Chapter 169 - I Walk A Road, Horizons Change

The trees swayed peacefully in the wind, cluttering and hissing as the air passed the branches and leaves. The insects hummed and small animals shuffled through the dark shadows as the forest recovered its night liveliness.

Despite witnessing a calamity razing several supernatural creatures, the area didn't suffer any noticeable damage. Instead, the uncomfortable quietness vanished and the atmosphere became more natural.

However, a faint light suddenly emerged far above the green dark landscape. The golden brightness unnaturally gathered and formed a rotating magic circle. Strangely, no one in the vicinity, even the Youkai, could notice this conspicuous gleam in the night sky.

An inconspicuous black feather swayed gently in the wind towards a clearing near the mountainside, lit by a bright flame flickering in the night. The bonfire burned brightly, dispelling the shadows, and illuminating the place like a lantern.

The light exposed the devastated area and the collapsed cave behind it as if an earthquake hit the place, but looking at the huge traces, it was obvious that the clearing wasn't naturally made.

Amid the rubble, several figures of different shapes circled the bonfire. They sang and drank as the flames cast a shadow on their bodies. But more importantly… they cried.

The strongest Youkai in the forest have gathered here without any prior notice. The only thing they did was move their cups and hands, drinking a large amount of alcohol while celebrating in tears.

Near the collapsed cave entrance, a woman was sitting on a boulder while holding a large barrel of alcohol. She gulped the entire barrel in one go, which made a huge contrast with her slim figure.

The female Youkai slammed the barrel on the ground, startling her subordinates. But as the red blush crept on her face, her facial expression finally cracked.

"Waaaaaaaaaaah!!! Why, why did I do?! I was just sleeping! What did I do to deserve getting a beating?!"

With the Uwabami's cries, the rest of the Youkai finally relaxed, crying tears of grievance and joy. Grievance because a disaster fell on their heads from nowhere, and happiness because they survived the said calamity.

The so-called elite Youkai lost all composers and wept their sadness while drinking, especially the Uwabami. She transformed into a human form and drank her grievance out.

"I was just sleeping… *hic*... then he came and kicked my jaw… *hic*… he then used his sword and… did something horrible, waaaaaaaaaa!!"

Losing their previous restraints, some of the Youkai around the Uwabami patted her shoulder and cried together, expressing their understanding of her pain, after all, they also experienced a visit from the monster.

The other Youkai usually kept their distance and lowered themselves out of respect to the strength of Uwabami and her cold and cruel means, but now, even the cold snake couldn't hold herself.

This isn't fair! They couldn't understand why such a lord would come after them. Still traumatized from the accident, the Youkai unconsciously referred to the calamity respectfully, not daring to show any disrespect.

However, even at the looming terror, they didn't dare to pack their stuff and run because it was pointless.

The wind whistled as a giant dog-like Youkai carried two smaller unconscious creatures and put them near the bonfire. Those two unlucky Youkai were twitching as foam spilled from their mouths.

Deep malicious will rose from within their bodies, corroding their Ki almost instantly. It was a horrific scene to see for these Ki-related creatures.

The rest started at those unlucky ones with pity, even the cold Uwabami turned her sight away because she also could feel the 'bomb' inside her.

With one thought, the curse planted deep inside her vitality will dye all her Ki with malice starting from the source! Sinking her into deep nightmares or even degrading her will into madness.

Such a vicious curse made the snake tremble, but what truly made her horrified is the being who seemed to be made of thousands more cruel and sinister curses. How can something like that exist?

The Uwabami shivered just by recalling that and more importantly…

{Should I contact the lord? He might have a solution, but… that mons- lord seems to know}

Looking at the ignorant Youkai around her, the Uwabami felt bitter and wronged. The monster seems to know the reason she's here, and despite him saying he doesn't care as long as they take care of strays and block other small fries, the snake didn't buy it at all!

Unaware of what she should do, the Uwabami shook her head and quickly chugged a barrel of alcohol, trying to forget about the situation.

