Leonel didn't seem to hear Aliard's cry of pain. He had already closed in the distance to Margrave.
"[Darkness Do--]!"
"[Light Domain]."
Leonel's indifferent voice cut through it all.
The original creator of [Light Domain] didn't spend years of research constructing this spell so that it could enhance Light Elemental Arts. Though it worked out this way, it could only be considered a mere afterthought, an unexpected position outcome.
The main reason it was created wasn't to boost the light, but to restrain the dark!
Leonel could tell that the reason Margrave was so good with the Dark Element was because it wasn't a simple affinity. Leonel was certain that manipulation of darkness was Margrave's ability, not much unlike the little mink.
However, even still, [Light Domain] directly suppressed his ability to converge the Dark Element. It was just a small delay. But… in a battle of such intensity, especially when Margrave had already been caught off guard by Leonel's counter attack once… did he really stand another chance?
An image of a valiant man with a mane like beard appeared in Leonel's mind.
He was a man with an indomitable spear, one that could pierce through all things.
The first time Leonel used this man's consciousness in battle, he had been using a wooden spear. But, even then, he deformed a heavily reinforced shield and sent a shieldman flying.
It was that will that manifested again. A man with a single spear facing the whole world. Even though it looked like a simple pierce, it felt as though even if there was a mountain before Leonel, he would shatter it.
PCHU!
Margrave looked down at his chest with an incredulous expression.
What shocked him wasn't the fact Leonel's spear had gone through him. In fact, it was the fact Leonel's spear hadn't targeted him at all that left him stunned.
Leonel's spear ran through a seemingly inconspicuous shadow on the ground. Yet, Margrave felt as though his chest had been run through and his life was quickly escaping him.
"You… How…"
Leonel's gaze carried an undying sharpness. It was as though he had used the universe itself as his whetstone.
"How many times do you think the same trick will work on me? How much longer did you plan on feigning weakness? Since you don't seem to take me seriously, just die."
Margrave's mouth spluttered with blood, his face painted with an incredulous expression as he slowly fell over.
'It seems that… you never fell for it at all, right?'
Margrave died with grievances. His [Shadow Heart] was one of his greatest trump cards. He had no idea how Leonel had seen through it. But, even worse than that, Leonel had never fallen for his weakness ploy even once, even if one considered Coyote's sneak attack. So… why did he sound like the one who had suffered the loss?
Leonel pulled his spear from the ground, walking by Margrave's corpse as he slowly approaching Aliard's writhing figure.
This time, he didn't allow the eyes of his Snowy Star Owl to fade. If it wasn't for it, he really would have fallen for Margrave's ploy and likely suffered a loss. Seeing how cunning these people were, he no longer dared to lower his guard. For individuals like this, he had every intention of remaining cautious to the very end.
Leonel stood a meter and a half from the screaming Aliard, leveling out his spear until it hung just before the man's forehead.
"The Bishop, who is he?" Leonel asked coldly.
Aliard continued to writhe in pain as though he couldn't hear Leonel's words.
In the distance, the battle between Arthur and Peirce was reaching a climax. But, it was clear that King Arthur's legend wasn't for show. He had gained a slight upper hand and if given enough time, Leonel felt that victory would be his. If Leonel turned back now, the battle would be as good as over.
As for Mordred, she was even freer. She had gained support from the other demons and humans early on, giving her the easiest task. In addition, it seemed like Margrave's control over the five members of the Adurna family collapsed.
"Chain."
The moment Leonel's judgment descended, Aliard found himself wrapped in countless illusory chains. It seemed that whatever tricks they had had completely collapsed. This time, Leonel really had been too cautious.
He had underestimated the kind of affect his Snowy Star Owl Lineage Factor could have. If it wasn't because Aliard's comprehension of mental mage arts was so far beyond Leonel, his mind would have been directly shattered.
Leonel's palm flipped, causing a snowglobe to appear in his hand.
Aliard seemed to finally react to this sudden change. He tried to shift backward, but the chains that bound him made him look no different from a pitifully escaping worm.
Leonel shot a kick forward, clipping his chin and knocking him out completely. Only after Aliard had been trapped within a state of Suspended Animation did he sigh a breath of relief. He didn't know if he could extract any information out of Aliard, but what he did know was that he couldn't continue to remain in the dark like this.
Leonel turned back, only to find Mordred and King Arthur dealing a final blow to Peirce.
A breath he didn't know he had been holding was finally released. Were things really over now?
'It seems that Nana's family hadn't died, they were just taken control of…'
Leonel had thought that Margrave was a necromancer, but it seemed like that wasn't the case. Or maybe they had only kept Nana's family alive so that it was easier to control her.
'If that's true, it's likely that whoever can extract abilities and copy them to others needs their subject to be alive.'
Leonel made the only conclusion he could with such limited information. It was clear that this Bishop valued Nana's ability even compared to others.
This was ultimately a good thing for Leonel. He had so many enemies already, maybe being a friend to a hidden family wouldn't be a bad thing.
Still, he didn't get ahead of himself. He had seen no lack of ungrateful people in this new world order. Who knew if the Adurna family would appreciate his help?
A wave of fatigue assaulted Leonel. His nerves really had been stretched too thin for too long.
He shook his head, knowing that it still wasn't time for him to rest.
Leonel slowly trudged toward the sinkhole, focused entirely on the massive spherical Force Art that loomed above it. Even compared to the one within his Dream World, it was massive. No matter how Leonel looked at it, he had no idea how to take advantage of this thing. And, even though he was right before it, he had no idea why it was those Higher Dimensional Beings wanted it so much.
It was impossible for Leonel to copy it with his Dream Sculpt ability. Last time, he had relied on the enlightenment given by the maturing Force Core to succeed. Not to mention the fact there was no such boost here, even if there was, with how much more complicated this Art was, there was no guarantee he would succeed before his stamina ran out.
Leonel sighed. "What is this? And how do I take advantage of it?"
As usual, Leonel tried to rely on the dictionary. But, his expression changed once again when he didn't get an answer. Was this thing broken? What was happening?
Leonel frowned. If the dictionary was really broken, this was too big of a loss.
'Maybe…'
Leonel's palm flipped over and another snowglobe appeared.
He looked from the snowglobe to the sinkhole and spherical Force Art before him.
'Won't know unless I try…'