[Thanks to Mr. Ham (6/6)]

It could be said that Somnus' words were excellently timed. He had given up on trying to deal with Leonel in a head-on confrontation. If they played a game at Leonel's pace, they would end up losing.

"I don't believe that you're acting with good faith, nor are you in line with the spirit of the Gathering of Minds. If it was just a matter of your abrasiveness, I could let it go. But commandeering the rules of the event in order to avoid exchanging ideas about what amounts to half of our purpose for being here... are you looking down on Force Pill Crafters?"

It was an accusation that held a lot of weight, and one that had the potential to be extremely dangerous depending on the situation. Who didn't know that Force Pill Crafters were far rarer, but also held far more influence as a result?

"If I might make a suggestion to help get things back on track to avoid turning this into a farce..."

Somnus looked toward Aerin and Lyra, both of whom almost immediately paled. "Please challenge him in the alchemy stream after he takes his turn. It is a bit unfair, but I believe this was your original intention, correct? This way, you get to force him into the challenge you wanted originally."

Somnus' plot was quite clever, and unavoidable.

It was distasteful to use his status to pressure Aerin, but as he had said, Aerin had tried to challenge Leonel in the Force Pill Crafting Stream before, that was his first choice. Somnus was just giving him an opportunity to do it again.

So, instead of looking like he was pressuring Aerin and Lyra, it actually looked like he was helping them.

But that was just the first layer. Once this round was finished, it would be Talon and Somnus' turn again. Leonel could turn that down, but then it would be Celestia's turn once more. At that point, what could he do?

There was a hole in this plan... or so it seemed.

According to the rules, Leonel didn't have to participate anymore after completing three challenges. He had already completed one, his turn was coming up now and that could be the second, and finally Aerin and Lyra would be the third.

After that point, Leonel could just pat the dust off of him and leave. And because of Talon's loss, he would have accumulated far more points than anyone else. A Demi-God World Spirit was too valuable to even scale properly, it would probably be hundreds of points at worst. That was more than enough for Leonel to be number one.

But there was an obvious flaw to that line of thinking as well...

Whoever Leonel challenged had to actually accept his challenge. If they just rejected him outright, it obviously wouldn't count as a challenge and following his "battle" with Aerin and Lyra, he would still need to complete one more challenge.

It was an excellent plan. Truly an excellent one.The only flaw were Aerin and Lyra... but would any of them choose to stand on Leonel's side at the risk of offending four Demi-God Races?

Of course not.

By this point, Yuri and Savahn, who were in the crowd of failed participants, looked toward one another, greatly worried. How could they not know that Leonel was only going through so much trouble to protect Aina? If not for these worries, who could match up against this duo?

Leonel looked at Somnus expressionlessly.

"So your solution to me angering you within the rules is to have everyone challenge me continuously?"

"Am I not also angering you within the rules? Now, if you would please proceed with your turn," Somnus said lightly.

Leonel scanned everyone one by one.

Clearly, Somnus didn't care whether Leonel proceeded or retreated. Whether he participated or gave up now, he would win.

Feeling the grips of a Dream Asura latching onto him, Leonel's gaze seemed to lose all its emotion.

"I challenge the Owlans in Crafting. I've heard that they're supposedly the best," Leonel finally said.

Celestia's expression became ugly when she heard Leonel's words. She grit her teeth so hard that they seemed like they might crack, but in the end she exhaled a slow, almost methodical breath.

"We refuse."

Leonel's gaze met Celestia's and she felt a cold shiver.

Aerin gripped his fists hard, his bottom lip trembling. Even if they challenged Leonel and let him win, it wouldn't change anything at all, they were like cogs in Somnus' wheel.

"I..." Aerin looked toward Lyra who seemed to be wearing a similarly helpless expression. "We challenge you to a contest of Force Pill Crafting."

Leonel sent a glance over that made Aerin feel as though he had fallen into an abyss."Sure," Leonel said lightly.

Aerin clenched his jaw and looked toward Lyra. She was the expert here.

Lyra stepped forward and set the parameters of the battle. When they were ready to begin, Somnus spoke again.

"Hold on a moment, are you the Force Pill Crafter?" Somnus asked.

"Is there a problem?" Leonel replied.

"Yes. There is. The first round was a judge of collaboration abilities. If your wife is just there for show, it means that you would have been disqualified before the round of debates even began. Of course, if your wife is the Force Pill Crafter, then I would have nothing to say."

"Just for show, you say?" Leonel asked in a light voice.

"Is there something wrong with what I said?"

"Once this Gathering of Minds is over, it will cost you your head."

Somnus' gaze narrowed as a pressure from Minerva descended upon Leonel, almost making his bones shatter to pieces.

"This is a Gathering of Minds. I will not allow any threats, veiled or otherwise. Should Somnus die following this meeting, you will officially be an enemy of the Owlans and I will personally hunt you down."

Leonel swallowed a mouthful of blood that was moments from coming out from his mouth.

The pressure vanished and he nearly collapsed.

A murderous intent suddenly pervaded the skies, dyeing the wind crimson as Aina made a move to stand, but Leonel grabbed her wrist.

Minerva sneered. "Now, begin the round."

Leonel sat behind Aina, pressing a hand to her back. It seemed as though he would be guiding her, but Somnus said nothing about this, finding it amusing.

The round ended in resounding defeat. The Force Pill that Lyra picked, to her credit, was one that even novice Force Pill Crafters could concoct, but it was still too much.

Being controlled through Leonel, Aina's actions looked clumsy and unpracticed. The lag in Dream Force to action was too much, and it was clear that Leonel's knowledge of Force Pill Crafting wasn't very profound in the slightest.

It took two attempts just to finish the simple pill, and the two almost went over the time limit.

In the end, they lost the one point that Aerin and Lyra had wagered.

Blood leaked from Leonel's lips and he wiped it away for what felt like the umpteenth time, his emotionless gaze landing on Talon and Somnus.

The ending of this matter seemed to be all too obvious.