Immortal Kingdoms

However, while Nier might overlook that one detail, Rosaline couldn't.

She was an immortal expert who had experienced much in the world, and she had picked up enough clues now to conjure a ridiculous guess that Leonardo wasn't in origin a mortal, but there was a missing piece in history that she couldn't obtain.

Perhaps if she went to personally investigate Earth? She shook that idea away. Let alone immortals, even saints are a disaster in a place like the lower realms. She felt something was odd ever since Leonardo impregnated Nier.

Usually, even in the case of having one's constitution remodelled, it is impossible to impregnate a life form with an innate superiority. Although Leonardo's cells might have been upgraded to contain enough energy, allowing him to safely practice immortal cultivation techniques, his genes should have been those of a mortal.

Those genes shouldn't have been capable of fertilising within the womb of an immortal no matter how one looked at it. The same goes vice versa, an immortal wouldn't be able to impregnate a woman unless she was on his level of genetic superiority.

Why else would she waste her time with a mortal? This simply made no sense to her, and now this freak father produced a freak daughter, confusing Rosaline even more.

Feeling helpless, she decided to simply wait, perhaps the future will provide some answers. Meanwhile, she stroked Nier's head with a content smile on her rosy lips.

Seemingly thinking about some clue, her eyes brightened as she asked, "What exactly did the fortune immortal tell you? Driving you to go so far as to buy a slave from a mortal realm?"

Nier was still immersed in the joy of giving birth to a healthy child as she replied absentmindedly, "Something about intertwined fates, compatibility, and that this person was the only path out of the incoming crisis…"

"I didn't know what she meant by saying that, but she said that he's someone with the aura of a Planeswalker?"

"Planeswalker?" Rosaline was confused, what was a Planeswalker? She has never heard such a term before.

Some focus returned to Nier as she also shook her head, confused, "I don't know, but I plan on looking through the ancient texts in the Interstellar Supreme Institution for what that means, but the fortune immortal told me it's best to keep this matter a secret from the Interstellar Supreme Court's upper echelon if we want to escape a calamity…"

Rosaline snorted, what calamity has House Hestia ever feared? However, she was prudent enough not to implicate her family with her fearless and stubborn nature. Thus, she gave her daughter a peck on the forehead before leaving the mother-daughter pair to their own devices.

Before Rosaline left, she dropped a few words to Nier, "It is best if you continue your secluded cultivation here with your daughter for the time being, but make sure to constantly mention her father while also showing his portraits to her if possible."

"Although she may be a child, don't underestimate the intuition and intelligence of newborn immortals. Not like you're not used to talking with her by now anyway." Rosaline's silver chuckle echoed, leaving behind a blushing Nier.

Not long later, Aria stretched lazily on Leonardo's lap as she opened her crimson eyes, startled to see Leonardo foolishly looking in no particular direction with a hand resting on his heart.

She had an odd feeling in her eyes as she observed his bewildered expression lacking in focus. She furiously rubbed his stomach with her head, drawing his attention ever so slightly.

Leonardo blinked, looking down at the intelligent spark of curiosity in Aria's eyes, causing him to let out a sigh as he said, "I've been feeling anxious over the past week or so, but all of a sudden, that anxiousness disappeared and was replaced with something akin to relief. This is too confusing, I've never felt like this before."

Leonardo wasn't the type to confide in other people, and the only instances of such were the unintentional ones. However, he didn't feel that keeping things to himself from a magical beast was necessary, hence why he would occasionally open up about these enigmatic feelings to Aria.

This was also one of the reasons Aria was so attached to this alter ego persona of an intelligent magical beast.

Aria was shocked that someone who acted so emotionally detached could have such a strong heart and parental intuition. Then again, she remembered that Nier described him as someone who was very filial, so she thought it only made sense.

She couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he finally met eye-to-eye with his daughter. Although it was somewhat cruel to keep him in the dark about it, she couldn't simply tell him he now had a daughter of flesh and blood as they might have an adverse effect on his future decisions and judgement and an especially sharp effect on how he treated Leona and Kieran.

Now, although they were his adopted godchildren, he treated them as though they were his own. If his heart was suddenly swelling in expectation of his newly born daughter, this would affect the mentality of the two kids who had yet to have their fill of parental love and guidance.

Especially Leona who was too sensitive about such feelings for her own good. Thus, looking at Leonardo's torn expression, Aria truly felt helpless.

"I don't know why, but I'm feeling some sort of inexplicable urgency. It seems that I must speed up my plans and declare war as soon as I've arrived at my domain." Leonardo made up his mind and began sending multiple messages through his communication bracelet to Pandora, Juvia, the distant Miko, and eventually Jeffery.

Far away in his personal residence in Valdmor, Jeffery's expression twisted in alarm as he burst out from his bedroom in his sleepwear without a care for his image, his destination being House Regalia's representative courtyard.

As for Pandora and Juvia, they were watching the last moments of the great culling at the moment. Although the towns were mostly intact, blood washed the walls, streets, and open plazas. Furthermore, the two came to the realisation that at the beginning of the culling, many of the combatants would accidentally release too much strength with their energy exertion.

Now that may not be an issue or even noticeable in an open battlefield, but the closed environment of the town, narrow roads, and the all-encompassing sense of crisis made it difficult for people to maintain a calm and collected mind.

Thus, this resulted in many cases of buildings crumbling and innocent people dying due to stray shockwaves. Of course, these people were silently killed under Pandora's marksmanship.

These cases weren't so prominent in the lower brackets of the culling, but they became evident during the fights of those in the higher cycles of the realm. Only those with sufficient control over their energy and emotions managed to deliver the most fatal blows without as much as a ripple of excessive energy, and they had become so proficient in it that was surprised the two ladies.

Under the threat of death, most people stopped caring and unleashed their powers in a fit of a mad gamble, but even if they killed their opponents, they still died under Pandora's energy rifle barely a moment later.

Intermittent beams of light continually flashed from above the palace throughout the day and night, chilling everyone to the bones.

Leonardo's message was simple, they were to prepare a full body of light armor for him, one that would be compatible with high-tension battles and supportive of high-speed combat. Furthermore, he desired a white mask embedded with formation inscriptions to mask his voice and block spiritual probing.

It would be best if the mask was crafted from high-grade energy crystals, infused with both death and stealth attributes from their martial intents, and for the battle armour to be a mix of black and red.

Then, they would pass down words to the survivors that the commander of their army would be someone called Bloodthirsty.

Of course, this would simply be Leonardo in disguise, as he wouldn't be able to openly slaughter people otherwise.

Juvia left the finish-up procedures of the great culling to Pandora as she went to work on a suitable armor for Leonardo, excitement flickering in her eyes.