Chapter 2608: Empress and Her Peasants

Aina continued to sit, her expression settling down into a usual indifference. Facing off against this army of people, she didn't feel fear... She felt excitement.

It had been a very long time since she experienced this sort of thing. Even with all the danger they had been in during recent months to even years, Leonel usually took the brunt of it. For better or for worse, he was always her shield.

Recently, though, Leonel had undergone a huge change, and it might very well be the reason he had decided to trust her with this.

And she would prove his trust to be placed correctly.

The skies rumbled as Aina crossed one leg over the other. A light smile tugged at her soft, pink lips. With her back straight, her chest proud, and her hair gently laying around her, she looked dignified and untouchable in her regality.

The roar of the crowd seemed to be considerably dulled at this moment. Like peasants before an Empress, they felt each one of their hearts constrict, their momentum akin to a doused flame.

Even as they continued to charge forward, their feet faltered, their Force winking in and out of existence.

Each Sovereignty had their own kernel of truth, their own refined presence crafted by the hand of their owner.

Leonel's Spear and Bow Forces carried an air of Creation. His Destruction Sovereignty carried an air of the exact opposite. As for his Dream Sovereignty, it was now a dichotomy of Respect and Persistence.

As for Aina's...

A dense Battle Lust filled the skies. It was suffocating and all-pervading that it seemed to form very real and tangible tendrils of Will in the skies. At the same time, her mental coercion, something she usually kept under lock and key, spread out with even more fervor.

She continued to sit there, her legs crossed and her chest tall. Her curves were proudly on display, and yet not a single person seemed capable of looking her in the eye, let alone observing such a thing.

The charge came to a grinding halt. They stumbled atop one another, falling and grappling for position as they skidded to a stop. Many were trampled beneath the feet of one another, and there was no hope for a quick death. Their bodies were simply too sturdy.

They could feel every one of those heavy feet stomping above them, crushing their fingers, flexing their skulls, shattering their rib cages.

The world became a chaotic mess. It became akin to entertainment for an Empress, peasants scratching and clawing for a hope at survival, until it all suddenly came to a stop.

The city fell into silence, the slight swing of Aina's leg the only real sign of movement.

"Is that all?"

Her voice was the most beautiful voice they had ever heard. Their hearts ached at the three words, so much so that they hardly felt the disdain behind it.

Their eyes turned red and they looked at Aina with longing. Some who were exceptionally weak of heart and spirit fell to their knees, slamming their heads against the ground so hard in a kowtow that they shattered their own skulls.

Aina seemed unfazed by the scenes of murder and carnage, the same light smile tugging at her lips.

It was pretty much as expected. There were many in the back that weren't affected by Aina's coercion, mostly because she didn't even bother to spread it out that far.

But because of those before them, they couldn't get into position to attack even if they wanted to.

Defenses? The people they sent became their own form of defense.

A ticker suddenly appeared before Aina. It seemed that her next battle was set.

Soon, she vanished. And when she appeared again, there was a Nomad she recognized standing before her.

Caspian of the Council.

She smiled, taking out her Battle Ax. She didn't need to, not by any stretch of the imagination. But she wanted to.

"What? Are you going to surrender?" Aina asked, her coercion filling the air.

She began to walk forward with light steps.

The current Aina was wearing what she loved to wear the most. It was a thick, black, military uniform filled with pockets. Her feet had thick-soled boots on that made the gentleness of her steps make little to zero sense... and yet, it was hard to look at her as anything other than an untainted Fairy.

Caspian was the one who set the rule against Dream Force usage in the city limits. If not for the subtle restrictions that likewise put on Soul Force, Aina's coercion would be even more powerful than what was displayed there.

But here... in the midst of battle... there were no limits.

"I understand," Aina said lightly. "You and your people are all cowards. You thought that if you sent those poor people at me, you could tire me out, injure me, and even if it didn't work out, that when you came to face me here, you could just give up. Is that right?"

Caspian tried to speak again, but his throat seemed to be clamped. Aina soothing and gorgeous voice taking hold of his heart and refusing to let go.

For a moment, he thought he had fallen in love, his face flushing. He shook it off quickly because he was a master of Dream Force, but he couldn't help but shudder when he thought about how others wouldn't be able to do what he just did so easily.

Suddenly, he looked up and Aina was a mere three meters from him.

Fear struck him like a piano's chord.

And then the Battle Ax moved.

Caspian hardly felt any pain at all as his arm flew away. But that only made him feel more fear. She had coopted his mind so thoroughly that he couldn't even feel pain the way he should.

It flickered again and his other arm flew away.

And again... and he lost a leg.

He fell to a bloody stump of a knee, his eyes filled with despair. Even now, he couldn't speak. The coercion was far too strong. It was like he had forgotten how to speak entirely.

And being forced to watch his body collapse like this without pain distracting his thoughts was almost worse than experiencing the pain itself. It was almost like he was watching with a clear mind as his death date approached, almost like there was a constant ticker to his inevitable death right in front of him.

It was horrifying.

Soon, he was nothing more than a stump, his chin pressed against the ground as he tried to look up toward the woman that occupied his heart. And yet, he was entirely unable to.

He suddenly felt the weight of Aina's ax on the back of his neck.

"When do you think you'll die?" She asked.

The words drifted into his ears as though they were dripping with ambrosia.

The weight of the ax slowly increased, soon reaching the point the chin he was trying to prop himself up with shattered beneath the pressure.

Blood pooled from his lips as shards of bone dug into his skin. And yet, once again...

He felt nothing.

It was mortifying. Step by step, he felt his skull break into fragments, his spine snapping before it began to crumble to dust as well.

And yet, the only thing he had in his mind was praise for Aina. How could such a delicate woman carry such a heavy weapon?

He was certain that Aina was pressing down, she wasn't even putting in any effort. If anything, she was only slowly releasing her grip. And it filled him with awe... Until he died.

Aina pulled back her ax, resting it on her shoulder. She could almost feel the world's silence as her hair danced in the wind. Then she flashed and vanished, returning to the city.

Almost the instant she appeared, the skies were filled with attacks. Arrows, blades, balls of flame, bolts of lightning. They didn't take any more chances, erupting with their full strength instantly.

At the same time, there was a jerkiness to their movement as their strength quickly increased and just as quickly fell. Aina took silent note of this as she slowly sat back down on her throne, crossing her legs and straightening her back as she gazed toward her subjects. Then, the attacks descended and battle erupted.

...

Leonel's connection to Aina was fainter when it had it travel across worlds, but he could still feel some of what was happening.

Sitting in his lab, his gaze was frighteningly cold, but he took a hold of himself so that he wouldn't go out. This was something he had left up to Aina and he felt that she was more than equipped to handle it.

What fuelled him right now wasn't worry, it was fury.

"The only way I can truly make them pay is by focusing on this."

He turned his attention back to the of his father's teachings.

The Penultimate chapter.