But when the Youkai continued celebrating their survival, the sound of footsteps echoed within the woods. Because of all the commotion caused by them, the sound was very faint but drew all their attention.

"I hope I'm not interrupting something important, but I must say, it's a great night for drinking. Do you mind me joining?"

Under the stares of the Youkai, a man walked slowly towards the bonfire with a bottle in his hand.

The man had a tall build and appeared to be in his twenties. The most striking thing about him was the twelve jet-black feathered wings coming out of his back, announcing his identity to everyone.

"I have brought drinks and I like stories, so how about we share some? I'm particularly interested in the last tale you guys told"

The governor of the fallen angels smiled and waved gently as an awkward silence filled the area.

…

"Brother… Did you drag Leo and spend all night playing games again?"

Rubbing the black circles under his eyes, Genshirou yawned as his Kaho squinted her eyes at him.

"Huh? Why me? Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Genshirou shook his head to wake himself up.

He almost didn't get an ounce of sleep yesterday. The thought of all those monsters that were used to scare him to sleep as a child were real made him very frightened and exhausted.

This made Genshirou reevaluate the world in his mind. Devils, Angels, Youkai, and Gods. What next? Dragons? To be fair, he won't be surprised anymore because the situation keeps getting messier.

"But brother, you know that Leo has healthier habits than you, right?"

"How come?"

Kaho stared deeply at the shocked Genshirou. His non-feigned surprise and goofy expression made her speechless. "You remember that Leo always goes for morning jogs, even when he stays here, and today wasn't an exception. I also heard he used to go to his grandmother's dojo"

"Huh? Heard from where?"

"From you"

"…."

Genshirou closed his eyes as he thought. Ignoring his little sister's questioning eyes, he turned away and mumbled "You think he cares about his health? No way, those things he does are the price for being a jerk"

"Think about it. Did you think being a jerk is easy, or he won't get into fights because of it? In the end, it's all for not giving a damn, or so he says"

Waving his hand like he's shooing something, Genshirou was a bit pissed as if he remembered something unpleasant.

"But didn't he stop getting into fights"

"Yeah, he did. Only after that accident thought… and don't worry, nothing will happen, hopefully" Genshirou scratched his head when he saw his sister's worried face.

{No shit, who wants to mess with that bastard? He only stopped after almost everyone put him on the black list of the crazy people you shouldn't mess with. Just recalling that I was never able to beat him once makes me so angry! Blue-eyed Oni my ass!}

Genshirou clenched his fist suddenly as a vein became visible on his forehead.

"It's not like that, idiot brother. I'm leaving and taking Gengo to the daycare. The breakfast is on the table"

Kaho took Gengo and left the house after giving Genshirou a weird stare that he didn't understand.

"What with this kid… Anyway, I should leave too"

At this point, Genshirou did not doubt that Leo told him that information because it'll make him lose sleep, but even so, he's kind of glad he knew about it, or not. It is always complicated when it comes to these supernatural subjects.

Nonetheless, knowing it early is better than regretting it later. Feeling the sacred gear hidden in his arm, Genshirou felt more confident as a thought arose in his heart.

He needs to get stronger.

Genshirou finished breakfast quickly before heading out, yet his mind was completely occupied by that thought.

He could become stronger, right? He became a devil and all, so he should be able to do something like magic, no? There won't be some conditions like he lacks talent and… he could only hope so.

Genshirou's enthusiasm received a hit from the start, but recalling his unique power, he felt much better. At least he isn't without any guarantee!

However, his mood sank as soon as the door opened. In addition to the sunlight and the chilly air, he was greeted by a figure waiting near the entrance. Of course, only this wasn't enough to ruin his mood, but this person was dripping wet.

{Ah, it's a wild blue-eyed Oni… drenched from head to toe} Genshirou's eyebrow twitched.

Leo stood at the entrance of Saji's household, completely drenched as the water dripping from him already formed a small buddle. However, instead of being bothered by it, he only looked at his sleeves and touched a strand of his hair.

It looked as if he was wondering if he should dry himself or not, but when Genshirou appeared, Leo turned quickly.

