Leonel didn't understand these people. Did they just expect him to forget?
What happened to those three disciples that he had hung from a tree? What happened to those disciples that had died testing his apparently 'faulty' products? Was he just supposed to ignore the fact that ever happened? In fact, maybe the fact he wasn't cutting Aphestus and Raylion down where they stood was him failing those victims.
Aphestus blinked and shook his head before he truly registered what had just happened. The rage in Leonel's voice was hidden under a layer of coldness and just listening to it made him feel as though a bell was ringing in his ears.
What Aphestus didn't know was that this was Leonel's King's Might seeping outward. If Leonel had been more intentional with his actions, Aphestus' head might have already imploded just from his words alone.
At this point, the coercion in Leonel's voice was such that he could almost manifest his will into existence. Since Aphestus was a Dimension below him, he wouldn't even have the chance to fight back before his body listened to Leonel's will almost as though these events were a story and Aphestus was a character Leonel was writing.
This was the difference between Dimensions.
A talent like Leonel might be able to rely on his Lineage to fight above. But, when a talent like Leonel was above a lesser talent like Aphestus, the true difference between Dimensions was as clear as day. The current Leonel might as well have been a God to Aphestus. He could die to a single one of Leonel's thoughts.
It took a long while for Aphestus to finally regain his bearings, but he felt as though his IQ had dropped by several points, like his brain had turned to mush. He completely forgot that he should have been enraged.
When his vision cleared, he found Leonel still looking at him expressionlessly. But, at that moment, he felt a deep rooted fear in his heart that seemed birthed from something intangible to become a heavy representation of his reality.
"I…" Aphestus shook his head. "… They're not dead. We just sent them away. They didn't have much talent as disciples anyway so we just staged some stuff, gave them some money, and shipped them off. To enjoy the rest of their lives."
The moment Aphestus finished saying these words, he suddenly snapped.
"FUCK YOU!" Aphestus regained his fiery edge, his canines extending and his pupils becoming slits.
He suddenly realized that he had fallen under Leonel's coercion. His rebuttal should have been a 'gotcha moment'. But, instead, it came out weak as though he was pleading with Leonel to understand his plight. How could he not be seething?
Ingsan might have let them slander him, but he would have never allowed them to start killing disciples. For proof of this, one only needed to look at what happened to the seniors that tried to block Leonel, Aina and the other freshmen from entering the ore mines.
Those seniors, for causing the potential deaths of their juniors, had been punished swiftly, harshly and without mercy.
How could the seniors of Valiant Heart have reacted like that then, but suddenly let Raylion do as he pleased?
Of course, Raylion was talented, so one might think he would get a bit of extra leeway. But, even in his injured state, Ingsan was still the most powerful individual in Valiant Heart Mountain. He could have done as he pleased, especially to a disciple that was blaspheming his name.
"Oh? So it's like that?" Leonel's coldness vanished and he smiled lightly. "Didn't you still try to kill me though? That's hard to forgive."
"Fuck you! You think I'm going to grovel at your feet?! DIE!"
Aphestus attacked as swiftly and viciously as he could, his aura climbing to the point that the ground beneath his feet shattered, quite a decent feat for someone in the Fourth Dimension to accomplish on a Fifth Dimensional world.
However, Leonel only chuckled and caught his wrist.
"Alright, alright. There's no need to throw a temper tantrum, right? I was just joking around."
Leonel had used a bit of his coercion to force down Aphestus' barriers and get him to tell the truth. But, surprisingly, the truth was different from what he thought it would be. It could be considered to be a pleasant surprise, actually.
Aphestus kept attacking furiously, even trying with his legs and feet, but it was all to no avail.
Leonel knocked him out and threw him over his shoulder, casually strolling to the pillars with a grown man hanging from his side. He placed a palm on the pillars, feeling the ancient carvings dance across his fingers.
'Yes… This could definitely work… Definitely…'
"Ah, gross. Stop drooling, will you?"
In the spaceship above Planet Valiant, it was safe to say that Gretta was seething. But, at the same time, she didn't dare to go down.
Contrary to what one might expect, this wasn't because she was afraid of Leonel, but rather that she didn't dare to show her face. If she did, things would only become even worse for the Milky Way Guild which was already experiencing some trouble.
At that moment, a welling up of dread filled her heart. She had already taken a risk by okaying this operation. Now, not only had the three organizations suffered great losses, but among them, three Fifth Dimensional existences fell.
As though that wasn't bad enough, she had lost five Fifth Dimensional subordinates that she had worked hard to groom over the last several decades. There was no way that she could make up for such a loss to herself in a short time.
None of this even mentioned the kind of punishment she would receive this time. Gretta even began to think of running away. Maybe this time, if she dared to go back to the Guild, she would really be finished. Was there any coming back from this?
However, where would she go? To another galaxy? Traveling between galaxies required at least a Sixth Dimensional ship, though. How would she procure such a thing? She definitely couldn't stay in the Milky Way… If she did, there wasn't a single corner she could hide in where she wouldn't be found…
Fear began to flood Gretta's heart, more and more crazed thoughts forcing her scar to tremble and wiggle about as though it had a mind of its own.
She had to kill Leonel. That was the only way to survive. It was the only way to survive.
It was exactly at that moment that Gretta received a call. But when she heard the voice on the other side, she couldn't help but be frozen solid.
"Hello, little sister, your big sis is here to save you. How about we make a deal?"