Leonel watched as the four were escorted away.
He felt better than he thought he would. Being able to resolve things with his words again rather than his fists left him feeling light.
Well, technically he still relied on strength this time around. If it wasn’t for his vastly improved method of using Camelot’s Mage Art magic system, it would have been impossible for him to hide so much movement from them all, this was especially considering Laeron’s perfect recall ability. If there was even a single blade of grass out of place, he likely would have been seen through.
Still, Leonel was happy. He didn’t have anything to complain about. He could only hope that the negotiations The Empire went as smoothly.
Unfortunately, Leonel could only be hopeful about this. The power imbalance between The Empire and them, even if Camelot and the Demon Empire came together, was too large. He obviously couldn’t use bully tactics as he had just done if this was the case.
“Are you sure we’ll be able to hold him?”
A sudden voice cut into Leonel’s thoughts. When he looked over, he found Lancelot’s figure beside him.
Lancelot was wearing the same smile he always his did. His mood seemed great. But, Leonel was quite aware that much of this was a façade.
A leader of men didn’t always have the luxury of wearing his heart on his sleeve. This was a curse that it seemed both Lancelot and Arthur were afflicted with.
Leonel nodded. “The restrictions I placed on him are modified Three Star Magus Arts. Though they’re not able to stop him completely, it will take him some effort to break them even if he goes all out. My estimates sits at … seven seconds. By the time he breaks it, I’ll already be aware and that time is enough for me to activate the teleportation key I hid on him.”
Lancelot nodded with some assurance, his smile as bright as ever.
“About these negotiations, Leonel. I’m curious about this Ascension Empire and what joining them means for Camelot.”
Leonel sighed. “The Ascension Empire is just like any other. Its main focus is growth, expansion and holding onto its power. In the past, what mattered most was your talent and now what also matters most is still your talent. In truth, I wouldn’t say that it’s any different from Camelot. The only difference is that compared to being at the top like you are now, you will have to fight to hold such a position again.”
Leonel swept a glance toward Lancelot, half expecting him to defend Camelot and speak words about how much they loved their people and other similar things.
In truth, Leonel was being quite kind to Camelot. Compared to The Empire, Camelot treated its ‘lesser-thans’ far worse. At least on the surface, anyway.
Leonel would never forget that The Empire allowed billions to die just so that it would be easier to deal with Invalid tides. In fact, much of the reason Leonel didn’t run into an Invalid despite the early stages Earth was in was precisely because of this.
Other worlds in similar positions would have to spend centuries fighting against Invalids. By the time they established themselves, their worlds would have to be separated in safe and unsafe zones.
But, by killing so much immediately, Earth never had to deal with this problem. And, with the exception of the oceans where humans couldn’t normally reside anyway, everywhere else was still reasonably safe.
Sometimes, Leonel couldn’t help but wonder how much of the invention of Paradise Islands were about land shortage… and how much was a plan for this all along…
“I see.” Lancelot nodded, not a hint of derision on his face. “I hope they will be better at finding talents than we have been.”
Lancelot smiled somewhat sadly, a slight crack showing in his usual façade.
“I didn’t have an opportunity to say it before, but I’m sorry for what happened to you. To think that you would also be our savior as well, how ironic.”
Leonel gave a slight chuckle. “I can’t take credit for that, it wasn’t intentional. In truth, I did it mostly to save my own life. It’s just that my selfishness happened to help others.”
“Selfishness, huh…?” Lancelot sighed, his blue irises dimming somewhat. “… It’s unfortunate that selfishness isn’t always possible, and selflessness isn’t always rewarded.”
Leonel remained silent for a long while before finally speaking.
“Selflessness can only be rewarded after selfishness has finished taking everything it wants first. After that, the selfless can only find time and space to heal.”
Lancelot froze. He looked toward Leonel’s side profile, his pupils visibly trembling.
Was it just a coincidence?
Leonel’s words seemed to resonate with Lancelot’s soul.
‘Time and space to heal…’
At that moment, the ground beneath their feet began to shake.
Leonel’s gaze sharpened. ‘It’s here? That was enough?’
All this time, Leonel had felt a feeling tugging at the back of his mind. However, his Dreamscape didn’t seem capable of finding the answer. So, Leonel did it himself.
Leonel’s mind was even more powerful than maybe even he himself knew. The more he thought about it, the more possibilities he crossed off… the more he realized that there was only one possible explanation left…
The Zone quests hadn’t ended yet.
Camelot had already become a part of true history and Leonel had already saved King Arthur from a fate of death, if he could just resolve the love triangle, everything would be perfect.
But… there was one issue with this.
Leonel couldn’t possibly kill Mordred. Let alone the fact that he wouldn’t have the heart to do so even if he didn’t know her so well, they were now intimately acquainted. To Leonel, killing Mordred would feel no different from killing any one of his teammates. He couldn’t bear it.
But, that moment when he called Mordred his friend, something clicked.
Zones were not a game so their quests didn’t exist just for the sake of existing. The quests were in place as guides to those who entered, allowing them to help along the resolution of the Zone as a whole.
This was a simple matter. Leonel had long since learned as much during his time within the Joan Zone.
What did all of this mean, then? It meant that the quests themselves were not as important as the function they served!
Saving King Arthur. Resolving the love triangle. Killing Mordred. Making King Arthur a part of true history…
What did all of these quests have in common? It was all about resolving Arthur as a person, helping him to complete his character arc.
Often times it was difficult for someone who had been wronged to forgive. There was definitely a timeline of events where Mordred would never forgive her father and even choose to continue her attempts to kill him.
When a person is too far gone, despite how tragic their pasts might be, the crudest way to deal with them would be to kill them…
In such a reality, Arthur would mourn the loss of his daughter with his wife and son while Lancelot, being the good man that he is, would take a step back and allow the family to come together. In such a way, Mordred’s death would become the catalyst to truly heal Arthur of his ailments.
But… What if Mordred didn’t choose that path? What if she was alright with reconnecting with her family? What if… she made the first friend she ever had?
In such a case, wouldn’t it fulfill the same requirements as her death would have?
The savior of King Arthur. The manifestation of Camelot. The resolution of the love triangle. The ‘death’ of Mordred.
The sound of shattering glass resounded throughout the small moon as the world continued to tremble.
Leonel felt his heart suddenly thrum to life. It wasn’t just him, but every citizen of Earth’s world felt the very same way at that exact moment.
It was then Leonel understood what his actions meant.
Earth was evolving into a Fourth Dimensional world.
However, Leonel expected what happened next even less.