"The hell did you just call me?"

His blue eyes and words send a chill into Genshirou as the latter broke into a cold sweat. There's no way he's willing to say that nickname out loud. The last person who said it got beaten unconscious by Leo.

"H-huh? What are you saying? I didn't cal-… You fucker, are you reading minds again?!"

"So, you indeed called me something"

"Ugh! What about it? Everyone calls you names in their minds, especially me"

Genshirou couldn't believe he fell into that simple trap, but he wasn't willing to admit it. Luckily, Leo seemed to be convinced or maybe he was too lazy to peruse the matter.

Releasing a sigh of relief, Genshirou unconsciously glances at the watery Leo. After he decided to become stronger, he couldn't help but wonder how strong is this 'Angel', who made his stubborn and strict president swallow her pride and choose to escape at all costs.

Noticing Genshirou's stares, Leo stopped messing with his uniform and said "If I recall correctly, your birthday is on the 17th of June, right"

"Hm? That is correct. Why are you asking?"

"Hmmmmm, starting from today, you'll experience something very unfortunate. It'll be the 'clench your teeth and accept it' type of misfortune, or so."

"..."

"This is what my hunch is telling me. I would have told you more, but my 'eyes' are still tired"

"… Fuck your hunch"

"Rude"

Looking at Leo shrugging despite his uniform being wet from top to bottom, Genshirou sighed because he felt it's a waste of time to get angry at a bunch of nonsense, even if it sounded ominous.

"Anyway, why do you look like a drenched chicken?"

"Hm? Oh, this? I went on a jog"

Leo waved his hand as Genshirou took a step away to not get splashed by water. He took a turn away and opened the gate before nodding with a smile.

"Yeah, I know, that makes total sense, indeed. But if you mind me asking…" Genshirou's smile became brighter before saying "Where did you go jogging?"

"Well, I'm at the bottom of the ocean. You know, the place where light can't reach and your organs get crushed by pressure"

"Ah, I see. That sounds lovely… and deadly too. Wait, you're still there? How?"

Genshirou watched Leo exit the gate before he closed it and suddenly realized something.

"Indeed. This vassal you're looking at is a clone I made. My main vassal is still at the bottom of the ocean, so when I made this clone and tossed it here, it was already wet. Didn't I tell you this before?"

"….."

"….."

Staring at Leo's casual expression as if he didn't say anything weird, Genshirou froze for a while before a confused voice escaped his mouth "Huh?"

…

Meanwhile, at more than 8km underwater. The Hadal zone, named after the God of the Underworld, Hades, is the deepest region of the ocean. This zone remains in perpetual darkness as the lack of sunlight, low temperature, and extremely high hydrostatic pressures make it difficult to explore.

Despite these extreme conditions and nutrient scarcity, the Hadal zone still holds a wide range of marine life that evolved to adapt to this high pressure, although lacking in abundance compared to the higher zones.

But the awfully quiet seabed finally witnessed a change. A distorted sound traveled underwater as the pressure made it very faint and completely unorganized. The few sea anemones living here suddenly retracted when something stepped near them, startling other marine life.

A humanoid figure invisible in the darkness passed through the area at a relatively fast pace while looking around as if the extreme conditions didn't pose any problem.

A creature that resembled a brown hair-ball with small wings followed behind, cladded in a pink aura, separating it from all the water and pressure.

"Me and boys, at 3 AM looking for the sunken city of R'lyeh, but it was a big fat lie"

Leo jogged slowly on the seabed, completely ignoring the darkness and coldness. He was even wearing his headphones as the music emitted to the outside distorted into gibberish because of the pressure.

{My lord, 3 AM already has passed a long time ago in this region}

{Whatever you were trying to do, you have already lost the chance. Also, are you making things up again?}

"WOOOoooOO"

Venom corrected and Ddraig scorned Leo, who wasted time in the south Pacific Ocean depths, trying to find some sort of city.

