Dimensional Descent

Leonel's heart softened even more so than usual.

Candle was just a teenage girl. After having her age frozen, she was even younger than Leonel in comparison to before. At that moment, Leonel couldn't see her as anything other than a little girl. And likewise for Vice, he was just a little boy.

Just their age alone made it difficult for Leonel to work up the courage to harm them. But, their backstory made it even more difficult.

"Is that all you want? To see the outside world?"

Candle nodded up and down, her forearm trying to wipe her falling tears away.

Vice's eyes turned red, seemingly caught up in Candle's emotions. But, he simultaneously seemed quite detached from it all, almost as though he was just copying Candle rather than truly feeling the emotions she was.

Leonel took note of all of this. He couldn't possibly expect that his pity would suddenly turn around and cause these two Savants to become normal people. As cruel as his grandfather was, there was a reason they were locked up to begin with.

Some psychopaths were good at imitating the emotions they saw around them but lacked the empathy that came with it. Unfortunately for Vice, having been locked away since he was a child, he never properly built up his skill. Coupling that with how sharp Leonel's perception was to begin with and he never really stood a chance of hiding it.

Usually, this imitation ability of psychopaths didn't come naturally. It would be a lengthy process of being called out for their behavior that would eventually have them realize they needed to fit in more. Some would become so good at it that they would lean into their narcissistic traits and even begin to manipulate the people around them.

At least this was the surface level understanding Leonel had. He wasn't an expert by any stretch of the imagination. However, he did find that King's Might allowed him to almost take a peek into a person's psyche.

Leonel sighed internally. It seemed that Candle was still relatively normal, maybe with some increased sensitivity compared to normal people. But, that could only be expected with her experiences. Vice, though, was a different story entirely.

That said… not all psychopaths were evil mass murderers. In fact, the majority were not and could function in everyday society just fine despite the stigma attached to them. As for which one Vice was – the majority or the minority – only time would tell.

Leonel made a decision.

"Alright, I will let you see the outside world. But, we have to make a deal first. Is that okay?"

Candle blinked away tears, looking up toward Leonel from her position on the floor beside Vice.

"…A … Deal?"

Leonel smiled lightly, but he still felt that he was taking advantage of a child. Whether it was Candle or Vice, both had too little understanding of the world and the kind of life they were living. Having them make such a life altering deal themselves wasn't the most ethical. But, he had no choice.

"I will be honest with the two of you… With your power, you are very dangerous, maybe even more dangerous than any other existences in this world. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Candle's eyes dimmed. She felt that she had heard something like this before.

"However, I do not want to lock you up like others have. Though the likelihood that you will cross me is very high, I am willing to give you a chance to prove me and everyone else wrong."

Candle blinked, a small light of hope brightening her gaze.

"I need two bodyguards." Leonel continued. "With your power and talent, I have no doubt that you two would be an excellent choice.

"If you accept, you will be able to travel the world with me and see what the outside looks like. You'll grow by my side and eventually there'll come a time where there won't be a single place you won't be able to step into.

"I'll protect the both of you like I would my own brother and sister, that I can promise you. What do you say?"

As expected, the two Savants accepted Leonel's proposal. The truth was that Leonel had never expected them to say no. The power imbalance between the two parties was too large. And, though they were a bit naïve and slow, they weren't stupid.

Leonel had purposely not mentioned what would happen had they rejected, but that didn't mean they couldn't piece two and two together. Even if Leonel didn't kill them, they might very well spend the next however long within the snowglobe.

Still, Leonel was greatly satisfied. If there were two people one had to choose to be body guards, two Savants was already beyond anything most could match, but the combination of Candle and Vice was almost impossibly great.

Vice had an exceptionally high spatial affinity. He had the ability to lock down space even to the point of freezing the movement of those several times more powerful than himself without much effort.

At the moment, his ability was still within the Fourth Dimension both due to a combination of him having barely gotten any chance to improve it and having been sealed away for so long. Yet, it was already so powerful that even the current Leonel didn't dare to underestimate it.

If it wasn't for his Domain, Leonel would have died to Vice's hands long ago.

Then there was Candle. Vice's ability alone was excellent. But, when paired with Candle's, once they reached a certain level Leonel would have a hard time believing that he could ever get hurt.

Candle had the ability to reflect and multiply an attack back with her mirror ability. It was the ultimate defensive ability and even the best Leonel had ever seen. He had even wanted to kill Candle and give this ability to one of his teammates who shared a strong defensive ability as well.

As long as the two didn't betray him, Leonel would be almost impossible to kill by someone within range of their skills.

But… That was only as long as.