Chapter 496: Winter

"Prince!" Jessica's countenance shifted.

She hadn't believed that the difference between Leonel and Noah would be so stark. But, by the time she was ready to make a move, Mordred had blocked her path.

"I already warned you what would happen if you continued down this path. He isn't a person that likes to kill, so don't force him to. It's better if you let him vent his rage. If you try to interfere, I can't guarantee that you'll come out in one piece."

Jessica almost couldn't believe the ridiculous nature of Mordred's words. Her cold expression cracked, giving way to a slight hint of rage.

"Let me through!"

Mordred waved her wand, causing several black tendrils of darkness to shoot up from the ground, obstructing the path of Jessica's beasts.

The aura around Leonel soared. The pillar of golden light enveloping him made it seem as though he was a chosen. His rage was the universe's rage. If he wanted to someone to suffer, they would. Nothing more, nothing less.

Noah stood from the ground, a deep frown coloring his face as he looked toward the fractures trailing up his arm. Normal skin wouldn't fracture like this, but he had changed the chemical structure of his own. Though it made it far harder, it also gained an added brittleness it didn't have before.

Usually, it would be impossible to reach the threshold necessary to crack his skin. Yet, Leonel had done it with a single casual punch.

Noah's jaw steeled, his saber raising into the air. He didn't think that he would run into someone so powerful here.

By now, he was more than 90% certain that this person was in fact Leonel. He didn't believe that there was anyone else on this moon who could have such strength and also be a member of The Empire.

And that aura... Only the Royal Family had it, only those with Fawkes blood running through their veins could display such presence.

However, even though Noah was almost certain of this, he didn't voice his conjectures. He had his own pride.

To weasel his way out of this situation by revealing his identity would be something beneath his dignity.

And, even if he was willing to do such a debasing thing, Noah still didn't know much about Leonel. For all he knew, Leonel was already aware of his identity and didn't even care about the fact they were of the same blood.

The only person Noah would lower his head to was his grandfather. As for anyone else...

They could taste his saber!

Noah grew explosively in size, soon reaching to just over three meters. Though he wasn't as the five meter height he reached when battling City Lord White, the density of his bones, blood and muscle couldn't even be compared.

This was his true strongest state.

The sound of slashing winds circled around him, his blue blade radiating with a glow.

"You've stepped into the peak of the Four Seasons Realm." Noah said coldly.

By his demeanor, he was clearly not asking a question. Rather, he was simply stating a fact. But, just by his mere actions, Jessica and the others were stunned.

Noah wasn't a person who spoke in battle, he was a person who hardly spoke at all. Yet, he was actually doing exactly that now?

"Though your Fist Force is powerful, it's only the product of someone else's understanding. I'll show you the true Four Seasons Realm."

Noah's indifferent voice faded beneath the sound of howling winds. At that moment, the temperature plummeted, an icy chill seeping into all of their bodies.

In the beginning, Noah thought that Leonel's Fist Force had been comprehended by himself. This reality left him feeling somewhat stifled. To succeed in such a thing at such a young age was far beyond anything Noah had ever seen before.

But, it was after Noah's fist came into contact with Leonel's that he knew that this wasn't quite right. Somehow, Leonel's Four Seasons Realm seemed above the Second Tier comprehension, but below the self-comprehended Third Tier. This gave the illusion that it was more powerful than it really was.

That said... even though Noah hadn't reached Completion of the Four Seasons Realm and could only embody Winter...

He had relied on himself.

Noah shot forward, his icy blue blade carrying with it the heart of winters' past.

Leonel stood amidst the harsh winds. He could even feel his own Universe Force weakening beneath Noah's.

Images of a harsh winter landscape enveloped the battlefield. The sun in the sky seemed to dim and the land beneath their feet seemed to quickly become covered in ice.

Leonel sank into a boxer's stance.

He didn't keep his spear hidden as a trump card. He didn't ignore his bow for the sake of making a point. He used his fists simply because he wanted to feel Noah's flesh deform beneath his knuckles, he wanted to savor the cracking of his bones, the bleeding of his flesh.

They say that every Dragon has a reverse scale... It was just unfortunate that Noah had yet to realize that he had touched Leonel's.

Leonel's right hand hung up by his chin, his left leaning forward. Just when Noah's icy domain seemed to envelop him completely, he moved again, the violet-red of his gaze flickering.

Leonel's left jabbed. It was a movement without the slightest wasted effort. Images of a winged swordsman perfectly matching his footwork to his attacks played in Leonel's mind, allowing his body to slide into the Style seamlessly.

A halo of Universe Force coated Leonel's fist as he met Noah's blade.

All the air of the battlefield seemed to surge toward the two. Barely a foot of space separated Noah's blade from the flesh of Leonel's fist, but neither could seem to move forward even another inch.

SHUUU! BANG!

The air concentrated into a single point before exploding outward with a raging ferocity. The accumulating snow was blasted away, leaving a crater of brown soil around them.

Noah's emerald eyes looked down at Leonel, his white gold hair whipping beneath the aftermath of their clash.

Leonel looked up to meet his gaze, a fury hidden deep within their indifference.

Noah coughed suddenly, blood leaking from his lips as his arm trembled.