Vivak frowned. Pressure from one Mo''Lexi, he could handle. But if he was being pressured by multiple powerhouses now just for this one child, how could this still be an easy situation to deal with? This was far too frustrating. How could this one Leonel cause so many issues for him?
He realized not just how right he was to follow through on his daughter's words.
Honestly, Vivak was very good at fighting, but when it came to all the miscellaneous matters of management, he usually gave it to others to accomplish. This was why Liana was his Head Researcher and practically handled everything on that front. It was why he had been willing to listen to his daughter's advice because he was quite open to taking advice from others as this was already his style of rule. But it was also why he could make such a stupid slip of the tongue at the same time.
Now he was in a bind, and it was impossible to get himself out of this one unless he wanted to have a falling out with everyone.
What he didn't expect was that yet another person would speak, and this would be the straw that broke the camel's back. If Vivak still had some intention to resist before, it completely collapsed after a third person appeared.
Clarence Emerii. Representative of the Dream Pavilion.
"I would like to take a look at his corpse as well."
Back then, it was Clarence who was the most heartbroken about missing out on Leonel. It was all because Mo''Lexi had taken the initiative back then that he had missed it.
He had a feeling that something was going on here, and his intuition was kicking at him. However, he couldn't grasp what it was so he chose to follow the tide along. Maybe this corpse would come with the answers he needed.
Vivak took a breath and then exhaled. This was a sign that he had already surrendered. There was no fighting against this.
"Fine. I will be expecting your visits tomorrow morning."
Vivak left the call without giving them the opportunity to refute. He thought about extending the time, but he realized that he couldn't. They would definitely show up early just to spite him if he gave a time like "next week" or "next month" like he had wanted to say.
He suddenly raised his hand above his desk like he was about to slam down, but in the end, he clenched it and took a breath.
This time, it was his fault. He had no one to blame but himself.
However, while he wasn't the smartest or sharpest leader out there, he was willing to be the boldest.
He lowered his clenched hand and pressed into a Force Art that lit up with his stream of strength.
"Liana, I know that it will be harsh on you, but start the autopsy as quickly as possible. Also, store the most important parts of his body away and keep them in a separate room."
"-But Patriarch, I don't have the time to-"
"I understand, but this time it's what we must do."
"... Okay. I will start in an hour, that's my fastest speed."
"Understood."
The call ended, and Vivak had already regained his calm. He pressed a finger into another Force Art and the rooms of Noah and Amery appeared before him.
If all else failed, these two specimens were excellent. The blond one was a bit inflexible, but the swordsman... he had helped them make the most progress they had in hundreds of years.
Vivak closed his eyes. If he could become a Sovereign, he would be able to finally enter the Life State. Once that happened, the Human Race would no longer be dregs; they would be able to stand on the world stage again.
Too many Ninth Dimensional experts were stuck at this step. The only one of the humans who had managed to reach that state was King, but he was too busy philandering with the enemy as though they were all too stupid to notice.
But what else could he do? King was a tragedy in and of himself. He had reached that ever unreachable Life State, and yet it was done through Dream Force. Not only was it done through Dream Force, but he was restrained to an Ability Index that disallowed him from projecting it outside his body.
Ironically, King was much like Leonel in this way. The difference was that Leonel was already working on a method to project his, while King had never been able to.
What did that mean?
It meant that King was only able to plot and scheme, but in terms of those that had reached the Life State, he might as well have been the weakest. He could crush the likes of Vivak or the others with a single finger, but on the world stage, he was a pitiful worm.
However, if he, Vivak Godlen, was able to take that step, his halberd would sweep through the enemies with a blade that could rend the skies and the earth in a single stroke.
He had to succeed. He had to reach that step.
Leonel had no idea that a coincidental event had caused several Ninth Dimensional experts to converge toward one location for the sole purpose of meeting him. Had he known, he would have probably cried real tears. At this point, he felt like the mighty overlords of the world were just monkeys throwing piles of shit at him.
Even so, regardless of the situation, his goal was pretty much the same: escape.
However, he couldn't just do so casually.
Setting aside the fact that leaving such a place was probably more difficult than entering, how could he leave empty-handed?
He was pissed, but he couldn't allow his hatred to cloud his judgment. If his Innate Node was still in control, he worried about what he would do.
Luckily, he was clear-headed. n-(o/-v)-ε)/l-/b--1.(n