As for Kuriboh, it complained a little about being dragged into this abyss by Leo. Its big eyes frowned as it reluctantly moved its wings with the help of Palkia's blessing.

"Like I care. As for you, don't think you can escape after I caught you binging the entirety of the Yu-Gi-Oh series repeatedly without taking a rest! And you didn't even call me!"

Leo's voice sounded in the minds of all the creatures near him as he glanced at Kuriboh. The flying ball of hair turned its head away immediately as if it looked guilty and caught red-handed.

"So, you'll suffer with me here while locating all these deep Dragon Veins nodes"

"Wooo…"

Hearing Leo's merciless words, Kuriboh froze in mid-air before it dropped slowly from the air like a leaf swaying in the winds, which looked so wrong considering this location.

Leo glanced at devastated Kuriboh before he took a bunch of detailed maps that focused more on this region.

Like Kuriboh, these maps seemed to be completely separated from this environment by a coating of mana. Unlike them, Leo simply withstands the pressure with his body. When you have a vassal that can switch between flesh and bones into pure energy, it's very simple to adapt to these locations.

Kuriboh flew up again as the maps caught their eyes. Landing on Leo's shoulder, they observed the markings like they were very curious about them.

"Ddraig, if you happened to suddenly get power to crush both Ophis and Great Red like worms, what do you think the reaction of the world would be?"

Out of nowhere, Leo suddenly asked while marking the maps, confusing the Red Dragon Emperor that yawned as if he's used to it by now.

{Back again with those questions. Didn't we already agree that it's that so-called the Will of the World that reduced the impact of your doing on the world? At least I'm a known figure, you're an entity that suddenly popped from nowhere! The world would be in an uproar after the first state of confusion and they would have made unions and stuff to prepare for any action from you}

"Hm? So, you can be wise if you are tired, huh? Well, I'm asking you because you lived here more than me, but… don't tell me the only thing you did was clashing with your white dragon friend?"

{...}

Leo's surprised expression gave Ddraig the urge to somehow launch a dragon breath through the Longinus at his face!

{What does this have to do with it? Didn't you have all-knowing clairvoyance?}

"It's not all that all-knowing, there's a lot of stuff I don't know. Also, being knowledgeable is different from being wise. Hmmm, but as you said, the World's Will gave everyone ADHD. How fearsome"

{..... What?}

{As I expected from my lord. He was able to understand what the Will of the World did very quickly and it was indeed fearsome}

{You… Shut up and stop encouraging this out of order brain circuit of his!}

{This lizard dares?!}

Venom and Ddraig started fighting again, but it looked more like a children's quarrel because neither of them could reach the other and they suck at making insults.

"Well, the World's Will can give ADHD to people, that doesn't sound concerning at all"

Despite feeling that he reached a conclusion that will earn several curses from DXD World's Will, Leo wasn't going to back down.

{*Sigh* Fine, you're correct. It is indeed unfortunate}

Ddraig sighed and admitted that ADHD is a very close term to all these supernatural creatures that ignored the looming threat above their heads.

As for how he understands this term? This creature called Venom is particularly useful in sending information when you need it, despite his annoying nature.

"Unfortunate? You're quick to feel sorry for them, my dear partner, Ddraig. ADHD will be the least of your worries if I had time to show you the thing we agreed on, but alas, things kept popping"

Leo rolled his eyes and sounded regretful as Ddraig froze and his pupils minimized. This… this sounded so ominous in the Red Dragon Emperor's head, especially when Leo called him 'my dear partner'!

This is a warning sign if he ever saw one!

{Hold up, what are you trying to show me, and since when did I agree?!}

"Hmph, we have already agreed after I finished my previous mission. Also, if you're curious about what I'll show you. Let's say, it's my 'world'…"

Leo shook his head as if he couldn't believe that Ddraig forgot something so important. Indeed, even Ddraig himself couldn't believe he forgot something so ominous, then he felt a 'gaze' filled with envy on him.

It was Venom looking as if he wanted to rip him to shreds, making Ddraig speechless.

