only made it worse that he hadn't taken out his spear and had instead tried to use his fingers as a replacement. All the Nodal Pathways in his right arm had practically been shredded to pieces and it hung limply to his side. He had no choice but to use his left arm to prop himself up, his curses still flying without the slightest hint that it might come to a stop any time soon.

If this alone was the issue, he could still deal with it. It was acceptable enough. At the very least, the chance to return to the Fifth Dimension was worthwhile at least in some respects, especially since his comprehension was all still very much intact.

The issue was that this had clearly not come without a price.

Firstly, his Scarlet Star Innate Nodes were currently both very much dormant as though all the energy had been sapped out of it.

Secondly, his King's Might Lineage Factor was likewise dormant. His mind had been powerful for long enough to see the changes that each one of his Lineage Factors had caused to his body, and the cells that made up the King's Might Lineage Factor were all dimmed as though the energy that made them up had been sucked dry.

Thirdly, his Metal Body... Leonel looked at himself, wanting to cry and yet having no tears to shed. If his Metal Body was still as powerful as it had been in the past, none of this would have been an issue. He would still be able to forcefully use his Force comprehension without losing out in the slightest.

But his Metal Body had been completely and utterly drained. He didn't even have a Fourth Dimensional body anymore. Had he let those strikes hit him, he would have died ten times over.

'Absolutely unbelievable...'

Leonel understood why these things were happening. He remembered Wise Star Order complaining in the past about how he wished he hadn't entered the Seventh Dimension so soon, and somehow Leonel got the ability to return to the Fifth.

However, having the chance to return most definitely wouldn't come without a price, and his sacrifice was likely much of the foundation that he had built up until now.

The only things that remained by his side seemed to be his Northern Star Lineage Factors and his Spear Domain Lineage Factor, or rather, the spear aspects of his now-fused Morales Lineage Factor, but it was still a depressing sight to behold.

The youths around Leonel didn't know what to say. They didn't know how or when he had grabbed one of them to be a scapegoat for their attack, and that left the smarter ones among them on edge, but if everyone was smart... no one would be.

Seeing that there was a corpse with energies to absorb and a second injured Fifth Dimensional existence that could be seen as an easy kill, at least half the group rushed forward, the other half frowning as they chose to observe the situation for longer.

Leonel didn't seem to see them at all as he continued to curse, his unhappiness clear and obvious on his face. The stupid among them even thought that he was only reacting to his imminent death.

But just when the horned young man reached him, grabbing for his head to shatter him at once, Leonel's body crumbled into countless motes of light, causing the youth to swing at air.

He only had time to frown before his eyes opened wide as the world began to spin around him. Why was the world spinning? And why was he looking at his headless corpse?

Leonel flickered with his every step. His power was weaker, but his skill was impossibly far beyond these people. Even if he couldn't use his Spear Force, the comprehension of the spear that he had achieved just by raising it to the level he had made him akin to a spear master amidst a flock of toddlers.

At the same time, even if he couldn't use his body as a conduit for his Force, did he not still have his Mage Core? And did he not also still have his mind and his Ability Index?

These people might as well have been moving through quicksand, their movements so slow and easy to track that Leonel could think of dozens of ways to kill them before they landed even a single strike.

When he finally lowered his spear, not even three seconds had passed and yet a forest of headless corpses stood before him before slowly tumbling to the ground.

The world seemed to fall into silence, the only noise the sound of Leonel's curses.

"I swear to god old man, don't let me find you--"

The instant he said this, he flickered again, appearing amidst those that hadn't moved. They tried to run, but what good was it.

The pink-eyed girl closed her eyes, seemingly having accepted her fate when she felt something ice cold press against her neck.