Elysium would never think such thoughts, of course. He even felt that Leonel's actions were very stupid and only proved that he was far too weak. Why else would he be throwing such a tantrum?

In Elysium's opinion, Leonel had certainly felt threatened by his leaving without a word, and this was how he was venting his hatred. It was made only clearer by the fact he was only targeting the Owlans now, when before he had been slaughtering the Fallen God Beasts.

Maybe knowing that he was going to die anyway, he decided to try to deal the Owlans a blow in any way he could.

It was working, because unfortunately there was little Elysium could do. Even if he went, they would just end up in the same stalemate. Then would he have to leave without a word again? And then what?

The easy way to deal with this was to force Leonel's hand by targeting the Human Bubble. But he had received reports that it was being protected by a formation exchanged for from the Dream Pavilion. Its level of strength wasn't something that could be underestimated, and it would likely take someone as strong as him personally moving to even begin to harm it. And even then, by his calculations, it would take him several days to shatter his way through.

There didn't seem to be a road to turn to.

Even if he was willing to swallow his pride and go, what kind of carnage could Leonel unleash in three days? Did he even care about the humans that much? No one had ever seen him care very much for anyone other than his wife and his own personal interests.

And in the case that he did care for them, what was he going to do? Hold them hostage?

He certainly couldn't kill them all, or else what would he do if Leonel lost himself in fury and truly did destroy one of their worlds?

At this point, the trouble was rooted in something Elysium had tried to ignore.

How could an ant have the power to destroy a Demi-God World? He had tried to convince himself that it was some sort of external method, but in the end he had landed on it being a special sacrificial technique Leonel had exchanged for in the Life Tablet.

It seemed that even Elysium couldn't quite feel what it was that Leonel had been about to bring out. That was because this time, Leonel had even less control over forming it. The erratic energy was so disjointed and fragmented that even Elysium couldn't entirely see through it. Though, Dream Force also wasn't his strongest Force.

In the end, it seemed that there was only one path to take.

This couldn't continue. There seemed to be only one path that could be taken.

"Zyphyrion. You will have to start pulling some weight." Elysium spoke indifferently.**

Minerva sat in silence. There was some trembling in her hands, but as the hours slowly passed, they became steadier and steadier.

At some point, her mother had appeared by her side.

These days, the return of her parents felt so surreal that she didn't know how to react. She felt that it should have been the best day of her life, and yet she just felt so distant from it all. She had hardly looked at their faces. They were still the same vague, foggy images she recalled from her childhood. Whatever that barrier was, she couldn't seem to break it down.

Maybe it was resentment toward them leaving her behind to suffer so much these years, or maybe it was because she had grown too used to not depending on anyone else.

However, she still couldn't help but feel some comfort as her elegant mother sat there in silence, saying nothing at all.lightsnovel

Days later, Minerva seemed to have fully calmed down, her body steady and her gaze deep and unfathomable.

Her mother, watching to the side, nodded to herself. Losses were inevitable on the road forward. It was how you took them that mattered most.

With this, Minerva's mind had been tempered once again.

But then again, maybe this wasn't a surprise. How many times had she been pushed into the corner without them here? If she was going to collapse, she would have done so long ago.

"This is the way," she said lightly. "It is just unfortunate that you did not learn it from us. I can only apologize for that."

Minerva didn't respond, sitting in silence."It's okay to hate," her mother continued. "To hate us, or to hate him."

"I don't hate him," Minerva suddenly spoke, "not anymore."

The "him" she spoke of was obviously Leonel.

Her mother was taken aback by the clarification, and didn't know what to say that she spoke out for her enemy, but not her own parents.

But what Minerva said next shocked her even more.

"In fact, I think I might love him."

Silence fell over the room and at this point, Minerva's mother, who had experienced millennia of life, didn't even know what to say to such a thing. This was the first time she had heard of a woman falling in love in such a way.

"But I still must kill him." Minerva continued, just as indifferently. "He is the only man to truly defeat me in all aspects, but I'm destined to not be with him, both because of his own feelings and my own ambitions. I long severed the path of love. It is not for me... In any sense of the word."

lightsnοvεl **

As the mother and daughter spoke, a deep, churning undercurrent was beginning to swell.

The skies were overturned as several Incomplete Worlds began to tremble.

Soon, armies of Invalids began to move out, churning through the skies.

The movement was so large that it was impossible to miss.

For the first time in nine generations, an Invalid Tide had been triggered and the whole of the Mortal Realm was alerted.