Leonel roared and pierced forward with a single arm. “BREAK! BREAK! BREAK!”

He only struck out a single time, but he roared out thrice, layering everything he had left into this single strike. Focused and intentional, bearing his very soul itself. He tapped into the foundations of his Weapon Force, their arrogance, their undaunting confidence to pierce through the veil of the very world itself. … Gervaise held onto Roesia’s body, his frown only growing deeper and deeper. His entire attention was truly focused on her, and his mind was racing as he tried to understand how he could fix this. But no matter what he thought of, it all felt inadequate. There was only one conclusion, and it was the conclusion that was obvious to him from the very start. If his wife didn’t want to live, then no one, not even he, could make her do so. She was in control of her own world, her own soul, her own Idol. One of the greatest weaknesses of the Emperor’s Might Lineage Factor was that it was unable to force those with Idols to fight for them. They could be used as fuel for power, or even triggered for a short time, but even if you succeeded, they would be far weaker than when they had been alive. The resurrection of a person through Emperor’s Might, by definition, would strip them of the individuality that formed their Idol in the first place. Even the Life Tablet could do nothing about it. If Roesia died normally, then she would at the very least be able to resurrect as a Ninth Dimensional existence. But if she died due to the collapse of her Idol, it was all over. It would be a True Death. Gervaise’s jaw clenched, his eyes a dark, piercing cold. Would it really end like this? He had been carrying the burden of the Fawkes family all his life. He couldn’t complain, it was his burden to carry. It was his fault for being too talented, for bringing the ire of the God Realm onto his family. What need was there for him to become a God at seven years old? He should have just been out playing in a corn field or kicking around a ball in some place. But he had been arrogant, wanting to prove he could do it only because his teacher told him that he couldn’t. When he succeeded, he could remember the look of awe and worship in their eyes. But then he remembered watching it all turn to horror. His Emperor’s Might Lineage Factor was too powerful… powerful to the point that it destroyed his family and crushed his childhood. Now, he was finally back and able to raise up the family to the state that it should have been. His talent managed to bloom from mere potential to true strength and he had the power to defeat anyone in the God Realm. He alone was the pillar that held up the skies as there was no one else in the Ascension Empire that was even close to him in talent. If his grandson became useless, so be it. He still had the power to make sure the rest of his life was calm and peaceful. He had the power to do all of this… But it still wasn’t enough. Until now, he was constantly making choices between his family and the empire. And often, they blended together, becoming the same thing. To him, the empire was his family, how could it not be? It was his fault that the Fawkes family had fallen, so it was also his responsibility to help them rise up no matter what the cost was. ‘No matter what the cost…’

Gervaise’s clenched jaw loosened and his expression became ice cold, but the tightness with which he clenched his wife seemed to tell a different story. He held her close. He could see the slightest hint of relaxation on her face when she snuggled into his embrace, breathing in his scent. They sat there in silence as Roesia’s life force slowly drained away. It was a peaceful sort of path to death, one that didn’t stir up any waves or destroy much of anything in the world at all. But that was also because Gervaise was taking on all of the damage himself. The destruction of an Idol was far from a simple process. It could cause reality to warp and bend, shattering the laws of even the God Realm. But right now… there was nothing but peace. He rocked Roesia in his arms, his eyes becoming colder and colder as her body did as well. His hands moved almost absentmindedly, stroking her white-gold hair and caressing her cheek. His breathing became more even and a trembling aura exuded from him in a suffocating might. It made the space more solid, and the barrier on the outside only grew stronger as a result of it. He had no idea that his grandson was doing everything he could to make it through right now, he had no idea that he was only making it more difficult. He only had eyes for the woman in his arms as his heart slowly became emptier. When she was gone, his last weakness would be gone with her. When that time came, no one would be able to stop the Ascension Empire. He used a thumb to gently wipe a tear falling from her eyes. Her lips moved, seemingly trying to say something. Gervaise didn’t need to hear it to understand. He knew his wife well. She was apologizing, like she always did. Even now that she was dying, her first thought was that she was leaving him to carry this burden alone. But… he felt that things just might be better this way. At least this way, he would be able to properly atone. BOOM!

A dull boom suddenly made Gervaise look up. Then there was the faintest, muffled echo of a roar.