{...… Keep your world to yourself. I reject}

"I reject your rejection because you have already agreed. Don't worry, I guarantee your survival"

{Survival is the least of my worries. I only agree because I didn't know…}

"Why are you so frustrated, aren't you a Dragon Emperor? Strong and fearless. Anyway, let's pick up the pace. After finishing these deep Dragon Veins, let's go court life in China. Do you get it? We are going for life energy… I'm not seeing myself out"

{OI! Listen to me!}

"Ahahahaha…"

Leo finished marking some important nodes and writing notes about the shifting of life energy here before he continued his journey in the Hadal zone as his laughter sounded more relaxed than usual.

…

Time passed quickly as Leo explored the deepest parts of the ocean to find how Dragon Veins' nodes usually shift around the planet.

His journey led him to explore the deep ocean more than the current humanity ever did, but it didn't matter much for him, except he finally was able to determine the most logical and illogical distribution of Dragon Veins in this world.

This exploration and mapping almost took a full week, but it was worth it. If someone saw Leo's maps, conflicts are bound to rise immediately because knowing the distribution of Dragon Veins means the ability to utilize nature's strength against enemies, even if it's in the form of barriers and formations.

To be honest, this world takes a simpler approach for the movement of the planet's life energy. Seasons, weather conditions, geological structure! These are the most noticeable factors. As for astrology and other shenanigans like earth rotation? They don't amount to much.

In fact, this simplicity is what made it hard for Leo at first because he focused on the hard parts, rendering him speechless and making Ddraig laugh at him, especially when he got slapped by a penguin in the Antarctic because he tried to give it a chainsaw.

Basically, someone has to be invested in Feng Shui and they'll be able to grasp Dragon Veins near them, although such hold is at most superficial. This made Leo's work much easier as he can determine the general location of the main nodes and discover them using his KI sense.

In addition to the Dragon Vein quest, Leo paid some attention to what is happening in Kouh. Despite some small crows and even their big boss (Fallen angels), who is snooping around, entering the town, nothing much changed.

No, in fact, the Youkai are already doing their job and Leo checked a few times, but he didn't see a stray entering the town, well, at least not by the usual ways. For those who teleported here, they got taken care of by the devils and such.

Leo wanted to pay them a visit to tell them 'Good job', but he recalled how afraid they were of him, so… he went there anyway.

Like DXD World's Will said before, he's indeed a very kind person and the Youkai in the forest can testify. As for the shaking and not daring to look at him in the eye? Nonsense, they are merely shaking from joy and respect. Venom can guarantee that.

Maybe because Leo found it funny that they hide the fact they got beaten by a big crow after a few minutes from when he demolished them.

Genshirou on the other hand witnessed some big changes. Leo recalled seeing him later that day as Gen only told him a few words while shaking 'You bastard, if you could see the future, tell me earlier' before he went away while holding to his butt as if he was experiencing massive pain.

This situation continued to get worse day by day as Genshirou began to space a lot, became highly sensitive to sudden actions, broke things here and then, and mumbles faintly about magic circles and controlling the flow of demonic power.

'This guy is getting abused'

That was Leo's first thought and wondered if Genshirou would become edgy and release the dragon sealed in his right arm while chanting some chunni lines. But then he thought maybe he's getting trained, well, it doesn't matter.

Training or abuse? It's all the same with these supernatural beings, but Leo likes the chunni part more because it'll be fun.

[Loading 99%]

However, the loading screen that haunts Leo's nightmares finally moved once after 5 days. Do you know how nerve-wracking was it to watch a loading screen stuck at 98%? Leo thought this has to be a new form of torture specifically made for him and his people.

In any case, Leo noticed that this loading screen is slower than the first one, but who knows, maybe this 1% will move faster and spare him for the feeling of wanting to end it all.

{It's growing… fast. This doesn't make sense}

Ddraig, however, was more concerned about the thing gathering inside his old host's vitality. Despite the young man having the Boosted Gear inside his body for more than a decade, such mutation shouldn't be possible.

