2052 Kill. Leonel might be in a different state now, but he was still mindful of the future. Nothing bad was about to happen to Aina just now, but he didn't feel it was necessary to show all of these matters just yet. Using it on this one territory when victory was already in hand was unnecessary. Since Vega was First Nova's woman, he had no intention of killing her. However, she wasn't an Heir, so she didn't have a badge to crush and send her out, it would be up to First Nova to do that. Even so, Leonel didn't have any intention of using her as a hostage either. So as things stood now, the only thing he wanted was control over the city's core. For that sort of purpose, this much was already enough. The Quarius family members, upon realizing Vega had lost the battle, and so miserably at that, couldn't stand idly by any longer. There weren't many of them, and truthfully most of them were actually just Adawarth's subordinates, faithful followers he had gathered over the years. As First Nova, there was no doubt that he had had the most time of them all to succeed in this matter, and his subordinates were most definitely not incompetent. They had understood what Vega wanted to do, defeating an enemy in a one on one battle before the start of a large scale war was an excellent way to claim the morale for your side. However, things hadn't gone as planned. Even so, they were all veterans of the battlefield and each one of them understood that they still ultimately had the upper hand. They were the defending party and their numbers were far greater. In addition, if Leonel and the others were too slow, they would end up pincered from multiple sides. Not only had they already contacted Adawarth, but their members who were focused on scouting out the region and clearing dungeons and the like could come back any time. However, maybe none of them actually expected what happened next. Leonel raised a hand and the Skies family moved forward, their valiant armors glistening even under the rolling clouds above. At first, not many had thought much of the storm clouds above. They had a storm-related city and this was quite normal, there was nothing much to think about. But none of them realized just how odd it was until just now. It felt as though every time the Skies family raised their feet and connected with the waters beneath them, the skies would rumble again. The cadence of an army's march matched with the thunderous rage of nature, filling their enemies with an unexpected trepidation, one they had no idea how to account for. Suddenly. CRACKLE! An arc of lightning descended from the skies and crashed into the city below. At first, it was just one, but then there was a second, and then a third, then a fourth. It looked as though it was harming nothing at all until the first person was struck. A cry of agony echoed before they fell into a pile of crumpled flesh. "FIRE. FIRE NOW!" Vega barely pulled herself out from the rubble. She could only be described to be in a sorry state. Her dress was torn in countless places, one of her arms hung limply by her side, entirely unable to move, while blood flowed from her lips like a waterfall, coating her chin and dripping down into the cleavage of what remained of her clothing. She didn't have time to fathom how she, a genius of the Void Palace and leader of a Legacy Faction could possibly lose to an Aina who had lost a 20-year advantage. All she could think about was trying to preserve Adawarth's hard work to the best of her abilities. She had betrayed even her own family for the sake of being here, there was no way that she could allow things to end so easily. Unfortunately, because of the battle she had just had with Aina, many of the ballistae units that were directly facing the Skies family had fallen into the city, over the edge of the walls and into the water, or had just been directly destroyed. As a result, many that were facing off to the side had to overextend themselves, awkwardly changing their aimed direction and shooting from a much longer distance. Suddenly, phantoms began to appear in the army one after another. Giants constructed of lightning rose from the water, formed of the Force from the warriors that worked together beneath its protection. These giants of lightning struck out with their palms, smashing the projectiles into ashes while ignoring the ones that never stood a chance. Leonel waved another hand and the Oryx stepped forward, the ocean rumbling beneath them. In fact, they shook the ocean waves so much that even the whirlpools were beginning to show signs of collapsing, unable to maintain their proper state. Suddenly, the third eyes of the Oryx all split open one after another. The shadows of several crimson eyes began to appear in the skies. Staring at the sight, Vega felt a shudder. There was something oddly sinister about them, as though they were peering into the depths of her soul, and yet there was absolutely nothing that she could do about it. During their Hyper Evolution, the Oryx hadn't seemed to undergo many changes, but this was because most of their evolution had been concentrated into their eyes. The third eye of the Oryx was oddly robust, carrying none of the usual fragility of what one would expect from an eye. And what had always been interesting to Leonel was the fact that their evolution had been concentrated into their eyes. The third eye of the Oryx was oddly robust, carrying none of the usual fragility of what one would expect from an eye. And what had always been interesting to Leonel was the fact that their third eye was located right on the forehead, taking up space in the location their Ethereal Glabella should have been. So, when he created the set of armor they would use in the month he had before the Heir Wars began… He took advantage of that. Leonel's lip curled as the illusory eyes in the sky pulsed, glowing a fiendish bright red. "Kill." ----- Erdiul Notes: I'll be updating this novel this month, enjoy the mass release.