Chapter 3040 Something to Fight For


    Aina was stunned by the question. Then there was such a sudden rapid fire of emotion on her face that even Leonel was having a hard time keeping up. There was shock, then excitement, then worry, then more excitement, and then apprehension, then there was guilt.


    "Leonel, I—"


    Leonel shook his head, stopping her. He knew what she wanted to say.


    They had agreed to have children a long while ago, but there was always some tacit understanding between them to always delay it. Aina had even said that she wanted to wait until her friends were at that point in their relationship as well.


    But both of them were smart. They knew that it would be a foolish decision to do such a thing, so they had always found good reasons.


    But when Leonel thought about it... really thought about it, he couldn''t help but wonder. Would it ever not be foolish? Or was he always overthinking things?


    It was funny. Now that his mind was slower, not overrun by logic all the time, he felt far freer.


    No matter how he looked at it, there would maybe never be a right time to have children. Even in some potential future where he finally killed the Demoness and had his revenge, the Northern Star was still a looming problem that wasn''t going anywhere.


    After the actions of the Primordial Terror, Existence''s time had been shortened to just a few thousand years at best. The situation had been mitigated somewhat after its death, and some balance had been returned, but Existence still wouldn''t have much more than ten thousand or so years left.


    To the wider world, this kind of timeline might as well have been a single blink.


    So what would he say then? That he couldn''t have children until the impossible task of reversing the flow of the Northern Star was accomplished?


    Wouldn''t he then have spent his entire life fighting? Having spent every waking moment fighting against some monster or shadow in the distance? How could that be considered a life at all?


    Leonel and Aina had been born on Earth. Even with the advancements in technology, they had only expected to ever live a few hundred years at most.


    Now, they had several thousand to work with. Wasn''t that something worth cherishing? Why should they waste it?


    Sure, they loved to battle... but that shouldn''t be all they did.


    He wanted to build a family with his wife... and he was willing to stand tall and have a blade prepared for anyone who wanted to stop it.


    "... We''ve waited long enough," Leonel said with a smile.


    ...


    The smile from Leonel''s expression vanished into a deathly sort of determination. The cold coming from his gaze was so frigid that the air seemed to shudder.


    He entered the Segmented Cube and reacted just in time for a little girl to rush into his arms.


    His coldness dimmed a bit as he smiled, patting Anastasia''s head.


    "What are you crying about? Aren''t I here?"


    Anastasia used his shirt to wipe away her tears, sniffling as she tried to regain her bearings.


    Leonel''s sternness returned. "Anastasia, I need a strong time warp, one stronger than the pods. You can get rid of them if that''s what it takes. I need a space to temper my body."


    "How long?" Anastasia asked.


    "Just give me a method to contact you when I''m finished."


    "Okay."


    Leonel stripped himself down as Aina prepared.


    The method he was going to use now took time, more time than he was willing to give it. Normally, time dilation couldn''t be used for training because it would distort Forces. Unless you had exceptionally high Time Force affinity, it was impossible.


    But Leonel wasn''t training his comprehension. All he wanted was a space to put himself under the greatest pain he had likely ever endured in his life.


    At that moment, he had a flashback... it was the day he first awakened his Metal Synergy Lineage Factor.


    He had almost given up beneath the pain and his soul nearly collapsed. But he had managed to pull through.


    Since then, he had experienced a great deal of things... and now he had much more to fight for than the kid who cared about no one other than himself.


    This time, he would truly be going all out.


    It was time to see the power of the Weapon Forces that had called down the Idol Battlefield.