The Pure Angel and Red Dragon observed the small human-like vitality get dyed by the dragonish aura a bit by bit, crystalizing into a core.

To pass the first stages and reach this phase has a lower chance than pulling SSR continuously with every single roll, according to Leo.

Slowly, but gradually, the young man began to release a faint aura that belongs to Dragon-type sacred gears. However, the mutation started to put a troll on its host. He started spacing a lot and feeling more tired with each day passing by.

These symptoms are bound to get worse, which made Leo roll his eyes after a few doubts.

A life for a 'life'. Although the thing growing isn't a living being, the vitality of a single human isn't enough, but a certain devil already took an insert in the aura released from this young man.

This scavengers and resources optimization is really over the top. Well played DXD, well played.

However, recalling a bunch of crows, the plan of the World's Will gave him an idea, and if it worked, he'll be laughing for days. But for now, Leo shall observe how things will develop.

It shouldn't take more than a week to confirm it. Only then he can decide the proper way to deal with the World's Will shenanigans, however, he has to finish the last piece required for his small plan.

…

{If you do the following, you should get a better result, my lord. Although such an equation will prove to be ineffective if it is used in combat}

"I see, but doesn't it get repetitive here? These so-called equations keep intersecting. I guess this is a part of the optimization of the mana process, huh?"

{Indeed, the Nordic formulas hold the philosophy of achieving best results with minimum consummation}

Currently, Leo was sitting on a chair inside his workshop and mansion, looking at a bunch of magic formulas.

This was one of the many offices inside of the manor, but Leo chose it because of the big space. It was dimly lit because the whole mansion was floating in the Dimensional Gap as the ever-changing colors of the void kept flashing.

{But I'm rather startled. I didn't expect my lord to be versed in this world's magic}

"What is that supposed to mean?"

{Nothing, in particular, my lord}

Leo's eyebrow twitched as Venom seemed more joyful than usual. The extended jet-black tentacles from Leo's sleeves happily moved the papers and organized them.

He and Venom were deducing a magic formula, which is the general way of performing DXD magic. It might sound complicated, but it's actually a simple process of tracking the boundary of the Dragon Vein using the main node and impacting it to create a new artificial node overlapping with it while having Palkia's assistance make it much easier.

It's a necessary step to gather the majority of the Dragon Veins into one point because Leo lacks the proper amount of special violence now to rip out all the dragon veins forcibly.

Well, mostly Venom is doing it because Leo didn't pay much attention to DXD's magic. However, after finishing the initial product, this child took Leo to see his work and started explaining the magic system behind it.

Unlike most of his familiars, Venom usually never asks or shows interest in anything, except if it's Leo's orders. Despite it not being that urge, Leo gave him this task to find a hobby of some sort.

However, this child showed more curiosity and joy in teaching him, which made Leo a bit perplexed. So, he decided to listen seriously even if the result didn't diverge much from his predictions.

"Didn't you just tell me or was it supposed to be hard? This magic is nothing more than knowing how mana moves and reacts. These eyes of mine don't exist for the sole purpose of 'understanding' for nothing…"

Leo frowned as if he was in a bad mood. He tapped the table, making a rhythmic sound. These are mostly magic equations gotten from Loki's library after he happily donated them with a smile as a spear was piercing his guts.

Mr. Low-key is indeed a good person. He didn't even snitch on them during the friendly raid and helped them instead.

The magic in this world is simply weaving the mana in a way to produce a certain phenomenon. The so-called equations and calculations are nothing more than following a pattern that leads to a specific result. It's like completing a puzzle using your mind.

The demonic magic is no different, although the process of following the pattern gets omitted a bit by imagination, or rather call it the visualization of shape to avoid misunderstanding. After all, this demonic energy is not that wonderful and there are restrictions and limits, especially by the unique properties.

Like the special features owned by 72 Pillars, which can never be copied by the regular demonic power.

{I expected nothing less, my lord}

The tentacle on the table moved up and down as if it's nodding. Venom is fully aware that what his lord meant by 'his eyes' should be his Personal Reality. Extrasensory Perception or ESP refers to the ability to use the mind to receive information through means beyond the regular five senses.

