Chapter 2373 Never Again
Leonel didn't make a sound as he listened to the story, his expression not giving anything away. What happened was within his expectations. Or, more accurately, after he had seen the state of the Morales family, he understood what must have happened.
After their victory, everything was smooth sailing. But because Leonel wasn't there, there was actually some hesitation about what exactly to do. This made sense. The Morales had suddenly gained so much territory and control in such a short time. They didn't even have the necessary population to occupy all of those lands, and they certainly didn't have the infrastructure to govern such a large amount of land either.
Some were divided about what to do. One faction believed that they should just enslave everyone like they had the Suiard and the Spiritual Faction. This would keep everyone in line and make it easier to force assimilation.
Another faction believed that they should take a softer approach. They had already bred such destruction and carnage, a more diplomatic approach now might actually help the Morales in the long run rather than making everyone think that they were dictators.
After all, they fully controlled the narrative now. So long as they put out some feelers, and cleverly manipulated history, many wouldn't even remember the massacres in a generation.
Hearing about these two factions, Leonel could close his eyes and see who was on which side, and he was even more certain that those dividing lines would have been drawn across the picket lines of the demon faction of the Morales family, and the human side.
In fact, the more he listened, the more he was absolutely certain that the Demoness had a hand in forcing things to go this far. The infighting began not long afterward and the Morales family became fractured. Because Leonel had exposed who was on which side, many historical, eye-blowing moments were brought up, and many began to wonder how long this betrayal had been going on for.
Some things that were completely unrelated began to be pooled together. The Morales entered a mass state of paranoia where everyone was accusing everyone else of something. In the end, it became the lynchpin of their downfall.
The Spirituals had experts of their own, and without Leonel there, the seals he placed on the "slaves" of the Morales were all too easy to weaken considerably. Suddenly, the Morales were facing not only their own internal civil war but a violent retaliation from the Spiritual Religion and the Suiard family.
Even so, the Morales were quite powerful. Despite the strength Maxx held, the Morales had powerhouses of equivalent standing, and their number of Ancestors, Ancestors that had remained hidden until the civil war began, dwarfed both the Suiard and Spiritual Religion.
Unfortunately, by this point, the second invasion of the Human Domain began. There was Void Palace to protect them as Leonel had already massacred them. There was no Shield Cross Stars because Leonel had already massacred them. There was no Omann family because Leonel had already massacred them.
The only powers left remaining to protect the Human Race were the Morales that were in shambles, and the Suiard and Spirituals Religion that had suffered catastrophic losses not just due to Leonel, but also because of their fight for their freedom.
Leonel had always meant to let them go once everything blew over, but how could they know that? And with Leonel vanishing for a year, for all they knew, he had always just been a puppet of the Morales family, a convenient excuse they could abandon should things not go perfectly for them.
The Human Domain in that state couldn't even handle a normal invasion... let alone an invasion the Spirituals participated in. Using the fall of the Spirituals Religion as a way to claim the moral hierarchy, the Spirituals led a crusade and hardly suffered any resistance. They proved themselves to be the most powerful race of the Dimensional Verse, and it wasn't even close.
The Morales were massacred and they lost large numbers of their Ancestors and young geniuses. Ancestor Alvaro fell. Ancestor Issa fell. The Overlord, the very old man that was the reason Leonel's command of the Morales had been so smooth to begin with... also fell.
Leonel looked toward those that survived. First Nova Adawarth. Third Nova Xavnik. Fifth Nova Ramon. Fourth Nova had died. Sixth Nova, Valor, had died. Second Nova... Auran, had died.
Leonel didn't have much goodwill toward Fourth Nova; he had tried to sign Aina to a slave contract, but he was still his cousin. Sixth Nova was different. Leonel still remembered when he first met him. He was a stoic man of few words, but that day beneath the Void Tower, he had been proud of Leonel's achievements.
He had his own personal ambition, but that didn't get in the way of the love he had for his family... love that was likely only dwarfed by Auran himself. If there was anyone who least deserved to die, it was Auran. He had sacrificed so much, fighting a battle against the hidden faction of the Morales all on his own. He took that burden on his shoulders and he never complained, even willingly giving up a chance to become the Heir Apparent just to take Xavnik down.
Leonel looked into Kira's eyes. They were brimming with unshed tears and carried a dense rage within that couldn't be buried. They rimmed with crimson and the Force around her fluctuated. He understood her feelings. Words couldn't describe how much he understood.
Leonel closed his eyes. He knew it wasn't his fault. He knew that it wasn't because he was neglectful or irresponsible. He knew that if he had been there, the chances he could have changed the outcome would have been slim.
It was clear that for whatever reason, the Demoness no longer wanted the Morales to exist as presently constructed. In fact, it might even be for a reason as petty as not wanting her lab rats to get too powerful. After all, how could her precious Lineage Factor spread to so many insignificant beings.
Leonel clenched his fists. However, the guilt was just as heavy. 'Never again.'
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