This means the user is able to comprehend an alien channel and access a 'common sense' of reality beyond what appears to be 'normal'. In other words, his lord sees a completely different 'world' than ours. An alien 'world' that Venom has no idea how it looks and operates, neither thinks he can handle it.

For this reason, Venom couldn't help but be jealous of Ddraig. He really wants to chop that lizard and grill it, then…

"You feel it, don't you? This world's magic limit is itself. It can't pierce through a certain stage alone, no matter how one tries"

Venom awoke from his thoughts as he pondered about his lord's words. It didn't take him long before he nodded.

{… Indeed, my lord. I feel this world's magic lacks the fundamental drive that I saw from all other universes' magic systems. The seeking of the Truth. Maybe this is the reason for stagnation, or magic is simply limited here.}

"But this isn't a reason to tie ourselves to such rigid thinking. Take these four-magic circles as an example…" Leo raised his hand as the mana surged.

Above his empty palm, symbols and runes took shape before they got coiled into four magic circles, red, blue, yellow, and green with one in each layer.

The magic circles flashed before a tiny orb of each of the elements they represent orbited around their respective circle.

"Calculation and equation. Imagination and creation"

With a wave, the four magic circles gathered before they fit inside each other as if they were pieces of a puzzle. The four elements' orbs on each circle began to orbit around the new magic circle while leaving a trail of light.

"Now, this big magic circle is in itself an equation, but isn't it made of four already operating and separated equations? What does this make it then?" Leo looked at the magic circle before a part of his mana began to change.

"Ki, Mana, Demonic Power, and Holy Power… All of them are simply a variation of the fundamental vitality in this world, which belongs respectively to their selected species"

Each magic circle started to operate using a separated form of energy, yet the full result didn't change and the four orbs orbited slowly. Leo further snapped his finger and terminated the earth-element equation.

The orb representing earth dimmed down and the rest of the orbs lost the trail of light, but the magic didn't stop operating despite losing a part of it.

"Although it'll be harder to maintain and unstable, you should have got the idea, right?"

Leo stopped the simple light show of magic and learned fully on the chair, looking at the ceiling in a daze.

{Of course, my lord. Unlike the creatures in this world, their general rules and limitations don't apply to us. We can go beyond and perform seemingly impossible maneuvers normally. We shouldn't limit ourselves by their logic}

"Ah? Yeah, that's right, and… stop treating this magic with kindness! What is this? Spatial manipulation equation?" Leo stood up and picked a paper, which had a bunch of equations, and said "Just use incomplete teleportation magic to mark the main node. Don't give much care and it doesn't matter if it got bombed! We're trying to 'impact' the dragon vein, not giving it a love tap!"

{.... Understood} Looking at his lord's expression that said 'This needs more bombs and explosions!', Venom's blinked his 'eyes'.

What confused him more is what Leo said is completely doable and it'll reduce the time and effort, although yes, there'll definitely be explosions because of the instability.

However, this magic tool is meant to be a one-time use, so it's acceptable. This made Venom wonder if violence is still the solution to everything, even when talking about something as delicate as magic.

"Although it still needs adjustment, what do you want to call it? This tool, I mean"

{I shall refrain. I'll be more than happy if my lord gave it a name}

"Don't be like that, Venom" Leo put down the paper before saying "No matter how small it's to name something you made, it's your achievement. Be proud and embrace this thought. Also, my naming sense is simply a dumpster fire"

Leo rolled his eyes and urged Venom, who still didn't want to name his magic formula. After a while, Venom finally gave up and thought about it seriously.

{Cross of Impact} Venom spoke the name of the magic formula and observed Leo's expression.

However, Leo had a weird look when he looked at the tool drawing that looked like a big, weirdly made cross.

{Is it perhaps a bad name?}

"Who knows, but I at least know that it's better than anything I was going to say"

Leo shrugged before his eyebrows frowned again, even his expression hardened and became cloudy. He took a few deep breaths to calm down before he returned to listening to Venom's explanation.

However, it didn't take him more than a few minutes to cover his face and look down, startling Venom again. Luckily, Ddraig is asleep or he'll think his partner has finally lost all the screws in his head.

{My lord, are you perhaps upset about something? You weren't able to focus on anything since we started}

"No, I'm… DAMMIT!!"

*SMACK!!!*

Leo wanted to assure Venom, but his expression did a 180-degree turn before he slammed the table violently, sending all the papers flying.

He held his head as if he's expressing a big headache while Venom collected the papers quickly.

"I hate you with every fiber of my being"

"I hate you with every fiber of my being"

This phrase was said by Leo two times in different places. One was in this workshop in the Dimensional Gap and the second was by his clone as he witnessed a blasphemy he'll never forget.

*NIGHTMARE SLAIN*

The screen showed the following bold victory message as Nero lowered the controller and nodded her head. The arrogance filled her from head to toe, especially her smug look as if she did something spectacular.

"Umu, such a vile creature is no match for me. My self-picked warrior shall clean this land from their filth. What does my Praetor think? Amazed? Mesmerized?"

Nero had the usual 'Go on, praise me', although this time it was more smug than usual. Probably because she decided to prove her artistic wonders to someone.

However, this only caused a vein to pop on Leo's head and he almost slammed the controller in his hand on her head. The only thing that stopped him was his fondness for this controller.

"However! What did my Praetor mean by hating me with every fiber?"

"I meant every word. Give me this, you damn cheater!" Leo snatched the controller from Nero's hand, startling the emperor.

"Umu?! My Praetor, you dare accuse me of fraud?! I'll not tolerate such an allegation, even from you!" Nero tried to get the controller back, but her face was pushed away by Leo as she became mad.

"I need to guide my warrior to clean the lands. My Praetor will not stop me!"

"If not watching you speedrun this game using Imperial Privilege wasn't painful enough, then letting you continue would be blasphemy! I don't care if I'll be called toxic, I refuse to see this! Play it when I'm not looking! Oi, what are you doing!"

Nero took the chance and tackled Leo as they fell into wrestling on the floor for the controller.

"Nonsense! My Praetor is the one who doubted my artistic talent, so I'll prove it! Everything converges at the emperor. This is the trait that only exists for me and me only as an almighty genius. But now, calling it a fraud… Treachery! People might not understand my art, but they won't stop my artistic perfection! Hand it over!"

"You'll get it back after I end it all in a fiery nova! Until then, take your art away from me!"

Leo and Nero began to roll and twist on the floor, almost knocking the table away, but they still didn't release the controller. Luckily, the poor controller was solid enough and miraculously survived getting squished by these two.

Gradually, their voices reached the outside, making the neighbors wonder what was happening. However, they didn't care as both of them became very stubborn, even if they didn't use any supernatural power in their wrestling.

Usually, Nero is the one with a solid head that doesn't listen to anyone and Leo is too lazy to play along, but now, as if several nerves got triggered, he refused to back down.

However, as someone who used to wrestle in the colosseum, Nero quickly took the upper hand and locked Leo, but she still couldn't take the controller from his hand.

*Ding Dong*

Strangely, they seemed to forget the initial reason by now and this evolved into a fight of stubbornness, which for some reason, Nero began to enjoy. They even ignored the doorbell that kept going for a while.

Outside the mansion, Genshirou started at the big manor in awe and shock. He didn't understand when such a big estate had appeared in Leo's neighborhood, nor why his friend was inside.

Listening to the sound outside, he wondered what was happening, but because no one responded, Genshirou decided to leave. It's totally not because he heard Leo's voice inside and felt this would be something troublesome and he would rather not get involved.

Happy and relieved with his decision, Genshirou turned away and wanted to leave, however, after one step, he felt nothing under his foot. His sense of balance was thrown before he tripped.

As a helpless expression surfaced on his face, a pink portal on the ground swallowed him whole.. This was his last thought as no one around seemed to notice an entire person vanishing.